Cross My Heart

“Visiting hours are over. Mr. Hanson, you can stay everyone else, out.” A strict looking nurse poked her head in the door of Lisa’s room. For the past 5 hours we had all just sat and stared at her while she slept off the meds from her surgery.
“Here.” Adam handed Josh what appeared to be a 50 dollar bill as we stood up. “You guys get yourselves something to eat…the rest is a birthday present.” He explained and Josh and I walked out with our eyes on the ground.
I stopped right outside the door and listened through the wall.
“…was only pretending to sleep.” It was Lisa’s voice. Instead of going inside, I stood and listened, Josh holding my hand. “I’m so glad they found each other, aren’t you?” Lisa asked Adam.
“Yes, I am. I was hoping something would happen in this city to cheer Phoenix up, after seeing her records, I mean.”
“And before she came, Josh would barely ever leave that house…” A smile played on my lips while I listened to them talk.
“C’mon, I think my stomach might eat itself.” Josh said and pulled me along down the hall.
“I’m sorry this had to happen on your birthday.” I said to Josh was we walked out of the front doors of the hospital.
“Don’t say that. It sucks that it happened any day, that it happened on my birthday means nothing.” He said. “I’m sorry Lisa had to go through this at all…and I’m sorry you have to watch her go through it.”
I looked down at my feet as we walked down the side walk on the way back to civilization.
“So, where to for dinner?”
“Can we just go back to my place? Order a pizza and watch a movie?”
“Sounds great.” Josh wrapped his arm around my waist as we began heading along the long trail back to Acadia road.
*
“Remember that time I promised to slam a revolving door?” Josh and I laid on my couch, the crumbs and crusts of a Little Creasers pizza on the coffee table. Josh had his arms wrapped around me, and that was the only thing that kept me from falling off the couch.
“Vaguely.” I replied. Really, I remembered almost ever conversation I had ever had with Josh.
“I will, one day. Hopefully soon.” He said, playing with a stray lock of my hair.
Josh had let me pick the movie to watch, though it was his birthday…or it was, seeing as it was almost 1 AM by now. We watched The Labyrinth, and I swear, it was on its second run by now.
“I’m counting the seconds.” I said sarcastically, rolling over to face him. “Are you really going to let me watch the Labyrinth until we have to go to school tomorrow, or are you going to be a good boy and get a new movie?” I asked.
“Or…we could entertain ourselves in other ways…?” Josh asked with a smirk.
“You dirty fuck.” I said and kissed him. “Movie. Now.”
“Fine.” Josh groaned and got up from the couch, which required me getting up to.
As Josh searched through the movies the phone rang. I jumped in surprise as the loud noise filled the house, then ran for the phone.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Hey Phoenix!” It was Shaun.
“Shaun! Do you know what time it is!?” I practically yelled into the phone.
“Yes, yes I do. I also know of your sleep issues, along with Josh’s, and figured you’d be awake and he would be there somewhere.”
“Why does Josh need to be here?”
“Because Matt needs to talk to him and was to afraid of Sara to call, so he got me to call you…now go get Josh and I’ll get Matt.” The sound of the phone hitting the counter came on the other line. I sighed and called Josh into the kitchen.
“Hey…?” josh asked into the phone slowly as I handed it to him.
“Um…Good news.” He said, seeming to brighten up when he realized it wasn’t a death threat. “No fucking way!” He yelled.
“What, what, what!?” I asked, not waiting until the phone call was over like a normal person.
“I’ll put it on speaker.” Josh said and pulled the phone away from his face, clicking the speaker button. “Now tell Phoenix.”
I heard Matt sigh on he other line. “I got Ramsay’s Fiction a gig for Friday night.” He didn’t seem as happy as I thought he would be about this.
“Bad news next.” I said to the phone, not freaking out in excitement for Josh and the band until I knew what had Matt down.
“Bad news: Morgan can’t play.” Matt said. It took Josh five seconds to react.
“Fuck!” He screamed and jumped up.
“Ouch, Josh, inside voice please?” I asked, rubbing my ears.
“Why can’t she play?” Josh asked, ignoring me.
“She broke her arm yesterday, duh. You were there, Ramsay.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Josh paced back and forth around my kitchen, deep in though. I could almost see the light bulb when he jumped up.
“Phoenix!” Josh pointed to me as if I didn’t know my name. “You can play bass, right?”
“I don’t like where this is going…”
“Phoenix…” Josh put on the puppy dog face he knew I couldn’t resist. “I wuv you…”
“Oh, cut the crap Josh I’ll play.”
“Yay!” Josh ran at me and picked me up in a bone crushing hug, spinning me around.
“Boo ya!” I heard Matt yell from the phone. “Perfect, we’ve only got a five song set, Josh, you know what to do.” Matt hung up.
“Now, you, my little slave.” Josh turned to me.
“I prefer the term ‘underpaid workaholic’.”
“Do you have a bass?” Josh ignored my comment.
“No. I can play, just not very well.”
“That doesn’t matter, right now what matters is you have five songs to learn and three days to do it.”
*
“Playing Dead.”
“De-ea-d.” Josh clapped. It turned out; the hard part wasn’t teaching me to play the songs, but to sing the harmonies without fucking up.
“I love you, Phoenix!” Josh exclaimed and tackled me to the floor in a hug. We sat on the floor in his basement.
“I hate you, Ramsay.”
“You can’t hate me, you love me to much.” He said with a smirk, pushing himself up so he floated inches from my face.
“Fuck you.”
“Gladly.”
I let my head fall back in exasperation. “What am I gonna do with you?” I asked, placing a hand on his cheek.”
“Love me, feed me, and never leave me.” He said, smiling and kissed me.