Like Phantoms Forever

Step clunk step clunk step clunk step-
It’s hard to be stealthy when you have a broken leg. Any second now someone’s gonna come out of their room and yell at me for walking around.
“Emmy, you shouldn’t be up.” Ray said, poking his head out of his room.
“I’m perfectly fine getting myself a glass of water.” I said, trying to look as dignified as someone wearing pajamas that said “Rise and Shine” with a piece of toast coming out of a toaster and a Day-Glo purple cast can.
Which isn’t very, in case you were wondering.
“I’ll get it for you. Go back to bed.” The thing I’ve learned about Ray in the past month or so he’s been living here is that you don’t argue with him. He’ll always have a better argument than you. So I went back to bed and waited for him to get my glass of water.
I felt like such a diva, being waited on hand and foot. I was perfectly fine. My bruises and scrapes were healing rapidly. It was just this damn leg cast that was hampering me.
There were two soft knocks on the door before it swung open.
“I’m here to take milady to breakfast.” Gerard said, grinning wide. He and Ray were my “porters” carrying me up and down the stairs. Frank would fall if he tried to lift me, Bob was shy and I didn’t want Mikey carrying me.
“I’m fucking sick of everyone making me stay in bed.” I whined.
“Wanna break out?”
“Where would we go?” I paused. “I should go visit my mom. She’s gonna wanna see me.” I’d called and told her I’d been in an accident. She said she’d save the yelling for when she saw me in person.
“Then after breakfast I’ll sneak you out.”
“I don’t think I can sneak anywhere with this thing.” I lifted the hideous purple cast. I even had to have someone help me bathe. Every night Wes would come into my bathroom and hold my cast out of the bathtub while I washed myself. It’s a good thing I had no shame with her.
“Come on, there’s food. And then I’ll bring you up to get dressed and I’ll sneak you out.”
“I swear, my dignity is just going down the drain.” I said, half hanging over his shoulder as he walked down the stairs.
“What dignity?” He laughed, setting me down in the kitchen. I wasn’t allowed to walk down the stairs because I slipped the other day and slid down a little before coming to a rug-burned stop. I didn’t even get hurt that badly.
This is my fucking house and I’m being treated like a child. When I get home tonight I’m going to put my (good) foot down.
I had breakfast with everyone, watched Frank and Wes play tonsil hockey way too early in the morning, laughed when Bob threw a spoon at them because he’s a grump and tried to not make eye contact with Mikey.
“I’m going to visit my mom today.” I announced. I didn’t see the point in sneaking out. It was my damn house. “Gee’s taking me.”
“Okay.” Wes said, coming up for air for the auspicious occasion of allowing me out of my own home.
So I waited while Gerard got dressed and he carried me down the stairs AGAIN which I was getting sick of because he had bony shoulders and it hurt my stomach.
“My mom is going to kill me.” I said, checking the bruise on my cheek in the mirror. It had faded to a lovely yellow-green shade.
“It’s not that noticeable. You could have covered it up with makeup.” Gerard said, not taking his eyes off the road.
“If I had any. You wear more makeup than I do.”
“That’s true. I probably had some foundation too.”
“You are the most feminine man I’ve ever known.”
“But you love me anyway, so its fine.”
“Everyone thinks we’re banging.”
“We are quite goodlooking, aren’t we?”
“No, banging as in making little Way babies.”
“That would never happen.”
“Well you and I know that, but Wes doesn’t get it.”
“Maybe she wants you to get back with Mikey.”
“He has a girlfriend.”
“Still. She loves you.” He pulled into the driveway that I directed him to. “When should I come back for you?”
“Oh no. You’re not ditching me here. You’re coming in.” He looked terrified, but I dragged him out of the car anyway and into the house.
My mom hadn’t aged much in nine years. Good genetics I guess. She was just a little more worn around the edges now, like a well loved book. I knew some of those worn edges were because of me. She blamed herself for my drinking problem. She told me while I was in rehab that if she hadn’t moved me across the country to California I would never have become an alcoholic.
And for a while, I did blame her. I felt like she’d torn me away from everything and it was her fault I didn’t want to feel anymore. But as I got better, I knew it wasn’t her fault. I went into rehab just about when River pulled himself together to take Sylvie back. Mom felt like a failure when it came to us. And then there was Forrest. The bastard couldn’t even be bothered to have some kind of major character flaw to make an even set.
“Hi Mom.” I gave her a tight hug, wincing when it pressed one of my bruises.
“I told you that motorcycle was a death trap.” She said, not even noticing Gerard.
“Gerard, you remember my mom, right?” I said, hoping to distract her. “Gee, Mikey, Wes, and Frank are living with me right now.”
“Why didn’t you bring Mikey? I would have liked to see him.” God my mom can put her foot in her mouth.
“Because you don’t usually bring your ex-boyfriend to visit your mother after a motorcycle accident.” Fuck, I brought up the accident.
She told me I’d be the death of her and that riding the motorcycle would get me killed and I was lucky to be breathing. Then, with a trembling voice, she told me she was afraid to lose her baby. I gave her a hug and told her I’d been through worse than this.
Gerard sat in awkward silence through the whole visit. He went to use the bathroom and my mom turned to me, a conspiratorial smile on her face.
“So you went from one brother to the other?” She grinned.
“Mom, Gerard’s just a good friend. He’s…been through what I’ve been through.” I left out the drugs part.
“Well, if he’s just a good friend, then why did you bring him along?”
“Because I needed someone to drive me. I have a literal lead foot right now.” She nodded, finally understanding what I was saying.
“I’m kinda tired.” I said after Gee came back. “I think we’re gonna head home.”
“Okay. I’m glad that you’re all right.” She gave me another tight squeeze before letting us leave.
“Now I know why you’re so frightening. It’s fucking genetics.” Gerard muttered once we were in the car.
“She’s not that scary. She’s five foot nothing, for god’s sake.”
“Height has nothing to do with terror factor. I mean, look at the chick from the Exorcist.”
“My mom’s head didn’t spin around and she didn’t projectile vomit pea soup.”
“Still. Frightening.”
“You’re a wuss, that’s what it is.” I had to lift my cast to cross my legs. “So how’s the album coming?”
“It’s….not quite what it could be.” He said finally. “I don’t know, it’s just not right yet.”
“Then you should start over. I know it might not be the same with an album, but if the storyline isn’t what it should be you have to scrap it.”
“Maybe.”
“Just think about it.” I was promptly put on the couch with Zero and Cupcake and a hot cup of tea when I got home. Wes had kicked out the guys so we could have our chick flick marathon.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so domineering about your leg. I just want to make up for being such a shit friend all these years.” Wes said after a while. Nightmare was in a heap on her lap, acting like a normal, non-possessed cat. Only Wes could make my Satanic cat normal.
“I understand the stairs thing, but I can move around by myself. Not very quickly, but I can.”
“I know. I just want to take care of you.”
“I appreciate it.” I leaned my head on her shoulder. “My mom wants me to fuck Gerard if I’m not going to get back together with Mikey.”
“I knew there was a reason I loved your mom.” She laughed.