Adolescent Suicide

--10 Years Later--

She sighed heavily as she flipped through the ledger for the month. Her business, her own salon, was going quite well these days. The only bad thing was, was spending time away from her family. But they understood. They always had. Especially because Mercy was so happy. Everything she had wanted in life was hers. Even things that she hadn’t expected to ever happen. Mercy picked up her pen and made a small note in the margins of one of the pages before setting it down once more, a small smile coming over her face. With that, she closed the book and stood, grabbing her jacket and turning out all the lights before locking up the shop and heading home.

It was a short drive to the two story house that her and Frank had bought eight years ago, and was finally paid off. Mercy grinned broadly as she parked her small car in the driveway. Fall was just coming to New Jersey, and multi-colored leaves littered the lawn. Next door, she could see Gerard out raking leaves, his two daughters jumping into the neat piles he had made and causing him to start all over. Mercy lifted a hand to wave at him, which he returned with a shake of his head before letting out a ferocious growl and jumping after Layla and Vania Way.

Mercy chuckled as she walked up the concrete walk to the front door. Inside, she could smell something cooking in the kitchen and the TV was up to abnormal levels, the sounds of some cartoon berating her ears.

“Frank!” she called out, putting her purse on the table in the hallway. She peeled off her flats and put them in the hall closet as she waited for her husband to appear. It didn’t take him very long. He careened around the corner, an excited smile upon his beautiful face. Even after all these years, he was still the hyperactive, amazing man that he had been when she first met him. Frank hadn’t changed, and for that, she was glad.

“Wifey!” he exclaimed, enveloping her in a hug.

Mercy laughed and hugged him back, nuzzling into his chest. No matter how many times they had hugged in the past, every time they did again, Mercy got butterflies in her stomach. Even after almost ten years of being married, Frank made her still feel like he did when they were a new couple.

“What are you cooking, babe?” she asked, looking up to him with an arched brow.

“Cajun macaroni and cheese,” he replied, taking her hand to lead her into the kitchen. On the stove, the water was boiling and steam was emitting in billows. Another thing that hadn’t changed. Frank still couldn’t cook to save his life. Though, it was amusing to watch him try.

Mercy sat down at the kitchen table and watched as her husband went to try and salvage his meal. It had been such a long time since she had felt this safe, this secure. From the very beginning, Mercy had felt happy and content with Frank. She knew that there was nothing else in the world that could make her feel the way he did. Well. With one exception.

“Mommy!”

If her face had lit up at seeing Frank, it was nothing compared to how she looked when the little girl ran into the kitchen, arms outstretched and the remains of chocolate on her left cheek. It seemed that Frank had let her dress herself again that day, for she was wearing a pair of orange shorts and a blue and green polka dotted tank top. He had also done her hair, for the mass of dark brown was piled on top of her head in a pony tail that fountained down her back and around her small shoulders.

Dacie Iero. Her miracle child. The doctors didn’t know how it had been possible. They had thought that the cancer had made her completely sterile. But, five years ago, Mercy had gone to the doctor’s for morning sickness, and had come out three months pregnant. They had gone through the pregnancy with the utmost care. Mercy had been put on total bed rest for the entire time, something that she was not too happy to do, and Frank heard about it every day.

But, it had been for the best. Dacie was the perfect daughter. And, it was something of theirs, something they had created together. Mercy would put up with years and years of bed rest, if only she could have her daughter. Her father, who passed away several months after Dacie was born, said that he had never seen his daughter more happy than she was when she first held her.

“Dacie!” Mercy exclaimed, picking her daughter up and holding her close to her chest. “Were you good for Daddy today?”

“Of course I was Mommy. We wented to the store and he boughted me some new crayons so I could draw you a picture. Wanna see it?” she asked, turning those beautiful hazel eyes up towards her mother with a goofy smile that was just like her father’s.

“Of course I do. Go and get it.” Mercy sat Dacie back on the ground and watched as her daughter ran off towards the living room.

Frank, after spooning great amounts of macaroni into some bowls for everyone, moved over to her and crouched at her feet. Tenderly, he reached up and cupped her cheek before placing a sweet kiss on her ready lips. “I missed you today,” he whispered, moving to kiss her cheek.

Mercy smiled softly, closing her eyes and allowing Frank to kiss her all over with the same tenderness that he had shown from day one.

“Daddy! Mommy! Ew!”

They pulled apart, laughing slightly at Dacie, who was standing in the doorway with a very large piece of paper clutched to her chest, the end of it landing on the floor in front of her. Her nose was wrinkled in disgust at seeing her two parents kiss and love on each other.

“Come here, girlie. Let me see that beautiful picture,” Mercy said, beckoning the small girl forward.

Dacie moved to her, tripping a few times on the sheet of paper. Finally, she set it up on the table and smoothed it out with her chubby little hands. Mercy picked her up and set her on her lap as she began speaking, telling her what it was a picture of, though Mercy could already see what it was. Even at such a young age, Dacie had beautiful drawing skills, something that Gerard wanted to help perfect.

It was a group of people standing on a patch of grass, all holding hands. First, there was Bob and his wife, Cassi, holding each other close. Cassi’s long red hair fell down around her stick-figure waist. On the ground, reaching up towards it, was their son, Aiden, his own hair brighter than his mother’s. Right next to them was Gerard and Sici, her best friend’s stomach huge due to the fact that they were expecting their third child. Layla and Vania were standing in front of them, arms around each other. Standing just a few feet away was Mikey and his second wife, Elsa, with his twin sons from his first marriage Cole and Garrett, and his daughter from his second marriage, Oakley. Next up was herself with Frank, holding Dacie in between them with smiles on their faces. And last, but certainly not least, was Ray and his girlfriend Quinn with their triplets Parker, Paxton, and Piper.

They all looked so happy, so content. They were one large, happy family, despite the fact that they, for the most part, lived in difference cities across the US. They saw each other frequently, especially for the holidays. They had gone through so much together, had seen so many things. Something like My Chemical Romance changes people, especially the people who were in it. And those men were closer than anything that Mercy had ever seen before. And their wives or girlfriends were great too. They all got along so nicely. It was like they were meant to be. It was like they were separate pieces of a puzzle, all fitting together with acute preciseness.

“Do you like it Mommy?”

Mercy looked down at Dacie and smiled, nodding her head. “It’s beautiful,” she commented before looking up at Frank, who had the same smile on his face.

“It’s our family. Our very big and happy family,” Dacie said, pointing her finger at the picture.

The woman leaned down and kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “That it is. That it is.”