About a Girl

Two Months Later

So the tour had been cancelled. All Time Low was totally up to it but really how could The Academy Is perform? I felt like the tour getting cancelled was entirely my fault – though Alex and Adam would constantly tell me different. I would just shake my head at them. No matter what they or anyone else said – I knew the truth. It would’ve been better if I had never come out on this tour. It didn’t matter if I was happy with Alex or not, because he’s face wouldn’t have that cut across his cheek that would eventually turn into a scar. A scar that would forever taint his beautiful face.

“Hey, babe,” I looked up from studying the road and over to where Alex’s hands where on the wheel. The road always looked so differently when you were in a car versus in a bus. “We’re almost to Brendon’s place.”

I nodded. I hadn’t really talked that much sense we left the last tour stop in… Gah, I can’t even remember where we were. Maybe that’s just how much I want to block it out. Good. If I could just stand looking at Alex’s face for a solid five minutes like I used to… Maybe that was asking for too much, I don’t know. But at least the bruising has all gone away; the cut just has to heal still.

Sooner than I had hoped, Alex put the car in park outside of a tall apartment building. I looked up at it through the passenger side window and thought about how it had used to be my home. I don’t think about it that way anymore. My home is in Maryland now, with Alex and his dogs, Sebastian and Peyton. I think I feel more at home in Baltimore than I ever did in Chicago or New York City. I just wanted to get the rest of my stuff out of there and go home.

Suddenly, ‘Lex appeared in my view. He knocked on the window, “Are you going to get out?”

I nodded again and he opened my door for me, “Thanks.”

Alex took my hand and held it close. A smile lit my lips and we walked inside the lobby. The ride on the elevator was more than boring. Alex didn’t speak a word to me, which concerned me a little. I figured he would say something to me, like how he was jealous of Brendon. He had said this before, a lot of times, actually. It made me wonder why he was choosing now to remain silent.

“Alex?” I spoke his name just as the elevator doors dinged open and my mouth went rigid. But by the look he gave me, he knew what I wanted to say. Hey, we had been playing this game for the past two months. He had gotten very good at it.

“It’s the whole ‘Brendon’ thing…,” Alex said as we walked to Brendon’s door. “I don’t want us to be here.”

Huh, well, now that was new. Alex had never said that before. Jealous, yes; but those words had never been used before. Does he think that, for some reason, if I see Brendon I’ll fall magically in love with him again?

I shook my head and laughed a little. I never knew he could be so ridiculous.

Two and a half knocks on the door and it flew open and there stood Brendon Boyd Urie, looking like he always did – amazing, in a grey plaid button up and black skinny jeans. Brendon smiled brightly at me and opened the door completely ushering both of us in.

I smiled politely at him.

“Addie, hi, how are you?” Brendon said in one quick little breath as he showed us to the couch. I shrugged. A shrug could pretty much say anything and I knew that Brendon would accept it as a response from me.

“Ah, that bad, huh?” His smile was continuous and it was threateningly infectious. Brendon turned it towards Alex, “Are you taking good care of Addie?”

I looked at Alex, he really didn’t look happy to be here or happy that Brendon was talking to him. “She’s fine – Addie’s really loving it up in Baltimore, aren’t you, Addie?”

Yup, that’s right; direct the conversation back to me. Try and make me talk. But I won’t budge an inch. I nodded with a big smile to boot.

“What did you do to her?” Brendon asked, curiously. But mostly concerned.

Alex sighed, this was a subject that he either he didn’t want to talk to talk about or want to talk about the most – I couldn’t tell. Either way, for me, I didn’t want to talk about it. I stood up and walked to the kitchen that was just off to the side of the living. I knew I would still be able to hear them from there.

“So,” I heard Brendon start the conversation up again as soon as he thought I wouldn’t be able to hear. “Why won’t she talk?”

“Addie talks… but it’s usually just one or two words and only to me or maybe Adam. This has been going on since the show at the Electric Factory in Philly.”

Philadelphia, so that’s where we had been. Well, at least now I know that I never in my life ever want to go to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania again – ever. I could guess the rest of the conversation but paid attention numbly as I looked around the kitchen for a cup, my throat was awfully dry.

“Well, have you or Adam had her talk to a therapist or something? This is obviously affecting her in a bad way.” Aw, Brendon.

“You don’t think that I’ve tried everything that I could think of? That not hearing her speak to me isn’t driving me absolutely crazy? I know Addie blames herself for what Will did to me but… Brendon can I tell you something? Adam called me and told me that Will has tumors in his brain.”

Just then, I had found my cup. It was short glass one that a remember buying a couple of years ago. There were several others that came in the set. But that didn’t matter, all that I could focus on was that one glass escaping from my grasp and crashing loudly on the linoleum and the sound of it exploding was like thunder clapping right next to my ears.

But all that was deafened by Alex’s words repeating in my mind,
“Will has tumors in his brain.”