FicWad

Chapter 40-

I walked through the front door to our house and immediately regretted it.

“What the hell are you doing?!” I asked loudly, setting my school bag down on a chair that was placed randomly in the living room.

Mum sighed and turned around to face me.

“I’m sorry Rachel.” Mum whispered, sounding on the verge of tears.

“For what? Mum, what are you doing?” I asked, confused by the whole situation.

“We’re moving Rachel.” Mum said simply.

“What?! We, we can’t move!” I said hysterically.

“We have to Rachel, now that I’ve left your father, we’ve agreed to sell the house and split whatever’s left from the mortgage. I can’t pay this off by myself.” Mum explained sadly.

“I could get a job! We can pay it off together!” I said, trying desperately to reason with her.

“I’m sorry Rachel, but it’s our only choice.” Mum said softly.

I looked down sadly.

“But on the better side, we won’t be moving far, I’ve been looking for places to rent not far from here. I don’t want you and Matt to change schools, and I can’t just up and go my job. So, we can’t move that far.” Mum said, making me smile slightly.

I shot my head up quickly.

“I’m going to get a job and help us through this.” I said proudly.

“You don’t have to do anything Rachel, just be beside me, and I’ll have everything I need.” Mum said in her motherly tone of voice.

“No, I’m doing it. You’ve done so much for us over these years, and it’s time I do something about it.” I said, shaking my head.

“You’re my daughter, I can’t just abandon you when you needed me.” Mum said, placing a small hand on my shoulder.

“And you’re my mother, and I’m not going to abandon you in your time of need.” I said.

“Come on Mum, we both know you won’t be able to cope with just one wage. Even if we do cut back a bit and get a smaller place.” I said sadly.

Mum looked up at me with shining eyes.

She embraced me quickly and tightly.

“Thank you so much.” She whispered.

“Anytime.” I smiled.

“And I’m here for you, we both are, whenever you need us, we’ll be there.” I added kindly.

Mum stepped out of our hug but still held onto my shoulders.

“We’re going to get through this… I promise.” Mum whispered, tears slowly streaming down her face as she pulled a stray hair out of my eyes.

I smiled and pecked her cheek.

She smiled in return and turned around to continue packing books into a wide cardboard box.

“So how are you and Gerard going?” Mum asked suddenly, not turning to look at me.

“Good.” I laughed.

“I’m right with you two going out ya know?” Mum said, climbing up a small stepladder to reach the top of the bookshelf.

“You are?” I asked, remotely shocked.

“Yeah!” Mum said enthusiastically.

“But I never got the chance to tell you.” Mum added.

I smiled and sat down on the floor next to the couch.

“And I’m fine with you two having sex. As long as it’s not pressured and your having it for the right reasons and your using protection.” Mum said, throwing a few large books to the floor.

“We don’t pressure each other into everything. Gerard’s the most caring and sweet guy I have ever meet.” I smiled goofily.

“Do you love him?” Mum asked suddenly, stopping her actions for a moment to hear my response.

“Yeah Mum, I do.” I smiled.

“I’m happy for you.” Mum said giddily.

“Just be careful.” Mum added in a low tone.

“Love can be a two edged sword Rachel, one side being beautiful and amazing, and the other one of the most painful things you will ever have to go through.” Mum stated sternly.

“I know Mum.” I said, looking down.

"I'm just warning you." Mum laughed.

I smiled and stood up.

"Can I go over to Gerard's for a little while?" I asked innocently.

"Yeah, whatever. If I say no, you're going to go anyway." Mum shrugged.

"Damn right I will." I laughed as I approached her, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, before walking happily towards the door.

"I should be back in an hour." I shouted before I closed the door behind me.

*

“Why hello Rachel!” Mikey sang cheerfully as he opened the front door to his house.

“Hello Michael!” I sang, smiling.

“I’m guessing it’s my brother you want to see?” Mikey asked, his eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, that was my main purpose.” I smiled, hugging Mikey.

Mikey laughed and stepped aside, allowing me to step inside.

“GERARD! YOUR GIRLFRIENDS HERE!” Mikey shouted, tilting his head slightly towards the wooden staircase.

I laughed.

“You want something to eat or drink?” Mikey asked kindly.

“Nah, I’m right thanks.” I replied.

“Are you okay over the whole ‘parents getting divorced’ thing?” Mikey asked in a hushed tone.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Something I can’t deal with.” I shrugged, giving Mikey an uneasy smile.

Mikey gave me a look that told me he didn’t believe me.

I turned my head quickly and looked at the ground.

I heard a door slam from upstairs and a loud curse. Gerard then ran down the stairs, panting slightly.

“Geez Gerard, take your time.” I said sarcastically.

“Had to doll himself up for you Rach.” Mikey teased.

“Shut up Mikey.” Gerard mumbled as he approached me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Hey beautiful.” Gerard whispered in my ear.

“Hey hot stuff.” I said seductively in his ear.

Gerard gently kissed my neck before kissing my lips roughly.

