Cemetery Drive

I jolted awake, confused by my surroundings for a minute until out of the corner of my eye I saw Frank’s Bouncing Souls poster hanging across from the bed; I looked over at the alarm clock on the nightstand wondering what time it was; 4:38 am read the green numbers, explaining why is was so dark outside still. I travelled my gaze across the empty bed wondering where Frank had gone; I got up out of the warm bed and hissed when the cold air hit my still naked body. Finding one of Frank’s shirts laying in a heap on the floor I pulled it over my head, exiting his open bedroom door and creeping down the hallway, I entered the kitchen and saw the patio door cracked open a few inches; he was sitting in one of the lawn chairs puffing away on a cigarette, staring up at the night sky. I watched him for a few minutes, through the patio door; his features illuminated from the glow of the moon and the cigarette he was inhaling, I could see his lip ring glint in the dark, as his hand ran through his hair before coming to rest on his knee. I almost didn’t want to disturb him; he looked so peaceful, but I opened the patio door anyway, stepping out into the chilly air, instantly bringing my arms around myself, trying desperately to hold in any heat.

Frank heard the sound of the door and peered over his shoulder at me; he smiled and held his hand out.

“I woke up and you were gone…”

His face fell, but his hand stayed outreached.

“I’m sorry; I couldn’t sleep so I came out here. I didn’t want to wake you.”

I walked towards him and grabbed his hand, he pulled me onto his lap wrapping his arms around me, encasing me in his warmth; he nuzzled his face into my hair, drawing a sigh for my lips.

“Cold?”

He asked, feeling me shiver slightly against him.

“Yeah, a little.”

My head was rested on his shoulder, and my body pressed against him soaking in any heat he was giving off. He gently pushed me off of him and got up going into the house and emerging a few moments later with a blanket tucked under his arm. He sat in the chair once again and I returned to my place on his lap. He draped the blanket over us, my body instantly warming.

“Better?”

I nodded against his shoulder, and brought the blanket up under my nose. I felt Frank reach to the side table on his right, and heard him light a smoke, offering it to me and lighting another for himself.

“Thank you, how did you know I needed one?”

He chuckled into my hair.

“When do you not need one is the better question.”

We both laughed at the statement, and then fell back into silence; his hand finding mine as he knotted our fingers together. I finished my smoke, and extinguished in the ashtray, Frank doing the same shortly after.

We stayed sitting in that chair together for some time, smoking and watching the sun slowly come up over the houses across the alley, lighting the sky and warming the air. Birds were starting to wake; their chirps and tweets the only sound we heard.

“So I guess high school is done.”

I nodded at his statement, not knowing where he was taking this, yes high school was over and summer was just around the corner. I was moving into my own apartment in a couple weeks; my dad would be paying the rent and bills, also giving me a monthly allowance for food and such. He wanted me to be taken care of so I could concentrate on writing full time and not having to worry about a job. I couldn’t have had it better, and I was very grateful of the opportunity to pursue my passions; the only thing I had yet to think about was Frank. What was going to happen to us? I knew he had gotten a college scholarship, but nothing was ever said after that; I guess we let time get the best of us, and now we could possibly be living in different towns, maybe states.

My heart clenched at the thought, and I hastily lit a cigarette. Over the past few weeks I kept trying to push these thoughts into the back of my mind, but they kept coming back to gnaw at the edges of my brain like starved wild dogs.

“Hey, you okay?”

He must have noticed my body tense, and the quick shift in my mood.

“I can’t help but think what’s going to happen to us when summer is here. We’ve never really
talked about it, and I know you’ve got a scholarship somewhere, and I want you to go and pursue your dreams. I want you to be happy, but I want to be selfish too and keep you here for myself, is that wrong?”

He traced his fingers down my face, leaning his forehead against mine.

“Nicole, you need to know some things. One, I didn’t take the scholarship I would have only been in Newark but I declined it; college just isn’t for me right now. And two I have been talking with your Dad...”

I cut him off.

“You’ve been what?”

I shot him an angry glare over my shoulder, what the fuck was he doing talking to my Dad?

“Just listen to me for a second, it happened a few weeks ago when I told him I declined the scholarship, you were in the shower or something, and he asked me what I wanted to do with my life, so I told him.”

“And what exactly do you want to do with your life Frank? This is the first I have heard about any of this.”

“I know and I’m sorry, I didn’t think about it and I was going to tell you last night, but that obviously didn’t happen. Anyways we talked for a long time and I told him I wanted to maybe try the music thing. Maybe start a band and play some shows, so the thing is, he ah… well he said that he was fixing you up real nice in an apartment here in Belleville, so you could explore your passions, and that every kid should get to do that.”

“Go on.”

“Well he told me that I would have to talk it over with you but, with us being so close and everything, he said that if you agreed he would let me move in with you and we can both follow our dreams.”

I sat motionless and speechless; this was just like my Dad, he couldn’t help himself giving kids anything so they could live out their dreams. My Dad and Frank got along famously and my Dad had always wanted for a son. It all made sense now, how my Dad was letting me spend the night at Frank’s house, how Frank was always welcome to come over and eat dinner with us or just hang out. Frank and my Dad had almost a father-son relationship; no wonder my Dad was doing this.

“Are you fucking serious?”

He gave me a crooked smile and nodded. I didn’t know if I should slap or kiss him.

“You bastard! Why did you wait to tell me? I’ve spent weeks thinking about how when the summer rolls around we were going to have to say goodbye, but no you’re moving in with me! You’re a fucking asshole Frank.”

He laughed at my outburst and placed his lips on mine.

“I’m sorry baby, your Dad swore me to secrecy until prom night, he said that if we lasted this long and still had strong feelings for each other then I could go ahead and tell you.”

I was still sitting there trying to process everything that had happened in the last ten minutes; frustrated I snatched a smoke from the pack sitting on the table, lit it, and continued to fume.

“Hey, I love you and it killed me to keep this a secret for so long, I wanted to tell you I swear.”

After hearing Frank say he loved me I let the build-up of tears escape my eyes, I didn’t even know why I was crying. I was livid and ecstatic all at the same time. He noticed me crying and wiped the tears from my face, kissing my lips and holding me close.

I let the tears dry completely before I spoke again.

“Promise me you won’t keep anymore secrets from me Frank, I obviously can’t handle it.”

“I promise babe.”

I turned to face him and brought my hands to his face, still not believing that this was happening; but then again this is my dad and stranger things have happened. His eyes bore into mine, making me forget how mad I was, before kissing my lips softly.

The sun was now almost over the houses and morning was in full swing, but I was still exhausted. I sat up clutching the blanket around me and reached for Frank’s hand.

“Come back to bed with me?”

He grasped my hand and followed me back into the house, closing the patio door behind him.

We made it back into Frank’s room where I got back under the covers while Frank stripped himself of his jeans and shirt, climbing in beside me and taking me in his arms.

“Pretty soon we’ll get to do this every day.”

I said; though my voice was muffled by the blankets.

“I know baby, pretty soon we’ll never have to be apart again.”

I looked up and him, smiling and getting one in return before Frank moved so he was straddling me once again. The dim sunlight through the blinds played across his face, and made his dark hair shimmer in the light; I reached up and cupped his face in my hand, bringing it down so I could taste his lips.

He was always so gentle at first but with passion and desire building up in both of us our kissed soon grew deeper and our clothes thrown onto his carpet; the later sounds of our love making filling the room.

Notes