Salvation
Chapter 24
“Abbi, now really isn’t a good time, okay?” I rubbed my eyes tiredly as my ‘girlfriend’ pouted on my doorstep.
“I’m you’re girlfriend, you should always have time for me, don’t you love me?”
“Of course I love you, but once again you have turned up unannounced and I’m really stressed and I have another visitor now.”
“Oh…”
“Look Abbi, just go home and I’ll give you a call soon and we can go out somewhere, you’ll just have to give me a few days to sort some stuff out first, okay?”
“Fine, I love you Gerard!” She pecked me on the lips and grinned at me.
“I love you too Abbi,” I reply, trying not to sound too bored or worried. Then I closed the door and went back to collapse on the sofa where Mikey wrapped an arm around me again.
“So tell me exactly what’s happened.” Mikey instructed as Vicky entered with tea for the three of us and sat down in the armchair. I had accidently interrupted their second date when I had called Mikey in hysterics.
“On Saturday, Frank and I went shopping and then came home and had a little, minor fight. It was barely even a fight and we made up instantly. Then his phone rang and he freaked out, told me to trust him and then left. An hour later I got a text from him telling me not to call the cops and now I haven’t seen or heard from him in three days. I’ve been covering for him at work saying he’s ill. What do you thinks happened to him? Is this him leaving me? Did I do something wrong?” I was bordering on hysterics again, Mikey rubbed my arm comfortingly.
“I know for a fact that this isn’t Frank leaving you. I saw the way he looked at you Gerard, he adores you. Have you checked any hospitals?”
“Every hospital in a hundred mile radius, he’s not in any of them.”
“Do you know of anyone who might have something against Frank?”
“I don’t know Mikey! Oh god, what if I never see him again?”
“Gerard, you have to stop thinking like that and think very carefully from the very first time you met him, everything he’s said and done and everyone he’s been with.”
“The first time I met him was when at an anti-gay rally, he just asked me what I was doing. The second time one of the boys from Church had stabbed him in the arm outside my house.”
“What happened to the boy?”
“He was sent to a behavioural school in Iowa.”
“It’s reaching but it’s a possibility, what next?” I strained to remember the next time I had met the man who had captured my heart.
“He came into the surgery with…with his boyfriend! His boyfriend went to Ghana for a month, which meant he would have gotten back around…Saturday! He would have found that Frank wasn’t at home and…oh my God, am I going to have to ID Frank’s body?!”
“Gerard, this might be none of my business but how do you feel about Frank?” Vicky asked, studying me over the mug she held between two hands.
“I care about him more than I thought I could care about one person.” I answered without hesitation.
“Would you trust him with your life?”
“Without question.” Again, I answered without thinking about it.
“Then you can trust him on this like he asked you to. Like Mikey said, Frank wouldn’t leave you, even I know that.” I nodded unsurely, biting my lip.
“Thanks guys, I’m really sorry I interrupted your date.”
“It’s fine Gerard, have you got a pack of cards or something? We can spend the rest of the evening here playing card games or something, as long as that’s alright with you Vicky,” Mikey looked at her and she smiled.
“Of course it’s fine!”
“I haven’t played cards in years, but I think I still have our Star Wars ones upstairs from when we were kids, I’ll have a look.”
“Dude, you still have those?! That’s freaking awesome! I’ve been looking for those for years, I thought Mom through them out before I left home!”
“She was going to but I salvaged them. They held too many memories for me to let her throw them away.”
“N’aww, aren’t you cute,” Mikey teased, pinching my cheek annoyingly.
“That’s funny Mikey, so you want me to tell Vicky here all about your first kiss do you?” Mikey very quickly stopped but I was enjoying myself far too much to do the same.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Mikey’s eyes were wide.
“What was her name again? It was something awful…Agina?…Aamina?…Anthia! That was it.”
“Gerard…” Mikey warned.
“They were eleven. She cried Vicky,” I laughed, as did Mikey’s date.
“That’s it, you’re dead!” Mikey launched himself at me and we both landed in a heap on the floor, him tickling me mercilessly, me barely able to breath and Vicky laughing at the sight of us play-fighting on the floor like teenage boys again.
Eventually I managed to push my little brother off and heaved myself up, clutching at my aching sides.
“Vicky, there are snacks and things in the kitchen cupboards, why don’t you sort some stuff out while I go and look for those cards?”
“Of course, and Gerard? Don’t worry about Frank, he’ll be back, I know it.”
“Thanks Vicky.” We smiled at each other before I nodded and ran up the stairs to look for the one piece of childhood I had been able to salvage from the bin liners full of comics, CDs, posters and clothes when I was fifteen years old.
