Part 8: Here is Gone

A/N: Okay, so how have y'all been liking this story so far? Hopefully you like it. BTW, keep up the long reviews. They're fun to read. I acted on impulse when I posted the last chapter, but God forbid I make you wait three weeks to read this one! HAAHAA!

Craig Manning couldn't believe what he'd just done. He'd broken up with his girlfriend…the one that had been there for him...most of the time. He opened the front door of the residence where he resided, and closed it slowly behind him. "Craig, could you---" Caitlin began to say.

Craig pushed her aside softly and slowly walked up the stairs. He went into his bedroom, shut the door, and stood, staring around at nothing. He looked over at the closet. The glass from the shattered mirror still coated the floor.

He went to the window, staring out at the sky. He put a hand on the wall next to the window. As he had done the mirror, he pulled his arm back and punched the wall as hard as he could. He turned around and punched another section of the wall. He picked up his lamp and threw it across the room. "WHY IN THE HELL DID I DO THAT?" he shouted. "HOW STUPID CAN ONE PERSON BE?"

Downstairs, Caitlin was on the phone, calling Joey. "Hello?" said Joey.

"Joey, I think Craig has a problem," Caitlin said calmly.

"What's the problem?" Joey asked.

"He's…I think he's trashing his room," Caitlin answered. Joey sighed heavily.

"I'm making a sale right now I'll be home soon, okay?" he said.

"Okay," Caitlin answered. They told each other goodbye and hung up.

Caitlin stood at the bottom of the stairs, and went up slowly and quietly to her and Joey's room. She walked by Craig's room, where he was still trashing it. The door was closed, and all she could hear were things breaking.

She walked into the room she shared with Joey, and sat on the bed. She covered her ears to block the sounds of Craig's belongings being thrown against the wall. 'You can stop anytime now,' she thought.

About a half-hour later, Joey was back. "Caitlin? Craig?" he called. He went upstairs and found Caitlin lying on the bed.

"Caitlin? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm tired. Craig's…in his room," she said quietly. Joey nodded and went down the hall to Craig's room. He opened the door slowly. The room was a mess. "Craig?" he said carefully, taking a step inside. He almost tripped over the remains of Craig's lamp.

"Craig!" he said again. He heard some shuffling coming from the closet, and he stepped over the glass that hadn't been vacuumed from the floor yet. He went inside the closet. "Craig?"

He saw Craig in the shadows of the dark closet. He slid down to the floor next to Craig.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. Craig shook his head. "What happened?"

Craig sighed. "I'm stupid. That's what happened."

"You being stupid has nothing to do with trashing your room," Joey said coolly.

"Yeah, it does. I'm stupid. I…my God…I…me and Ash…we broke up."

"Oh, Craig…" Joey said softly. "You'll be okay."

"I want to believe you, Joey. I can't. I'm not gonna be okay. Now I feel stupid because I'm the one that broke up with her. She's probably at home right now, crying her eyes out because I can't control myself."

"Why don't you call her?" Joey suggested.

"Her mom will pick up the phone and yell at me again."

"Well, then…"

"Well, then, nothing. I can't talk to her at school. I can never talk to her again."

"You'll be able to talk to her."

"No I won't. She probably hates me."

"If she hated you, she wouldn't be at home crying her eyes out because of you."

Craig was silent. He thought about what Joey had just said.

"If she hated me, she'd cry her eyes out in front of her mom. She's not at home. She's at Ellie's. It's typical of her. Meanwhile, Sean's watching TV in the living room because Ash and Ellie took up the bedroom."

Joey smiled. "So are you gonna come out of this closet anytime soon?" he asked.

"Define soon," Craig answered.

"Anytime in the extremely near future; an hour or two."

"Then, no."

"Why not?"

"Because that doesn't give me enough time to think."

"Then when are you coming out?"

"When I feel like it."

"Okay, then." Joey stood, ready to leave.

"Where're you going?" Craig demanded. "I never said you could leave. Sit down." Joey sat back down obediently.

"I'm not always gonna be this nice," Joey muttered.

"Yeah you are," Craig said simply.

"Okay, but don't rub it in."

"I won't, pillow."

"Pillow?" Joey said blankly.

"Yep," Craig said, leaning his head onto Joey's lap. "You're a good pillow."

