Will You be the One to Save Me?

“G-Gerard.” My voice was small, frightened. The power this man had over me scared me. Ian looked up from his comic to greet Gerard.

Hey! Gerard, what’s up? Somethin’ wrong?” I greeted affably. The poor boy was too innocent.

“Yea. Can I borrow Sam for a moment?” Without waiting for an answer, he pulled me away to the back of the shop.

“W-What do you need?” Gerard’s grip on my wrist was becoming uncomfortable.

“Why are you with him?” I narrowed my eyes in an attempt to seem angry instead of terrified.

“Why does it concern you? It’s not like you give a shit about me.” The words were much harsher than I meant them to be. Gerard glared back at me, venom in his eyes.

“You don’t know jack shit about what I care about. I don’t like him. There’s something about him that just…I don’t know.” He let out a frustrated sigh and ran a slender hand through his long black hair. I fell back as a partial curtain around his face. I just stared at the perfect creature in front of me, thinking over his words before I turned and headed back over to Ian. Gerard attempted to stop me by grabbing my wrist but he let me go after a look from me.

“Ian?” he looked up at me with his bright green eyes. “I forgot that I promised my dad I’d get dinner ready tonight so I need to get home.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, maybe we can hang out again sometime?”

“Uh. Maybe.” I was starting to feel uncomfortable again. “Later.” I quickly stepped out of the shop and began walking towards the graveyard. I found solace amongst the dead. They always listened. The bells on the door rang again and loud footsteps slapped the damp pavement in an attempt to catch up to me.

“Collins!” A white hand gripped my shoulder and I shrugged it off.

“What is it Way?” I tried to lace my voice with annoyance to hide my fear yet again. “I just want to have some quiet okay?” I glared at him as we came to a stop in front of the graveyard. Gerard blinked before smirking at me, raising goose bumps on my arms. “What?” Gerard opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as I was tackled by Frank. The small squeal of shock that escaped my lips rose an uncontrollable giggle from the small boy that pinned me to the ground.

“Sammy! You came back!” He cackled.

“Hck! Frank! Not breathing! Get off!” He rolled off of me only to continue his convulsions next to me. When I picked myself up off the ground, Gerard had disappeared. “Where’d he go?”

“What?” Ray asked, suddenly at my side.

“Nothing. What do you guys want to do? I have some time to kill.” I stood up and saw Mikey sitting on a gravestone. He waved at me.

“Truth or dare!” Three head turned to stare at a grinning Frank. “What?” he whined.

“You are such a child.” I shook my head, my hair shaking around my face. “But it sounds like fun.”

“Yay! Let’s go over here.” Frank grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the center of the graveyard near a weeping angle statue. It made me shudder to have my back to it. For a moment, I looked up at her. Such a symbol for a graveyard. I have always wondered if she cried out for the loss of life or the symbol of sorrow of those who lost a piece of themselves in the loss of another. Either way, I empathized with her.

“Okay,” Mikey said, “Who’s first?”

“How about Ray?” I voiced timidly.

“Oh no! Not me.” Ray’s eyes were huge and Frank laughed.

“Ray! Truth or dare?”

“Ug. Truth.”

“You’re no fun.” Frank whined. “Alright, whatever. So…” Frank grinned evilly. “Do you like Scarlet Mason?” Ray’s face tinted pink. He let out a mottled response. “What was that?”

“Yeah.” My eyes grew wide. He like Scarlet? Damn. Never pegged him as the type of guy to like goth girls. “So my turn…”

After a round of Truth of Dare, the game made its way back to Frank. My mind was off thinking of Gerard. Where did he go off to after trying to talk to me?

“Sammy!” Frank yelled, causing me to jump. “Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

“Nope! You get a dare. And I dare you to kiss me!”

“Wait. Wha-!!!” I was cut off by Frank’s lips crushing mine. My eyes felt huge and my face flushed. ‘Oh Fuck…Oh Fuck. Oh Fuck!’ A twig snapped and Frank pulled away. I turned to look at where the noise came from, dreading what I would find. Sure enough, the boy I didn’t want to see stood there, glaring. “Gerard…” I whispered.

“Fuck it.” He turned and walked away. I stood quickly.

“I…I need to get home. Bye.” I practically sprinted out of the graveyard without waiting for a response. I did hear Mikey say “Good job, Shithead.” All I could see as I ran was the anger in Gerard’s eyes. “Was I imagining it?” I could have sworn that I saw hurt in his eyes. “Don’t be stupid, Samantha.”

I slowed my pace to a walk as I approached the place that I called home and found the door unlocked. ‘Huh. Dad must be home.’ I opened the door and kicked off my shoes. “Dad! I’m ho-“ I froze in my tracks. A man stood in the middle of my den. A black mask covered his face and a long knife found a home in his hand.

“Not a word. Get on the ground and put your hands on your head.” He said. I dropped my bag and sprinted out of the house. The masked man followed me.

