The Beginning of the End

Gerard's Point Of View

I was busy helping put the extra food no one touched away in the fridge. Mikey was on the floor next to me, rolling around in pain. His stomach was hurting and he damn well deserved it. He knows better than to eat that much junk food in such little time.

"It hurts," Mikey whined, holding his stomach.

I chuckled at him. "That's what you get."

I wrapped plastic wrap around the bowl of salsa, taking in its aroma before putting it away. I was definitely going to have some of that when I get home from school tomorrow.

"Gerard!" mom screeched, running into the kitchen and nearly stepping on Mikey. He whimpered, crawling closer to the wall.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She looked distraught and slightly crazy. Her hair had strands sticking out from different directions and there was a weird expression in her eyes.

"Mom?" I muttered, walking closer to her.

She shuddered, grabbing my arm. "Lillian's mom is in the hospital."

I sprinted up the stairs, grabbing a coat and stumbled, trying to slip into my shoes. Mom was stumbling with her shoes, right behind me, and crying now.

"I'll look after Mikey," dad said from the living room.

He looked sad. Is it possible they knew about Lilly's mom? I'm probably just worrying. Her mom's condition is very serious and secretive; I doubt she would tell my parents about it after only knowing them for a few hours.

Mom and I pulled up to Lilly's house. An ambulance was there, the lights flashing on and off. As soon as I got out the car, a woman in a white uniform pushed a stretcher out with Lilly's unconscious mom.

I gasped, pushing my way through the cops to find Lilly. I found her with her back against the wall, crying silently. A man was sitting cross-legged with her, trying to get her to talk.

I cleared my throat. The man's eyes gave me a once over before getting up and walking towards me. "Can you get her to talk?" he murmured.

"I think so," I replied.

He nodded, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I did the same to him and walked over to Lilly. From the sudden motion, I felt her body tense next to me.

"Lilly bean," I cooed, trying my turn at touching her.

She began shaking, her silent cries turning to heaving sobs. "Gerard..."

"Come here," I sighed, pulling her into a hug.

She cried against me the same way she did when she told me about her mom having cancer. I sat there, running my fingers through her hair, waiting for her to get it all out.

By now, the ambulance was gone as well as the police. The only noises in the house were Lilly's cries and mom's shuffling around the house. I wasn't sure what she was doing or looking for.

She appeared before us, holding a jacket and a cup of I guessed tea. Her hand was shaking slightly while holding the cup. I took that as my cue to take the cup from her unsteady hands.

Lilly stopped crying, she was just dry sobbing now. Eventually, she quieted down completely.

"Drink some," I whispered, holding the cup to her lips. She did so, sighing at the warm feeling.

"Well," mom sighed, "I'm going to the hospital in case they have anything new on your mom. Call my phone if anything and I'll pick you up."

We settled into another silence. She was drinking her tea. I couldn't find the strength to let go of her. I finally had a good reason to hold her and I wanted to take advantage of it as much as I could.

Lilly flung the cup of tea across the wall facing us. The cup shattered. "Fuck this; I can't live through life with any regrets. Gerard, I like you, not in the friend way, I like you in the way where I have these feelings for you."

"Lilly I-"

"Shush, let me finish. I don't let people get close to me. I just don't. The only person who has ever been able to get close to me besides my mom is my best friend Erik who I had to leave behind in West Plainfield. But you know what's crazy?"

I shook my head. I knew she was daring me silently to say one word, but I refused to.

"...That I let you in. Yeah, you, the person that stalked me my first week here. Mystery guy turned out to be someone I never thought I'd like. It's so damn cliché. I told myself I was never going to talk to you and what happened? You befriended me and you're one of the only people I trust completely. Gerard, I don't want to scare you or anything, but I need you, honest to God, I do."

The words she had spoken hadn’t sunk into my brain yet. I still thought she was telling me to get out. "Lilly, I like you too. Let me comfort you. Please don't shut me out," I pleaded. It was after I said those words that I realized what she just told me.

That glaze in her eyes died. She looked down at her lap, taking a deep sigh. In the softest voice I've ever heard come out of her mouth, she whispered, "I wasn't going to."