He Calls a Mansion, Not a House, but a Tomb

"Coffee cup. I can't live without my coffee cup. My coffee cup, I can't live without my coffee cup." I stared at Gerard in silent laughter as I watched him sing to himself while he was making himself a cup of-- you guessed it -- coffee.
I laid across the couch and saw Gerard through the arch doorway which led to the kitchen. I couldn't help but draw my attention to his lovely ass when his back faced me. I stopped when I felt my jaw loosen and blinked a few times before I went into zombie mode. I looked away and closed my eyes.
I heard footsteps come towards me and a cup set on the coffee table. I opened my eyes. I turned my head to the side and smiled to myself.
Gerard sat cross-legged on the wooden floor. His hair was up in a high ponytail, showing off his pretty face. He was just in a red t-shirt and jeans. He was reading my novel, leaning the spine of the book on the side of the coffee table while his spine was leaning back into a pillow set upright against the other couch.
I smiled as he tore his eyes away from the book, picked up his coffee mug, took a long sip, seeming to enjoy the heat I could see rising in vapour above the rim. He set the cup back down and his eyes returned to the page.
He slid a strand of hair gone astray from his ponytail behind his ear. I smiled. He actually looked like a girl, besides the breasts -- well, lack of. I chuckled to myself but then I realized I caught his attention.
"Hi, Frank. I thought you were sleeping." Gerard said softly. I smiled.
"No, just resting my eyes." I replied. Gerard smiled gently but then the phone rang and he picked up a cordless receiver that sat beside his coffee.
"Hey, baby." He said. I smiled again to myself. His appearance said 'girl' while his voice screamed 'boy'. It hurt my brain, I'm too tired to go through that strange confusion. I closed my eyes.
"No, I'm just drinking coffee and reading a book... I'm sorry, hon. He's staying until his wrist is healed... No, he lives alone-- that's why... Well, that's nice of you to say." I could tell that last bit was sarcasm. "Writer." He said. I sighed. "Yeah, sure... No, you may not... Oh god, please don't!" Gerard laughed now. I bit my lip to stop my smile, enjoying the sound. "Okay, love you, bye." Gerard said and hung up.
I opened my eyes. "Who was that?" I asked.
"A friend of mine." Gerard said. I nodded weakly.
"Alright, enjoy your coffee." I said as I closed my eyes. I twisted my finger around the hem of my Misfits t-shirt that Richard brought over.
I smiled as I remembered when Richard met Gerard. It was two days ago already.

*

There was a knock at the door. I was sitting on the couch with a full view of the front window and saw Richard's car parked at the front.
"Gerard, it's Richard!" I called. I frowned at the fact I couldn't go and answer the door myself. I felt like a jerk whenever I asked him to do something for me.
"Oh, the famous agent." Gerard joked as he hurried past me to the hallway to answer the door.
I could only hear the conversation now. Damn walls.
"Hello, I'm Richard Kenney, Frank's agent. I'm here to drop off some of his stuff." I heard Richard introduce himself. I could picture it now.
Richard is probably wearing a suit which looks funny with him holding a bunch of clothes. Well, they're probably in a suitcase or a bag.
"Hi, I'm Gerard. Would you like to come in?" Gerard asked and I'm sure he didn't wait for an answer to back up to the side to make room for Richard to step in. I heard Richard's footsteps on the wood floor.
"Thank you." Richard said. I smiled.
"Frank's in there. I'll take that." Gerard said. I saw them both come in and Gerard was holding a suitcase in his hand.
"Hi, Richard." I smiled up at him. Richard smiled back and I saw Gerard walking by in the corner of my eye.
"So, he's a perfect gentleman. Don't you even like him?" Richard asked quietly, sitting next to me on the couch. I frowned.
"He has a boyfriend, so it wouldn't matter." I said.
"Well, seriously, I'd go gay for him. If you're not attracted to him, I must deny you of your homosexuality--" I shushed him when I heard Gerard's footsteps come back towards us. I couldn't help but have a wide smile across my face from Richard's remark.
"What's so funny?" Gerard asked me, leaning on the headrest of the couch. I turned my neck and smiled at him.
"Nothing, just talking." I said.
"Oh, yeah, Frank, I almost forgot. I've informed the publishers about your accident and they're very understanding. They love you too much over there to be ignorant, so... You might be expecting presents here soon or when you get back home."
"Please don't tell me it's Christmas again." I groaned, remembering the horrible Christmas when the whole publishing office sent me Season's Greetings baskets of chocolate, cookies and other treats. And I swear, they sent me a basket for every cubicle they had over there! I had to have 4 Holiday parties to clear out one third of it. But, it was all very delicious... I caught myself drooling at the thought and wiped my mouth shyly.
"I knew you'd be happy." Richard laughed, patting my shoulder.
"I would love to be included in this lovely conversation." Gerard teased. I laughed. I felt the cool fingertips of Gerard's hand on the back of my searing neck and smiled to myself after turning away from Gerard.
"And, so, they're giving you a long break until you're fully healthy enough to write." Richard announced. I smiled.
"So, basically, you told them I got in a car accident, broke my wrist, and they're taking off the pressure on me to write until my wrist is healed. Three weeks." I cut down the happy side story of what he just told me and stated the facts.
"Yep, pretty much." Richard smiled at me. I grinned.
"At least I get free cookies." I teased.

