Frequencies | Frank Iero

forty-six

Fulfilled

"Alright, I'll see you on Monday!" I called after Lacey as she hailed a cab.

"You had fun tonight, right?" She asked quickly as she now stood in the open door of the yellow cab.

I smiled at my friend through the dark and nodded. "Yeah, it was really fun."

Lacey sighed happily, her slightly intoxicated state making her even more bubbly than normal. "I knew you would!"

"Goodnight, Lace." I waved her away so she could go home and get some well-needed rest.

It was true, the party had been better than I expected. Jensen had rented out the entirety of a bar downtown and there were so many people there that we had only interacted once, which I was thankful for. It was a quick hello and an even quicker goodbye. It felt good to have at least one weight off my shoulders instead of worrying if my ex-boyfriend would pop into my life and never leave. The rest of the night was spent laughing and watching as Lacey downed drink after drink, trying to flirt with the closest guy she found attractive.

My keys jingled in my hands as I turned them in the lock after I watched my friend's cab disappear down the block, pushing open the heavy wooden exterior door of my apartment building. My mind was so wrapped up in the thoughts of actually having fun earlier in the night that I had forgotten about one important thing.

I stepped halfway through the threshold of my apartment before I paused and peeked back out into the hallway. I quickly pulled my phone from my purse to see that it was just barely 1 o'clock. Would Frank consider this as being too late? My mind debated back and forth as I stepped the rest of the way into my apartment, using the time that I changed into more comfortable clothes to think about waiting until tomorrow to talk to Frank.

But I wasn't tired in the slightest, so I made my way into the living room and slipped into a pair of old tennis shoes before I headed back out into the hallway, locking the door behind me. There was no harm in trying. I'd knock and if Frank answered, then great, I got to see him before bed and if not, our conversation would just have to wait until a more appropriate hour of the day.

My clenched fist hovered in front of Frank's door for a moment before I quickly knocked three times. The sound echoed through the silent hallway, making it seem louder than it actually was and I cringed, hoping if he was asleep that I didn't disturb him with the noise, even if I did want to talk to him. I waited for a few seconds, my breathing quieted to almost nothing as if it would help me hear any better through the door.

With no answer, I stepped away and turned to head back to my apartment. There was a heavy feeling in my chest, the idea of seeing Frank before falling asleep sounded amazing in the moment. I stopped mid-step to the sound of locks turning and I whipped around quickly to see Frank as he stood in the open doorway of his apartment.

"Why are you leaving?" Frank wondered out loud as I stood halfway between our apartments.

"I- I thought you were asleep." I kept my gaze on him as he motioned for me to come back over.

"No, just deaf, I guess." Frank chuckled to himself. "I wasn't sure if I had actually heard knocking or not, it was so quiet."

I scrunched my nose as I walked back toward him, finding it funny how on my end the sound of my knocks were almost ear piercing. Frank stepped aside and let me walk into the simplistic apartment I found so appealing.