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Chapter Twenty One.

“You should go to school,” Frank told me as we left the hospital a little while later, “You’re gonna be in so much trouble ‘cause of me.”

“I don’t care. I told you, I’m not leaving you,” I assured him.

He didn’t say anything after that; he just gripped my hand tightly as I looked at the timetable on the bus stop.

“11:40,” I read, “There should be a bus in a few minutes.”

“A bus to where?” Frank asked, looking at me anxiously.

“It stops near your house I think.”

Frank nodded and looked back at the hospital sadly.

“You have to go home eventually,” I told him.

He turned back to me, dejected, “That’s not my home, not anymore.”

I tried to pull him into a hug, but he wouldn’t move. He blinked back at me, chewing on his bottom lip so hard I thought he might rip it off.

“Can’t I, can’t I just stay with you? Please, I can’t stay with—”

“—Frank, you know I’d have you stay with me in a heartbeat, but I’m not your guardian!”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down the street, “The bus is here,” he said, changing the subject.

I sighed and searched my pockets for whatever money I had left on me, paying for both of us as we stepped on board.

_

We were walking up to Frank’s house twenty minutes later; the sun poking through the clouds was giving everything a strange autumn glow. It didn’t seem normal to me.

“I don’t know if I can go in,” Frank said as we stood on his porch, “What if he’s here?”

“His car’s not here,” I pointed out, “I don’t think he’ll be back for a while. The police probably have him in for questioning or something.”

Frank chewed on his lip for a moment, staring into the gloomy hallway which stood before him. After much encouragement, he reluctantly stepped in. I shivered the moment we stepped over the threshold; the house had somewhat of an unsettling feeling about it, even more than before. Just knowing what had happened there made it a whole lot worse.

“You should get some sleep,” I suggested, knowing how tired he was. But Frank wasn’t listening. He’d stopped by the stairs, his eyes fixated on the living room floor.

“Frankie?”

I moved back towards him and realised what he was looking at. The bloodstain on the carpet remained more noticeable than ever, and Frank couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“Don’t look,” I told him, tugging his hand to pull him up the stairs with me.

Instead of going to his room like I thought we were, Frank pulled me into the bathroom.

“What’re you doing?” I asked, confused as he locked the door behind us.

“I need to have a bath,” he said simply, “I feel disgusting.”

“Okay…” I replied, still confused as to why he locked the door while I was still in the room, “I can go wait out—“

“—I don’t wanna be on my own,” he added quickly.

I nodded, though I don’t really know why. I wasn’t about to object.

I remained still by the door as he ran the bath and squirted a ridiculous amount of strawberry bubble bath into the running water.

“You don’t mind do you?” he asked suddenly, turning to look at me, “I mean, if you’d be uncomfortable then…”

“It’s fine,” I assured him, smiling a little shyly as he pulled his jacket and t-shirt off. My eyes stayed transfixed on him as though he was some kind of tropical bird; beautiful just doesn’t do him justice.

He chose to glance at me just as my eyes were travelling down his bare stomach. Realising I’d been caught, I diverted my eyes to the wall and tried to decide on what shade of blue it was. Whatever it was, it probably clashed horribly with the red of my cheeks.

“You can look if you want,” he said quietly, giving me a tempting smile.

I looked back at him sheepishly, watching with wide-eyes as he began unbuckling his belt. As voyeuristic as it was and despite his bruised torso, he was all I could look at, he was all I ever wanted to look at. He threw his last items of clothing to the floor along with the rest, and stepped into the tub. I watched as he ducked under the warm water and back up again, only now with his hair plastered over his face. I couldn’t help but laugh as he tried to get it out of his eyes but just ended up getting bubbles in them instead.

“Don’t laugh, help me!” he said exasperated, finally giving up and laughing at his own attempt.

I walked over and knelt beside the tub, wiping my hand across his forehead and eventually getting the hair out of his eyes. I stared at him for the longest time, until I couldn’t take it anymore and I found myself leaning in and kissing the corner of his mouth, since that was all I could reach. He brought up a wet hand and dragged it down my neck, bringing me closer to him and allowing us to indulge in our first proper kiss since the night before. It was one of the most sensual things I’d ever experienced, probably due to how soaked he was and the feeling of water dripping down my neck as he ran his hand over my exposed skin. I never wanted it to end, but obviously, it did. Frank pulled away slowly and looked at me seriously.

“I need you to do something for me,” he said, keeping his hand at my shoulder.

“Anything.”

“My mom had this…small snow globe, it’s got like a tree inside that’s covered in ice, and, just…could you try to find it? She always said I could have it when I was older ‘cause I loved it so much. I don’t want my step-dad to have it.”

