Adolescent Suicide

Mercy bundled her jacket around her, tugged on her mittens, scarf, and earmuffs before walking outside into the freezing night air of New Jersey. It had been a very long and tiresome day. They had spent it at the Way household, sitting around in the living room and just talking. Many tears had fallen, gasps had been heard, and cries of outrage emitted from every single parent’s mouth that afternoon. Mercy was, to be honest, quite exhausted. At the moment, all she wanted to do was go back to her hotel room and sleep for days on end.

She leaned against the railing, her breath coming out in little puffs of white smoke. Grayish snow covered the ground, and by the looks of the sky, there appeared to be more on it’s way. Not that Mercy minded. After the year in Florida, she was more than ecstatic to see the dirty snow that now surrounded her. It made her feel like she was finally home, that this was where she belonged; that this was where she was supposed to be all along.

The sound of the screen door opening made her jump slightly, her hand going to her heart. She turned to see that it was only Frank, a sheepish smile on his face, and his body also bundled up against the extreme weather.

“Hey. Thought I’d join you out here. I don’t like you being alone,” he said, standing next to her, mimicking her posture by leaning on the railing as well.

Mercy smiled softly, reaching over to take on of his hands in hers. “Thank you. I like having your ass around,” she said, squeezing his hand with hers before looking forward, her eyes following a dark red pick up truck as it drove past slowly, the tires crunching the icy snow.

Beside her, Frank inhaled sharply and turned his body to face her. “Mercy?”

The woman arched a brow and turned to him so that they were now facing one another, her head tilted slightly upwards to look into his eyes. “What’s up, Frank?” she asked, curious.

“I, um…” he paused, averting his eyes down to his shuffling feet.

Mercy reached up and put a finger beneath his chin, lifting his head up to make him look at her. “Frank? What’s wrong?”

Frank let out a shaky breath. “Just give me a second,” he said, obviously very nervous about something.

“Okay. Take your time,” she replied, her brows furrowed.

She had no idea what it was that would make him so nervous. That was one thing that she thought Frank not to be, and that was a nervous person. Especially with her. He was always so full of himself, of life. He made it seem that there was nothing in this world that was worth being nervous over. Mercy absolutely loved that about him.

“Mercy, you know that I love you more than life itself. We’ve been through so much shit together. All our obstacles that we have passed is enough to assure me that you are the one. God would not have put us through so much if we weren’t meant to be together. You are funny, smart, absolutely beautiful. You are perfect. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

One corner of her lips tugged up, a sarcastic comment already on the tip of her tongue. But before she could say anything, Frank dug into his jeans as he knelt on one knee. A gasp came out, one of her hands flying to cover her mouth. He was…No. He wasn’t. Was he? She couldn’t believe it. Her hands began to shake and she began to feel extremely light headed. Mercy’s breath came out in shallow gasps.

“Mercy Lavania Bryar, I want to be the person that you wake up to every morning. I want to protect you and take care of you. I want to be that guy who’s hand you hold as we walk through the store to buy you tampons. I absolutely won’t have it any other way, because life without you isn’t really life at all. It’s an empty shell. So, what I’m asking is, will you marry me?”

Tears fell over her lower lids as he opened up the small black velvet box to reveal a very large sapphire surrounded by smaller diamonds set in spotless white gold. He pulled it out with trembling fingers and placed the box at his feet before holding the ring up to her so she could see it better. Mercy took the ring, but couldn’t see through her tears.

“I know it’s not a traditional diamond. It’s just…you’re so unique and special, I wanted a ring that said that. If you don’t li-”

Mercy cut him off. “No, no! It’s beautiful Frank. It’s perfect,” she said, sniffling with a smile before nodding. “Yes, Frank. Yes, I will marry you.”

A huge smile lit up his face and he jumped up, wrapping his arms around her. Frank rained kisses all over her face, soaking up the tears that stained her cheeks. “Mercy, I promise to be a good husband to you. I promise that you won’t ever have to worry about anything ever again.”

“I know,” she whispered, resting her forehead against his for a second.

Finally, he took the ring from her hands and slid her glove off so that he could put the ring on her. With gentle, caring gestures, Frank slid the ring onto her finger. The metal was warm compared to the air and it fit perfectly. It was almost like she had been made to wear that specific ring. They both inspected it for a second, then wrapped themselves in each other again, clinging tightly, possessively to one another.

“I love you, Mercy Bryar,” he whispered into her ear.

“And I love you, Frank Iero,” she replied.