Last Hope (Kellin Quinn) {Book 3}

1. poems

Poems

Song: Demons by Imagine Dragons

I can't escape this now…

~Summer~

Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines 
he wrote a poem 
And he called it "Chops" 
because that was the name of his dog 
And that's what it was all about 
And his teacher gave him an A 
and a gold star 
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door 
and read it to his aunts 
That was the year Father Tracy 
took all the kids to the zoo 
And he let them sing on the bus 
And his little sister was born 
with tiny toenails and no hair 
And his mother and father kissed a lot 
And the girl around the corner sent him a 
Valentine signed with a row of X's 
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant 
And his father always tucked him in bed at night 
And was always there to do it 

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines 
he wrote a poem 
And he called it "Autumn" 
because that was the name of the season 
And that's what it was all about 
And his teacher gave him an A 
and asked him to write more clearly 
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door 
because of its new paint 
And the kids told him 
that Father Tracy smoked cigars 
And left butts on the pews 
And sometimes they would burn holes 
That was the year his sister got glasses 
with thick lenses and black frames 
And the girl around the corner laughed 
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus 
And the kids told him why 
his mother and father kissed a lot 
And his father never tucked him in bed at night 
And his father got mad 
when he cried for him to do it. 

Once on a paper torn from his notebook 
he wrote a poem 
And he called it "Innocence: A Question" 
because that was the question about his girl 
And that's what it was all about 
And his professor gave him an A 
and a strange steady look 
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door 
because he never showed her 
That was the year that Father Tracy died 
And he forgot how the end 
of the Apostle's Creed went 
And he caught his sister 
making out on the back porch 
And his mother and father never kissed 
or even talked 
And the girl around the corner 
wore too much makeup 
That made him cough when he kissed her 
but he kissed her anyway 
because that was the thing to do 
And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed 
his father snoring soundly

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag 
he tried another poem 
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing" 
Because that's what it was really all about 
And he gave himself an A 
and a slash on each damned wrist 
And he hung it on the bathroom door 
because this time he didn't think 
he could reach the kitchen.

I looked up from the book to see Kellin with a worried smile. He sipped the coffee in his hand slowly, the breeze around the small café giving us small chills. "I don't think I like that ending," he admitted. 

I closed The Perks of Being a Wallflower and set it down on the table we were sat at. Kellin and I decided that he would come to Oregon two weeks after Beth's wedding to talk. He made it to Oregon last night, twelve days since March fifth. He has a hotel near my home, close to a mall, and in walking distance with a Starbucks. 

All we've been talking about is how we've been, how good the coffee is, and the book I'm reading. I think it's because we don't need to discuss us anymore. I think we just know what we're going to do. I know we won't admit it though. Actions speak louder than words, correct?

I reached across the table to hold his hand. "That's what Charlie says in the book. I don't like it either, but I completely understand the poem. It's my favorite poem of all time, that's why I wanted to read it to you," I explained. 

"You wanna know my favorite poem?" I nodded excitedly. "Roses are red, violets are blue, you are beautiful, I lo-" I raised a brow. "I really like you."

"You were gonna say that you love me," I teased. 

"Shut up!" Kellin blushed. 

I bit my lip nervously. "I love you too, you know?"

"I know," he said. 

"Good. So really, what is your favorite poem?" I wondered. 

Kellin shrugged. "I don't really have one I guess."

"If it means anything, I loved your poem."

"The 'roses are red…' one?" Kellin laughed. In less than a second his smile faded and his laugh died down. A worrisome look appeared on his face. His eyebrows knitted together, his lips were slightly apart, and his blue-green eyes showed fear. 

"Kell, what's wrong?" I asked. 

"You're bleeding." I blinked in confused. "You're bleeding!" He leaned across the table, a napkin in hand, and pressed the soft paper under my left nostril. 

I didn't even realize my nose was bleeding. I'm sure it wasn't too much blood though. It could have been from my Starbucks cup when I brought it to my face for a drink. Maybe I hit my nose on the lid by accident? 

I stood up, taking the napkin from Kellin, and sighed. "Thanks for telling me, I don't think I would have noticed," I told him. "I'll be right back." He nodded as I scampered off to the ladies restroom inside of Starbucks. I grabbed more tissue paper to plug my nose with once I was in there. I looked in the mirror, noticing that the left side of my nose looked a pinkish red. I figured my idea was correct: I hit my nose shortly before the bleed. 

I took care of my bloody nose, making sure that it stopped bleeding completely before going back outside of the café to Kellin. "You okay, Sum?" he asked right away. 

I nodded and sat down in my seat. "Yeah, I probably just hit my nose or something. I'm fine now, of course." I took a final sip of my coffee before tossing it into a nearby trashcan. 

"Good. Great. I don't want you bleeding, in pain, or any other shit." Kellin smiled affectionately at me. 

"Thank you, asshole," I giggled. 

"What did I do now?!" 

"You're so cheesy with me, sometimes I think it's an act." I winked playfully at him. 

"Whatever. Excuse me for being a nice person. Not like you'd know how to be one or anything," Kellin said. 

"Whatever," I mocked. 

"In all seriousness, I'm glad you're fine. It could have also been the air out here. It's incredibly dry." He was right. But lets not dwell on the odd things my nose decides to do, shall we?

I stood up and moved to Kellin's side of the table to pull him to his feet. "Come on, lets go do something."

"Like what?" he asked as he threw his now empty cup away. 

"Well since I no longer have any dogs due to a fucking dick face," I shuttered as the memory of my neighbor accidentally running over Buddy and Pursie with his truck, "I was thinking we could go to the pet shop in the mall and look around. I've been thinking about getting another pet anyway," I explained. 

"Yeah, what kind of pet do you want now? A cat? A snake?" Kellin chuckled as he linked our arms together. It felt so good to have his arm around mine.

I turned to him, looked him dead in the eyes, and smirked. "No cat, no snake, and for sure no dog."

"Then what?"

"A rat!"

A/N: There we go! Chapter one of Last Hope, in my opinion, was a complete success. You guys are already getting to know Summer's secret before she even knows it! And this chapter was really good, like holy crap. Three cheers for me! Anyway, I just want to say a few things so please read. One, from now on the song of the chapter is going to be from a different genre than you guys expect. I'm talking Mumford & Sons, Imagine Dragons, Of Monsters & Men, etc. Why? Because I think that you guys should get to know the other music I listen to, aside from anything punk or hardcore. Two, I will be uploading about two or three chapters a month, and if you want the next chapter then I need ten comments on whatever chapter. I know, ten?! It's only because a) I want to know what you guys think of the chapter/sequel, and b) I want to know that someone is actually reading this. 

Anyway, remember to comment (ten comments for the next chapter), vote, and follow me. I'm close to 1,000 followers! Holy crap! Thank you guys and I love you. 

~Catt

P.S. Picture on the side is Summer.