Hold Me Close & Don't Let Me Fall ✓

Chapter 14

And that's where Frank found us 30 minutes later. I was sitting next to Mary on her bed, reading while she played around on her computer, using Fred as a lap desk. He comes and sits at the edge of the bed and both Mary and I pretend he's not there. "Nothing that happened today was your fault. I got mad at you; I was really mad at me. And the manufacturers of Legos, they should all be in prison. So... I'm sorry."

Neither Mary nor I look up at him. She might not be related to me by blood, but years of living in the same house together and her watching and following my every mood had left us with almost identical attitudes when we were hurting. "Do you forgive me?" She looks to me for guidance and I just shrug my shoulders. She's smart enough to make this decision for herself.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." She mumbles under her breath.

"Hey, close the laptop. Come on. Please. Doesn't count if it's not eye-to-eye." He tells her and I nod, knowing we needed to be united on this, even if all I wanted to do was beat him like a pinata at a child's birthday party.

She shuts the laptop and lets out a sigh that no little girl should be able to make. "Do you really have no life because of me?" She's not looking at me, so I level Frank with a glare, daring him to say something hurtful again.

"That's not what I said."

"Oh. Did you mean it?"

"Last month, you said that Georgia and I were the worst aunt and uncle in the world, and you wished death upon us cause we didn't buy you a piano. Did you mean that?" I chuckle a little at that.

"No." She says in a small voice. "Not entirely." I laugh right out at this point. These two were so similar it was no wonder they were constantly at each other's throats.

"Well... There you go. We say things all the time we don't mean. So... Let's forget it, ok?" he asks her.

"Ok." She agrees and I get up from the bed, giving her a kiss on her forehead. He goes to follow me as Mary calls out, "Frank?"

"Yeah?" he asks.

"Can I have a piano?" she asks.

"No." he answers quickly.

I'm waiting for him outside as we go to check the mail. "Did you really need to talk to either of us that way? I know you already apologized to her but that comment about time to yourself hurt me too. If you need a break, you know you can ask. She's our responsibility. That means we're in this together." He nods.

Frank has the mailbox open and is flipping through the mail when Roberta comes up to us. "I hear you both had a thrilling morning."

I roll my eyes. "We were in the comfort of our own home."

"And you saw how quickly Mary almost caught you guys. I have a book, called Fundamentals of Decision-Making. You can borrow it. Maybe then you won't do what you did this morning."

Frank opens a letter and scoffs, handing it to me. My eyes narrow as I read it and I hand it back to him. "What is it?" Roberta asks.

"It's nothing. Looks like Mary gets to go to Boston for a couple days." Frank answers. Roberta shakes her head and I'm trying to hold back tears. "It's just two days. Relax"

"Relax? Relax? I can't relax Frank. This woman, and the asshole father of mine that she hired, won't stop until they get her. It was bad enough losing Diane. I don't know what I'd do if we lost Mary." I say before walking home, but I hear Frank following a few steps behind me.

"Hey you." I say to Mary when we come in, finding her on the couch messing around on her laptop. "Hey, there's something that we need to talk to you about. Can you please put that to the side for now?"

She doesn't fight me on it. "You're not in trouble, so don't look at me like that. We just found out that you'll be going to Boston for the weekend with Evelyn."

"Why?"

"Because..." How was I supposed to answer that?

"She wants to show you around where your mom grew up." Frank answers for me.

"Ok, I guess." she says.

"I know that I shouldn't have to say this but try and be on your best behavior. She's going to be showing you off so try and not say anything mean about the people you meet, ok?"

"Yes Georgia."

"Good. She'll be by in the morning to pick you up, so let's get you a bag packed." I tell her.

"Please don't make me take a dress."

I laugh. "Believe me, as funny as that argument with Evelyn would be, she's a whole lot meaner than me." I say before I take her over to her dresser and we go through her clothes. "Now it'll be cooler in Boston so you're gonna need your jeans and long sleeves. Ok. I'm going to go look for your coat and I'm trusting you to actually pack while I'm looking for it, not just get out one of your books."

She sighs, "Fine." I smile at her before going over to the coat closet by the front door, with Frank following me.

"Are you going to be ok?"

"I have to be. If we show any negative attitude about this, my father will use it as leverage in the courtroom. So, I'll grin and bear it and they can't use this against me, against us. And as long as that fucker isn't with your mother when she comes to pick up Mary in the morning, you'll be fine." I say as I riffle through the closet full of coats we hardly use, before finding the one I was looking for.

"Ah ha. Mary I need you to try this on and make sure it still fits." I say, taking it over to her. I was shocked to see that she was packed, with clothes that matched, enough for the whole time she'd be gone. "Ok, who are you and what have you done with my niece?"

"I'm just really excited." she says, and I don't to look at Frank to know that that hurt him as much as it hurt me.

"Well, then let's get in your pjs and ready to go to sleep." I say behind a false smile.

...

That night, long after Mary finally exhausted herself, Frank and I still lay awake in our bed. "I hate this." I say, rolling over to face him.

"It's like you said earlier. We don't have a choice. So, I have a surprise for you. While Mary is gone this weekend, I am taking you out of town."

"To kill me?" I joke.

"No. It's the one place I promised to take you, but Mary absolutely detests it, so we've never gone."

My eyes light up. "You didn't!"

"I did. After Mary leaves in the morning, you and I are heading out."

"How did you afford this?"

"Well, we're not staying at the top tier hotel, but I was able to get us tickets and a room for the weekend."

"Frank, you're amazing! Thank you!" I say before kissing him and snuggling into his chest, falling into a light sleep while visions of elephants, bears, and thrills danced in my head.