“I’m you’re girlfriend, you should always have time for me, don’t you love me?”
“Of course I love you, but once again you have turned up unannounced and I’m really stressed and I have another visitor now.”
“Oh…”
“Look Abbi, just go home and I’ll give you a call soon and we can go out somewhere, you’ll just have to give me a few days to sort some stuff out first, okay?”
“Fine, I love you Gerard!” She pecked me on the lips and grinned at me.
“I love you too Abbi,” I reply, trying not to sound too bored or worried. Then I closed the door and went back to collapse on the sofa where Mikey wrapped an arm around me again.
“So tell me exactly what’s happened.” Mikey instructed as Vicky entered with tea for the three of us and sat down in the armchair. I had accidently interrupted their second date when I had called Mikey in hysterics.
“On Saturday, Frank and I went shopping and then came home and had a little, minor fight. It was barely even a fight and we made up instantly. Then his phone rang and he freaked out, told me to trust him and then left. An hour later I got a text from him telling me not to call the cops and now I haven’t seen or heard from him in three days. I’ve been covering for him at work saying he’s ill. What do you thinks happened to him? Is this him leaving me? Did I do something wrong?” I was bordering on hysterics again, Mikey rubbed my arm comfortingly.
“I know for a fact that this isn’t Frank leaving you. I saw the way he looked at you Gerard, he adores you. Have you checked any hospitals?”
“Every hospital in a hundred mile radius, he’s not in any of them.”
“Do you know of anyone who might have something against Frank?”
“I don’t know Mikey! Oh god, what if I never see him again?”
“Gerard, you have to stop thinking like that and think very carefully from the very first time you met him, everything he’s said and done and everyone he’s been with.”
“The first time I met him was when at an anti-gay rally, he just asked me what I was doing. The second time one of the boys from Church had stabbed him in the arm outside my house.”
“What happened to the boy?”
“He was sent to a behavioural school in Iowa.”
“It’s reaching but it’s a possibility, what next?” I strained to remember the next time I had met the man who had captured my heart.
“He came into the surgery with…with his boyfriend! His boyfriend went to Ghana for a month, which meant he would have gotten back around…Saturday! He would have found that Frank wasn’t at home and…oh my God, am I going to have to ID Frank’s body?!”
“Gerard, this might be none of my business but how do you feel about Frank?” Vicky asked, studying me over the mug she held between two hands.
“I care about him more than I thought I could care about one person.” I answered without hesitation.
“Would you trust him with your life?”
“Without question.” Again, I answered without thinking about it.
“Then you can trust him on this like he asked you to. Like Mikey said, Frank wouldn’t leave you, even I know that.” I nodded unsurely, biting my lip.
“Thanks guys, I’m really sorry I interrupted your date.”
“It’s fine Gerard, have you got a pack of cards or something? We can spend the rest of the evening here playing card games or something, as long as that’s alright with you Vicky,” Mikey looked at her and she smiled.
“Of course it’s fine!”
“I haven’t played cards in years, but I think I still have our Star Wars ones upstairs from when we were kids, I’ll have a look.”
“Dude, you still have those?! That’s freaking awesome! I’ve been looking for those for years, I thought Mom through them out before I left home!”
“She was going to but I salvaged them. They held too many memories for me to let her throw them away.”
“N’aww, aren’t you cute,” Mikey teased, pinching my cheek annoyingly.
“That’s funny Mikey, so you want me to tell Vicky here all about your first kiss do you?” Mikey very quickly stopped but I was enjoying myself far too much to do the same.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Mikey’s eyes were wide.
“What was her name again? It was something awful…Agina?…Aamina?…Anthia! That was it.”
“Gerard…” Mikey warned.
“They were eleven. She cried Vicky,” I laughed, as did Mikey’s date.
“That’s it, you’re dead!” Mikey launched himself at me and we both landed in a heap on the floor, him tickling me mercilessly, me barely able to breath and Vicky laughing at the sight of us play-fighting on the floor like teenage boys again.
Eventually I managed to push my little brother off and heaved myself up, clutching at my aching sides.
“Vicky, there are snacks and things in the kitchen cupboards, why don’t you sort some stuff out while I go and look for those cards?”
“Of course, and Gerard? Don’t worry about Frank, he’ll be back, I know it.”
“Thanks Vicky.” We smiled at each other before I nodded and ran up the stairs to look for the one piece of childhood I had been able to salvage from the bin liners full of comics, CDs, posters and clothes when I was fifteen years old.