Ghost In The Snow

Chapter 10: Dogs Are The Best

Warning: Yelling

Time passed, and suddenly it was Friday. There was an awkward, silent feeling, when the boys and I sat under the tree together. Gerard rarely spoke, just looking at the ground, nipping to his food, and when he actually looked up, he glanced at me with cold eyes. But only when he thought I didn't see him. I caught him several times looking at me. Every time, he pretended to gaze at something else, or he quickly went back to staring at his food.

Mikey started to speak more to me. I'm not sure why. Maybe he eventually would help me out of my relationship with Frank. 'Help me out', hear me! Why do I do this to myself? Anyway, maybe he didn't actually speak more to me, but I just thought so, since Gerard didn't talk at all.

Ray didn't speak a lot either. He told us about a holiday, but Frank interrupted him, saying something random about his guitar. I felt bad for Ray. I felt bad for them all. All of this was because of me. I had ruined their friendships.

But it was Friday afternoon, and Frank and I walked home to him, hand in hand. We smiled to each other, and I actually felt really excited to meet his parents and see his house. Frank smiled so much, looking me in the eyes and then just smiling more. His smile started to fade, as we walked down the road he lived on.

The neighborhood didn't seem so nice as the one I lived in. As the one Mikey and Gerard also lived in. It didn't seem so calm as the one Ray lived in.

It seemed rather sinister. The houses were fine, quite close and not so big, but it was the general feeling. The atmosphere. I felt like it was unsafe. Maybe I was just nervous, like, who wouldn't be? Meeting their boyfriend's parents. That is a big deal.

Frank's house was one of the darker ones. A one-story home, a small front garden, almost flat roof, dark brown bricks, which had a green shadow. There was an old metal gate, which Frank opened for me, and together we walked on the path up to the house.

I felt a cold breeze hit me, making me shake a bit. "Don't be nervous", Frank said in a calm voice and smiled. He opened the door, and we walked in. I looked around, noticing the strong smell of smoke and dog. Not a good combination by the way. The smell of smoke was heavy, feeling like it was going to choke me. And at the same time, the dog smell... Well, it smelled a bit like sweat, dust and.. Dog.

While I was staring at the furniture, something that looked like random stuff from garage sales, two small balls of fat and fur attacked my leg. I was surprised, looking at the hyperactive dogs. One had golden, shiny fur. Not sure about the breed, but the dog wasn't so big, and it looked cute. The other one was a silver-grey pug with a black face and ears. It was even fatter than the golden dog.

"That's Bela!", Frank said and sat down on the floor. The golden dog immediately ran over to him, and he nuzzled it. "Uhhh, who's a good doggy? Yeees, you are", he laughed and kissed the dog. "Houdini, come here!", he called, and the dog, who was sniffing my leg, ran over to Frank. Houdini jumped up on Frank's thighs and Frank pretended to be attacked. He laid completely down, laughing as Bela started licking his face. I couldn't keep myself from chuckling, sitting down next to him and petting the dogs.

"What is going on?", a hysterical voice yelled and a woman showed up in the doorframe. Frank quickly sat up, trying to push the happy dogs away from him. Frank stared at the woman with fear, he tried to say something, but he stuttered too much. "Who's that? Huh, who's that, Frank?!", the woman yelled and pointed at me. I suddenly felt guilty. Was that Frank's mom?... Obviously Frank's mom. A low, curvy woman with short hair and a cigarette in her hand.

"Uh, uhm, I... " Frank started shaking, which made me nervous. I had to help him though. "I'm Tess", I said with a shaky voice, that almost couldn't be heard. "She is... She's my gir-", Frank paused. "No", he mumbled and looked at me. "This has to be done right."