-Beths POV-
He didn't answer.
Not the first time I called. Not the second. Not the sixth or seventh.
I don't know why I kept dialing his number. It was obvious he didn't want to talk to me. I buried my hand between my knees. I'd shut out my own brother, the one person who would always be there.
Maybe I could see him?
I had to talk to him. Everything was falling apart, and I didn't know if I could take much more heartbreak. I just needed to see Nathan. I just needed to hug him. Seeing him would let me know everything would be fine.
Everything's going to be fine.
I stood up shakily, looking down at the boxes in defeat. I couldn't carry them back to Gerard's place, it would take me ages.
I decided to just call Gerard. Maybe he could even take me to Nathan's place.
I grabbed my phone, shivering as I held it up to my ear.
-Gerard's POV-
"It's her..." I whispered bleakly, staring at Franks glowing phone screen.
"We can't... You can't... Don't answer. Not yet." Frank could hardly form a coherent sentence as the ringtone echoed throughout the room.
"Make it stop." I finally stated, feeling my arm beginning to shake. "MAKE IT STOP!" I screamed, dropping the phone to the floor and covering my ears with my hands. "FUCK I CANT DO IT. I CANT LISTEN TO ANOTHER CALL THAT WONT BE ANSWERED!"
"Well do you want to answer it?" Frank stood up.
"I can't do it. You do it. I can't...I don't want to hear her voice." I repeatedly ran my hands through my hair.
Frank glared at me, before answering the call, hands shaking.
"Beth?" He spoke first.
"Yeah, yeah he just--he uh couldn't answer the phone right now."
"You're what?"
"Where?"
"Okay that sounds fi---" he didn't that last sentence as his eyes immediately darted to mine, his face turning a ghostly pale. "On- One moment." He stuttered before muting the call.
"What? What's wrong?"
"She um--she asked to see Nathan or if we could take her to his place."
"We can't--This'll---This isn't happening. Holy shit. This isn't---" I felt my heart rate steadily increase as panic wracked my body.
Frank was trying so hard to keep his cool, hold his tears in, anything to sound calm.
He resumed the call. "Yeah Nathan's out right now."
"Uh huh."
"Yeah, wait-"
"Oh okay-"
"Okay."
"Bye-..."
He hung up the phone.
Looked at it in his hand.
And then immediately slung it at the wall.
"FUCK!" He screamed.
Even though it was my phone he had thrown, I didn't care.
"What'd she say?" I rasped.
"She wanted--she wanted to see Nathan. And she-she wanted us to tell her--to tell her" Frank kept stuttering and hesitating to say the rest of the sentence.
"She wanted us to tell her when Nathan would be back." He finally choked out.
"I-I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. Should we tell her?..."
"She's going to-she's going to figure out eventually. You can't hide the fact that someone is-is---" Frank struggled to continue, but I knew what he was trying to say.
You can't hide the fact that someone is dead. If there's anything definite in this world, it's death.
There's no coming back from it.
There's no hiding it.
And it always has its funny way of finding you.
-Brendon's POV-
I felt bad about leaving him alone. Nathan seemed pretty shaken up, but sometimes people just need a couple of minutes to themselves to calm down. I figured going out and grabbing some cigarettes for him would help calm his nerves. Nathan was my best friend, a solid guy--- no matter what he'd done in the past.
He'd always cared. Cared for all of us. Even though we were all around the same age, Nathan was like a big brother. He was a leader, and not one that ahead just because he was feared. Nathan obviously made mistakes like the rest of us, but he was always the one working the hardest to clean up the mess.
He had the most empathy too. I remember when I first met the guy, right after university had started. He'd eventually told me about his sister and the home life he'd left her behind with. I knew he wouldn't admit it, but there had been drunken nights where I saw him cry. I didn't know it all, Nathan didn't like to talk about it, but I knew their dad was a deadbeat. Your typical abusive, alcoholic, shitty father.
That thought made me shiver for a moment, knowing full well that he was in the ground now.
That situation had been a perfect example really of just the type of guy Nathan was. After everything his father had done to him, his mother, and Beth- he still tried to save the guy. Or atleast keep him alive.
I've seen him go through a lot in the past four years, the recent two being the worst. Mikey's death, Gerards mental breakdown, Eric, the killings; the guy never caught a break. And never did he fail to try and fix everything or keep everybody calm. I saw him take care of Gerard at his worst. I saw him do so many things, but I guess that was just it; a person can only hold so many people up until they themselves break down.
And I could tell that's exactly what was happening to Nathan. What was happening to Beth was killing him. He had already been racked with guilt over leaving her, and now looking at what lifestyle she was falling into was stressing him even more. Nathan loved Beth. That's what he'd gotten so angry when Gerard showed an "interest". He knew who Gerard was, and he knew who she was. He had gotten scared at the possibility of that outcome.
More than anything he just didn't want her getting hurt. The situation with Eric was stressful enough, and that ordeal is already beginning to break apart at the seams. Having Beth here just made it that much worse though, so was a responsibility he didn't have enough energy to withhold, and that cracked him.
I was so deep in thought that I almost missed the sight. It surprised me at first. The day was cold. It was windy, and dead leaves made their way across the pavement, dark clouds swirling above.
I almost didn't recognize her. She was sitting in the middle of the pavement, two large boxes by her side. She didn't see me because she was staring intently at her phone, as if she were waiting for a call.
"Beth?" I questioned as I crossed the street to meet her.
Her eyes widened when she looked up at me."Brendon?" she replied.
"What the hell are you doing out here? It's freezing... And--and what are the boxes for?" I asked, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Oh---oh I'm moving onto campus." She looked down again. "I just had to um--I had to get my stuff. I made it as far as I could, but I couldn't carry both boxes---And I tried to call---" she hesitated for a moment, "I tried to call Nathan, but he wouldn't pick up."
Obviously she wasn't telling me everything, but I decided now was not the moment to play twenty questions. She wasn't in the state to do that, and I could tell.
"Nathan and Is place isn't far from here. It's a quick walk. Let me help you carry your stuff there, and maybe you could talk to Nathan?"
She looked up, seeming surprised by my offer. "Would you...Would you really? I know he doesn't want to talk to me right now but... I need my brother Brendon."
I don't know why I didn't notice it before, but she had been crying. And everything got even more complicating when she stood up. There was a thin cut on her throat with some smeared blood around it. I immediately got worried. Had Gerard done that? I wouldn't put it past him, but like I had decided before, now wasn't the time to talk about it. I needed to get Beth out of the cold. Finally Seeing her might also make Nathan feel better as well. They could finally sort some things out.
So that was the plan. I grabbed one box, Beth grabbed the other, and we made the silent trek back to the apartment building.
There was something off when we got there though. Gerards car was in the parking lot, and I knew for sure that he and Nathan were definitely not on speaking terms right now. Hell, the guy just made him bury his own father. If Gerard was stirring shit, I was going to get really pissed.
I didn't clue Beth in though. I just hoped maybe Frank had borrowed Gerards car to come visit or something. So we walked up to the entrance, and I opened the door.
"Hey Nat---"
...
....
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GOD IM SO SORRY
ITS BEEN A MONTH I KNOW
BUT I JUST FINISHED EXAMS
AND EVERYTHIS IS SO STRESSFUL RIGHT NOW
IM TRYING TO KEEP MY PARENTS FROM KILLING EACHOTHER, SO THAT HAS DISTRACTED ME
BUT YEAH
I HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS OKAY
ILL DO BETTER NEXT CHAPTER
ITLL BE WAY MORE INTERESTING I PROMISE
YOU ALL MEAN SO MUCH TO ME
THANK YOU AND IM SORRY