Andy laid there, Odessa in his arms and he was afraid to move, to say anything, shit he was even afraid to breathe. They had been like this for a few hours and Dess had yet to acknowledge what was happening. It was obvious by the silence that consumed the house that Moira had been taken away and Dess’ mother had gone as well. Sitting up, Andy noticed that Dess seemed to be shaking, her shoulders hunched over and her head was tucked down towards her chest.


“Babe?” He asked, but still she would not answer. What was he supposed to do? She was obviously in shock and quickly Andy got an idea.

“Come on baby…we need to get you to relax.” He said. Dess just continued to stare straight out in front of her and even as Andy picked her up in his arms, she refused to react.


Silently he carried her and Andy could feel the tension in her limbs and his heart felt broken for her. Walking down the hall they finally came to Rose’s room and Andy pushed the door open with his foot. He knew from what Dess had told him that her mother had a very large adjoining bathroom in her room and that Dess always liked to take baths in here because the tub was so big. Making it through the bathroom door, Andy sat Dess down on the toilet as he moved to turn on the hot water. Placing his hand under the hot liquid stream, Andy looked over at the love of his life. She was pale and her eyes were empty and void of any emotion.


“Ok baby…” He said to her softly as Andy moved towards Dess and began to undress her. She let him…not even putting up a fight.


Andy picked Dess up, her naked body held tightly to his as he placed her in the tub and made sure that her head was resting against the back comfortably. The sound of the running water filled the silence in the room and Andy felt himself sink down to the floor next to the tub, his right hand floating on top of the water as he looked to Dess. Her eyes were still open and staring straight ahead, but she had stopped shaking which was a good sign. Andy moved to shut the water off and then resumed his place by her side on the floor. They sat in silence, but soon Andy felt like he needed to fill that silence.


“Dess…I can’t even imagine what you are going through right now. But please baby…please don’t drown in this despair that you have fallen in.” He grasped for her hand, his fingers moving through the water softly.


Andy sighed as he stood up and began to remove his shirt. His pants and briefs came next before he placed his hands underneath her armpits and lifted her slightly out of the water. He sat down, the hot water relaxing his own muscles as he felt his back lean up against the cold porcelain of the tub.Odessa was leaning against his chest, her head resting right below his chin and he reached down and kissed her temple. His fingers trailed lightly down the skin of her arms and he felt her shiver at his gentle touch.

Andy wanted to take her pain away, he wanted to be that savior that all of the fans made him out to be and yet he knew that there was no way to change things. He thought back to something that Moira had said to him…she had asked him to save her because she knew that he had saved one of her friends before. Andy felt the tears spring to his eyes as he thought of Moira’s best friend Brady-she was always really quiet and in fact Andy wasn’t sure he had heard her say more than a few words. She always seemed to be happy and it made him feel slightly better thinking that maybe he was the root of her happiness.

Finally Odessa seemed to be relaxed and Andy felt relieved that she was responding to his touch. Her head lay against his chest, her hair drifting softly in the water as her hands floated towards the top. He felt her body against his and of course Andy couldn’t help but respond to her touch. He loved this girl…he was almost enamored with her to the point where he couldn’t think of anything else. Of course all he could think about right now was how to fix things. He had always been a fixer…even when he was a kid he wanted to always make things better.


“You ready to get out babe?” He asked and Andy felt a slight nod against his chest and he wrapped his arms around Dess.


He lifted them both out of the tub and let go of her to reach for a towel. Andy felt her cling to him then, she had turned her body so that she was facing him, her head was buried in his chest and he felt sad as he wrapped a towel around her shoulders. He wanted to shake her…he wanted her to smile once again but Andy knew that smiling for Dess was just not a possibility right now. He rubbed his hands over her towel covered body, hoping that the friction would help her dry faster. Drying himself off quickly, Andy reached down and brought Dess into his arms once again.

Andy walked them both back towards Dess’ room and he felt her stiffen when they passed Moira’s now empty room. Reaching her bedroom, Andy deposited Dess on to the bed and moved to turn on her iPod that was docked over on the dresser. The music was soft, but he knew that Bert’s voice would calm Odessa down. She was naked, laying there on top of the covers and Andy had to do everything in his power to not push himself on her as he laid down. He pulled the quilt up to her chin and silently he reached an arm out and grabbed her around the middle.


