We Stitch These Wounds

I lay in bed that night unable to sleep. I've had insomnia for years and the events from tonight weren’t helping me sleep any. My mind was specifically focused on the fact that both Ronnie and Andy kissed me, and how I got butterflies from both. Andy was dared to kiss me. Ronnie did it on his own accord, but Ronnie use to kiss me all the time. He was just happy to see me again I wagered with myself. My brain was going 90 mile an hour. I let out a loud sigh as I rolled onto my stomach and put a pillow over my head trying to block out the light spilling into the room from under the door and the sounds coming from Jake's room. I hope it is just the TV I'm hearing and not him and Emily. I shuddered at the thought. I rolled over onto my back and laid my head on top of the pillow and stared at the ceiling for I don’t know how long. I let out a loud sigh as I grabbed my phone off of the bedside table. It read 4:33 A.M. I aggravatedly rubbed my hands over my face. I have been lying in bed for 4 hours and had yet to fall asleep.

I jumped slightly when my phone vibrated in my hands. I looked at the number confused as to who was calling me. The only thing I recognized was the familiar 702 area code from Las Vegas. I debated with myself whether or not to answer the phone, my curiosity ended up getting the best of me.

“Hello?” I answered a little unsure.

“Did I wake you?” Ronnie’s familiar voice asked from the other end of the phone. I don’t think I’d ever be able to forget his voice even if I wanted to.

“No I’ve been lying in bed for the past 4 hours in hopes of sleep, but it has yet to happen. God hates me.” I replied.

He chuckled. Oh how I’ve miss that laugh. “I couldn’t sleep either.” He replied. It was silent for a second, but not an awkward silence, a comfortable one. “Sooo … how long have you been in town for?” He asked after about thirty seconds of silence.

“Two days. I’m down for a job. I’ll be down here anywhere from 30 days to indefinitely … it depends on how much they like my work, and you?” I asked.

“I live here now.” He responded mater-of-factly. “Your job what do you do?” He asked curiously.

“I do photography. I usually do concert photography, but I’m doing a thirty day photo shoot for this company. It will be mostly portraits for models and what not. It not something that normally interest me, but its good money. They told me that if they like my work they have a sister company that works strictly with record labels and they would get me hired with them, so that’s kind of exciting.” I gushed. “If you live here now why do you still have a 702 area code?” I asked slightly confused.

“When I got out I lived in Las Vegas for a while and I haven’t changed my number yet. I’m kind of attached to the number. I’m happy I’m out of the area, but I kind of miss it … ya know?” He replied.

I smiled knowing what he meant all too well. “Yea I do. I still haven’t gone back. I missed you.” I said with a sigh.

“I miss you too. I still can’t believe you’re here … that you’re alive. You have no idea how much I wished and prayed that my Dad was wrong. I felt like I had been stabbed in the chest when he told me what happened. I wanted to die. I wanted so badly to be able to go to your funeral, to comfort your Mom … it’s just so mind blowing that you’re really here that all that was a lie. I’ve believed for the past two years that my best friend was dead. You’re really good at keeping secrets and dropping off of the face of the earth.” He said with a laugh.

“I’m sorry.” I replied my voice cracking as I tried to hold back tears.

“Are you crying?” He asked his voice raising an octave. “Please don’t cry.” He pleaded with me.

“I’m sorry it’s just I didn’t know you thought I was dead. I thought my Mom would have told your Dad what happened. Apparently she didn’t, I guess she was too preoccupied with me being in the hospital and packing. If I would have known I would have tried to get ahold of you. I thought you had just forgotten about me or something.” I said as I wiped the tears away that had managed to escape.

Ronnie scoffed at my last statement. “I mean this is the most loving way, but are you fucking stupid?!” He slightly yelled. “How the hell could I forget about you?! You refused to be in my first music video after the director pleaded with you.” He chuckled.

“Hey in my defense I was hiding from my Dad it probably wouldn’t have been the best idea to be blasting my face all over the TV and internet. Dude they had to take like twenty shots of y’all kissing it was getting annoying. She couldn’t make it real looking.” I whined thinking back to that day.

“So what did you do? You sat down your camera pushed her out of the way and said ‘Hey you … girl, you better watch. You’ve got to do it like this. I’m not going to show you this twice!’ And then proceeded to push me up against the wall and make out with me. Then out of nowhere you abruptly stopped, walked away, grabbed your camera and continued taking pictures of the guys; leaving everybody there including me speechless.” He laughed

“Hey I like to be behind the camera not in front of it!” I defended myself, both of us laughing.

This reminded me so much of before he went to jail. He would crawl in through my window every night and we would just sit there in my room for hours and talk until I fell asleep. The first couple of times this happened my Mom got pissed, but she eventually got over it and just gave him a key to the house, so he would stop scuffing up the siding of the house since he had to climb to the second floor to get to my room. She was just happy to see me coming out of my depression.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

If he would have been here I would have looked at him like he was stupid. I still made the face, but there was no one here to see it. “I’m lying in bed talking to you, dumbass.” I replied rolling my eyes.

