Tales From Another Broken Home

“Oh babe you guy’s were amazing!” Eliza shrieked ushering Mark out of my lap and sitting there herself.

“Thanks.” I muttered.

“Awww babe, what’s wrong?” she cooed.

“Mark’s down about Charlie again.” I said lowing my voice so he couldn’t hear me from where he was playing.

Eliza sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know why you don’t just tell him she’s dead! Its unfair letting him think she’s coming back!” she said harshly.

“I don’t know she’s dead! All we know is she left!” I hissed at her.

“She’s been gone almost a year; the police said if it was a kidnapping the kidnapper would have been in contact along time ago! Gerard you know everyone except you and Frank came to the conclusion she trashed the house and made it look like she was kidnapped when really she ran away!” Eliza let the speech slip from her mouth like it was nothing.

And I suppose it is nothing anymore.

She’s said the exact same words to me countless times.

I just refuse to believe her.

I can’t believe her.

Charlie had no reason to run away from us, we were happy, everything was great, why would she run?

“They don’t know that’s what happened and neither do we! And I don’t appreciate you talking that way about her in front of the kids!” I told her with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

Eliza got of my lap hurriedly and sulked out of the room.

I sighed when she slammed the door closed.

As if I don’t get enough tantrums from my children my girlfriend has to throw them to.

Not only that but she has to bring up all the painful memories and all the worries that I had finally managed to move to the back of my mind.

Then I suddenly realised something, “everyone except you and Frank came to the conclusion she trashed the house and made it look like she was kidnapped when really she ran away,” I’ve heard that speech countless times before but for some reason something just clicked inside my head.

How fucking dare they!

What do they know about any of this?

They had no idea what our home life was like!

Before I could shout anymore in my head the guys came back in all laughing at something. Frank immediately stopped when he saw my expression.

“Gee…..what’s happened?” he asked cautiously.

“Nothing to do with you Frankie, but those three on the other hand have a lot of fucking explaining to do!” I seethed.

“Gerard, what’s up man? What did we do?” Bob asked me.

Before I answered I pushed all three of them out of the room, not wanting my children to hear this.

“What did you do? Where they hell do you get off saying Charlie fucking ran away and made it look like she was kidnapped?!” I shouted at them.

They all had puzzled expressions on their faces.

“Gee, we didn’t.” Mikey spoke up. “I mean sure that’s a possibility but we never said she did it!” he said looking me straight in the eyes.

“Oh yeah? Then why did Eliza tell m-” I was cut off in mid sentence by Ray.

“Gerard, don’t take this the wrong way, but she could just be saying that to back herself up. Or maybe she over heard a conversation we were having and got what we said wrong?” he reasoned.

“I promise not one of us has ever said we think she did that.” Bob chipped in.

I sighed and looked up at them with tear filled eyes.

“I’m sorry guys, this is just, it’s all getting too much you know?” I whimpered.

They nodded and smiled at me before walking inside.

After apologising again I took the kids and went to my hotel room for the night, I was exhausted and could do with the alone time once Mark and Elena fall asleep.

As I had explained to the guys.

When I had gotten the kids settled down in the hotel room for the night I sat outside on the balcony, my original intention was to have a smoke, but I ended up resting my head in my hands and sighing as the painful yet somewhat happy memories came flooding back.