"That's nice to know," Joey said. The two were quiet for a few minutes.

"I miss Mom," Craig said out of nowhere.

"I miss her, too," Joey responded.

"She made good food," Craig said calmly. "But I'm still mad at her."

"Why?" Joey asked.

"Because she left without saying goodbye to me first." Joey sighed.

"She loved you," he said. He'd told Craig that so many times.

"I know." Craig fell asleep with his head on Joey's lap.

Joey watched him as he slept. He looked peaceful; content. He listened to him breathing, and fell asleep, too.

It was hours until he woke up to Caitlin. "Joey!" she hissed. Joey slowly opened his eyes, the events of the last few hours coming back to him. "What do you want for dinner?"

"I don't care," Joey mumbled groggily. "Make anything." Caitlin glanced at Craig, still sleeping on Joey's lap.

"Poor kid," Caitlin muttered.

"He broke up with Ashley," Joey said quietly. Caitlin nodded in understanding, and then went back downstairs. Joey watched Craig as he slept again. He breathed calmly.

"Joey, tell Caitlin I want a sandwich— white bread, white turkey. No crusts. Okay?" Craig said suddenly.

"Yeah, okay," Joey said. "How long have you been awake?"

"Since Caitlin was trying to wake you up. Actually, since she came in here. I heard someone tripping over stuff, and that was undoubtedly Caitlin, and I didn't want her to know I was up, so I sat here until you woke up."

"Oh. You don't care that I told her about you and Ashley?"

"No. And if I had been sleeping, I wouldn't have known anyway. It doesn't bother me that she knows. The world will know by tomorrow."

"Okay, well…get off of me or you won't get your sandwich." Craig sighed and got off.

"You really do make a nice pillow, Joey," he added.

"You know, you could give me a different name. The name 'Joey' is starting to sound a little bit odd."

"Okay. You really do make a nice pillow, Jo-Jo." Craig smiled as Joey left the room. He doubted Joey liked his new name, but he didn't care. About ten minutes later, he went downstairs. Caitlin looked up. "Your sandwich is in the fridge," she said. Craig nodded, opened the fridge and took his sandwich. He took a bite out of it. He walked over to the counter where Caitlin was doing something.

He hugged her from behind quickly and said, "Thanks for the sandwich."

"Anytime," Caitlin said. Craig sat down on the couch and finished his sandwich. Joey came and sat down to watch TV. Craig leaned his head on Joey's shoulder and looked up at him.

"Hi, Joey," he said casually.

"Hi, Craig," Joey said tonelessly.

"Are you mad at me?" Craig asked in a confused voice.

"No," Joey answered. "Why?"

"Because you sound mad at me. Sort of like Ash. I think Ash is mad at me. She sounds mad at me. I really wouldn't know because I haven't talked to her. You know, we broke up today? Yeah. Pretty upsetting. Very upsetting… That's why I messed up my room. Because I'm mad at myself. I think everyone's mad at me. What if Angie's mad at me? What if Caitlin's mad at me? But you're not mad at me, are you, Joey? 'Cause you said you weren't mad at me, so I'll believe you. Nope. You're not mad at me." Joey stared at Craig. "What?" Craig said blankly.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked.

"I don't think so. I think I had too much coffee this morning. But I didn't have coffee this morning. Coffee's gross. I had coffee at the Dot once. It burnt me. I'm mad at the coffee now. What if the coffee's mad at me? I think you are mad at me. I think you lied to me. Again. Yep. You lied to me. You are mad at me, aren't you? Everyone's mad at me!" Craig sat up straight. He began hyperventilating. He looked over at Caitlin. "Caitlin, are you mad at me? Wait, why am I asking you? You could lie to me just like Joey! Craig looked over at Angie, who was sitting with Caitlin at the table. "But dear, sweet, younger sister Angie wouldn't lie to me. Are you mad at me, Angie?"

"Uh…I don't think so," Angie answered.

"Ah…see? Angie's not mad at me. But you two are! You're both against me! Joey, you're mad at me because I wrecked your car, aren't you? And…Caitlin, you're just mad at me because you want to spite me! Why is everyone mad at me?" Craig cried. He stood up and headed for the door. Joey beat him to it.

"Move Mr. Mad at Craig," Craig demanded. Joey glared at him.

