Ignorance Is Bliss, Cherish It

I laid awake for the rest of the night, unable to sleep. When it was light out, I decided to get out of bed. I stumbled to the bathroom, before I went to the kitchen. I was surprised to see that Frank was up and cooking. I felt bad for how I had talked to him last night. I wanted to apologize, but I wasn't sure how to do anything. So instead, I quietly went over to the coffee pot on the counter and got some of the coffee I could only assume Frank had made. From the corner of my eye I saw Frank turn his head slightly to look at me. I took my coffee to the kitchen table and sat down. I saw Frank had also gotten the newspaper. I grabbed it and glanced through it's pages. Then I saw a picture of my mother. There was a small article telling about her funeral. Seeing her picture made me feel sick. My mother was dead. Dead. I still couldn't believe it. I crumpled up the paper and threw it in the garbage before I rushed back to the bathroom. I locked the door and sat on the tub and cried. That's all I could think of doing at the moment.

About 10 minutes later, with me still crying, there was a light knock on the bathroom door.

"Iris?" Frank said.

"Go away," I said quietly, crying a little more harder.

"Let me in, Iris," Frank said. I wiped my eyes before reluctantly opening the door a little bit.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Let me in," Frank said again. I opened the door a little more and Frank came in. He grabbed a tissue out of the tissue box and wiped my face, drying it off. It was pointless though, because I was still crying, just not as heavily. Frank hugged me and I buried my head in his shoulder, and my crying grew heavier.

"I'm sorry, Frank," I said after a minute. I felt Frank rub my back gently.

"It's ok," he said. I looked up at him abruptly.

"It's not ok!" I yelled. "You're being so nice to me and I just treat you like shit!"

"Well you're hurting right now," he said. "You have every right to treat me like shit."

I shook my head and left the bathroom. I went to my bedroom and just laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Iris?" Frank said. It had been a few minutes since I had left the bathroom.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you want me to stay here for a few days?" he asked. I looked at him.

"If you don't mind," I said. "I could really use the company."

"I don't mind," Frank said. "I'm just going to go to my place and grab some clothes."

"Ok," I said. "See you later."

Frank smiled at me before he left my room. When I heard the front door open and close I got out of my bed and went to my mom's room. The door was closed, but I slowly opened it. I tiptoed to the bed and climbed into it. I buried my head in the blankets and pillows, smelling my mom on them. It was comforting, and I quickly fell asleep.