Saved by the Phoenix

Chapter Six

Patrick's POV

I bit down on my tongue, angry at myself for coming to an insufficient conclusion. Ember drew small breaths; she was asleep, and curled up to me. I felt like a total asshole. I mean, it's one thing to be mad at a fan who basically weasled herself into being adopted by someone, but, come on, this took the cake by far. She had been kidnapped, raped, gone for who knows how long. And I was too selfish to realize that.
I slowly moved off the bed, as if to not wake her, but she was in too deep of a sleep to even notice. Probably the first time in days that she hadn't had artificial rest. Her head, resting on my chest, and hair the color of bright flames concealing her face. As peaceful as she was, I felt guilty for being a little grossed out by the saliva on my shirt.
Ember's breath hitched as I peeled myself away from her, but she nuzzled into the blanket. I got a second one from the closet and draped it over her.
"What'd you do? You seemed pretty angry," Andy called from the couch as I walked down the stairs.
A lump formed in my throat. How cliché. "I acted like a total ass and flipped out 'cause I thought she was some desperate fan."
He gave me a 'what the hell' look.
"And, uh, the whole staple thing was a lie. She didn't want to get involved with the police, I guess. She said, she said she was kidnapped, and, uh..." I trailed off.
"Wow. Well, Joe's gonna be here in fifteen minutes, and congratulations for being the number one idiot of the year. Is she still up there?"
"Asleep. I gave her some of my pajamas so she wouldn't freeze to death."
Hurrying off to the kitchen before Andy could say anything else, I slammed the sliding door shut. I guess I camped out there for a while, because when I heard Joe invite himself in, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, totally spacing out. Again, seemingly cliché.
We really didn't do much of anything. I told Joe what Andy and I'd witnessed, and then what Ember had said to me. Of course, Andy filled in on how I had acted. Pete couldn't come; he was busy with his kid. He said he'd come tomorrow.
We must have sat there in total silence for a couple hours. Finally, Andy turned on the TV, flipping through channels the whole time.
At around ten, they said they were gonna go to bed, but just stayed in guest bedrooms. I couldn't sleep. Instead, I stayed up, flipping channels. Nothing caught my eye, not until I came across a cheesy Hollywood celebrity gossip show. The subject?
"Patrick Stump wheels girlfriend home from hospital."

(A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in forever!" I was busy the whole week with exams. I'll cram more chapters to make up for it.)