FicWad

The rest of the week passed uneventfully with Rachel eating as little as she could without Gerard getting suspicious. She felt bad about breaking her promise to Winter, but she just couldn’t stop starving herself. On day, Rachel was lounging around in her bunk, flipping through a magazine that Winter gave her. A cell phone rang, making her jump in the silence. Rachel noticed that it wasn’t hers, so she went back to flipping through the latest fall fashions. She shook her head at how ridiculous some clothes looked. Rachel would always stick to her skinny jeans and fitted tees no matter what any magazine said.

“Hey Rachel,” Gerard called out. “You got a sec?”

“Sure.” Rachel climbed down from her bunk and walked over to where Gerard and everyone else were waiting. “What’s up?”

“The police called,” Gerard said. “They found you a home.”

The room was dead silent. Rachel gazed down at the floor. After a moment of awkward silence, Rachel spoke. “You mean they found me a place to live?”

“Yeah,” Gerard said. “Apparently you have a distant relative in North Carolina that they convinced to take you in. We’re playing a show there in about two months, so I told them we’d take you there then.”

Rachel looked up. “You guys would do that for me?”

“Of course,” Bob said. “You don’t mind us dragging you around for two months do you?”

Rachel shook her head. “Of course not,” she said. She went over and hugged him. “Thanks for letting me stay.”

“Anytime,” Bob said. “Now, what’s your address? We’re going to get your stuff.





















“Is this it?” Mikey asked.

Rachel smiled. “Yeah… when my dad left we didn’t really have much money, but we were lucky to find this place for so cheap.”

Mikey studied the house, if you could call it that. It was small, old, and falling apart. The small lawn in front of it was trashed. It did not look like a suitable home for anyone, even though it was two stories.

The band followed Rachel out of the van. “Do you have a key?” Mikey asked.

“No,” Rachel said. “Not that I need one.” She strolled around to the backyard, which was even more pitiful then the front. “That’s my room,” she said, pointing up to a window. Right next to it, there was a tree. Rachel skillfully climbed it and crawled over next to the window. She punched out the screen, dropped it down to the ground, and opened the window. “Are you guys coming?” She asked.

Everyone studied the tree, it was very tall, and near impossible for them to climb. “Uh… I’m not much of a climber,” Ray said.

“No problem.” Rachel jumped through her window and appeared a minute later with a rope ladder. She threw it down to them.

Frank laughed and climbed up. “And may I ask why you have this, young lady?” He teased. “Hopefully we’re the only guys that have climbed this ladder?”

“Shut up,” Rachel said. “I used to sneak out and go to Winter’s house on the weekends. They moved out of walking distance.”

Frank laughed again and jumped inside. One of her walls was covered with pictures and posters of My Chemical Romance. “Someone is a faaaaaaan…” He teased again.

Rachel rolled her eyes. “I was trying to cover up my pink walls. Your not the only band up there, see?” Indeed, there were also posters of AFI, Iron Maiden, The Misfits, and so on. Rachel started getting all her stuff together, or at least the stuff she wanted to take. Gerard appeared at the window, then Ray, Mikey, and Bob. They slowly helped her gather her things.

“Who’s this?” Ray asked, picking up a picture of a man, about 30 years of age.

“That’s my dad,” Rachel said, taking the picture and tossing it aside. “You can throw it out; I don’t ever wanna see it again.”

“Why?” Ray asked.

“Because he left us,” Rachel replied simply. “He made my mom think she loved him, got her pregnant, took her money and left. I don’t care where he is or what he does, as long as I don’t ever have to see him.” She continued packing.

After another hour, Rachel was ready. She decided to take her posters and give them to Winter before they left. “Can I take my instruments?” She asked.

Gerard laughed. “You have more than one?”

“Yeah,” Rachel said. “I have a clarinet because my mom makes me play it, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and an electric bass. I also have a piano, but I don’t think I can take that.”

“No drums?” Bob asked.

