I Could Be Him (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 4 - You Were the Last Good Thing

                  

Patrick

            The next day, I drove straight over to Pete's. He had blown up my phone all night, but I was too upset to answer him. On one hand, I'm sure it was hard enough just for her to admit that Josh was, in fact, physically abusive. I may have been asking too much for her to just up and leave right then and there, but I was still angry that she would intentionally put herself in that predicament.

            When I got to Pete's, he answered the door almost immediately, with Bronx on his heels. "Uncle Patrick!" The little one gasped, running past his father to jump into my arms. I smiled for a brief moment as I said good morning to him, but frowned over his head as I looked at Pete. He frowned back, and I could almost hear him gritting his teeth, already, getting himself worked up. I finally set Bronx down and walked inside with him, Pete closing the door behind us.

            "Hey, Bronx," Pete said as he followed us to the living room, "Why don't you go and play in your room for a little bit? Uncle Patrick and I need to talk." Bronx looked at both of us a little sadly, wishing we could play with him, but he did as his father asked and went to his room to play. Once he was gone, Pete looked at me expectantly.

            I wasted no time getting to the point. "It's Josh."

            Pete nodded, biting his lip as he looked down at the floor. "What did she say?"

            I quickly recounted the events of last night, skipping the part where I had almost cried, and Pete paced back and forth across his living room. When he didn't say anything in response to what I had told him, I sat down on the couch and looked up at him. "What are we supposed to do?"

            "We call the cops," Pete stated, pulling his phone out as if it were that easy. I stood back up and put my hand over the phone. He glared at me.

            "We don't have any evidence, Pete. And she'll never testify against him."

            "Why wouldn't she?"

            "She couldn't even admit it to me, why would she admit it to a room full of strangers? She still sees the Josh she fell in love with, Pete. Trust me, I've been up all night thinking about it, and it's the only reason I can understand that would explain why she wants to protect him so badly. She doesn't know how to leave him."

            Pete stared at me, and I could tell he knew I was right, even if he didn't want to admit it. "Fine," he finally said, walking past me to head down the hallway to his bedroom. I followed hesitantly, questioning what he was doing. "I'm going to their apartment," he said, very matter-of-factly. "I want to look this bastard in the eyes. I want to know why he thinks he can lay a hand on my little sister and get away with it."

            "So you're just going to walk in there an intimidate him?" I asked, sarcastically.

            Pete looked at me like it was obvious. "Yes." He started pulling clothes out of his closet, and I realized that he was still in pajama pants. He pulled on a shirt and changed his pants, not caring that I was still in the room. I've shared a tour bus with him for far too long for it to really matter anymore.

            Nevertheless, I was courteous enough to look away while he changed. My eyes fell on a picture on his bedside table. It was a picture of him and Ashley, from just a few years ago, before Josh was in her life. She was smiling, and she looked genuinely happy. She looked beautiful, in a way I haven't seen her look since. I wanted nothing more than for her to look like that again; Bright, happy, excited, and beautiful. She was still beautiful, don't get me wrong, but there was a special kind of beauty in her eyes when she genuinely smiled at you. Like there couldn't possibly be anything wrong, as long as that girl was smiling.