Ivory Tower

His voice jolted them from their sleep. Josh Franceschi barely ever yelled. He also left a situation if it meant that he would end up yelling. He hated it, but this time..

"What the fuck is going on?" Josh yelled. "Genny, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Josh," Genny stated, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Josh spat, gritting his teeth.

"I came for you," Genny replied, getting out of bed. "You weren't here when I got here so we all went out for drinks and food."

"I don't care about that," Josh spat once more. "Why are you in bed with Max if you came here for me?"

"Nothing happened, mate. You know me better than that," Max mumbled, getting out of bed himself.

"What's all the yelling?" Dan asked, coming into the bedroom.

"Why is he in bed with my girlfriend?" Josh asked.

"Ex-girlfriend," Dan mumbled.

"Don't say that!" Josh yelled, covering his ears.

"There was no place for me to sleep last night," Genny sighed. "I told Max I'd sleep on the couch, then he said he'd sleep in your bed. I told him that I wouldn't put him out like that and that sleeping in the same bed was like when he and I were kids. That's it. We didn't have sex. Max and I have never had sex."

"Never," Max nodded.

Josh stared at Genny standing there in one of his old t-shirts and her bed shorts. He fought everything in him that was saying, "kiss her!"

"Genny, can we go for a walk?" Josh asked, shoving his hands in pockets. He hung his head low, avoiding the glances of his bandmates.

"Okay," Genny nodded. "Just let me put some pants on."

Josh gave all the guys a look, telling them to get out. Josh left the room, too. He didn't want to, but he knew that if he saw her without pants on he'd be forced to toss her on the bed and reenact old memories. The memories that had gotten him in so much trouble with the girls in L.A he'd dated.

Genny came out a few minutes later in jeans and Josh's jacket and nodded towards the door. It seemed like they had been walking forever by the time Josh finally spoke.

"You actually came all the way here for me?" Josh asked.

"Who else would I come for?" Genny asked, looking at him. He wouldn't look at her. His eyes followed his feet as they walked forwards.

"Elissa told you I was leaving?"

"I was with her when she got the text," Genny nodded. "I can't believe you'd leave like that."

Josh gave a derisive laugh and shook his head. "You've got a lot of nerve saying something like that."

"The reason I left and the reason you left are two totally different things," Genny glared. "When are you going to stop making me feel bad about that?"

"When are you going to let me into your heart?" Josh spat.

"When you let me into yours," Genny retorted just as quickly.

"Are you kidding?" Josh replied. "Are you actually being serious right now? When I let you into my heart? I've always let you in!"

"No you haven't, Josh!" Genny yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration. "You pushed me away! Do you hear that? You pushed me away, not the other way around."

"No I-"

"You did! I'm so sick and tired of hearing how I'm the one who hurt you. You hurt me, too. You were so focused on me that you never bothered to tell me when things were bad for you," Genny cried. "That's why you're so angry with me for leaving. Max forgave me the second he saw me. He collapsed into tears and hugged me when he saw me. He told he was happy that I was okay and that I was safe. I didn't get that from you until you heard I was in an institute."

"When are you going to forgive me, huh?" Genny asked. "How many more miles do I have to travel for you to realize that I love you?"

"It's not that easy," Josh replied.

"Oh, it's that easy." Genny stated, grabbing his arm and making him stop walking. "It's as easy as 'Genny, I love you and I forgive you.' I also wouldn't object to you apologizing."

"An apology?"

"For being a grade A prick," Genny nodded.

"I never did anything, but love you." Josh laughed cruelly.

"Up until I needed you the most," Genny replied.

"You expected me to stay? You expected me to sit around for God knows how long until you came home?" Josh asked. "I looked for you, Genny. I ran all over town looking for you. I went all over looking for you, I called everyone that we knew. No one knew where you were. I called the police and nothing happened. So I moved on with my life. That's not what you want to hear, but I don't care."

"Did you miss me?" Genny asked. "Just answer me that."

"Did I miss you? What the fuck kind of question is that?" Josh asked, tears forming in his eyes. Genny hadn't seen him cry in a long time. "Of course I missed you! I missed you every single day! My life has been miserable without you. No one can replace the fucking gaping hole in my heart that you left. No one can fix me. Not even me. And it's your fault."

Genny nodded. "I know."

"No, Genny. You really don't," Josh cried, shaking his head. "I was terrified something had happened to you. I was so scared that you had died or someone had taken you. You told me that you were fine with that note and that you were okay, but that wasn't enough. That's why I went to the police, but they couldn't do anything. It fucking destroyed me."

"Everybody thinks that I was the one who destroyed you, but you destroyed me, too. You hurt me so fucking bad, Genny." Josh sobbed. He couldn't see his tears were coming so quickly.

"Josh," Genny whispered, reaching to hold him.

"Don't," Josh sobbed, pulling away. "If I take you in my arms right now I'll never let you go. I'll forgive you and I don't want to. I'm so mad at you, Genny. You abandoned me."

"Can't we try again?" Genny asked, crying her own tears now. "We're so good together."

"Are we?" Josh asked. "I'm not so sure anymore."

"How can you not be sure?" Genny asked, her heart racing. "I know that I've made some mistakes and so have you, but I love you. You mean the world to me. I know that we lost touch for a while and we grew apart, but that doesn't mean I stopped loving you. I thought about you every single day that I was in Lambeth. I brought you my journal that I kept while I was there. I wanted you to read it so you would know what it was like."

"How do I know you won't leave again?" Josh asked.

"You don't," Genny replied. "You just have to trust me. You have to trust us."

"Can you trust me?" Josh asked. "Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you can trust me again? That you won't run away anymore?"

"I always trusted you, Josh."

"Not enough," Josh whispered. "You shut me out. A lot."

"Then I'll work on that!" Genny replied.

A silence came between them. Both were thinking. Genny was praying that Josh would agree to be with her again. Josh was seeing if the negatives outweighed the positives. He had a lot of negatives, but one very large positive.

"I love you," He mumbled. "Despite all your bullshit, I love you."

"I love you, too. Despite you being a prick 85 percent of the time," Genny smiled.

"85 percent? That's not too bad," Josh smiled, holding her face.

The kiss. Oh, the kiss. It was perfect. It was better than the kisses they shared in their apartment a few days prior. This one meant something. This kiss was the seal on the agreement that they were back together and all was forgiven. Josh held her tightly to him, his hands all over her and pushing her body even closer to his.

That night, after kicking Max out of the room, Josh had sex with the real Genny. When he moaned her name, it was right. She responded with tugging his hair and breathing his name in his ear like always, followed by that hip rotation that drove him mental.

For the first time in months, almost a year, Josh Franceschi felt at home. He was at ease and comfortable in the arms of the woman who had broken his heart and put it back together, all in one night.