Mr. Misty-Eyed | Josh Dun

reality | twenty-five

"And now that I write and think about it,
And the story unfolds,
You should take my life,
You should take my soul."

. . . . .

"What do you mean you're coming?" I felt nerves build up inside me as I held the phone close to my ear, Bryce's words catching me off guard.

"What? Am I not allowed?" She asked through the receiver.

It was finally the weekend. The whole week I had gotten up at seven in the morning to get Johnny to school by eight. It was only supposed to be for one day, but that quickly turned into five and yet I had no problem driving him. I liked doing it. It also gave me an excuse to be up super early rather than it being just because of my nightmares.

"I-I mean if you really want to." I spoke quickly as I pulled a jacket over my shoulders. It had been a while since it snowed last, so the streets were clear of ice and water, but the air was still cold as ever.

Today was the day I had planned on digging through my parent's garage for the bike I had promised Johnny. But what I hadn't expected was for Bryce to call me up and tell me she wanted to tag along. It wasn't that I was nervous to have her meet my family, honestly I didn't even know if my parents would be at the house when we got there. It was more or less all the questions my mother would then ask me afterwards. How serious are you? Is she your girlfriend? Could you see yourself marrying her? It made me want to postpone the trip just for that reason alone.

I knew my mother only wanted what was best for me and in her world that meant a nice house, a stable job with good income and a wife with kids. I wanted that too - more than anything I wanted that, but first I had to focus on myself. I had to get my head on straight before I even attempted a family. I just hoped Bryce was willing to deal with me until then. We weren't even anything close to being official and yet I still could picture her standing by my side in the distant future.

"I'm putting on my shoes now." Bryce broke me from my thoughts as I stepped out onto the front porch of my house. "I'll meet you by your car."

And with that the call ended. I sat down in the driver's seat and started the engine, turning the heat on full blast. A shiver ran up my spine as the passenger side door opened and cold air rushed into the car along with Bryce. She cheeks were flushed as though she had been rushing around all morning. Her dark hair was tied into a messy bun that was so loose it was already falling from the top of her head. She obviously hadn't found time to put makeup on either and I smiled at the light dusting of freckles that speckled her nose and cheeks. I had never seen them before and I liked them a lot.

"Good morning," I said with a smile as I continued to stare at her.

Bryce smiled back, surprising me by leaning over and pressing her lips to mine with a quick kiss. "Morning."

My cheeks were warm as I turned in my seat to look out the back window, putting the car in reverse.

The drive to my parent's house was uneventful. We sat in a comfortable silence as the radio played the best of the 80's. I couldn't tell if Bryce was nervous or not about the idea of meeting my parents because if she was, she sure as hell knew how to hide it.

My heart began to speed up as we finally turned into my old neighborhood and onto the street that I had grown up on. My eyes surveyed all the homes that we passed by. They looked exactly the same as they did when I was a kid.

The driveway was empty as we pulled up to my house and I let out the breath that I had been holding in. I was surprisingly relieved to know my parents weren't home.