"You're not leaving this house," he said simply.

"You're mad because…because…because you don't have the wonderful life that you used to, aren't you, Jo-Jo? Because you got stuck with…with…ME!" Craig shouted. "And you hate me!"

"I don't hate you, Craig. I'm worried about you."

"Don't worry about me! You lie! You're mad at me and you hate me!"

"Craig, come on!"

"NO!" Craig said loudly. "I'm leaving!"

"No, you're not," Joey protested.

"Yes, I am. And Mr. Mad at Craig isn't going to make me stay in this house when everyone's mad at me!"

"I'm not letting you leave. I can't be sure that you'll come back!"

"I'll come back! I don't know why, but I will! I'll come back! One day! Later! I need to leave!"

"Why do you need to leave?"

"So I can have fresh air because something in here makes me feel like I'm in jail again!" Everyone was quiet.

"So can I please just…go outside or something?" Craig asked quietly. Joey sighed.

"I can't let you," Joey said. "It's too dangerous."

"You let me go outside every other day! Why not now? Did you just wake up this morning and say to yourself, 'I think I'll hate Craig today'?"

"No. I never hated you. Listen, I won't let you go outside right now. It's too late."

"It's not too late! I just want to go sit outside! Please!" Craig cried. Joey looked at him sadly.

"No," he whispered. Craig closed his eyes and sighed.

"Move," he said. Joey stood there, staring at Craig.

"I'm not moving," he said calmly.

"Then you need help," Craig answered, pushing Joey to the side. He had his hand on the doorknob when Joey grabbed his left shoulder and pushed him against the door.

"I can't let you leave," he shouted. Craig shoved Joey, almost making him fall into the stairs. Joey stood up straight pushed Craig back into the door. "You're not leaving!" he said.

"Stop pushing me!" said Craig, pushing Joey in the shoulder. Joey pushed Craig's shoulder back. Craig turned and hit Joey in the face with back of his hand. Caitlin stood up from the table, expecting what happened next. When Joey's fist came in contact with Craig's face, she sighed heavily.

Craig stared at Joey. He wasn't supposed to hit back. Joey had surprised himself with hitting Craig back at all.

Craig stood, gaping at him. He slowly lifted a hand to where Joey had hit him. He blinked several times. He wasn't mad now. He was more…confused, betrayed. Joey had never hit him before, or even acted like he would. But now, something just came over him where he would hit him.

Joey opened his mouth to say something, but Craig wasn't ready to listen. "Don't even try," he muttered before quickly turning, opening the door and slamming it behind him. Joey sighed and bowed his head. Caitlin came over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "It'll be okay," she whispered. "He just needs some time."

Joey looked up and said, "I can't let him run around. It's cold and dark outside." He picked the keys up from the car that he borrowed from the lot and ran out to find Craig. He drove around for about two hours. He thought that he'd be able to find him quickly, since he left shortly after Craig had. Unfortunately, this was not the case. He went home, giving up the search for his step son. He walked in the door and found that Caitlin wasn't there, either. He went upstairs and Angie was asleep in bed. He looked in Craig's room, and Craig was nor in his room or his closet. Checking his own room, Caitlin wasn't there. He scoffed and sat down on his bed.

"I disgust myself," he muttered. He took a picture off of his nightstand; a picture of he and Craig that was taken about a year ago. He threw it to the floor. He buried his face in his hands. "Why? Why do I do stupid things?" He sat there for a few minutes, until he heard the front door open. He stood up from the bed, and went to the top of the stairs. Craig walked in, followed by Caitlin. He slowly went down the stairs. He walked into the kitchen, where Craig was sitting down at the table. Caitlin was at the freezer, getting some ice and putting it into a small plastic bag. She handed it to Craig, who rested the ice on his face. Caitlin put a hand on Craig's back, muttered something to him. Craig nodded, then she said, "Okay," and stood up straight. She looked up and saw Joey. She stared at him for a minute.

"Um…" she said. Craig looked up and saw Joey. They made eye contact for a moment. Craig's eyes were red and filled with sadness. Caitlin pulled Joey away and led him into the living room.

"Joey, what were you thinking?" she hissed angrily as the two sat down on the couch.

