Forgive and Forget: A Billie Joe Story

I groan as I stand up and look at myself in my full sized mirror. God, have I changed since I was thirteen. I grab my black Avenged Sevenfold shirt that says "R.I.P. The Rev" off the floor and leave my room. I walk down the hall to the bathroom and shut the door. I take a quick shower and throw the shirt on along with my New Moon sweatpants. I put on some eyeliner and mascara, taking one last glance at myself in the mirror afterwards. I walk downstairs, quickly being greeted by Linda.

"Happy birthday, sweetie," she says, hugging me. She lets go and I see Robbie appear in the kitchen doorway.

"Happy birthday, Ellie," he says, knowing to keep his distance. I never learned to be comfortable around him, but I tested my trust with him frequently. It's easier now that the nightmares have stopped.

"Thanks, guys," I reply, smiling. Linda runs over to the table, grabbing an envelope off of it. She runs back and hands it to me.

"Open it, we know you'll love it," she urges. I chuckle and rip the top, pulling out a card with a big heart on the front. I look at both her and Robbie questioningly.

"Read it out loud," Robbie tells me. I open the card and clear my voice.

"To our favourite girl on such an important day, your present is..." I gasp and widen my eyes as I read ahead. "Your first tattoo," I scream with excitement. "Oh my, God! Are you serious?!" Linda smiles widely.

"We wouldn't joke about something like that, honey," she says. I embrace her tightly and walk over to Robbie. I look at him for a second until I hug him, too. I let go and look down at the card again.

"But now we need to give you the bad news," Linda says. I sigh. I was waiting for that.

"I know what you're gonna say," I murmur, then turn to her. "Can I have a little more time to think about it?" She nods.

"Of course." I smile gratefully and run up to my room, shutting the door behind me. I turn my stereo on and listen to Congregation Of The Damned by Atreyu while I think about what I'm going to do. I hold my head in my hands for the duration of the album. When the last song ends, I turn my stereo off and walk back downstairs to see Robbie and Linda sitting at the dining table with solemn expressions. I walk over and they both look at me.

"He just called," Linda told me. "I told him I'd call him back when you've made a decision." I take a deep breath.

"Call him," I murmur, looking down to avoid Robbie's curious gaze. "Tell him yes." Robbie sighs and I hear Linda pick the phone up off the table. As she dials, my cell starts ringing "Trashed And Scattered" by Avenged Sevenfold. I pull it out of my pocket as I walk back upstairs.

"Hello," I answer, sounding a lot happier than I was five seconds ago.

"I'm guessing you haven't made the decision yet," my boyfriend, Tysen, says.

When we started going out, we made promises to each other that we'd tell each other everything. I told him the entire story of what I went through with my father, Billie Joe. He swore he'd never let him hurt me, no matter what.

"No, I did," I reply as I walk into my room and stand in front of my dresser.

"Will I be meeting him today," he inquires fearfully. I grab a pair of black skinny jeans out of a drawer and sigh.

"Yeah," I tell him, feeling the pain of my past slowly reenter my mind.

"Okay, uhh," he says, thinking. "Do you wanna go to the park? I can call Stephy and Caiti so we can all meet up."

"Yeah, that sounds cool," I say, smiling.

"Okay, I'll be at your house in a few minutes. I love you," Tysen says, which makes me smile more.

"I love you, too," I respond, then hang up. I take the sweats off and put the jeans on, then walk downstairs.

"I'm gonna go to the park with Tysen," I tell Linda, who is in the kitchen cooking something on the stove.

"He's coming to the house to walk you there," she asks.

"Yeah, then we're gonna meet up with Stephy and Caiti when we get there." She nods.

"Okay, sweetie. Billie's going to be here in about an hour, so don't stay there all day." I tense up, but nod anyway.

"I won't. Where's Robbie?"

"He went for a drive, you, to calm his nerves." I look at her questioningly.

"He's nervous about me seeing Billie again, isn't he," I ask. She nods and turns to look at me.

"He knows how nervous you are around him," Linda tells me sympathetically. "He's afraid to see how frightened you are around, Billie." The doorbell rings and I walk to the door.

"I'll be back in an hour," I tell her. In all actuality, I wish I could've told her I was never coming back.