Chateau <Joe Keery>

16 - Dont Leave Me.

It was a couple of days later and my family hadn't scared Joe away somehow. In fact, when I told him that he could fly back to LA, he insisted on staying with me, not that I minded. I actually preferred it that way. I don't know what I would've done without him during all of this.

It was later in the day and I was hanging out with Sydney, while Joe played some video games with my younger brother. We were talking for a good thirty minutes before she asked to talk to Joe alone, which surprised me a little. So I went to get Joe and brought him back to Sydney, then left them alone.
In the meantime, I decided to talk with my dad, who was in the garage.

"Hey, pumpkin," He spoke.

"Hey, Dad. What are you working on?" I asked, sitting on the chair across from him.

"Something for your sister, you'll see when it's finished." He said, setting it aside and focusing his attention on me. "So, that boyfriend of yours,"

"What about him?" I chuckled shortly.

"I like him, I think he's good for you. I really do," He gave me a warm smile.

"Good, I'm glad you think so, that means a lot to me," I replied, returning the smile.

Just then, the garage door opened, revealing my mother. "Dinner is ready,"

We both got up and found our way to the dining room, where I found Joe already sitting down. So I sat down next to him, grabbed a plate, and put some food on it. During our meal, I noticed that Sydney wasn't herself. She barely ate, she was exceptionally pale, and she hardly spoke either, which was unusual for her. I asked her if she was okay a few times but every time she said she was fine. I still didn't believe her though.

Turned out, I was correct. She wasn't okay. We all agreed it would be best to get her to a hospital quickly. But since getting an ambulance would have been way more expensive, my parents ended up driving her, while the rest of us stayed home and waited for them to call. Once they did it was too late. Sydney was gone.

-+-

I cried in my bed for the next few days before I went completely numb for a couple more days. I couldn't eat or shower or really do anything. All I did was sleep and stare at the tv. I couldn't get up, no matter how hard I tried and no matter how much anybody tried. My parents, my brothers, and not even Joe could get me out of my room.

So that's where I was, in my room, on my 13th hour of sleep, but it didn't feel like I had been sleeping at all. Then my sleep was interrupted by who I assumed to be Joe trying to get me to eat once again. I opened my eyes slowly, confirming that was in fact Joe with a plate of food for me.

"Hey, gorgeous," He spoke, softly, setting the plate on my nightstand and sitting by my side.

I turned around to face him before speaking quietly. "Hi,"

"You wanna try to eat?" I shook my head, making him sigh. "Baby, you got to eat something,"

I sat up slightly, taking the sandwich off the plate and taking a small bite of it. Joe smiled at me as he rubbed my back with one hand, the other resting on my knee.

"Thank you," He whispered, kissing the side of my head.

As sad as I was, I knew I needed to have something in my stomach. Also, I was tired of feeling nauseous due to not eating.

"I have to leave tomorrow," Joe said, making me look at him. "I have an interview, but you say the word and I'll stay right here,"

"No, Joe, you can't put your life on hold because I'm going through something, that's not fair. Plus, I think I wanna go home too," I replied.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, I thought about it. Sydney specifically told me to not let this ruin me. I can be sad but I need to get out of bed every morning and function like normal."

"Okay, then I'll take you with me tomorrow."

-+-

So, that's what happened. The next day we flew back to LA, even after my mother begged us to stay. I tried to explain that we needed to get back home, but she didn't care to listen. Instead, she called me an 'unlovable whore' as I walked out the door. All because I wanted to go home with Joe.

We finally made it back to my apartment and I immediately laid down on my bed. Joe joined me soon after, wrapping his arms around my waist and nestling his head in my neck. He could tell I was upset by what my mom said, I knew that, but I still wasn't going to talk about it.

"Do you want to talk?" He asked, softly and I shook my head in response, staring up at the ceiling. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just don't leave me please," I whispered, pulling him closer to me.

"I would never,"

***

(A/N - sorry for the short chapter, I just wanted to get something out.)