Salvation
Chapter 12
“Hey Gerard, did you sleep in my bed last night?” Frank asked as he entered the kitchen, straightening out his shirt.
“No, why would I?” I didn’t even look up from my newspaper and breakfast, but out of the corner of my eye I watched his confused expression until he shrugged.
“I don’t know, I guess I just must have dreamt it.” He paused. “Gerard, are those birthday cards on the table?” He asked quietly.
“Yep.”
“You turn 29 today?”
“Yep.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know, happy birthday Gerard.”
“Thanks,”
“Doing anything to celebrate?”
“Going out to dinner.” I wasn’t in the mood for anymore chatting. I stood up and left, uttering a small goodbye to Frank. So what if I had crept out before he could wake up this morning? What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, or me.
My day passed slowly and uneventfully. I got home around 6 in the evening but there was no sign of Frank in the house, or by the time I had to leave at 7, dressed in my dinner suit.
Abigail looked beautiful when she answered her door to me, her blonde hair fell in waves around her shoulders and framed her elegant face, her blue eyes sparkled and her long red dress hugged her figure. She was beautiful, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t find her attractive.
“Gerard!” She squealed when she opened her door. “Happy Birthday!”
“Thank you Abbi, are you ready to go?”
“Of course, shall we?”
The drive was filled with her mindless chatter, she was telling me all about her charity work and how surprised she had been when I had pulled her aside at the school fete and asked her out on a date for my birthday.
I wasn’t about to deny that I hardly knew Frank, but somehow I knew that if it had been him in her place, the drive would have been quiet, conversation intelligent and witty, interjected with inappropriate teasing comments that would make me inwardly cringe, he would make sure the conversation was about the both of us equally. As it was, it was Abigail sat in the passenger seat instead and all I could think was how I wanted it to be Frank. Then I scolded myself for thinking like that.
Dinner was boring, I couldn’t even bring myself to be interested in the stories she was telling me. What made it worse I'd that I knew that even though it had only been one date, I knew I was going to be stuck with her for a while now, I just knew she was going to be like a limpet.
Frank’s POV
I got home from work before Gerard did. Gerard. I still didn’t quite understand him, but I understood the feelings he caused. I hated myself for them. I just wished he could stop all the brainwashed prejudice and accept me, and himself.
I was mindlessly flicking through the cards that were still on the table when one particular caught my eye. On the front were some random pictures of some random cartoon dog making some random joke, but the words…
‘To the best brother on his birthday…’
Hadn’t Gerard implied only last night that his brother had died? I glanced inside the card to read the message scrawled messily in black ink.
Gerard, I know you probably don’t care and will throw this away the second you realize it’s from me, but if you happen to get this far I will tell you the same the I tell you every year; I love you and I miss you big brother.
If you ever feel like talking to me again, call me on 973-338-7786 or come visit me.
Mikey
So Gerard’s brother wasn’t dead, just clearly estranged. I could so use this to my advantage. I giggled. I found a Michael Way with his number in the phonebook, scribbled down his address and grabbed my coat and my car keys and shut the door behind me.
Mikey lived in a considerably poorer part of Belleville but his house seemed homely and well-kept, even from the outside. Strangely, walking up the garden path, I got nervous. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
After a minute, a lanky, boyish looking man answered the door, pushing his glasses up to the top of his nose and studying me standing awkwardly on his doorstep.
“Can I help you?”
“I think so, um, are you Mikey Way?”
“Yes, why?”
“I was wondering if I could talk with you about…about your brother.”
“My brother?! I wasn’t expecting that one. Why? Has he gone on a killing spree or something? Unless you’re planning to kill him and need my help to get information that will help you.”
“Not quite, I do need information on your brother, but not to kill him, it’s kind of complicated.”
“You don’t seem like the kind of person he’d usually associate with.”
“No, I know, but if I say it’s for his own good that I find out about him, would you help me out?”
“You’re not a stalker?”
“Promise.”
“Fine, but now isn’t a good time, could you come back on Saturday? I should be in all day.”
“Yeah, that would be great. I’m Frank by the way, Frank Iero.”
“Well then Frank Iero, I’ll see you on Saturday.”
Gerard’s POV
In my efforts to get over the fact that Abigail hadn’t stopped talking about herself through the entire dinner, I had drunk more wine than usual and was therefore a little inebriated. Not enough to not realize that Abigail’s chaste kiss as I dropped her home hadn’t set my skin on fire as Frank’s had, but enough to think I knew what I wanted.
Frank was reading a book in an armchair when I got home. He was subconsciously biting that lip ring of his and looking damn sexy doing it. He looked up when he heard me and he chuckled slightly.
“Was dinner fun?” He asked. I didn’t answer. I grabbed his t-shirt in both my hands and yanked him up, crashing my lips to his, immediately wrapping my arms around his waist, holding him close to me and stopping him falling back as I released his shirt. He seemed surprised at first, then he relaxed and kissed me back, one hand rested on the back of my neck, the other on my cheek. After a minute, he pulled back.
“Gerard, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Frank, I spent two hours having my brains dissolved by a twenty-six year old Barbie doll.” I leant down to whisper the last part what I thought was seductively in his ear. “I need you.” Frank could only look at me with wide eyes before passionately bringing our lips back together.