“Sure, d’you know where it is?”

“Um, I don’t know. She used to keep it hidden away ‘cause she didn’t want it to get broken…you know, during all the arguments and fighting and stuff. It’ll be in their room somewhere.”

“Okay. Um. I’ll be right back.”

It didn’t take me long to find his mom’s room. It was right next door in fact, but it kind of gave me the creeps looking through all their belongings. I’d barely known them afterall.

I really had no idea where to start looking, but I figured the wardrobe was as good a place as any. Turns out I couldn’t have picked a better place. Hidden under a mass of old cardboard boxes, shoes and discarded objects, I came across a small wooden box. It looked nothing out of the ordinary, except when I looked inside, I saw what Frank had wanted me to find. The snow globe. I picked it up and looked at it. It really was beautiful; I could see why he wanted it safe so badly. I was about to put the box back in when I realised there was a folded envelope lying at the bottom. Curiosity overwhelming me, I lifted it out and saw that it was addressed to Frank, or “Frankie” as it said in elegant writing on the front. I placed it beside me on the carpet with the snow globe and put everything back in the wardrobe just the way it was.

Frank was nearly dressed when I returned to the bathroom, he was just trying to pull his t-shirt back over his head.

“You found it!” he said happily.

“Yeah, um, this was with it,” I told him, holding out the envelope for him to take. He looked confused for a moment before he saw the handwriting on the front.

“Oh.” he said. He held the envelope between his hands but didn’t seem too keen on opening it. “I’ll just, um…”

He walked past me and out the door, leaving me wondering what was going on. I followed him into his room, where he was now perched on the end of his bed, staring down at the envelope in his hands.

“Are you gonna open it?” I asked, sitting beside him gently and wrapping an arm around his lower back.

“I can’t,” he replied, “not yet. I still can’t believe she’s…she’s gone.”

I stayed silent, knowing that whatever I said would sound totally stupid under the circumstances.

“I just wanna go to sleep,” he said, placing the envelope on top of his overcrowded desk.

“You sure?”

Frank nodded and crawled down the bed until he reached the pillow.

“You should sleep too,” he hinted, holding back the covers for me to crawl under. I followed suit and curled up beside him, as close as I could get without suffocating him.

“You smell like strawberries,” I breathed out, earning myself a smile as I nuzzled into his neck.

Description
Chapter Twenty One.

“You should go to school,” Frank told me as we left the hospital a little while later, “You’re gonna be in so much trouble ‘cause of me.”

“I don’t care. I told you, I’m not leaving you,” I assured him.

He didn’t say anything after that; he just gripped my hand tightly as I looked at the timetable on the bus stop.

“11:40,” I read, “There should be a bus in a few minutes.”

“A bus to where?” Frank asked, looking at me anxiously.

“It stops near your house I think.”

Frank nodded and looked back at the hospital sadly.

“You have to go home eventually,” I told him.

He turned back to me, dejected, “That’s not my home, not anymore.”

I tried to pull him into a hug, but he wouldn’t move. He blinked back at me, chewing on his bottom lip so hard I thought he might rip it off.

“Can’t I, can’t I just stay with you? Please, I can’t stay with—”

“—Frank, you know I’d have you stay with me in a heartbeat, but I’m not your guardian!”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down the street, “The bus is here,” he said, changing the subject.

I sighed and searched my pockets for whatever money I had left on me, paying for both of us as we stepped on board.

_

We were walking up to Frank’s house twenty minutes later; the sun poking through the clouds was giving everything a strange autumn glow. It didn’t seem normal to me.

“I don’t know if I can go in,” Frank said as we stood on his porch, “What if he’s here?”

“His car’s not here,” I pointed out, “I don’t think he’ll be back for a while. The police probably have him in for questioning or something.”

Frank chewed on his lip for a moment, staring into the gloomy hallway which stood before him. After much encouragement, he reluctantly stepped in. I shivered the moment we stepped over the threshold; the house had somewhat of an unsettling feeling about it, even more than before. Just knowing what had happened there made it a whole lot worse.

“You should get some sleep,” I suggested, knowing how tired he was. But Frank wasn’t listening. He’d stopped by the stairs, his eyes fixated on the living room floor.

“Frankie?”

I moved back towards him and realised what he was looking at. The bloodstain on the carpet remained more noticeable than ever, and Frank couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“Don’t look,” I told him, tugging his hand to pull him up the stairs with me.

Instead of going to his room like I thought we were, Frank pulled me into the bathroom.

“What’re you doing?” I asked, confused as he locked the door behind us.

“I need to have a bath,” he said simply, “I feel disgusting.”