"I don't know! It was a mistake! A really big mistake! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"I think you're telling that to the wrong person," Caitlin said, gesturing over at Craig, who was resting his head on the table, facing away from Joey and Caitlin, holding the ice pack to the side of his face.

"Where was he?" Joey asked.

"He was in the garage. You need to stop assuming that he ran away!"

"Oh," Joey said quietly.

"Yeah. 'Oh.'" Caitlin stood up and went back over to the table, sitting down next to Craig. She put a hand on his arm and said, "Craig, it's almost nine. I think it's about time you went to bed." Craig nodded slowly and stood up.

He walked past Joey, glancing at him quickly, and then returning his gaze to the floor. He walked slowly upstairs. Taking a last glance at Joey, he turned and walked into his room. He stepped over everything that was strewn all over the floor. He took his jeans and shirt off (with difficulty), and crawled into bed. He couldn't sleep, however. He couldn't stop thinking about the night's events.

When he'd left the house, he'd gone straight into the garage. Caitlin knew where to find him. When she did, he looked distraught. The two had talked until Joey came back. Craig's face had become red and swollen; there was a small scratch where his fist had hit him. His mouth had been bleeding on the inside, but he'd just swallowed the blood because he didn't want to make a mess all over the garage. "Why do I have to live here?" he whispered to himself. "Why did he have to do that?"

He finally fell asleep.

The Next Morning

Craig woke up in the morning with his face hurting. He went into the bathroom, took a shower, then examined the area right beneath his eye. It was bruised and swollen. He was amazed at how hard tiny Joey could hit. Of course, maybe Joey wasn't as small as he looked. Either way, if Joey had been copying Craig, then he should've refrained from balling up his hand into a fist and punching him. Still, Joey shouldn't have hit him at all. Craig still had a feeling that Joey was mad at him.

He got dressed and went back to his room. He looked out the window. Great. Rain. He trudged over his belongings that were broken on the floor, and went downstairs slowly. He sat down at the table across from Joey. He didn't eat anything; he drank some orange juice, though. Caitlin handed Craig some money.

"Here, Craig. It's the $120."

"Thanks, Caitlin," Craig croaked, taking the money and putting it into his pocket. He finished drinking his juice and sat up from the table. "Okay, I gotta go," he said. He held his broken arm close to him as he went to the door.

"Do you want a ride?" Caitlin offered. "It's pouring down rain."

"Nah," Craig said quietly. "I'll walk." Caitlin shrugged and Craig left. After a few minutes, he wished that he had taken up Caitlin's offer; he was actually starting to get cold. His side had stopped hurting (finally), and he looked up at his school, which everyone was rushing into.

He stood there in the rain for about three minutes, then slowly went up the few steps and into the doors. He approached his locker and got a pen out of it, shoving it into his pocket.

After thinking for a split second, he found Jimmy and handed him seventy dollars. "Told you I'd pay you back," he said coolly. Jimmy smiled, satisfied and put the money in his own pocket.

"What happened to your face?" he asked. Craig was quiet for a second before coming up with an excuse.

"I fell," he said smoothly. Jimmy looked at Craig suspiciously and shook his head.

"You fell," Jimmy repeated.

"I fell! Isn't that a good enough answer for you?" Craig said loudly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It…I'll tell you later." Jimmy nodded in understanding, and Craig walked away. He strolled around, almost aimlessly, until he found Emma and Manny, talking at Emma's locker.

"Hey," he said. "I've got your money." The two girls smiled as Craig handed them the money they lent him for his prescription.

"Aw, Craig, what happened to you?" Emma asked worriedly.

"I fell," Craig said quickly. Emma and Manny looked at each other.

"What'd you fall on?" Manny asked, running two fingers softly over the bruise.

"On the side of the table," Craig answered. Lying was getting easier.

"Ouch," Manny and Emma said at the same time.

"Oh, Craig, I heard that you and Ashley broke up yesterday…I'm sorry," Manny said softly.

"Oh, uh…don't be sorry, it's not your fault."

"I think it is," Manny muttered. "If I hadn't talked to you, then you two would still be together."

"No, Manny. Ash and me…I talked to you first. It's my fault. Don't worry about it." Manny sighed, just as the bell rang.

Craig rushed to class. He sat down next to Jimmy at the end of the row. Several people stared at him. It was either because of his face or because of the breakup yesterday, but he was convinced it was both.

