Chapter Fifteen

 “Ava.” I coughed, half choking, and cleared my throat. A lanky body was strewn across the couch. At first I wasn’t thinking right, but then last nights memories flooded my brain and I was over in a second.

“Ava!” I gasped and took her cold hand, but she didn’t respond to my warmth.

“Ava?” I whimpered uselessly. In an attempt to comfort myself I mixed her bangs with the rest of her hair, dotted every freckle on her nose with my finger tip, traced her eyebrows, and saved the best for last; her lips. I kept thinking she was going to inhale one of those shack rattling breaths, wake up, and love me till no tomorrow, but she never did. I thought about what to do and being human I first thought to call 911. Sigh. That would not help a thing, at all. They would only question me to as why my girlfriend hadn’t breathed in ninety years. Was she really my girlfriend? I’d never asked her out, at all. We just kind of meshed together. I wished I had asked her out before all of this to tell her how much I really do like her, let her know how much she means to me. The lyrics of demolition lovers ran through my head and I laughed at myself, but to my dismay she never stirred. And then I thought to call frank or mikey, but what would I do when they saw her not breathing. I wouldn’t just say ‘oh don’t worry about that. She never does that.’ I ran my hand through my messy hair and exhaled loudly.

“God, Ava.” I whispered to myself. Something started vibrating loudly in her bedroom. Cautiously, I got up and made my way towards the sound. Nothing jumped out at me as I entered the room and then I realized that I left my phone on vibrate on the dresser. Ugh, I’m so stupid.

“Hello.”

“Gerard! Good god mikey and I have been looking for you! Where the hell are you?” frank yelled at me through the phone. Guess I forgot to tell them where I was going when I snuck out.

“I’m…I’m at Ava’s. She’s sick,” I took a small glance at her limp body on the couch. “And she needs me.”

“Do you want help?” he sighed and I realized the worst was over.

“Um, maybe later. Frank, man im sorry for not calling sooner.” I heard a few murmurs in the background and then him sigh in the phone.

“Nah, dude, it’s okay. How is she?”

“Um, well,” I weighed my potions of telling him she was fine, but I knew my voice would betray me. “Frank, I need you to come over here.”

“Alright I’ll be there as soon as I can. Address?” I gave him the address and hung up quickly, quivering in my feet.

“Ava.” I walked over to her on the couch and shook her cold shoulder.

“Ava.”

“No! No, don’t touch me!” she paused and I stared at her wildly.

“No, Gerard will come save me. You just wait. He won’t let you hurt me! No! Get off!” she gasped loudly like someone was sitting on her chest, though that wouldn’t really suffocate her, and then her eyes shot open. She started crying, again. These tears were still just empty sobs.

“Ava?” I asked again in my small, kid like voice, cocking my head at her. She blinked twice and whipped her eyes. “Gerard, don’t let him hurt me.” She sighed and blinked again.

“I won’t. Hey are you hungry?” somehow I started guiding her to the kitchen and got her to sit down in a chair.

“Yeah, um, some cereal please.”