Chapter 4

“This Romeo is bleeding
But you can't see his blood
It's nothing but some feelings
That this old dog kicked up
It's been raining since you left me
Now I'm drowning in the flood
You see I've always been a fighter
But without you I give up
I can't sing a love song
Like the way it's meant to be
Well, I guess I'm not that good anymore
But baby, that's just me
And I will love you, baby - Always
And I'll be there forever and a day - Always
I'll be there till the stars don't shine
Till the heavens burst and
The words don't rhyme
And I know when I die, you'll be on my mind
And I'll love you – Always”

“Go to sleep, Syd” He whispered. “I'll be here when you wake up.” I nodded against his chest sleepily and then lost consciousness.

When I woke up, Richie, as promised, was still beside me. He was playing with my hair.
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” he grinned. I smiled up at him and nodded, stifling a yawn. He grinned and said “Ready for breakfast?” he laughed loudly when my stomach answered for me. Richie pulled me out of bed and drug me to the kitchen. I protested lightly because I was still tired, but I was super hungry. He surprisingly knew his way around Jay's kitchen pretty well. He made us pancakes, one of my favourite meals. I must have looked shocked that he knew this, but he just grinned and said “Your father”. I smiled and nodded. Dad had been bragging, it seemed like his favourite thing to talk about was Alli and I. I could feel my heart drop a little when I realized that he wouldn't be bragging about me anymore, and immediately after I felt guilty. Here Richie had gone to all this work and I was crying over spilled milk. I smiled my thanks as he brought over the pancakes and syrup. He, being a health nut, (I found that out last night too) added strawberry sauce (Which is strawberries boiled down with a bit of sugar). He grinned and proclaimed “I had to add something healthy!” I drank my orange juice he gave me and took a bite out of a pancake, jumped up and grabbed the peanut butter. I looked at Richie who was grinning at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Peanut butter? On pancakes?” He asked. I shrugged slightly and grinned.
“They're chocolate chip pancakes! Chocolate and peanut butter go together like Fred and Ginger and Lester and Earl! So there!” I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Whatever!” He laughed. I happily dug into my chocolate and peanut butter pancakes. I ended up eating around 6 or 7 pancakes. What? I was hungry! Richie, who finished after 2, watched me eat with an amused expression.

“Want any more?” he asked.

“No thanks,” I said, patting my stomach. “I'm watching my figure.” He laughed at that, then shooed me to the shower. Apparently he thought I needed one.

As I was in the shower, I reflected (yes, reflected) on what had happened over the course of a week. I had lost my family, but I had gained a new one. I miss Mom, Dad and Alli terribly. I cannot even find the words to express that enough, but with Richie being here, he made it just a bit easier. I liked him having him around, he makes me laugh when I feel like curling up in a corner and dying. He makes comforts me when I am sad, sings to me when I can't sleep. I owe him a lot, and in a small amount of time too. I feel like I can trust him and that is a big step for me- as I said before. It feels like I had known him all my life, when in reality it's only been a couple days. Maybe it was because he reminded me so much of Dad. I don't know what it is, but I like it.

After my shower, I ran to my room and got dressed and then walked out to the dreaded living room that I wouldn't see again. Richie was on the phone and I could only hear snippets of the conversation.

“Yeah, Jon, She's great. Funny, cute, kind of shy.....I think we're going to get along well. She's still pretty broken up about her parents but- well speak of the Devil.” He looked up at me and grinned.

“Yeah, she just walked in...Hold on, I'll ask her.” He looked at me and asked:

“Jon, the lead singer of the band wants to talk to you. If you want to, go for it. If not, that's okay too.” I thought about it and grinned. “Yeah, sure. I mean, what's the worst that could happen. Oh, wait. He could turn out to be like you!” I stuck my tongue out at him and laughed at his mock offended look. “Yeah, I went there!” I grinned. I was acting okay outside, but inside I was crumbling, and fast. This was another guy I didn't know. The only thing that was comforting was the fact that Richie was here with me. For some reason, I knew that if Richie didn't trust Jon, I wouldn't be talking to him. I took the the phone from him, shaking slightly.

“Hi” I said, quietly into the phone.