Rachel laughed. “I can play drums a little bit, but my mom wouldn’t buy me a set.”

“Well you can take your instruments,” Gerard said. “Maybe if the guys are nice enough, they’ll teach you a little bit.” He laughed.

Rachel went downstairs, then returned a few minutes later with guitar cases and her clarinet case. “Ok, I’m all set. We have to go out through the window though; you need a key to leave the house too.”

Everyone took a bag or instrument case and one by one, went back out the window and down the ladder. Rachel came down last, wearing a small travel backpack and carrying a black messenger bag. She closed the window and climbed down the ladder.

“I got that,” Gerard said, taking her messenger bag. “What’s in this? It’s so heavy.”

“My school stuff,” Rachel replied, pulling down the rope ladder and rolling it up. “I want to continue my lessons.” She tucked the ladder away in her backpack. “Let’s go.”

Once they were back in the front, Rachel turned around and looked at the house. “What are we gonna do about your house?” Mikey asked. “Aren’t you worried about what will happen to it?”

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t really care,” she said. “There are no valuables in it, and I never liked it anyway.” She kicked the dingy white fence. “Besides,” she continued. “It’s not my home anymore.”

Frank nodded. “We should get going,” he said. “We gotta go pick up Gerard’s girlfriend!” He laughed.

Gerard blushed. “Shut up,” he muttered. “She stays for a few days and you guys always give me a hard time about it.”

Rachel laughed. “I’m happy,” she said. “Jess is really cool. And she’s so nice. I can’t wait to see her.” It was true. Rachel really did want to talk to Jess again. She was just so laid back and awesome. Plus, it would be nice to see another girl around.





















Two hours after picking Jess up, Rachel was back in her bunk, doodling in her notebook. She was starving, as usual. Trying to distract herself, she hoped that Winter would get the posters that she dropped off. Rachel yawned and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess. Climbing down, she went to the bathroom for her brush. She was so hungry that she stumbled and tripped along the way. Feeling very dizzy, she finally reached the bathroom door.

RACHEL’S POV
Not realizing that the bathroom was occupied, I accidentally walked in on Jess. I gasped. She was sitting down with a needle in her hand. I recognized it instantly; it was heroine.

“Dammit!” She said. “I forgot about the lock!”

I stuttered, trying to find my words. I knew how much she depended on that heroine, and I knew how much it was hurting her. I knew because my mother told me about how my father had a heroine addiction, which was one of the reasons he left with our money. I didn’t want Jess’s life to be messed up by drugs. She was such a nice person. She didn’t deserve it. “Jess…” I began.

“Shut up,” she snapped at me. “Get out.”

I blinked, shocked. She had never shown this side of her before. “I- I’ll tell Gerard,” I said, trying to defend myself.

She laughed. “Honey, I know all about your little eating problem. And I know that you are still starving yourself. I understand. You’re going through a lot. I’m going through a lot too. That’s why I have this,” she said, indicating to the needle. “And if you even think about telling Gerard,” she threatened. “I’ll tell him. About that little problem of yours.”

My hunger only reminded me of what could happen if I told. I felt very dizzy again, and almost fell on the floor. Everything started to go black. I shook my head and kneeled down on the floor, trying to maintain consciousness. Looking up, I saw Jess smirk, “Haven’t eaten for a while have you?” She asked. “I wonder what Gerard would do if he found out.”

I stared back down at the floor, feeling sick. “I won’t tell anyone,” I muttered, not believing what I was saying. Suddenly Jess didn’t seem so nice. She was blackmailing me. I was thinking about telling Gerard about my problem, but now she’s reminding me how disappointed he would be, which convinced me to keep her secret too.

“Good girl,” Jess said, grinning. “Now get out of here.”

I shakily got up to my knees and stumbled out. While I was trying to walk back to my bunk, Gerard spotted me. “Rachel, are you ok?” He asked. “Rachel?”

