Forgive and Forget: A Billie Joe Story

I continue to speed to the graveyard Billie thinks Ellie is at. Once we get there, I cut the engine and look at him.

"You should go," he tells me. "I doubt she wants to see me right now."

"Where's Adie's tombstone," I ask. He swallows more tears back.

"Straight ahead to the tree. Take a right and go past the second tree. If it was lighter out, we'd be able to see it from here." I nod and get out, pulling the keys out of the ignition. I find the mini flashlight on my key ring and turn it on. I follow the directions Billie had given me, but stop in front of the second tree. I see a small hunched over figure at the grave that should belong to Adie. I turn the light off and walk over. I instantly recognize Ellie's red Green Day jacket. I kneel down next to her and see her mascara streaked cheeks.

"You really scared me," I whisper. She doesn't answer. "Why'd you come here?" She takes a deep, shaky breath.

"To remind myself of what I lost," she whispers back. I rub my eyes tiredly.

"You scared Robbie, too. He really wanted to help look for you, but the doctors wouldn't let him leave." I glance at the engraved stone. "I promised him I'd take you back to see him." She shakes her head a little.

"No. I can't see him." I hook a strand of hair behind her ear so she looks at me.

"Why not," I ask softly.

"He's given his life for me. Just to make sure I could have a chance at a 'normal life', he's given everything he has. I repay him by doing this? No. I can't see him." She looks back to the tombstone and I drop my hand.

"Repay him by going back with me."

"Back where?" That question assures me that she isn't paying attention to anything I'm saying.

"To the hospital." She takes another deep breath.

"What am I supposed to say to him when I get there," she asks, raising her voice to a still-quiet murmur.

"Anything you want to tell him, babe," I mutter back. "I know he needs to tell you some things."

"Like?" I stand, pulling her up with me.

"I don't know." I walk with her back to the car, keeping my arm safely around her waist.

"What do] you know?"

"You two really need to talk things over." We get to the car and I see Billie has his window open. He looks at us, mainly at Ellie, and I throw my car keys to him.

"Are we going back to the hospital," he asks as he gets out and walks to the driver's side of the car.

"Yeah," I respond, opening the backseat door for Ellie. SHe slides in and I get in right next to her. Billie starts the car and drives onto the main road. My cell starts ringing "2 Drunk 2 Drive" by Brokencyde so I pull it out of pocket, flipping it open at the same time.

"Hello," I answer, absentmindedly stroking El's arm.

"Did you find her," Robbie asks, sounding frightened.

"Yeah, she was at her mom's grave." I glance down at her as she rests her head on the front part of my shoulder and closes her eyes.

"You mean Adrienne's?"

"Yeah. We're on our way to the hospital now-"

"Go back to the house and get her notebook," Robbie interrupts. I move the phone's receiver away from my mouth.

"Robbie wants us to go back to the house and get her notebook," I tell Billie. He nods and turns off his turn signal so he could go straight instead of left.

"Do you think she wrote in it," I murmur back into the phone, noticing Ellie's sleeping state.

"I know she did. I think you need to see it, though. Billie, too." Billie pulls into the driveway.

"Do you think you could go find it," I ask Billie.

"It's either on her desk, at the bottom of her closet, or under her bed," Robbie says loudly. Billie nods and gets out, running into the house.

"All because he came back," he mutter.

"I know you weren't expecting all of this to happen when he came back around, Ty-"

"You weren't either," I cut him off. He sighs.

"You're right, I wasn't. But now that it has, we need to figure out how to get everything back to normal."

"That's not gonna happen any time soon, Rob." My phone starts vibrating, so I pull it away from me to look at the screen. My stepfather was calling on the other line. "I gotta go, Nathan is calling me."

"All right, I'll see you when you get here." He hangs up so I switch to Nathan's call.

"Yeah," I ask.

"Where the fuck are you," he demands. I roll my eyes.

"I'm with El, something happened," I tell him.

"I don't fucking care if something happens, why didn't you let me know?!"

"Her dad... Robbie is in the hospital, she ran away to see her real mother's grave and Billie and I had to find her! I really didn't think about calling you to let you know I'm probably not coming home until tomorrow!"

"It's two in the goddamn morning! I was ready to get the FBI after you!" I take a deep breath so I don't awaken Ellie.

"I really can't talk right now, I'm in my car with Ellie sleeping against my chest-"

"What the fuck were you doing with her, you lying bastard?!" Shit...

"We didn't do anything, Nathan, we're waiting for Billie to come out of her house with something Robbie needs-"

"I don't give two shits what you're waiting for! You know what?! I'm sick of you doing this all the time for one little slut! Don't come back home!" With that, he hangs up. I stare at my phone, closing it, and then look down at Ellie.

How am I supposed to tell her I got kicked out?