He went online and ignored everything Mr. Simpson said. He played some games that he found at some website. He looked up every so often and always found someone staring at him. He'd roll his eyes and continue with his game. Once, he looked up and saw Ashley walking by the classroom. The two stared at each other for a second before she kept walking.

Craig sighed heavily and continued with his game. A window popped up on his screen, and it was an email. He opened it.

It said, 'Why did you break up with Ashley? She's so sad now. She's sorry about the party. –Ellie'. Craig looked over at Ellie, who was looking right back at him.

He wrote back. 'I was being stupid yesterday. I'm pissed off at myself. I'll take care of it. – Craig.' Ellie opened her email and read it. She gave Craig a sad smile. Craig found it increasingly hard to type with his left arm in a cast, but it wasn't that hard.

When class was finally over, Craig pushed past everyone else and ran over to Ashley's locker. He waited for her to get there, and when she did, she ignored him, opened her locker, and replaced one book with another.

"Ash, listen, please—I talked to Ellie, sort of, and she says that you're really upset. And I'm sorry. I was being stupid yesterday, and I trashed my room and I got in a fight with Joey, and—"

Ashley turned around. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "Is that why your eye's bruised?" she asked. Craig looked her directly in the eye. "Yeah," he muttered. "It is." She ran her finger over it slowly, then spoke.

"Is it really over?" she asked, almost silently.

"I don't want it to be," Craig answered in the same voice. Ashley dropped her book on the floor and hugged Craig. He hugged her back, wincing at the pain it brought his ribs when she hugged him tighter. He had hoped that the pain would've been gone for good; unfortunately, it wasn't.

Everyone watched as the two were together. That was the shortest amount of time the two had been broken up. They stood there, safe in each other's arms for about a minute, then Craig pulled back and kissed Ashley's forehead.

"I still love you," he whispered, putting an arm around her waist. He knelt down and picked up the book she had tossed to the floor. The two walked to class together. They talked throughout the entire class. When they weren't actually speaking, they were passing notes. Their notes came to an abrupt end when Ms. Kwan came over to them and snatched the paper they were writing on. Craig sighed. Ms. Kwan unfolded the paper. She read it out loud.

"'Haha. I like writing notes; they're fun.

Craig, you like doing anything fun.

That's the point, right?

Yeah, but…

Don't start talking about butts, Ash, that's gross.

Calling me gross?

What was the last thing I did that was gross?

Uh….

Exactly.

Craig!

Ash!

sigh.

Don't sigh at me.

LOL.

Lalalala.

Craig, you're weird.

What would your point be?

I don't think there is one.

Oh. Well, then.

Hey, Craig?

What?

Nothing.

Hey, Ash. I have something to tell everyone.

What is it?

MONKEY BUTTS!'"

Everyone burst out in laughter as Ms. Kwan read the last line. Ashley gave Craig a high five, as they had pulled off the joke successfully.

"Ashley and Craig, can I see you after class?" Ms. Kwan said loudly, tossing the paper back at Craig. Craig nodded. "Busted!" Spinner shouted from the back of the room.

"Gavin," Ms. Kwan warned.

"Sorry," Spinner said, leaning back in his chair. Ashley and Craig exchanged smirks before bursting out again. They cowered back down into their chairs, still barely containing their laughter.

After class, Craig and Ashley walked up to Ms. Kwan's desk. All they got was a lecture about respect for teachers and after-school detention.

"Whatever," Craig said loudly as he walked out of the room, Ashley following him.

They went to after-school detention, and just sat around talking. Ms. Kwan had been out of the room the entire time anyway.

Afterward, Craig and Ashley 'hung out' in Craig's garage.

A/N: Okay, I know. There's a lot of fast transitioning. Joey and Craig make up in the following chapter. BTW, I'm running out of things to name these chapters. All suggestions for the story itself and the titles of the chapters are welcome. HOWEVER, I've already written part 9, so suggestions for part 10 are up for consideration. I'll start on part 10 after I get a few reviews on this one. Tell me what you like and don't like. RRR. Love, moi. Oh, yeah. Part 9's like... 15,000 words. I know. It's SO long. But...yeah. You get the idea. It took me forever to write. And the point of the story isn't really told until the last 2,000 words. But you'll miss a lot if you don't read the entire chapter.