Light My Way Back Home •Patrick Stump+Fall Out Boy•

Chapter Twenty Eight: You Know That I Can't Do This On My Own

||Cole Wentz||First Person||

His hands are wrapping tightly around my throat as he shoves my head down angrily to the bottom of the pool. He's in the water now, his clothes soaked as he tries his best to silence me forever. I squeeze my eyes shut because they're burning now, the water around my leg turning redder as more and more blood seeps out of the bullet would in my calf. The pain is intense but dull, a throb in my leg that I can't exactly ignore but I don't necessarily feel. I guess the lack of air is getting to me, because it's getting mire and more difficult to form proper, coherent thoughts in my oxygen deprived brain. When my eyes slip open again, I'm staring right into the piercing gaze of Derek Skinner.

He's just another human being, I remind myself.

A despicable one.

I try to raise my arms for a moment and punch him, but underneath the weight of the water, they feel like pounds of lead. I'm stuck in place, unable to muster the strength to knock this- what? 200 pounds?- heavy dude off of me.

His eyes are hard and unmoving, as if this isn't fazing him the least bit- y'know, drowning the girl he claims to be so in love with. My heartbeat slows down or increases, I don't know, I'm not paying attention to that. I lock onto his eyes, determined to make him watch the life leave my body, wanting this moment to haunt him. Elisa and Katherine wouldn't make him toss and turn at night, but I would make him go crazy, I just know it.

"Why won't you just die?" Derek is saying, his hands shaking tremendously as he tries to keep me under. "Just die!" I don't know if the tears behind Derek Skinner's eyes are a figment of my own imagination or if he's genuinely crying, but I don't soften my glare as slowly, my body becomes limp.

"I'm home!" I call out as I step into the apartment, dropping the keys in the bowl by the coat rack. I know that Patrick and Maya are home right now because their jackets are up and Patrick's fedora is on a hook. I sigh tiredly and kick my black Vans off, pulling my phone out of my back pocket as I turn to walk down the hall to the living room.

"MOMMY!" Maya screams loudly, and although it isn't pronounced properly, I get that she's referring to me. She shoots out of the living room at top speed and is heading right towards me as fast as her little legs can carry her. I yelp in surprise, scooping her up right before she crashes into my body, holding her to my body as I tickle her stomach and smother her cheeks in kisses. Maya giggles loudly and laughs, burying her face in my neck as I rock us back and forth right there, holding my daughter to my chest. Patrick steps into the hall donning black sweatpants, a grey t-shirt, and his glasses over the bridge of his nose. He blushes and smiles when he sees me, looking down at his 'unflattering' attire which just made him even hotter. I giggle and move towards him with Maya still clinging to my shirt, leaning in to press my mouth to his in a sweet kiss. There's still that feeling there, stronger than ever, and I can't imagine a time where I wasn't totally and utterly infatuated with Patrick Stump.

-

"Say mercy!" Patrick laughs loudly, his hands everywhere on my body as he tickles me and pins me to the King sized bed. I giggle loudly and swat his hands back, trying to push him away when I really wanted him to stay right here.

"Never!" I say stubbornly, laughing even louder when his fingers are strumming against my sides and then that spot behind my ear.

"I'm waiting!" Patrick eggs on, tickling me with even faster and fluid movements, sending me into a fit.

"I-" I don't let myself finish.

"What was that?" His fingers are teasing the back of my knees now. "I couldn't hear what you said!"