You Taught Me Love

Gerard's P.O.V.

Friday
Evening

I was waiting for Mikey at the entrance of his apartment block, he would soon come back from the video store with a couple of horror movies we could watch tonight for our «brother time». I saw his car entering the parking lot and, seconds later, he was walking towards me with two DVDs in hand.

"So?" I asked as I tried to read the titles on the boxes.

"Well I took «Sleepy Hollow», so you can perv on Johnny Depp..." he started.

"Oh, ha-ha-ha" I laughed sarcastically.

"... and «Texas Chainsaw Massacre»."

"Hey, that's Frank's favorite movie."
What? «That's Frank's favorite movie»???
Gosh, I'm so lame.

"Who's Frank?" my brother asked as we entered the building.

"A...friend." I answered hesitantly.
Were we friends? Yeah, I guess.

"Right."
He rolled his eyes at me and smirked knowingly.

"He's just a friend!"

"OK, OK. I believe you, you don't have to be all outraged or whatever..."

* * * * * * *

"Go check out the bathroom." Mikey said as he opened the door to his home.

"What? Why?"

"I painted it red on Tuesday, I'm sure you'll like it. Now go check it out, I'll put on the first movie and make the popcorn."
He walked away to the living room and started looking for his remote. His apartment was really nice, in a rich part of town, but he was a very disorganized guy and he always had to spend hours looking for his stuff, so it didn't help that the rooms were quite spacious.

I got to the bathroom at the end of the hallway and discovered bright red walls, carpets and decorations of the same color. My eyes dropped to the counter he had painted white, then on the broken mirror upon it.
Oh no...

I became nauseous and my eyes emptied of any emotion, as too many times before.

*FLASHBACK*

I looked up from the toilet bowl and tried to regain my breath.
"I'm so dirty." I thought, disgusted by what I had become in spite of myself.
Soon, the horrible feeling came back up my throat and I threw up the contents of my stomach in the filthy water. Or what there was left in there. I got on my feet with difficulty, due to the pain shooting through my body, and rinsed my mouth the best I could in the sink.

I dared a look at my reflection in the mirror and was truly sickened by what I saw. The dark rings under my eyes, the bruises, my swelling lips, the sex hair, the cuts, the hideous hickeys covering my neck... I had never wanted any of those.

"Fuck you." I muttered to myself.
An uncontrollable rage suddenly took over my mind and body and I punched the mess that I was looking at in the mirror with all my strength. The glass shattered as soon as my fist collided with it and many pieces fell on the counter. Red gushed out of my knuckles rapidly from several cuts, but I couldn't even feel their pain, it was so insignificant compared to all the rest...

"Fuck you." I said more sternly to the now multiple reflection in front of me.
You disgust me.

*end FLASHBACK*

"Well, what do you think about it?" my brother asked as he joined me in the bathroom.
Seeing that I wasn't reacting, he shook me by the shoulder, effectively bringing me back to reality. He realized what I had been staring at and now wore a sad expression on his face.

"I'm sorry." I said, looking at him in the eyes.

"Don't worry, I already ordered a new mi--"

"No Mikey, I'm sorry for what I put you through. The fits, the nights I called you in tears without telling you why, the weeks you had to take care of me after my stays at the hospital, the frantic showers, the depression and... you know. You didn't deserve any of that." I apologized.

"ME??? Gerard, I can't even begin to imagine what it's been like for you!! It's normal that I was there for you; you're my brother and I love you. I would've liked that you told me about everything before, but to say the truth, I'm just glad it's over. Gerard, you have to understand that none of this was ever your fault, you were just stuck with the wrong guy. You're an incredible man, very kind, and I'm lucky to have you. You absolutely didn't deserve any of that either." he said as he wrapped me in a loving hug. "Trust me."

I felt a tear run down my cheek and, for once in a fucking long time, it wasn't one of despair.
I was lucky to have Mikey.