“Come here Dess.” He whispered softly as he felt her curl up next to him, her head coming to rest against his chest with her ear laying right over his heart.

“Do you hear that? That is my heart and it only beats for one person-you. I know things are hard right now, but I swear to you Dess that I will do everything I can to make you whole again.” He said to her as he felt her fingers digging into his chest.


Andy remained where he was and he watched as the sun began to slowly pop out of the tree line. He needed sleep, they both did and that fact allowed him to finally shut his eyes. He felt Odessa relax on top of him and soon her legs were twitching against his and he smiled. He loved how he could always tell when she was getting ready to pass out by how much her legs twitched. Andy thought back to the first time he and Dess had ever slept next to one another. Back then they had just been friends, but even then Andy knew that there was something about Dess that made him want to be near her. She was electric in the way she moved and talked. Everything with her was exciting and as he faded off to sleep, Andy hoped that things would remain that way for the rest of their lives.




Andy rolled over, the mid afternoon sun blinding him as he felt around blindly to see where Dess had ended up. His eyes shot open as he realized that she was nowhere in the bed with him and looking around he didn’t even see her in the room. He pushed back the covers and reached down to grab his pants. Tugging them on quickly, Andy felt his heart race as he looked around. The small pile of her clothing still sat in the corner and her side of the bed was still slightly warm. Where could she be?

Walking down the hall, Andy could hear soft music coming from Moira’s room. His own voice spoke out to him and what he came upon sent chills down his spine. Odessa, naked, was standing in the very center of the room, swaying slightly to the music. Quietly Andy came up behind her, his arms reaching out to her and she didn’t seem to flinch away at his touch. Her body was cold and unresponsive and Andy felt his heart stop.


“Dess? Babe?” He asked, moving around to face her. She looked up at him, her green eyes confused and her mouth was set in a slight frown.

“He-hey babe…” Her voice was low and groggy and Andy reached out suddenly and brought her to him.

“What’s going on Andy? Where’s Moira?” He heard her ask and he moved so that she was an arms length away from his chest and he looked down at her.

“What do you mean Dess? You know where she is…” He raised an eyebrow as Dess just looked up at him.

“No, no I don’t. Quit fucking with me babe!” She laughed, her hand coming to his shoulder and she pushed against him slightly.

“Dess…you’re kind of scaring me right now…”He pulled her to him once again and felt her hands pushing back against his chest.

“Why? Why am I naked? Seriously though where is she…she wanted to go to Warped Tour and we need to leave to see whatever band she was dying to see. Black Veil something…”She smirked up at him, her eyes rolling as she moved to walk around him. Andy followed her as they walked back towards her room and he was terrified at this point.

“Dess? Do you know who I am…” He asked, suddenly scared shitless that she had lost any memory she had of him.

“Of course…Andy, the love of my life.” She placed a hand on his cheek and moved over to begin getting dressed.

“Dess…what is going on?” He asked, moving to sit on the bed as he watched her pull on a pair of shorts.

“Nothing. I just wish Moira would hurry up. Have you seen her?” She asked, moving over to stand between his knees and she smiled down at him.

“Dess…Moira’s…she’s gone.” He said the last part softly and watched as Odessa gave him an uncertain look.

“What do you mean ‘gone’?” She asked, her fingers wrapping around his as he squeezed her slight hand softly.

“…she’s-she’s dead Dess. Don’t you remember?” He couldn’t look up at her and he cringed as he heard her gasp.

“No. No you’re lying.” She pulled away from him, her face angry now.

“No babe…I’m not. She passed away last night.” He reached for her, his fingers grasping at her arm before she yanked it away from him.

“No I-I was supposed to take her to Warped Tour this year…I promised her…” Andy watched as Dess began to pace the room, her hands grasping at her hair as tears streamed down her face.

“You-you’re sure she’s gone?” She stopped pacing and turned to face him.

“I am so sorry baby…” He reached out to her and Dess collapsed into his arms.
“I…she can’t be gone Andy…I don’t know how to live without her in my life.” She sobbed as he rubbed her back softly.

“I know, but I love you and I will make this better.” He said in to her hair and wondered silently how exactly he was going to fix everything now.

Notes

So-uh-Dess has kind of lost her marbles. I really hope you guys are enjoying this...the hard part is over.

Please read and review and I will love you forever : )

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