“Okay…” I replied, still confused as to why he locked the door while I was still in the room, “I can go wait out—“

“—I don’t wanna be on my own,” he added quickly.

I nodded, though I don’t really know why. I wasn’t about to object.

I remained still by the door as he ran the bath and squirted a ridiculous amount of strawberry bubble bath into the running water.

“You don’t mind do you?” he asked suddenly, turning to look at me, “I mean, if you’d be uncomfortable then…”

“It’s fine,” I assured him, smiling a little shyly as he pulled his jacket and t-shirt off. My eyes stayed transfixed on him as though he was some kind of tropical bird; beautiful just doesn’t do him justice.

He chose to glance at me just as my eyes were travelling down his bare stomach. Realising I’d been caught, I diverted my eyes to the wall and tried to decide on what shade of blue it was. Whatever it was, it probably clashed horribly with the red of my cheeks.

“You can look if you want,” he said quietly, giving me a tempting smile.

I looked back at him sheepishly, watching with wide-eyes as he began unbuckling his belt. As voyeuristic as it was and despite his bruised torso, he was all I could look at, he was all I ever wanted to look at. He threw his last items of clothing to the floor along with the rest, and stepped into the tub. I watched as he ducked under the warm water and back up again, only now with his hair plastered over his face. I couldn’t help but laugh as he tried to get it out of his eyes but just ended up getting bubbles in them instead.

“Don’t laugh, help me!” he said exasperated, finally giving up and laughing at his own attempt.

I walked over and knelt beside the tub, wiping my hand across his forehead and eventually getting the hair out of his eyes. I stared at him for the longest time, until I couldn’t take it anymore and I found myself leaning in and kissing the corner of his mouth, since that was all I could reach. He brought up a wet hand and dragged it down my neck, bringing me closer to him and allowing us to indulge in our first proper kiss since the night before. It was one of the most sensual things I’d ever experienced, probably due to how soaked he was and the feeling of water dripping down my neck as he ran his hand over my exposed skin. I never wanted it to end, but obviously, it did. Frank pulled away slowly and looked at me seriously.

“I need you to do something for me,” he said, keeping his hand at my shoulder.

“Anything.”

“My mom had this…small snow globe, it’s got like a tree inside that’s covered in ice, and, just…could you try to find it? She always said I could have it when I was older ‘cause I loved it so much. I don’t want my step-dad to have it.”

“Sure, d’you know where it is?”

“Um, I don’t know. She used to keep it hidden away ‘cause she didn’t want it to get broken…you know, during all the arguments and fighting and stuff. It’ll be in their room somewhere.”

“Okay. Um. I’ll be right back.”

It didn’t take me long to find his mom’s room. It was right next door in fact, but it kind of gave me the creeps looking through all their belongings. I’d barely known them afterall.

I really had no idea where to start looking, but I figured the wardrobe was as good a place as any. Turns out I couldn’t have picked a better place. Hidden under a mass of old cardboard boxes, shoes and discarded objects, I came across a small wooden box. It looked nothing out of the ordinary, except when I looked inside, I saw what Frank had wanted me to find. The snow globe. I picked it up and looked at it. It really was beautiful; I could see why he wanted it safe so badly. I was about to put the box back in when I realised there was a folded envelope lying at the bottom. Curiosity overwhelming me, I lifted it out and saw that it was addressed to Frank, or “Frankie” as it said in elegant writing on the front. I placed it beside me on the carpet with the snow globe and put everything back in the wardrobe just the way it was.

Frank was nearly dressed when I returned to the bathroom, he was just trying to pull his t-shirt back over his head.

“You found it!” he said happily.

“Yeah, um, this was with it,” I told him, holding out the envelope for him to take. He looked confused for a moment before he saw the handwriting on the front.

“Oh.” he said. He held the envelope between his hands but didn’t seem too keen on opening it. “I’ll just, um…”

He walked past me and out the door, leaving me wondering what was going on. I followed him into his room, where he was now perched on the end of his bed, staring down at the envelope in his hands.

“Are you gonna open it?” I asked, sitting beside him gently and wrapping an arm around his lower back.

“I can’t,” he replied, “not yet. I still can’t believe she’s…she’s gone.”

I stayed silent, knowing that whatever I said would sound totally stupid under the circumstances.

“I just wanna go to sleep,” he said, placing the envelope on top of his overcrowded desk.

“You sure?”

Frank nodded and crawled down the bed until he reached the pillow.

“You should sleep too,” he hinted, holding back the covers for me to crawl under. I followed suit and curled up beside him, as close as I could get without suffocating him.

“You smell like strawberries,” I breathed out, earning myself a smile as I nuzzled into his neck.