Saved - Ronnie Radke

Reconnecting

Juliet's POV

I mentally groaned, getting frustrated at the fact that my hair wouldn't stay the way I combed it. I looked at myself in the mirror, makeup, my hair curled, what was I thinking? It's just Ronnie.

"You look beautiful," Griffin said, standing behind me and placing a kiss on my neck. I bit my lip with a smile.

"Stop," I laughed.

"Stop what?" He asked, kissing me again.

I pushed him off with a laugh, "not now," I said, finishing my hair, "later."

He smirked and walked away just as I heard the doorbell ring. My eyes went wide as I ran down the stairs. I fixed my hair before opening the door.

There he stood, body filled with tattoos, longer black hair, facial hair. He'd gained a little weight too. He gave me a huge smile, opening his arms for a hug.

I snapped out of it, smiling back and embracing him. His hands wrapped around my waist, mine around his neck as I took a deep breath, smelling his familiar cologne.

I pulled away, looking up at him, "god, this is crazy," I laughed.

"It is," he chuckled.

Griffin cleared his throat behind me, "shit, I'm sorry, Ronnie, come in."

I closed the door behind him, watching as he looked around my house. "Nice place you got here," he said.

"It's home," I shrugged, "anyway," I pulled Griffin next to me, "this is Griffin, my boyfriend."

Griffin smiled at him, hold out his hand, "I love your music, man, I've been listening since day one."

Ronnie smiled, "thanks, I really appreciate it," and shook his hand.

I looked up at them, "well, come on, sit down," I said, leading us to the living room.

I sat on the couch, Griffin on my left and Ronnie on my right. "You look great," Ronnie said, breaking the silence.

I smiled, "thanks, you too."

"How'd you guys meet?" Ronnie asked.

"Oh," I laughed, "he picked me up on the side of the road after buying me food."

"Only a decent person would," Griffin laughed.

"I was technically homeless," I laughed.

Ronnie's smile disappeared, "dang, that's crazy."

"Yeah," I smiled, "what about you? Any girlfriend?"

He laughed, "fuck no, I don't have time for that."

"Understandable," I shrugged.

"Did you guys wanna go get some lunch or anything?" Ronnie asked.

"You two can, I gotta get to work," Griffin said, standing.

"What time do you get off?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Eight, I'll see you then baby," he kissed me. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. It wasn't because it was Ronnie, it was because I was never one for PDA.

Ronnie and I watched as he walked out the door, smiling at us before he closed the door. I smiled back at him before turning to Ronnie.

"Griffin's nice," Ronnie said, looking back at me.

I smiled, "yeah, he's given me everything I needed."

"You were homeless?" He asked.

I looked up at him, my smile gone, "yeah. After you left, I ran out of money for the hotel and decided I'd just start walking through the states. I didn't get far, clearly. Griffin had stopped to ask if I wanted food, got it, and came back, offering to take me somewhere. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I ended up living here with him. We've been together almost two years, two years this November."

Ronnie grabbed my hand, making me flinch, "I'm sorry," he said.

"It doesn't change anything," I shrugged, pulling my hand away.

"What happened with the drugs?" Ronnie asked.

"I went to rehab, admitted myself. I was there for six months," I answered.

"And the..." Ronnie said, looking down at my arm.

"I've been clean of alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and self harm for twenty two months."

"That's amazing," he smiled.

"I'm pretty proud of it," I smiled.

He laughed, "you should be. Anyways, do you wanna get some food?"

"I'll order it," I said, not feeling like going out.

We laughed and talked as we waited for our food to arrive. Ronnie had changed a lot, I could tell there was something off about him. We still hadn't talked about his past, just mine.

The doorbell rang, making me stand and walk to the door. I opened it, seeing a young girl hand me the food with a smile. I thanked her, closing the door and walking back to the couch.

I handed Ronnie his food, opening mine as well. "So," I said, my mouth full of food, "why'd you think leaving me would be the best thing to do?" I asked. I wasn't trying to be bitchy, it was a genuine question.

Ronnie's face went red as a look of guilt washed over him. "I..." he cleared his throat, "I couldn't watch you slowly kill yourself. It was a stupid idea to leave, I knew that I should've been there for you during it, but I couldn't watch it happen to you." He looked at me with sympathy.

"You know," I laughed, "I always thought it was because I finally had sex with you. You'd gotten what you wanted from me and left."

"God no," he said.

"Isn't that what's happening with the girls now?" I asked.

"Well, yeah, but I don't want a relationship with them," he said.

"And you wanted one with me?" I laughed in disbelief.

"Juliet, I was in love with you," he said.

"And I was in love with you too, but you left," I replied, "now look at us. You fucking new girls every night and me with a boyfriend of two years. We aren't the same, and it wouldn't have worked out."

"Juliet," he sighed, "do you not get how much I cared about you? I'm where I am today because of you, and I haven't forgotten that."

I was silent, continuing to eat my food. Ronnie kept staring at me as I ate, waiting for me to say something.

"He wants me to move to New York with him," I said, no emotion in my voice.

"New York? I can't imagine you wanting to do that," he said.

"I don't, and I can't even fucking tell him why. I can't tell a man who is madly in love with me that I don't love him and I can't move to New York with him," I raised my voice, "all because of my fucking father."

"Juliet, calm down," Ronnie said, grabbing my arms.

"No, Ronnie. You know how hard of a life I've had, and now he wants me to go back to that," I said.

"You need to tell him what happened in New York, everything that happened," he said.

I looked down, staring at my hands. I bit my lip, feeling Ronnie's hands still on my arms. The sensation made my skin tingle.

"God, my life is insane."