“No, why would I?” I didn’t even look up from my newspaper and breakfast, but out of the corner of my eye I watched his confused expression until he shrugged.
“I don’t know, I guess I just must have dreamt it.” He paused. “Gerard, are those birthday cards on the table?” He asked quietly.
“Yep.”
“You turn 29 today?”
“Yep.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know, happy birthday Gerard.”
“Thanks,”
“Doing anything to celebrate?”
“Going out to dinner.” I wasn’t in the mood for anymore chatting. I stood up and left, uttering a small goodbye to Frank. So what if I had crept out before he could wake up this morning? What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, or me.
My day passed slowly and uneventfully. I got home around 6 in the evening but there was no sign of Frank in the house, or by the time I had to leave at 7, dressed in my dinner suit.
Abigail looked beautiful when she answered her door to me, her blonde hair fell in waves around her shoulders and framed her elegant face, her blue eyes sparkled and her long red dress hugged her figure. She was beautiful, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t find her attractive.
“Gerard!” She squealed when she opened her door. “Happy Birthday!”
“Thank you Abbi, are you ready to go?”
“Of course, shall we?”
The drive was filled with her mindless chatter, she was telling me all about her charity work and how surprised she had been when I had pulled her aside at the school fete and asked her out on a date for my birthday.
I wasn’t about to deny that I hardly knew Frank, but somehow I knew that if it had been him in her place, the drive would have been quiet, conversation intelligent and witty, interjected with inappropriate teasing comments that would make me inwardly cringe, he would make sure the conversation was about the both of us equally. As it was, it was Abigail sat in the passenger seat instead and all I could think was how I wanted it to be Frank. Then I scolded myself for thinking like that.
Dinner was boring, I couldn’t even bring myself to be interested in the stories she was telling me. What made it worse I'd that I knew that even though it had only been one date, I knew I was going to be stuck with her for a while now, I just knew she was going to be like a limpet.
Frank’s POV
I got home from work before Gerard did. Gerard. I still didn’t quite understand him, but I understood the feelings he caused. I hated myself for them. I just wished he could stop all the brainwashed prejudice and accept me, and himself.
I was mindlessly flicking through the cards that were still on the table when one particular caught my eye. On the front were some random pictures of some random cartoon dog making some random joke, but the words…
‘To the best brother on his birthday…’
Hadn’t Gerard implied only last night that his brother had died? I glanced inside the card to read the message scrawled messily in black ink.
Gerard, I know you probably don’t care and will throw this away the second you realize it’s from me, but if you happen to get this far I will tell you the same the I tell you every year; I love you and I miss you big brother.
If you ever feel like talking to me again, call me on 973-338-7786 or come visit me.
Mikey
So Gerard’s brother wasn’t dead, just clearly estranged. I could so use this to my advantage. I giggled. I found a Michael Way with his number in the phonebook, scribbled down his address and grabbed my coat and my car keys and shut the door behind me.
Mikey lived in a considerably poorer part of Belleville but his house seemed homely and well-kept, even from the outside. Strangely, walking up the garden path, I got nervous. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
After a minute, a lanky, boyish looking man answered the door, pushing his glasses up to the top of his nose and studying me standing awkwardly on his doorstep.
“Can I help you?”
“I think so, um, are you Mikey Way?”
“Yes, why?”
“I was wondering if I could talk with you about…about your brother.”
“My brother?! I wasn’t expecting that one. Why? Has he gone on a killing spree or something? Unless you’re planning to kill him and need my help to get information that will help you.”
“Not quite, I do need information on your brother, but not to kill him, it’s kind of complicated.”
“You don’t seem like the kind of person he’d usually associate with.”
“No, I know, but if I say it’s for his own good that I find out about him, would you help me out?”
“You’re not a stalker?”
“Promise.”
“Fine, but now isn’t a good time, could you come back on Saturday? I should be in all day.”
“Yeah, that would be great. I’m Frank by the way, Frank Iero.”
“Well then Frank Iero, I’ll see you on Saturday.”
Gerard’s POV
In my efforts to get over the fact that Abigail hadn’t stopped talking about herself through the entire dinner, I had drunk more wine than usual and was therefore a little inebriated. Not enough to not realize that Abigail’s chaste kiss as I dropped her home hadn’t set my skin on fire as Frank’s had, but enough to think I knew what I wanted.
Frank was reading a book in an armchair when I got home. He was subconsciously biting that lip ring of his and looking damn sexy doing it. He looked up when he heard me and he chuckled slightly.
“Was dinner fun?” He asked. I didn’t answer. I grabbed his t-shirt in both my hands and yanked him up, crashing my lips to his, immediately wrapping my arms around his waist, holding him close to me and stopping him falling back as I released his shirt. He seemed surprised at first, then he relaxed and kissed me back, one hand rested on the back of my neck, the other on my cheek. After a minute, he pulled back.
“Gerard, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Frank, I spent two hours having my brains dissolved by a twenty-six year old Barbie doll.” I leant down to whisper the last part what I thought was seductively in his ear. “I need you.” Frank could only look at me with wide eyes before passionately bringing our lips back together.