“So nothing important?” He retorted.

“Well I don’t know about you, but I rather enjoy my sleep. I tend to think it’s very important!” I said nodding my head for emphasis. He can’t see you I reminded myself.

“Are you staying with Jake?” He asked.

“Yea I am. He refused to let me stay at a hotel. He said ‘That he had missed me too much, and that I was family. That family stayed with him not at some expensive hotel. That he had free room and board for me all I had to do was cook for him.” I said with a laugh. I heard a door shut and the dinging of an open car door. “What are you doing?” I asked confused.

“What do you think?” He replied.

“You can’t just kidnap me! I don’t think Jake would like that I just got here.” I retorted.

“I’m not kidnapping you.” He replied.

“Oh…” I replied. I don’t know why but I was kind of hurt that he wasn’t kidnapping me. “Well what are you doing?” I curiously asked.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” He replied knowing that his response would irk me. I growled causing him to laugh. “I’m going to get something from to eat. It’s like 5 in the morning and I’m starving.”

“Now I’m hungry, but I’m too lazy to cook something.” I whined.

“I see you haven’t changed. You’ve always starved yourself until your stomach can be heard growling from the other side of the room and then you eat enough food for three grown men.” He laughed.

“Well it’s better than eating constantly from boredom, because that’s my other option. I get fat when I do that. A fat Payton is not a happy Payton.” I said with a laugh.

“It going to take a while to get use to calling you that, I’m too attached to calling you Miranda. Hey hold on a second.” He said as he put the phone down to order some food. I sighed when I heard ‘Egg Mcmuffin’. My stomach growled at me. I got up from my bed and made my way to the kitchen in search for something to eat. “K back!” He said cheerily into the phone.

“Jake has no food!” I whined.

“That sucks. I guess there won’t be a fat unhappy Payton.” He replied mocking my earlier comment.

“You know normally I would hang up on you for that, but I don’t want to be left alone in this quiet house … weird sounds I don’t want to hear are coming out of Jake and Emily’s room.” I said scrunching my face in distaste as I heard the bed squeak and what sounded like a slap. Oh God they’ve got to be into some kinky shit that sounded like a whip … that or they really like it rough. I shook the thoughts from my head and walked back to my room. My craving for food was suddenly gone.

“Did you hear me?” Ronnie asked.

“No sorry I got distracted. I think Jake and Emily are using whips in there. I was trying not to vomit.” I replied as I climbed back into my bed.

He quietly chuckled. “Marco!” He whispered.

“Polo?” I loudly asked rather confused.

“What did you say?” He asked quietly.

“Why are you whispering?” I asked completely bewildered.

“Because normal people are sleeping right now.” He replied in a hushed tone.

“Fuck ‘em!” I replied loudly as I rolled onto my side and pulled the pillow back on top of my head. I just about jumped out of my skin when the bed dipped down next to me. I pulled the pillow off of my head and let out a squeak when I saw Ronnie sitting next to me. “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked putting my hand on my chest and feeling my racing pulse.

“Y’all should really learn to lock the door.” He said with a laugh and then held up a bag. “I come with food.” He said in his best alien voice.

I laughed and took the bag from his hands grabbing a sandwich and hash brown and handing him the bag back. I unwrapped my sandwich and placed the hash brown inside the sandwich, licking my lips before taking a bite. Ronnie was looking at me shaking his head.

“What?” I asked with a mouth full of food.

“You haven’t changed.” He replied with a smile and taking a bite of his sandwich.

“It’s all going to the same place.” I replied before taking another bit.

His phone went off and he messed with it for a few seconds before laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked as I leaned over and tried to look at his phone.

“I tweeted the picture of us from the beach and Max just asked if I learned black magic and if so he wants a voodoo doll of Craig.” He said showing me the message.

“Wait you tweeted a picture of me?!” I yelled as I punched his arm. “People aren’t supposed to see me!”

He looked at me like I was crazy. “You’re not hiding anymore.”

“Oh yea…” I replied as an embarrassed blush crept up my cheeks. “Well in that case let’s bring back the dead.” I said as I lifted up the side of my shirt showing off my tattoo that I got done back when Ronnie and Max were both starting out with Escape the Fate. I scrunched up my face and stuck out my tongue out at Ronnie who was taking a picture with his camera. “When did you two start talking again?” I asked as he sent the picture to Max via text message this time.

“Just recently. We don’t talk that often though.” I nodded my head.

We finished our food and patted the spot in bed next to me. Ronnie laid down and moved closer putting my head on his chest. “I missed this. It’s a lot nicer not being fucked up you know. We’re not constantly twitching and sniffing.” I said with a laugh.

“Yup.” He replied as he began rubbing his hand up and down my back like he use to when we were kids. My stomach was full now and the comfort of Ronnie was slowly lulling me to sleep. I fell asleep softly raking my nails up and down his arms. I hadn’t realized until now how much I had missed Ronnie and our friendship.