Sequel: When I Looked at Her
Status: Completed!

Ivory Tower

I Didn't See It Coming

Genny sat up in bed watching Josh as he slept. He was such a simple sleeper, meaning he didn't shift a lot. Once he found a comfortable position he stayed in it the entire night. He was also a heavy sleep, almost nothing ever woke him up. Genny always joked that a tornado could go right through their bedroom and Josh wouldn't even move.

Genny thought about the the things he had said earlier that day. She thought about he had told her that he had thought about leaving her while she was "sick", that he couldn't handle it. She wondered if she was still a burden to him. He would never tell her if she was. Josh Franceschi was too much of a gentleman for that.

He had never acted differently around her, and then she began to wonder if he was truly happy with her. Was he really always afraid that something would happen again? Was he so scared that he'd "lose" her again that he wouldn't marry her?

Genny wondered what her life would be like without Josh. It would be miserable and she would hate it, but she thought what it would mean for Josh if she had never come around. She wondered what it would've meant for him had he actually left her. He wouldn't be so bogged down with her emotional issues, he wouldn't be nervous and anxious about her all the time. He would have time for himself. He deserved time for himself, to be able to take care of himself. He had been so busy taking care of her that he'd neglected himself.

Genny got up out of bed and walked around the apartment. She looked at all the pictures of them together. She remembered all the good times they had and all the bad times in-between. She really did love Josh, he was everything to her.

"What are you doing?" Came his voice from their bedroom doorway. Genny turned around and saw him standing there in just his pajama pants, moving his hair out of his eyes. "It's still night time, baby."

"I couldn't sleep," Genny replied, pulling the sleeves of her shirt over her hands

"Come back to bed," Josh mumbled, holding his hand out to her. Genny walked closer to him, taking his hand. Josh led her back to bed, crawling in behind her. He held her tightly and fell back asleep almost instantly.

Genny stayed awake. All she could think about was the pain and hardships she'd put Josh through. Eventually she worried herself into a light sleep.

Josh woke up the next morning to Genny not in bed.

"Love?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. He slowly pulled himself from their bed and shuffled across the cold hardwood floor to the kitchen.

"Genny? Where are you, love?" He asked. He looked in the kitchen and didn't find her. He looked in the bathroom and didn't find her. Finally he looked in the little space they used as a living room and didn't spot her. She wasn't in her usual spot by the window. She was nowhere.

Josh quickly walked back to the kitchen looking for a note and never spotted one.

"Genevieve, this isn't fucking funny." Josh stated loudly. He walked to the bathroom and spotted the note taped to the mirror.

He read it once. Twice. Three times hoping that at some point it would start to make sense, but it never did. His heart was hammering in his chest, he felt like he was going to throw up. He placed his hands on either side of the sink steadying himself. With a lurch forward Josh threw up nothing but liquid. It burned on it's way up and burned as it slid back down his throat.

Josh ran back to their bedroom and grabbed a shirt and his shoes. He ran as far from the house as he could, texting all their friends and her separate friends along the way. He ended up at the tiny condo of Max Helyer and began banging on the door. He banged on the door for two minutes straight, screaming and begging for Max to open the door.

"What the fuck has gotten into you, Josh?" Max yelled when he opened the door. "Have you gone mad?"

"Genny left me!" Josh screamed, thrusting the note into Max's hands.

Max stared at him wide-eyed. He scrambled to read the note, his hands clumsy. Josh pushed passed him and walked into the condo. He sat on the couch and rested his head in his hands. He ran over the note in his mind over and over again, it still never made sense.

"I don't understand," Max stated, closing the door and walking over to Josh. "This isn't like her."

"This is like her a year ago," Josh muttered. "This isn't like the Genny I met at your house. This Genny is some anxious, panicked, psycho bitch."

"Hey," Max snapped. "That's my best friend."

"Well your best friend just left me," Josh spat. "She told me she wanted to get engaged again and then she left me in the middle of the night.'

"There's got to be some explanation for this," Max stated, reading the note again. "It just doesn't add up."

"Of course it does," Josh mumbled. "She wanted to get engaged again, I told her that I wanted to wait and make sure we were both ready and she left me because I told her what she didn't want to hear."

Max just sat with his best friend and said nothing. He didn't know what to say. He had no words of advice for Josh, he was still in shock himself. He couldn't believe Genny would actually pick up and leave like that.

"What am I supposed to do now, Max?" Josh asked, his voice quivering. He had fought so hard not to cry, but he couldn't hold it in any longer. He let out a loud sob and his body shook.

"I don't know, mate. I don't know," Max sighed, putting an arm around his best friend.
♠ ♠ ♠
This chapter is back in the present tense! Okay. So who hates me for this chapter? haha.
Thanks to those who have read, subscribed and commented thus far! Please, keep it up!