FicWad

Gerard rolled over and looked at the clock. A groan escaped his lips. It was after 10 AM. He hadn’t meant to sleep this late. He got up quickly and dressed. A quick check through the house confirmed his guess that he was alone.
He grabbed his cell and punched in Monica’s number. “Where are you?’ He asked as soon as she picked up.
“At the grocery store.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up? I would have gone with you.”
“Gee, I’m sure the highlight of your first day at home wouldn’t be going to the grocery store.”
He sighed, “No, going to the grocery store isn’t high on my list. Being with you is.”
Monica threw the package of spaghetti in the cart and began moving down the aisle. “I’ll be home soon.”
“Are you still mad at me?” He asked softly.
“I’m not mad, Gee. I’m upset. There is a difference you know.”
“We need to talk about this.”
Monica reached for a jar of spaghetti sauce. “I don’t know what there is left to say on the subject. You and Liv have a daughter. I will never be more than a step-mom to her. I get that.” She took a deep breath. “I just love her so much that sometimes it’s hard.”
“Elle loves you. You have to know that.”
Monica laughed softly. “Elle pretty much loves everyone. She’s a sweet child.”
“Come home.” He said softly.
Monica began pushing the cart slowly. “I’ll be home later.” She disconnected quickly.

Kelly stood in front of her locker trying to focus. She needed to grab her things for her next class but her mind was in no way cooperating. Her mind was on Luke. She hadn’t seen him all morning. Was he avoiding her?
“Hey Kelly.” Sarah slid up next to her. “How’d you do on the English test?”
“Not bad.” Kelly answered reaching into her locker for a pen.
“Jill and I are gonna go to the mall tonight. Wanna come?”
Kelly shook her head. “No I got things to do.”
Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “Are you seeing Luke?”
Kelly shut her locker. “Yeah, I guess I am.” She waited to see her friend’s reaction.
“Why? I don’t get it. Kelly there are a lot of hot guys who want to date you. Even with all the shit that went down because of Mike they still like you.”
Kelly’s anger exploded. “Even with all the shit that went down with Mike? Like any of that was my fault?”
Sarah took a step back. “You know what I mean.”
“No, I really don’t. Mike was an asshole. He hurt me.”
“I know.” Sarah said
“No you don’t know. You don’t know the whole truth about what happened between us. I’m so tired of all of this. Now I’ve found someone who I really like. He understands me.”
“He’s a joke.” Sarah said angrily. “Just wait until everyone finds out you like him. They’ll think you’re crazy.”
“Don’t ever say that about Luke again. I mean it.”
“You’re making a mistake.” Sarah said sadly.
“No, I’m following my heart.”
Sarah’s eyes grew wide. “Don’t tell me you think you love him.”
“I don’t think it, I know it.” She walked away before Sarah could reply.

Gerard wandered around the house feeling very alone. He finally decided to venture outside to work on the gazebo. After assembling all the necessary tools he began work on the structure. Almost an hour passed before he took a break. Monica still hadn’t returned. He took a seat on the deck and called her.
“Where are you now?”
Monica signaled and made her turn. “In the car.”
“In the car where?”
“On the road.” She answered shortly.
“Okay, I’ll play along. What road?”
Monica sighed, “Gee, do you need something?”
“Yeah, you.”
“Why?”
He couldn’t believe his first day home from tour was turning out like this. “Why? That’s a stupid question.”
“Maybe I’m a stupid woman.” She checked the mirror and changed lanes.
“Stop it, okay? Please just come home.”
“I’m on my way.” She disconnected before he could say anything else.
“Shit” Gerard said looking down at his phone. He thought a moment then called Mikey.
“Hey bro.”
“Hey, Gee. What’s up?”
Gerard looked out across the back yard. The gazebo was really starting to take shape. At least that was a good thing. “Just wondering how Alicia is doing.”
“She’s good. We have an appointment with a specialist on Wednesday.”
“Told Mom yet?”
“Yeah, actually we just got back from Mom’s”
“That’s good.” Gerard said absently.
Mikey knew his brother well enough to pick up on the sound of his voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Gee, spill it.”
Gerard ran his hand through his hair. “Monica’s pissed at me.”
“Dude you just got home. What did you do?”
“Why do you think I did something?”
Mikey laughed, “Cause she’s pissed at you. That means you did something.”
“Mom tell you I ran into Liv yesterday at her house?”
Mikey took a seat on the sofa and kicked off his shoes, “She mentioned that. Why? What happened?”
“Mom asked when we were gonna tell Elle I’m her dad.”
“A good question. So why would that upset Monica?”
“I said it was up to Liv and me to decide.”
Mikey exhaled, “Whoa, you said that in front of Monica?”
“I didn’t mean it like it sounded. I meant it was for Monica and me and Liv to decided.”
“I can see why you hurt her feelings. Shit, Gee she’s been dealing with Liv for months. You know that can’t have been easy for her. She knows how much you loved Liv once.”
“Yeah well it probably didn’t help matter any when I drove Liv and Elle to the bus station.”
“Monica didn’t go with you?”
Gerard was starting to hate this discussion. “We left while she was in the bathroom.”
“Man, did you fuck up or what.”
“Oh thanks man.”
“So where is Monica now?” Mikey asked
“She was gone when I got up this morning. I called and she said she was at the grocery store.”
“And she’s not back yet?”
Gerard could hear him talking to Alicia.
“Don’t tell her.” He said into the phone.
“Chill dude, I’m not,” Mikey said turning his attention back to his brother. “But dude, you need to fix this with Monica.”
“No shit. I know that but she needs to come home.”
“I am home.”
Gerard turned to see Monica standing behind him. He wondered how long she had been standing there. “Hey, Mikey. Monica just got home. Talk to ya later.” He closed his phone and stood.
“Come help me carry in the groceries.” She said turning back towards the house.
Gerard grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “Fuck the groceries.” He kissed her hard. His heart sank when she didn’t respond. He broke off the kiss and stepped back.
Monica stared at him for a moment the surprised him by grabbing the front of his hoodie and pulling him to her. This time she was the one who kissed him. His arms came up to enclose her in a tight hug. The kiss went on for several minutes. When they broke apart they were both breathless.
“I’m really sorry.” Gerard began to say only to have Monica put her finger to his lips.
“Look, stop saying that. I thought a lot about what happened. I overreacted. The truth is it was really hard to see you and Liv together. I saw the way you were looking at her.”
“The way I was looking at her?” Now he was confused again.
“Gerard, you were staring at her.”
“I was just wondering about the bruise on her face.”
“She told Kelly she ran into someone she shouldn’t have.” Monica told him.
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“I thought the same thing. I worry about Elle.” She paused, “Hell, I worry about Liv.”
Gerard smiled, “You are an incredible woman.”
“No, not at all.” She looked down, “I just don’t want to lose you.”
Her words shocked him. “Lose me? You mean lose me to Liv? Fuck, how could you even think something like that?’
“Oh, it’s easy. Trust me, it’s easy.”
“Then you really don’t understand how much I love you.” Gerard said softly. “Or you would never think that.”
“What time is it?”
Gerard looked puzzled by the sudden change in the discussion. “What?”
“Time. What time is it?”
“He looked at his watch. A little after one.”
“I need you to make love to me.” She said looking up and meeting his eyes.
“Need? Monica, are you saying that will make you realize how much I love you?’
She smiled, “No, not at all. I’m just saying it will make me feel better.”
He smiled, “Well I do want you to feel better but what about the groceries?”
“Fuck the groceries.” Monica said taking his hand and leading him into the house.