Face Down ✓ | Patrick Stump

Chapter Sixteen

Sorry for the delay. I explain everything in the author's note at the end. There's also a bonus story of my idiocy at the end.

Dedication to CecilLovesCarlos. This just hit 2.5K reads and I'm speechless.

They say life isn't waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

But it's hard to dance when you're dancing alone.

Again.

"Skye, please open the door," Pete said from the hallway. I was currently lying face down on my pillow that was damp with tears.

"Go away," I mumbled. Maybe if I pushed my face into the pillow more, I could suffocate myself, and-

My reflexes kicked in and I bolted upright and gasped, leading to me having a cough attack.

Pete's knocking grew louder. "Skye, are you okay?" He asked frantically. He sighed. "Skye, at least say something."

I didn't. I just walked up to the door and opened it. I immediately wrapped Pete in a hug that I didn't realize I needed. The only human contact I had in three days was going to the kitchen to get food, and then returning to my locked bedroom.

I didn't realize I was sobbing violently into his shirt until he had already closed the door behind him, picked me up, and carried me back to my bed. He tried to put me down, but I had balled his shirt up in my fists. He murmured something that sounded like a 'fine', but I couldn't comprehend what he was saying. He sat on the bed beside me and wrapped me in his arms, letting me soak his t-shirt with my tears. It felt like we sat like this for an eternity, but was probably only half an hour, at most.

"I trusted him," I whispered after what felt like forever.

He pulled away and looked me in the eyes. "I know Skye, but you have to realize, he's only human, he had to have his reasons. If you two talked about it, you would know. The world-"

"Expects too much of him." I finished for him. "I know. I just- I hate seeing him like this. I lo-lik-li-, I, really, I-"

"It's okay, you're confused." Was I, though? Three days ago, when I had seen the side of Patrick I wish I never had, I thought I was in love with him. But what was love? I had never been in love before. Heck, I've never even had a friend. Sure, I've had a couple stupid crushes, but this was more than your stupid middle school crush. But was it really love?

"How do you know when you're in love?" I looked Pete in the eye.

"All the songs make sense." I thought Pete had responded to me, but his voice was different and his lips didn't move. I looked over my shoulder to see Patrick standing in the doorway.

He looked awful. He wasn't wearing his usual fedora, and his hair hadn't been washed or combed in a couple of days, leaving it oily and sticking out everywhere. His glasses sat crooked on his nose, which was a bright pink. Bags lay under his bloodshot, puffy eyes, and he looked like he had been wearing the same outfit for a few days. But I wasn't one to judge him because I looked the exact same. We were a mess.

"I'll leave you two alone, then," Pete said, and patted my shoulder. I mumbled a 'thanks', and he smiled and left the room.

"Patrick-"

"No, Skye, stop right there. I'm so fucking sorry. I-" He couldn't continue because he broke out in sobs. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around the back of his head and neck, resting his forehead against the floor. I did this to him.

This was my entire fault. I had plenty of money now, I made enough to afford monthly rent. If I had moved out maybe a week sooner, we wouldn't be in this mess. I made him hurt himself badly, to the point where he was still hurting days later. I was a monster. I was no better than my mother.