“I’m going to my room now, before this gets any further.” Mikey sighed, turning and walking up the stairs slowly.

I broke away from Gerard, in desperate need for air.

“I missed you.” Gerard whispered, kissing my nose softly.

“We’ve only been apart for a couple of hours.” I giggled.

“Yeah, but it seemed like an eternity.” Gerard whined, holding my tighter to him.

I smiled.

“I missed that smile.” Gerard said sweetly, sweeping away a hair from my face.

“Where did it go?” I asked, playing along.

“I don’t know. But I know the owner of that smile looks ten times prettier with it.” Gerard smiled.

I smiled and blushed slightly.

“I was worried about you today.” Gerard whispered, holding me tighter to him.

“Really? Why?” I asked, shocked.

“By your sudden outburst in science this morning.” Gerard said seriously.

“Oh.” I said quietly, looking down.

“Are you okay?” Gerard asked caringly.

I looked up at him, his dark hazel eyes shining.

“Matt and I have been waiting for this to happen for a long time, we’ve prepared ourselves for when the day really comes… So, it’s not that big of a surprise. I think I can deal with it.” I sighed.

“If you need to talk…” Gerard trailed off.

I nodded, getting what he was saying.

“Oh, and there’s something I want you to be the first to know…” I said.

“Yeah?” Gerard said.

“Umm… We’re ah, moving.” I stuttered.

“WHAT?! Are you serious?! You can’t leave me!” Gerard said loudly.

“Relax, I’m not going that far. Mum said she found a few places we might be able to rent for the time being about ten minutes from here. I’ll still be able to go to the same school and see you.” I laughed as Gerard momentarily freaked.

“Yeah, but still… We won’t be able to sneak out together anymore.” Gerard moaned.

“We can work something out.” I giggled, patting Gerard’s back softly.

“But, don’t say anything to the others. I don’t want to tell them just yet.” I said, looking into Gerard’s eyes.

“I won’t say anything, I promise.” Gerard said, leaning towards me and kissing my lips softly.

I kissed back harder, softly nibbling on his bottom lip until he opened his mouth slightly and I slid my tongue into his mouth.

*

I walked home some time after, feeling much better than I had before.

I guess that’s what having a boyfriend can do to you. Make you feel good about things even though you know it’s all turning to shit.

I grasped the handle to the front door and hear yelling.

I’ll take one guess at who’s here.

Dad.

I walked through the door and walked into the small but spacey kitchen.

Just as I thought, my Mum and Dad were standing in the middle of the kitchen arguing.

They saw me and stopped yelling instantly.

“Hey.” I mumbled.

“Where the fuck have you been?!” Dad said angrily.

“I’ve been at Gerard’s.” I said simply, sitting down on a stool on the other side of the bench.

“Gone for a fuck I see.” Dad snorted.

“It’s not just about sex Dad.” I said, trying to calm myself.

“That’s what they all say. It will be like that the next couple of months… Then after that, the lovey dovey shit will wear off and he’ll only be calling you when he needs his release.” Dad said smartly.

“You know what?! You can think what you fucking want. I know it’s not like that and it’s never going to be like that.” I said, raising my voice.

I saw Mum give me a look that said ‘Don’t start anything’.

“I knew as soon as we moved here and you became friends with that emo faggot that things would go wrong.” Dad sighed.

I closed my eyes and took and deep breath in.

I stood up quickly, sending the chair that I was sitting on, to the ground with a loud crash.

“You know what Dad? I don’t really appreciate you calling my boyfriend those names! You’ve never had a problem with Gerard until you became such a fucking alcoholic!” I yelled.

I said Dad’s face change to a look of hatred. He balled his fists at his sides.

“What did you just say to me?” Dad said through gritted teeth.

“You heard me! You’re an alcoholic! You depend of the fucking stuff, and when you get on it, we all have to suffer from it!” I yelled.

Dad stared at me.

“You’re fucking problem has torn this family apart! You know it, but you choose to ignore it. You drink till all your pain goes away, but all you do is cause more pain.” I said evilly.

“I don’t need this shit right about now. I’ve got my own problems right now. Like trying to fucking pay off this house because your mothers a dirty bitch who left me.” Dad said angrily.

“Don’t ever call her that again.” I said slowly.

“And if Mum left you, then why are you still here? You don’t belong here. We don’t need you, we’ll be fine on our own.” I said smartly, folding my hands over my chest.

Dad turned away and walked towards the door.

“You might not need me now, but when you’ve got no money and it all feels like it’s crashing down on you, and there’s no one that can help you, just know that I won’t help you. I want nothing to do with all three of you. You are nothing to me.” Dad said before turning and walking out the door, slamming it shut.

I sat down in my chair slowly and covered my face in my hands.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Mum said caringly, walking over to me and placing a hand on my back.

I felt a tear escape my eye.

“You were right, we don’t need him. We’ll be fine without him. As long as we have each other… We’re better off without him.” Mum whispered in my ear, hugging me from behind.