*

"I want a cookie." Gerard said.

When I woke up I was in bed. Maybe Gerard had moved me. I checked the digital clock and it said 3:00 AM.
I shifted my good leg an inch and felt something else in the bed. With all the pressure on my good arm, I lifted myself up in a sitting position. I hissed, inhaling sharply when I felt pain pulse in my rib cage.
In the dim light through the window I saw a suitcase sitting on top of the blankets in the middle of the bed. I reached for the shiny zipper in the side pocket. I grinned at what I pulled out. Richard is psychic. My pretty little laptop was cool in my hands as I set it down gently on my lap. I turned it on and happily opened my Word.
My intention is to write freely. I opened up my latest work and just looked at it, I didn't read it, I just stared. I stared at the glowing screen for at least 15 minutes before I rested my fingers casually on the keyboard.
I began to type silently. The only thing I could hear was the clicking of the keyboard as I typed. I loved the sound.
I still have no name for the protagonist. My fingers froze. I hate this part. I'm horrible with names. I sucked on my bottom lip, staring at the flashing place marker on the screen. Mary? Alicia? Jamie? Hm... Lindsay? Lindsay. I like it.
I kept typing. I was typing until it was light outside.
"Frank," I heard Gerard call from the hallway.
"Yes." I stopped my fingers.
"What are you writing?" He asked. I looked up and saw him leaning on the door frame. I smiled.
"Working on a new book. No title yet, though." I said, looking back at the screen.
"How can you type with the cast?" He asked. I smiled.
"I'm pretty much using one hand." I frowned. Gerard walked in and knelt at the side of the bed. He crossed his arms on the side of the bed, brushing against my thigh.
"What's it about?" He asked in a sweet, childish way.
"A woman with a boring life tries to have fun again and people from her past that had hated her start to love her because she's becoming more valuable and fortunate. Sounds stupid, doesn't it?" I frowned. Gerard touched my hand.
"Sounds interesting." He said. I smiled at him.
"Maybe you can help when I get writer's block. I get that a lot in this story." I sighed. Gerard laughed.
"How long have you been awake?" He asked. I shrugged. "Well, it's time for breakfast. And, do you feel any pain? The doctor said you should take the pain killers if you do." Gerard said. I nodded.
"I'm fine." I said.
"Good." Gerard said as he picked up the laptop and placed it to the side.
Gerard slid his arms under my knees and back and picked me up. "Aren't I heavy?" I said, shocked that he could actually pick me up. He placed me in my wheelchair and shook his head.
"You're too small to be heavy." He teased. I chuckled.
"We're out of eggs and stuff so the special today is cereal." Gerard joked, wheeling me out of the room. I smiled.
"Yummy."