This Moment was Held for Me

Another week passed and I had settled into the same routine of study, school and no socializing. I woke one Saturday morning to find that a light blanket of snow had settled on the streets overnight. I got myself ready for the day and was about to leave to work when I passed my calendar. I crossed off yet another day on my countdown; only 7 more days until Graduation. It was a reminder for me to confirm with Gerard whether he’d be there. It was actually going to be the first shift we’d had together for a few weeks. Mom had made me reschedule my shifts so that I worked alone. But today, I was finally going to see Gerard again. I trudged through the snow to arrive breathless at the comic store.
“Mia?” I heard a voice call from the back when I entered the shop.
“Gerard?” I answered instantly.
I saw him appear from the backroom. His navy scarf was wrapped around his neck and his raven hair was as unkempt as ever. He grinned devilishly at me before breaking into a run.
“I missed you!” he shrieked as he finally embraced me in a tight hug.
“And I’ve really missed you,” I said into his leather jacket.
He then hold me at arm’s length to study my face, “You look different actually..” he said hesitantly.
“Really?” I said, suddenly self-conscious.
“Yeah,” he said, “You look strained.”
I shrugged, “Yeah I am. I’ve been trying to sort this mess out.”
He continued to eye me, “Well try and relax,” he offered, “It’s going to be fine. I don’t like seeing you this stressed.”
I looked at my reflection in the glass shop counter. How did I look stressed? My cheeks were rosy from running in the snow, my hair was messy from the nipping wind, but other than that..
“You’ve got dark circles under your eyes,” Gerard explained, “And it looks like you’ve lost weight. You just look really strained.”
I looked up at him in surprise, “I didn’t think you’d notice all that.”
He looked at me seriously, “Mia, you’re one of my best friends. I love you. Of course, I’m going to notice...particularly when you look even skinnier..” he said pinching my wrist.
I sighed but said nothing.
“Well I still haven’t heard from Frank…” I finally said.
“Is that what’s worrying you?” Gerard asked patiently.
“Well yeah,” I said quietly, “It’s been weeks. I thought he would have contacted me, or came to see me.”
“Well have you checked your phone?” Gerard suggested.
“I’m not allowed to. Mom’s got it.”
Gerard sighed, “Well I’ll talk to him, if you want.”
“Hasn’t he said anything to you?” I asked shyly.
Gerard ruffled his own hair in thought, “Uh,” he said, “We’ve kind of just avoided the whole subject.”
Ouch. So Frank hadn’t really missed me that much. He didn’t even want to find out if I was OK.
“I guess I deserve it,” I mumbled.
“Deserve what?” Gerard said looking at me intently.
“Well Frank doesn’t miss me enough or care enough to talk to me. I guess I deserve his nonchalance,” I explained bravely, even though on the inside I didn’t want it to be true.
Gerard swallowed, “I’m quite sure he still cares. That’s why he doesn’t want to talk about it. He’s pretty upset.”
“Still?” I asked.
“Well yeah,” Gerard said defensively, “You’re the first girl that Frank legitimately liked and you just pushed him away. You know before you, Frank never even wanted a girlfriend. He had a new girl every few weeks. But once he met you, he really wanted to be like…committed.” Gerard trailed off.
“Well when is he going to forgive me? I wrote to him you know. A few times. He never once sent me something back.”
“Just give it time, sugar,” Gerard said as he patted my shoulder, “And for now, just focus on looking after yourself,” he said with a concerned look on his face.
I shrugged.
“Seriously,” Gerard lectured me, “It’s an important time for you right now. I know graduation is coming up,” he said with a grin.
“Yes!” I said, finally a spark of excitement could be heard in my voice.
“Amanda gave me the tickets,” Gerard said patting his pocket.
“So you’ll be able to make it?” I checked.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he smiled as he gripped me into another hug.