My Favorite Part Was Dying

"Hey, how are you feeling, baby?" Donna asked Gerard gently as she took a seat by his bed. For a moment Gerard considered not speaking to her, but he had to.

"Mom... can the guys visit me? I really miss them." he said honestly. His mother's eyes looked away from his. "Please?"

"Dr. Robinson said it's not a good idea. They're not trustworthy and they're feeding your delusion."

Gerard took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself before he spoke. "They are trustworthy! And how the hell are they 'feeding my delusion'?"

Donna sighed and tried to reason with her son, "Gerard, honey, they should have told us what you had sai--"

"Why? You found out on your own just fine." he said coldly. Donna sighed again and stopped speaking. The two of them just stared at each other for a moment.

"Okay, well if you're depriving me of my friends, can I at least have something to do in here? A few pencils to draw with?"

Donna looked down at her lap again. "Dr. Robinson says --"

"Oh my God! Dr. Robinson is a power-hungry bastard. I sit in his office and listen as he twists my words around for hours at a time. The guy is trying to drive me insane. I didn't realize that was the purpose of being in a mental hospital." Gerard murmured the last bit under his breath.

But his mother caught it, frowning, she spoke, "Honey, Dr. Robinson is trying to help you. He warned us to expect you not to understand his work --"

"What the fuck?! This is like something out of a shitty thriller! Mom, you can't honestly be buying every word Robinson says!" Gerard shouted, unable to control his anger anymore. A moment later he wished he had been able to remain calm, his mother was looking at him as though he were a lunatic.

"Mom, you've gotta believe me, I'm not insane...." he pleaded with her. Her expression remained the same. "Mom, I swear --" he stopped speaking, knowing he couldn't convince her. If anything, he would just make her think that he was even more deranged than she had realized before. He sighed and looked away from her.

"Gerard, I'm - I'm gonna go now, sweetie. Your father couldn't make it today but he said he'll visit later this week...." She stood up and slowly shuffled towards the door.

"Wait!" he called. She paused. He had to know. "Do you really believe I need to be locked up in this room like a prisoner?"

She turned to face him, "What do you mean?" Her voice was filled with confusion and uncertainty.

"They're keeping me locked in here. Did you or Dad give them permission?" he asked, a spark of hope filling him. Maybe she would see how twisted this place was. He couldn't imagine his parents giving the hospital permission to lock him in this cell forever. Then again he had never imagined them shutting him away in the first place.

"Your father and I would never give them permission to do something like that. Honey, nobody is locking you in."

Gerard gaped at his mother. She didn't believe him. She believed complete strangers more than her own son. Strangers that didn't care about Gerard or his well-being. As Donna turned to leave the room once again he felt even more trapped and powerless and alone than before. The door snapped shut and her footsteps faded away.

"This place is bad... We need to get you out of here." Mikey's voice said. Gerard's head spun around, looking for his brother. He found him standing by the window. Mikey gave a small wave. Gerard didn't bother to wave back.

"So... how do you propose to get me out of here? Seeing as you're the dead brother that got me stuck here in the first place...." he muttered, staring out the bright window, just to the right of Mikey.

"Well... I - I don't know. We'll figure something out." Mikey said quietly. "But, Gee... until we do figure a way out, be careful. Dr. Robinson is seriously messed up. I've been watching him. He's dirty. You've gotta tiptoe around him and everyone here. Don't give them any more ammunition."

"How?! I'm totally lost. This place is so..." Gerard's voice trailed away in frustration.

Mikey looked frightened as he spoke, "I know. But Gee, you have to lay low. Robinson acts like he goes by the book, but he doesn't. Don't piss him off."

"What do you mean?" Gerard asked uncertainly, finally looking into his brother's eyes.

"This isn't some 'shitty thriller.' It's a lot worse than that. It's real."