Return To Me, My Love

The next morning I wake up with an arm wrapped tight around my waist, a warm body pressed to my back and I tense up for a second before last night comes flooding back to me and I relax again, melting back into Bert's chest as I let myself enjoy the closeness. Ten minutes after I wake up Bert stirs behind me, his arm leaving my waist as he rolls onto his back, stretching out a little before he sits up and glances down at me, a small smile spreading across his lips before he says "I'm glad we never did that years ago, I would never have appreciated it fully back then." I feel my cheeks turn pink as he smiles wider and I can't help but smile back, feeling no regret at all for what happened last night. I sit up too, stretching a little and when I turn my head to look at Bert again he leans in and catches my lips in a soft kiss again, slowly moving his lips with mine before pulling away and saying "Thank you for last night, it was really great." I nod in agreement, unsure of what to say and Bert chuckles as he climbs off the bed and says "Its ok Gee, it doesn't have to be awkward or dramatic or anything. We're friends, that's all and we're both free to make those kinds of decisions, I'm not going to cause you drama or call you a million times and beg to do it again. It was amazing but if one night was all it was meant to be then that's ok, we can still be friends and it will be alright." I sigh in relief, dragging myself off the bed and stumbling across to Bert where I wrap my arms around him in a hug. "Thank you" I tell him, feeling his arms slip around my waist again and when we pull apart he finishes getting dressed before saying "We should definitely hang out more now you're back in the city, I had a lot of fun catching up last night." "Yeah of course, I'll call you and we can organise something" I tell him and Bert smiles as he pulls his shoes back on before stepping over and sliding his hand around to cup the back of my cheek. "I don't just want to see you socially, if you need someone to talk to you call me ok? I'll always be there." I nod, feeling a sense of relief wash through me as I realise I not only lost Frank but I lost my best friend and confidant in losing Ian too. Bert continues to stare into my eyes for a few seconds before he leans in and kisses me one last time, just a soft slow movement of lips before he pulls back and says "I'll see you around Gee."

After Bert leaves I grab some clean jeans and one of Franks old vintage band shirts that happened to be mixed in with mine, figuring that will help me fit in at the store before getting in the shower, washing myself thoroughly before getting out and drying off. Once I have my clean boxers on I step over to look in the mirror, patches on my chest and side still bruised and when I let my gaze drift up to my face I sigh to myself as I reach up to run my fingers through my hair, pushing it back off my face as I focus on my eye, the skin no longer swollen and it's not immediately obvious I've had a black eye but if you look close enough you can see the skin looks darker under one eye than the other, looking like one eye didn't get enough sleep compared to the other and just above that I see the scar from where I split my forehead open, the pink line running almost halfway across my forehead and I make a mental note to pick up some concealer on my way home, hoping from now on I'll be able to cover it. I grab my toothbrush, brushing my teeth before I get dressed incase I spill or dribble any on myself and after I've rinsed my mouth out I grab my clothes and get dressed, heading for the bedroom to pull on my shoes and once I'm fully ready I grab my phone and see I have half an hour to get to the store so I grab my keys and wallet and head out, no sign of Mikey and Pete anywhere so I figure they're still passed out recovering from last night, the living room and hallway a mess of empty cups and bottles and I sidestep it all on my way out.

My first day of work passes quickly, the manager a nice guy who takes a relaxed attitude towards his job so it's not as stressful as I feared it could be. I learn almost everything, the different sections of the store, how to work the register and how to hold items and order items in for customers and I make four sales, the day being kinda slow but after my first two sales I get out on the floor when someone comes in, offering help and making suggestions when I know what they're talking about and by the time my shift is over the manager smiles and says "You're a natural, you're quite knowledgable about music, you must be a big music lover and...." "Actually I learned a lot from my husband, he's in a band and he's a massive fan of pretty much all music." "Oh nice, does his band play shows? I'd love to see them in action." "Yeah they're in..." But I'm cut off by the next song coming on over the speakers, Franks voice sounding out around the store and I swallow hard, the manager looking at me strange until I say "That's him, actually. They're in New Zealand at the moment." "Your husband is Frank Iero?" He asks, mispronouncing our last name and I nod, not bothering to correct him. He continues to stare at me for a few long seconds before he smiles and says "I thought you looked familiar, I've been trying to place you all day. So weren't you on tour with them for a while?" "Yeah, um it's not like public knowledge so please don't say anything but we're separated for right now." "Oh" he says, his eyes widening and his smile drops as he says "Yeah of course I won't say anything, I'm sorry." "It's ok" I tell him, glancing at the clock and I see its time for me to leave, the manager showing me how to clock out before telling me when to come for another shift and once I step out onto the street I start to head home, stopping for pizza for the three of us and by the time I get to the apartment it has been cleaned up but Mikey and Pete are laying on the couch together, both of them whining and groaning as the tv plays low in the background and I chuckle to myself as I sit the pizza boxes on the table. "You guys want a beer?" I ask, smirking to myself and Mikey groans out "Oh fuck off." "Overdid it last night?" I ask, finding it amusing that they still have hangovers at four in the afternoon and Pete lifts his hand to lazily give me the finger before the scent of the pizza hits him and his eyes snap open, a grin spreading across his face as he says "I knew there was a reason I love you Gee." I laugh to myself as I leave the room, kicking off my shoes by the front door before going into my bedroom and changing into pyjama pants and another tshirt, stopping by the kitchen for some cokes on my way back to the living room and Mikey, Pete and I start a stupid horror movie as we settle back and eat, the day being the best one I've had in a long time and I can't help the smile that's plastered on my face.

Notes

I figured Gerard needed a break from drama for atleast one chapter