Escape

Gerard looked at her with a confused expression.

“I’m sorry, do I know you from somewhere?”

Her heart raced sporadically in her chest.

“I’m not expecting you to remember,” she said honestly. “You stopped replying to my letters years ago.”

“Oh fuck,” he cursed, his eyes going wide. “Vanna? Is that you?”

She nodded.

“I didn’t even recognize you! You look so different. I’m sorry I stopped replying. Things got-” Vanna held up her hand to stop him.

“It’s cool,” she replied shortly. “I’m over it.” Which she was, for the most part. They sent each other letters for about a year once she had to leave for Chicago, but he randomly stopped speaking with her. Six years had passed without a word from him, and that allowed time for her to forget and move on.

“Listen, I’m still going to be in town for a couple more days if you want to catch up,” he offered, a small smile on his face. She bit her lip, wanting to decline, but as soon as she looked into his eyes she couldn’t.

“Yeah… Okay.” Gerard’s eyes lit up and he smiled full on now.

“I’ll treat you to lunch tomorrow.”

[x]

Vanna invited Gerard over, more so because she knew she’d be tired and she wouldn’t want to leave her house. Surprisingly, once she woke up that morning she wasn’t nervous at all. After she calmed down from the shock of seeing him again, it wasn’t a big deal to her.

When she went down the stairs she felt refreshed after a dreamless night of sleep. The clock on the wall told her it was 11:30 so Gerard would be over at any minute. As she went into the kitchen she noticed a note on the counter.

V,

Hanging out with the guys today/tonight. Got the day off. See you.

She smiled to herself. It was cute, really, how Russell and his friends were. They were close like they were still in high school, but they acted like mature adults when need be. They came over often, and she would often be included. A lot of girls didn’t like to be considered one of “the guys” but she loved it. She had her own family here. It was definitely more supportive and loving than the family she was born with.

The doorbell suddenly rang loudly, echoing through the house. Vanna walked over and answered it, suddenly realizing that she was still in her pj’s when she noticed Gerard was wearing actually normal clothes. She blushed slightly and looked down, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

“Come in,” she said, opening the door wider for him to step inside. He did, nodding to her as a thank you. His eyes scanned around the house.

“Nice place you got here,” he commented. She smiled.

“Thanks. Russell lived here first, I just moved in a couple years ago.”

He raised a brow. “Oh?”

“Roommate,” she explained. He nodded again. Vanna walked and stood beside him. “My room, the bathroom, and a guest room are upstairs,” she said, pointing up the stairs. “This is the living room and entry way, obviously,” she continued. She walked forward toward the kitchen, gesturing for him to follow. He did. “His room is right there,” she told him, pointing to the door on her right. “And this is the kitchen.”

Gerard plopped down in a chair at the kitchen counter. “Thank you for the lazy tour.”

“How does pasta sound?” She asked. He shrugged.

“Sure.”

Vanna filled a pot with water and set it on the stove, setting it on high.

“You uh, you really do look different,” he commented behind her. She turned around and looked at him.

“In a good way or a bad way?”

“Good,” he said quickly, nervously. “I meant good,” he continued, beginning to rant. “You look good. Healthy. You don’t look like you’re about to break. You’ve filled out too,” He added at the end, almost to himself. Her eyes went wide and a fierce blush appeared on her cheeks. She giggled.

“Thank you, I suppose.” There was an awkward silence that filled the room. “So, you’re in a band now?”

“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “Three years now. This band is saving my life, and apparently other people too. It feels nice to know that I’m doing something good. You should come to our show tomorrow night; I can figure something out and get you backstage. A couple of the guys have girlfriends so the guest list is full now, but…”

“Is it the same place you played last night?” He nodded. “Russ works there. I would’ve gone with him but I had work.”

“Well then you don’t get a choice of going,” He said confidently. She smiled.

The water began boiling so she grabbed a little package of rigatoni noodles out of the pantry and poured them into the pot, stirring after. They made small talk, mostly Gerard talking about his band mates and his sudden “fame.” She could tell that the whole thing was still very foreign to him and it was debatable on whether or not he liked it. Once the pasta was done she drained it, then put it in two different bowls, pouring sauce over them. She shoved one in front of him, handing him a fork a minute after. They ate slowly, not talking much.

“Thanks for lunch,” he said, standing up. “I should get going.” She nodded and walked with him to the front door. “I’ll see you tomorrow though, right?” He asked, hopeful.

“Yep,” she told him. “I’ll see you there.” He suddenly launched forward and enveloped her in a hug. It was still warm and wonderful, just as she remembered, but now he smelled of cigarettes.

“I’ll see you,” she told him after he pulled away, giving a small smile before closing the door.