The Rhythm of the Rain (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 17 - Don't You Leave

Lily Matthews

I went straight home and pulled a backpack out of the closet. I threw whatever I could into it, whatever clothes I came into contact with first. I was blinded by my own tears the entire time, but I didn't care. I held in the sobs but the let the tears flow freely. I rushed out of the house as quickly as I could, not wanting to be there when Patrick inevitably found a ride home. I left the keys to his car on the counter in the kitchen and took my own, hurrying out to my car that was parked in the garage.

I backed down the driveway haphazardly, narrowly missing our mailbox, and sped off down the road. I went to the nearest motel and asked for a room, deciding that maybe a week would be enough. If I needed more time, I could always pay for it after. I didn't plan on leaving him. I just needed to get away after witnessing that. I needed time to myself, and I knew Patrick would understand in the end. He would, wouldn't he?

I walked to my room and unlocked the door, letting myself into a rather questionable looking room. I hadn't chosen the best motel, but the cheapest. I sighed as I threw my bag down on the bed, suddenly realizing that I had taken Patrick's backpack and not one of my own. I wiped the tears that had been slowly drying on my cheeks, and sat down on the edge of the musty smelling bed. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and pulled it out, frowning at the name that lit up the screen. He couldn't think it would be that easy. I sighed again and dropped the phone, not caring that it fell on the floor, and laid back on the bed. I pulled myself into a fetal position and started crying again.

The image was burned into the back of my head. The smirk on his face and the look of satisfaction on hers. Who the hell was she, anyways? I closed my eyes tightly, trying to block out the image of her kissing Patrick. But it was that smirk on his face that wouldn't go away. It was that grin that wouldn't leave me alone, even as I eventually cried myself to sleep.

***

I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating on the hardwood floor. I sat up slowly, groaning and wiping my still damp cheeks. The second my eyes were open, I remembered the way she had kissed him; The way he had smiled. I reached for the phone, almost falling off the bed in the process, but pulled it into my hand and sat up against the headboard.

Andy Hurley flashed across the screen at me. I frowned; Andy never really called me for anything, he always texts. I almost answered it, when I remembered that Andy was the only sober one at the party when I had left. He had probably driven Patrick home. I set the phone down, still vibrating on the bed, and got up to wander into the little bathroom. Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized that I was a mess.

I was still in the red dress Patrick had bought me. My hair was all over the place, my eyes were bloodshot, and my makeup was running. I started washing my face at the sink, avoiding my own gaze in the mirror. When I had gotten my make up off I walked back out to the bedroom and peeled my dress off of myself. The second I laid it down on the bed, I succumbed to tears again and silent sobs that made me sit down and draw my knees up to my chest. I laid there in nothing but my underwear and cried again, when a sudden thought crossed my mind. What had I done that he wanted to let that girl kiss him? What had I failed to do for him?

It was my fault. Of course it was. I knew I wasn't good enough for him, and here it was, the day he figured it out. What if he didn't even want me to come back home? What if this was much easier, just letting me run away? The phone that was still vibrating on the other side of the bed said otherwise, but that was just Andy. Maybe Andy was just being a good friend and trying to get me back for him. He didn't really care. And Neither did Patrick, or he wouldn't have been smiling through that kiss. He would have pushed that girl off of him, like he did last time.