Hero

“Gerard,” she sobbed. He walked across the hotel room in quick strides. He kneeled down beside her and pushed the hood on her sweater back. She gazed up at him with her big sad hazel eyes.

“What happened?” he asked.

She shook her head and bit her bottom lip. He frowned sympathetically and touched her pale face lightly. “Was it him?” he questioned.

She turned away from him and stared at the blank white wall in front of her. There was barely enough room for the both of them there on the carpet between the big bed and the wall with the window overlooking the city. It was the middle of the night but the stars were barely visible around here. He waited for her because he knew if he moved to fast or demanded answers she’d just become more upset. He had to wait until she was ready. She was stubborn like that.

“Can you come here please?” he asked her. After a few moments she turned back to him and inched closer. He wiped away her tears and ran a hand through her short brown hair.

“Do you think it looks like a boy?” she sniffled, attempting to change the subject.

“No,” he shook his head and smiled. “You look beautiful like always.”

“I’m not beautiful.”

“Yes you are,” he assured her. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. He patted her hair gently and rubbed her back in soothing circles. She was calm for a short time then started crying again. She let her tears flow because she was with him, in his strong arms. Slowly he unzipped her black hoodie and she allowed it to fall off her shoulders. She was always hiding in that baggy black hoodie. It was getting so worn out over the years that it actually had holes in the ends where she stuck her thumbs through it.

He looked down at her tiny stick like arms and the dark bruises littering them. Some of the new marks were shaped like hands. He wanted to cry himself when he saw this but he had to be strong for her. She needed him. She always needed him… “Did he do this to you?”

She nodded miserably. “Why does he do this? Am I that much of a loser?”

He tilted her chin up so she was forced to look at him again. “You are not a loser,” he told her firmly. “You are a smart, beautiful, kind, talented, amazing girl. Don’t you ever let anyone tell you different.”

“Then why does he hurt me?” she was pleading for an answer and he wasn’t sure he had one. How could anyone lay their hands on her? She’s so small and vulnerable. She’s one of the nicest people he knows. She doesn’t deserve this.

“Because he’s sick in the head. No person in their right mind could ever even think of doing that to you. You don’t deserve that.”

“What do I do Gerard? He’s my step dad.”

“I’ll protect you. I’ll always protect you,” he pulled her into his embrace and held her tight. She was his little angel and she smelled like flowers. His heart broke every time he looked at her…so sad and broken. The worst part is, he knew she’d always go back to her house and back to her step dad. He couldn’t keep her on tour. She wasn’t some kind of pet even if his band insisted she was very much ‘his pet.’ She had to go back to her family because it was still her family and it was all she had. All he could do right now was be the hero that she needed. He could hold her and comfort her and be a shoulder to cry on. He could tell her all the things she needed to hear and be her own personal temporary Superman. Sometimes when he was really lucky he’d get her to smile, to forget the pain just for a few minutes, and when that happened it warmed him from the inside out. She had a gorgeous smile. She deserved to be happy and to smile.

“Will you draw me a picture? You draw the best pictures,” she was done crying. She was ready to forget and to be safe with him for now.

“Yeah, of course,” he nodded, brushing her hair behind her ear.

Her eyes lit up just a little. When she was happier, when she was with him, her hazel orbs sparkled. He felt really lucky then.”Will you sing me to sleep?”

“Yes, anytime baby,” he picked her small frame up into his arms and placed her on the bed. He climbed in, shoes and all, and held her to him. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. He kept his arms around her securely and began singing quietly. Slowly her eyes shut and then she was off in dream world with a small smile on her face. He couldn’t save her from the world but he could provide her a little sanctuary. He could give her a warm safe place for now, provide her their own little world where he was the hero and she was his princess.

"When the lights go out will you take me with you? And carry all this broken bone through six years down in crowded rooms and highways I call home Is something I can't know till now till you picked me off the ground with brick in hand, your lip gloss smile, your scraped up knees and If you stay I would even wait all night or until my heart explodes. How long until we find our way in the dark and out of harm? You can run away with me anytime you want. Terrified of what I'd be as a kid from what I'd seen. Every single day when people try and put the pieces back together just to smash them down. Turn my headphones up real loud. I don't think I need them now cause you stop the noise and If you stay I would even wait all night or until my heart explodes. How long until we find our way in the dark and out of harm? You can run away with me anytime you want,"- MCR, Summertime