Survival of the Living

Lydia POV

I startled myself awake when I heard the crash. Sitting up and switching my light on, I looked to see my bedside table lying on its side with its previous contents spilled across my floor. With as much as I toss and turn in my sleep I was assuming I had just done this.

I sighed and decided to dealing with it in the morning was a good idea. I started to worm my way back under the covers when I heard voices coming from the other room. Glancing at my clock, I realized that it was strange for anyone to be awake (even Gerard and Lindsey). Were there ghosts in the house? I couldn’t hear their words, but there was something about the tone of their voices that made me curious.

I shoved the covers off of myself and carefully lowered my feet onto the smooth wood floor. It was cold to the touch of my warm skin and it almost made me want to go back to bed where I belonged. Then I heard the voices coming from the end of the hall again and my curiosity got the better side of my judgment.

Silently, I tip-toed to my door and pushed it open just wide enough so I could slip out. I saw the only light in the house was coming from Gerard and Lindsey’s as were the voices. Ok, well I could safely rule out ghosts and say Gerard and Lindsey.

I pressed my finger tips to the wall and carefully headed towards their room. As I got closer I was able to hear the actual words they were saying.

“It’s just that no matter what I do, you don’t respond. At all”

That was Lindsey’s desperate voice… Aw shit.

“Honey, I’m sorry. I ju-”

“No. I know what you’re going to say! You’ve said it so many times. I know you’re trying, I know you’re hurting but I just can’t stay like this forever. Wouldn’t he have wanted you to move on?”

I stopped dead in my tracks for now I was barely a yard away from the door now.

“He w-would. I just don’t know what to think with him gone,”

I almost burst through the door when I heard the crack in Gerard’s voice. I had to bite down on my arm to keep myself still.

“What about me? Don’t you love me enough to let me help you move on? Don’t you want to be happy?”

There was silence and I saw the shadows shift. Gerard sniffed, and it wasn’t from his constant smokers-cold.

“Gerard! Please! You can’t fall apart like this! You and I both know you’re so much fucking stronger then this!”

Lindsey was almost yelling now. I wanted nothing more right then to just burst in and tell her to shut her mouth. Even though in my mind, I knew that she was right but I would never be able to say that to Gerard.

“Today I came home and you were balled up under the covers! I stood here, barely wearing anything, and all you did was acknowledge me! You barely even did that! Are you so depressed over Mikey that you won’t even have sex with me anymore?!”

Under ordinary circumstances, I would have run away trying to wash the image of my sister and Gerard having sex. Right now, I was more focused on the fact that Lindsey was breaking down to Gerard.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m pathetic.”

There was a silence and I knew Lindsey wouldn’t easily be the one to break it. I counted the seconds that passed, chopping down harder on the flesh of my forearm.
At last Gerard broke the silence.

“You really are beautiful and I really do love you… I just don’t know why I can’t do anything anymore. I’m so sorry.”

Shadows shifted again and it looked as if Lindsey was now touching Gerard inappropriately.

“It’s ok… we can fix that. Trust me,”

I swear that must have been the most sexual voice I had ever heard in my entire life. Shadows shifted again and I heard the soft thump of two people dropping down onto a mattress.

“Lindsey I-”

“Shh… it’s alright.”

I heard the prominent sound of a zipper followed by a small snicker from Gerard. I took this as a sign to get the fuck out of the hall way! Better yet, get the fuck out of the house!

I spun around and silently trotted away from the X-rated event and went straight for the front door, slipping into shoes on my way out.

Hot summer air hit my face as soon as I stepped outside and it seemed to wash all the silence and previous thoughts from my head. A loud laugh left my lips and I broke into a run. Dashing through the warm air wearing nothing but an over-sized t-shirt and a pair of sneakers during some absurd hour of morning probably made me look like a crazy person, but I didn’t even care. Not in the slightest.

I wasn’t particularly happy about her method, but I was over-joyed that Lindsey was able to find a way to help Gerard. As long as I didn’t have to think about or see it I’d gladly tolerate it for Gerard’s sake. Things were going to get better… I knew it.

They gave me something to make it stop hurting. Then put something on my face to fix my eyes. My chest rose and fell easily now, no longer clogged by the pressing weight that had once been there. No one had still told me what was going on, but none of them had hurt me. Yet. If my years of comic book-reading had told me anything, they could always turn on me.

“What should we tell him?”

I whipped my head around and stared at the two people that were talking about me. Both of them flinched and scattered faster then I had ever seen any human run before. Things were just getting fucking weirder and weirder.

“You!”

I turned my head the other way and saw the woman that had spoken to me first. By the way people acted around her, it seemed as if she was their president of some form. She also seemed to be the only one that wasn’t afraid of me! Now why these ‘people’ were afraid of me, especially in the condition I must be in, was way over my head.

“Who sent you here?” she demanded in a synthesized voice.

I opened my lips to speak but they were so cracked and dry they couldn’t form words.

“Speak, fool!” she ordered in her mysterious voice.

I desperately tried to form words, did anything I could to make my vocal chords work.

She slowly raised two of her fingers and pressed them to my forehead. That’s when everything started mushing together again…