|Concrete and Gold||dave grohl|

Chapter Nineteen•Walking After You

She checked the number hanging above the door about three times before knocking. Once she was sure it was his, she lifted her hand and knocked. After about three seconds, Dave whipped open the door.

They stood there for a moment, both honestly shocked to be in each other's presence again.

"I was afraid you weren't going to come." Dave said sheepishly.

Eliza stepped into his hotel room, allowing him to shut the door behind her. They both stood in the enterance to his room for what felt like an eternity, neither of them knowing what each other's plans were.

"Wanna come sit?" Dave asked motioning towards the few chairs in his hotel room.

"Sure." She said, following him towards the bed. She took a seat at the desk chair and he plopped down on his bed.

They both sat, just afraid to break the silence that had grown between them.

"So, you like Nirvana?" Dave asked in an attempt to make a joke.

"I've actually tried to avoid it at all costs." She admitted. If she was being honest with herself, this conversation with Dave was like a breath of fresh air. It's like she had found a part of her that was missing for so long. She immediately felt like her eighteen year old self, a girl who was just madly in love with Dave Grohl.

"Well, you were just front row at a show, so it seems like you did a shitty job avoiding it."

"I couldn't get out of going. Trust me, I tried."

"Who was that you were with?" Dave asked. Eliza could hear his voice shift from being shy to becoming angry, likely because he was reminded of how she was acting during the show.

"My boyfriend." She asserted.

Dave looked down at his feet, which were dangling off the edge of his bed. He still wore the ratty old black vans that he sported while they were together.

"Not much has changed." Eliza thought.

"How long have you two, uh, been together?" He asked, Eliza picking up on the sadness in his voice.

"About a year." Eliza responded.

"Are you happy?" Dave looked up, meeting his eyes with hers. She could see the profound sadness that was lingering behind his dark brown eyes. For a moment, she felt herself begin to feel bad for him. The thought only lasted for a second, however, as she was reminded why they weren't together in the first place.

"And why do you care? You're the one who cheated on me. What's it matter to you if I'm happy, Dave?"She could feel the anger swelling in her chest as she firmly spoke.

"I still care about you."

"You cheated on me. Are you forgetting that? Why on earth would I believe a word that comes out of your mouth right now?"

"Eliza, you're the love of my life. This past year has been a living hell without you by my side. Every morning I wake up and I have to stop myself from calling you, begging you to come back. I made a mistake. I know it was a big one, believe me, not a day goes by that I don't hate myself for it."

Eliza sat there, arms crossed, not knowing what to say. She should hate Dave. She should hate every single molecule in his body. He led her on for months, leading her to believe that he was still acting faithful in their relationship. But behind her back, he was with other women. He had done absolutely nothing to win back her trust. But ever since she arrived at his hotel, Eliza had felt a strange sense of calm washing over her. It was like the good old days. She felt like she was back in Virginia, watching him skateboard past her window every few hours. She felt like she was still backstage at his Scream shows, cheering him on for every second that he was on that stage. She felt like a kid again, not truly knowing what real love is, but needing it like she needed to breathe.