I shook my head. I was getting dizzy, and everything was going black again. The sounds of Gerard screaming my name grew muffled and far away. I tried to speak, but didn’t hear words come out of my mouth. My legs where numb. I fell to the ground, not feeling my body hit the floor. I heard confused and panicked voices all around me, but they seemed so far away. Pain rushed to my head suddenly, and I knew I was bleeding. Someone was shaking me, calling my name. The last thing I remember before I lost consciousness was hearing Gerard, crying.












Rachel’s body hit the floor with a sickening thud. “Rachel!” Gerard screamed. “Guys!” Everyone except Jess, who was still in the bathroom, rushed over.

“Oh no,” Ray said. “No!” He dropped down to his knees and shook her. “Rachel!” He screamed. “Rachel!”

“Oh my god!” Bob said, pointing at the floor. There was a small puddle of blood by her head.

“Rachel!” Gerard screamed again. His voice cracked, and he started to cry. Frank ran to the front to tell the driver to go to the nearest hospital. Mikey helped Bob try to stop the bleeding of Rachel’s head.

Jess, hearing all the commotion, had decided to put the heroine away for now and came out of the bathroom. Seeing Rachel on the floor, she smirked and quickly put on a look of panic. Rushing to Gerard, kneeled beside him. “She hasn’t been eating,” Jess said.

“What?” Gerard said, holding back tears.

“Gerard,” Jess said. “She’s still anorexic. She hasn’t eaten in days. She just told me.”

“My god…” He said, covering his mouth. “I promised I’d help her get through it… I promised… and I failed her…”

Jess pulled him to her and held him. “You didn’t fail her,” she said softly. “She failed you. It’s not your fault Gerard.”

Mikey looked up at Jess’s smug face. “You manipulative bitch,” he muttered.

Jess shot him a dirty look. “Shut up, no one asked you.” She stroked Gerard’s hair. “Don’t listen to them Gerard, you know they don’t like me.” Gerard nodded, believing every word that Jess had said.





















Rachel woke up in the hospital bed, still in her clothes. Confused, she sat up and looked around. She gingerly felt the top of her head, which was sore. There were wires and tubes connecting her to a machine next to the bed. The door to the room was wide open. Gerard was pacing back and forth in front of it. He stopped and looked inside. Seeing that Rachel was awake, he rushed over and hugged her.

“Rachel, we were all so worried,” he said, not letting go of her. “I’m so glad you’re ok.”

“What happened?” Rachel muttered sleepily.

Gerard looked at her. “You don’t remember?” He asked. “You fainted, and then you cracked your head.”

Rachel felt the tip of her head again. Gerard pulled her hand back down. “Don’t touch it,” he said. “What happened to our promise?” He asked. “To help each other through our problems? To not lie to each other?”

A tear rolled down Rachel’s cheek. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I… I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want you to know. I thought you’d turn you’re back on me, like all the others.”

“I’d never do that,” he said, wiping away her tears. “Why would you think that?”

“I already told you,” Rachel said, more tears falling. “No one ever cares about me. I never expected anyone to. Each person that came into my life left me worse than before. Why would you guys be any different?”

Gerard had a hurt expression. “Because we really do care about you,” he tried to calmly say. “It’s frustrating seeing you like this. Then Jess told me about your anorexia…”

“Jess?” Rachel asked. “Jess? Of course she would. She’s mad that I walked in on her doing heroine.”

“Jess? Heroine?” Gerard asked. He was starting to get angry. “Why should I believe you? You’ve already lied to me. Are you trying to get back at her for telling your secret?”

“I’m not,” Rachel said. “I swear, it’s the truth…”

“Forget it,” Gerard said, standing up and walking out of the room.

“Fine,” Rachel muttered. “Be like all the others.” Gerard didn’t reply, leaving Rachel to cry silently alone.

sry its kinda short... and not so good... i'm being rushed. :) i'll try to make the next chapter better!