these darkened stars {andy biersack}

chapter twelve

it had stopped raining early the next morning, long after andy had already woken. the sky was still full of gloom, but the clouds left from yesterday's rain were slowly making their departure, slinking into the furthest reaches of the horizon.

he'd already showered and gathered his things back into his bag, ready to go, by the time the sun peeked into the room. ignoring the sting of yesterday's morning, he slung the backpack over his shoulders and trudged out his hotel room to the elevator just down the hall.

"do you ever wanna just settle down somewhere?" alex wondered, swinging her feet back and forth off of the bed of his truck. it was something she'd always wanted to ask him, curious to know if he'd ever even thought about it.

"not really, no," andy admitted, flicking the rest of his finished cigarette to the ground and stomping it out with the heel of his boot. he leaned up against the side of his truck next to her, giving her enough space to where he could feel her warmth but wasn't touching her. "i have, once or twice," he added, "but i've never really seen the need of it. everyone has a home, alex. mine just so happens to be the road, and everything that comes along with it."

he dared not let his eyes move towards her, not even for a second.

"even the shitty rock music you play?" she teased.

"it has real potential!" he defended with a scoff. "if you hate it so much, why don't you ever play anything?"

"my phone's been dead this whole time," she pointed out. "and for good reason, too."

he hummed in acknowledgement, and they drifted into silence. she had never told him what really happened that day to make her end up so far out of town, not that he'd asked, or that it was any of his business, anyway. it was fair, since he hadn't told her things he'd hidden that day, either.

"do you think you'll ever go back?"

"eventually, i'll have to," she sighed, reluctant in her words. "eventually, i'll have to face my fear. everything i have is there, and there's a point in time where i'll run out of money and i'll have to return either way. it's shitty, but i'll have to deal with it."

he crossed his arms, sinking into himself as he looked at her. "can i promise you something?"

she only nodded, so he continued.

"i promise you, to the very bottom of my heart, that when the time comes for you to return to virginia, i will follow you. it could be four days or four years from now, but i promise you that you won't have to face it alone."

with that, he stuck up his pinky finger, waiting for a response. alex's bottom lip quivered, and she nodded again, unable to speak. she lifted her hand up and entwined her pinky with his, sealing the promise.

"get out of my fucking head," he growled to himself as he walked across the lobby, pulling at his messy hair, eliciting a stare from the male employee at the desk. he cleared his throat awkwardly and sped up his pace, clearing the doors and emerging into the daylight. he breathed in the fresh air, a relief from the stuffed confines of his hotel room.

he wished the sky was still buried underneath the gray of storm clouds and the world matched the way he felt inside once again, so he could feel some semblance of solace knowing that something else understood him, but the clouds had dissipated, just like the warmth in his bones. the fragility of them matched that of his old soul.

andy reached his truck, carelessly tossing his backpack over into the bed of his truck, carelessly climbing in the front seat, slamming the door shut and leaning his head back against the head rest. he rubbed at his eyes, flushed red from the restless sleep he had gotten, wishing the oncoming headache away.