Forgive and Forget: A Billie Joe Story

I stare at Robbie for at least ten seconds, searching his eyes for any sign that he may be lying.

"I'm not lying to you," he tells me. "You do that eye-searching thing whenever you think someone's lying." I look away.

"Where's Linda," I ask softly.

"She's upstairs on the phone." A couple seconds later he quietly gasps, catching on to why I asked. "You think I'll do something because we're alone?" I shrug.

"I don't know, I mean-"

"You've been fine for the past six months. You talk to Billie for an hour and you're back to the way you were when you first got here." I open my mouth to say something, but my cell phone starts ringing. I look up but Robbie's gazing at my pocket before saying, "Answer it." I pull my phone out of my pocket and press the green button.

"Hello," I ask, knowing it's Tysen.

"Hey," he says, sounding out of breath. "Is he still there?"

"No, but he's coming back. I didn't wanna move back in right away so we decided he'd stay here for a little while." It's silent for a few seconds.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I wish I was," I murmur. "You can come back over if you want." Robbie clears his voice.

"He can stay the night," he suggests. Tysen hears him.

"Can I stay in El's room," ysen inquires loudly so Robbie can hear him.

"I don't care, you do every other time."

"All right. Do you want me to sleep over, hun?"

"Of course I do," I exclaim, a big smile on my face. He chuckles.

"Okay, I'll be over in a little bit. I love you."

"Love you, too," I reply, then hang up. I look up at Robbie. "Is there a certain reason that you suddenly want him to come over?" He shrugs.

"I always want him to come over," he says.

"Usually, you're nervous around him whenever we're together." He watches me for a few seconds.

"I just don't want you to get hurt. Plus, I thought him being here would be a nice stress reliever with Billie around." I nod. Linda appears at the top of the stairs with the phone in her hand.

"I love my mother, but she never stops talking," she says, laughing a little. She stands behind the chair Billie was sitting in not too long ago. "What's going on?"

"Billie's gonna be staying with us for a couple of weeks," I tell her.

"Or until Ellie is comfortable enough to be alone in a house with him," Robbie says.

"And Tysen is staying over tonight," I finish.

"Okay, so dinner for five," she asks. Robbie and I nod. She runs into the kitchen to start that as Robbie stands.

"I'm gonna go help her," he says, then walks into the kitchen. I walk into the living room and sit on the couch, grabbing the remote. I turn the TV on and look for something to watch. I settle on SpongeBob SquarePants. After two episodes, someone knocks on the door. Robbie walks out of the kitchen and pulls it open.

"Hey, Tysen," he says, moving aside so Ty could walk in with his bookbag.

"Hey, Robbie," Ty replies politely. He sees me and instantly looks happier. He walks over and sits right next to me, dropping his bag on the cushion next to him.

"Do you wanna take it up to my room," I ask him, eying the bag.

"Only if you come with me," he says. I smile and stand as he does the same. Robbie watches us as we walk upstairs to my room. I sit down on my double bedas he looks at the numerous papers and notebooks on my desk.

"So what took you so long," I ask him as he picks up a black notebook.

"Nathan," he tells me with a disgusted expression. Nathan is Tysen's stepfather.

"What'd he do?"

"Just questioned me a lot." He fans through the scirbble filled pages. "Asked why I'm here so much."

"What did you tell him?" He looks up at me. After holding my gaze for a couple seconds. He puts the notebook down and sits next to me.

"The other day, when we were talking about your past, he was standing outside my door. I had my cell on speaker, so he knows everything." My breath catches in my throat. "He was just telling me how hard it will be to keep you happy once Billie is around all the time."

"So, for once, he actually helped you with something," I ask.

"Yeah," he answers. We hear the front door open and close. "I guess he's back." I nod. We stand up and Tysen takes my hand. We walk down the stairs and see Billie standing at the dining table. He turns around and looks at me. My heartbeat quickens. Ty notices, causing him to growl quietly.

"Don't kill him," I whisper to him, "yet."

I know from the look on Billie's face that he heard me.