Erroneous (Andy Biersack)

Chapter 38

~Andy Biersack~

It was Thanksgiving Day and we were sitting around the table with my family. I was happy here, with Jade's hand in mine and the smiling faces of my family surrounding me. Nothing had really changed between Jade and I. We still held hands, and kissed, and she still wore my clothes. Jade seemed relieved. She didn't have the weight of Juliet and the public on her shoulders. All of that had gone away when I announced the engagement had been called off. Of course it was a lie but, it did help a lot. Juliet of course had a few snarky comments about the decision but, Jade and I didn't hold a grudge and put it behind us. The being friends thing had not only helped Jade, but also me.
I knew nothing had changed and the two of us still acted and treated each other the same, but the 'just friends' thing did help me get to know Jade. I didn't know she hated Chinese food or that she was horribly allergic to bees. Now I did and I felt a whole lot better about the idea of us. She squeezed my hand as my dad asked, "So, Andy, how has tour been so far?"
"Uh, it's been pretty great. I mean, I got engaged to my best friend, met some great new people, met my little niece Ginger-"
My nine year old cousin Bailey cut me off, "You have a niece? And you're engaged? Can I be in the wedding?" She squealed the last part.
"Well, my niece is called Ginger and it's not biological. She's Ashley's daughter. You remember Ash right?" Bailey nodded. "And I'm engaged to this lovely lady right here." I held up Jade and I's connected hands. I didn't answer her last question. She didn't seem to notice and smiled at Jade before diving back into her food. Jade picked at her food. She'd been eating like a bird lately. She never ate much anyways but, this was not enough to be healthy. I usually just shared Oreos with her as we watched movies from the eighties at midnight in my dad's guest room and that's sometimes all she's eaten.
Jade released my hand and stood up quite quickly. She pushed in her chair and asked, "May I please be excused?"
"Sure honey," Aunt Jenny told Jade. She nodded and quickly rushed upstairs.
I knew Jade hated it when I mentioned the engagement. She didn't like talking about it or hearing about it. Aunt Jenny's seventh husband, Geoff, I think it was spoke, "Is she alright? You should probably go check on your girlfriend..."
"She's not my girlfriend," I sighed.
Geoff looked up, "Oh sorry son. I apologize. Fiancée I meant."
"She's not that either," I sighed and poked a piece of turkey.
Bailey sipped on her juice. "You just told me you were engaged."
Parker, he older brother who'd had his eyes on Jade all night, "Yeah, Andy. What's going on?"
"Well, I'm married to a bitch," I said and apologized for cussing before moving on. "She won't sign the divorce papers and it's gotten Jade kind of depressed and she told me when needed a break. She says we're just friends but she still acts like my girlfriend so, I guess it's not that big of deal. I guess she feels better out from under the weight of the label of my fiancée."
My Uncle Jason, who'd been with more girls than Ashley Purdy and was proud of his "manwhore" label, said, "So, who's this bitch you're married to, Andy? Is she hot?"
"Uh, her name is Juliet Simms," I said, taking a bite of pasta.
"Isn't Jade's last name Simms?" Sherrie, my mom's sister, asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, Juliet is actually Jade's sister."
The entire table went dead silent. The little conversations about Christmas plans and how good the food was stopped and everyone looked at me.
"And that girl is still with you?" Sherman, my dad's best friend asked.
"Yes. Uh, we were together while Juliet and I were still going out and she eventually found out and things were okay. Then, I proposed and then we went to go get our marriage licenses and Juliet and I were married. The two of us were drunk in L.A. one night and shit happened." I shrugged.
"Well," my Uncle Matt said, "let me tell you somethin', boy. You have put that poor girl upstairs through hell and she still came and sat down with your crazy ass family and had Thanksgiving dinner. I bet she hasn't taken that ring off since you gave it to her. If she has stuck by you through all of this bullshit that you have put her through and excepts you for what has happened, than you best not ever let go of her. If I ever was given the opportunity to have someone like her I would take it in a heartbeat. Do you know what this show you, Andy? That she loves you more than life itself and she doesn't plan on ever letting your idiotic ass go. So don't you go and fuck it up."
I smiled, "You're right, Matt. I love her. She's amazing and I try really hard to keep her happy."
"She sounds a lot like your mother, Andrew," my Dad smiled. "All I ever wanted was for you to be with someone as kind-hearted and beautiful as your momma."
I nodded. We hadn't spoken of Mom yet tonight. Of course I knew it was going to happen, but when it did, I was hoping Jade would be there to squeeze my hand and assure me that everything's okay. I sighed and pushed out my chair. "I'm going to check on my girl."
Matt smiled and I galloped up the steps. I walked into my old room and looked around. It was still the same room it used to be. The full size bed sitting in the corner with the black bedset, the light gray walls, the giant Kiss poster on the back wall. Jade was under the blankets with earbuds in her ears. Either she had her music up extremely loud or her earbuds sucked because I could here Smoke and Mirrors faintly playing.
"Babe?" I asked.
She mumbled something and I walked over and sat in the bed with her. I laid my hand on her back and she hissed, "Don't fucking touch me and don't call me babe unless I'm the only one you're calling that."
"Huh?" Then, I noticed that Smoke and Mirrors wasn't playing from her phone, it was playing from mine. My heart stopped beating. She'd opened messages to Juliet. A couple nights ago, I'd met Juliet to try to help our situation and the two of us got carried away. She'd been texting me for the last two days about how she still loved me and what we had was real. She said she knew I felt something and that I still loved her. Of course it was all bullshit but I went along with it hoping that I could maybe get her to sign the papers.
I sighed, "Dammit."
"Yeah," she rolled out of bed, grabbed her phone, and surprisingly packed bag. "Bye Andy."
She walked out of my room and I could hear her thank my family for dinner. She slammed the door shut and and the house shook. I sighed and walked down the steps.
"Well, Andy, you fucked up this one," Matt said.