“Fuck!” I sprinted towards the only other place I thought I could find help. For once, God seemed to be on my side. I saw his black clad figure sling towards his home. “Gerard! Help me!” He turned slightly to see me nearly run him over. I grabbed his hand, clutching it for dear life. “I’m… Being chased…knife...robber.” I panted. Gerard got the gist of what I had attempted to say through gasps for air. He tugged me to his home, slamming the door and sliding the bolt home with an ominous sound. I clutched my arms to my chest, trying to calm my shaking. The blood pounded in my ears.

“Collins? Hey, hey. Take a deep breath.” Gerard grasped my shoulder, shaking me gently. He reached up and wiped my cheek. My tears shone on his thumb. I was unaware I had even been crying. Gerard led me to the sofa in his den. I balled myself up in the corner as sobs racked my chest. “…Samantha. What happened?” Why aren’t you wearing shoes?” His voice was firm, but not harsh. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

“I…I went home after you left the graveyard. The door was unlocked so I thought my dad was home. It was that robber…he…He had a knife…he started chasing me and you know the rest…” I berried my head between my knees and chest.

“Shh. It’s gonna be okay. Calm down.” Gerard rubbed his hand up and down my back. “Okay, I’ll be right back. Hold on just a minute.” The lack of his presence next to me gave me a horrible, drowning sensation. A weight pressed on my chest and I furiously clutched at my hair, sobbing. When Gerard returned, he cautiously touched my shoulder causing me to jerk my head up. I looked at him with wide, fear-filled eyes. He pulled his hand back and eyed me like an injured animal.

“What if my dad was home? What if-?” My breath hitched in my throat.

“Sam. You need to take a deep breath. Your safe now.” Gerard’s voice was melodic, hypnotic. I found my breaths slowing as I stared in to his face. His eyes were more hazel today. I felt I saw more of who Gerard really was. The kinder one.

Lost in his eye, the loud raps on the front door startled me, resulting in my location moving from the couch to the floor. The corner of Gerard’s mouth twitched, as if he were repressing a smile. He rose to answer the door. I scurried back to my spot in the corner of the couch, trying to disappear as the front door opened.

“Hi. My name is Officer Abrams. We received a call from you about a robbery,” a deep voice resonated through the halls of the mostly empty house.

“Yeah. Please come in officer.” Gerard led in a tall, muscular man. He looked like someone straight out of CSI. “I’m Gerard Way and this is Samantha Joe Collins.” I looked at the blond officer in front of me as Gerard returned to my side on the couch.

“So, Mr. Way, you reported the robbery, correct?”

“Yes, but I didn’t witness it.”

“Did you, Miss Collins?” The officer asked me quietly, noticing how upset I was.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“At your home, correct?” I nodded, feeling that if I spoke again, I would begin crying again. “If you could, please give me a description of the intruder.” I glanced at Gerard and he squeezed my hand reassuringly. Taking a deep breath, I began to recount what I could remember.

“He was about as tall as you. He had a ski mask over his head so I don’t know what his face looked like. He had on a black long sleeve shirt and baggy blue jeans. His shoulders were really broad.” I took a shaky breath. Officer Anderson’s pen scratched furiously at the notebook he had with him.

“And did he say what he wanted?”

“No. He just told me to get on the ground and put my hands on my head. I didn’t recognize his voice.” My voice was fading and my hands began shaking as reality set in. I bit back the tears that threatened to fall. “Wait, officer. Was my father in the house?” I feared that perhaps he had been home when the robber was there. That thought chilled me to the core.

Gerard must have felt my shivers because I felt a pair of warm arms wrap around me. Part of my brain realized that this was the man who scared me to death but the other just wanted him to hold me tighter. I need to feel safe.

“No ma’am. No one else was present when we searched the premises.” My shoulders relaxed.

Coming down off an adrenalin high is exactly like crashing after sugar and caffeine. After the addictive chemical began to flee my veins, I felt my eyelids getting heavy. Only vaguely aware of the officer rising to leave, consciousness slowly slipped from my feeble grasp. The last image to reach my brain was the pale skin and ebony hair of Gerard hovering over me.

There is nothing in the world more startling than waking up from a nightmare to a hyper Frankie tackling you.

“Oh my God!” I screamed as the small, energetic teen squeezed all the air from my lungs. “Frank! Off!” he giggled before rolling to the floor laughing hysterically. I calmed my racing heart as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I must have slept longer than I thought. I glanced around the room. All of the guys were scattered around the den that I didn’t initially recognize. “What? Where?” I was so confused, the shock of being jumped on having not worn off yet.

“Hey Sammy. You’re at mine and Gerard’s place,” Mikey spoke up, pushing his glasses further onto the bridge of his nose. I blinked dumbly before scanning the room. Someone was missing.

“What…What happened?” What time is it?” My head was pounding and I rubbed at my temples in an attempt to vanquish it.

“It’s almost six. We got bored at the graveyard and Mikey invited us over to practice.” Frankie was sobering up.

“Like I need to invite you guys. You practically live here.” Mikey grumbled.

“Whatever,” Frankie continued. “When we got here, Gerard was sitting next to you and you were passed out.” The small boy shrugged. “Then he up and left when we walked in the front door.”

“Oh…Wait. Did you say six? Shit! I need to get home. My dad will be wondering where I am.” Frankie pouted.

“You never stick around!” he reminded me of a child who was just told his friend couldn’t come over anymore.

“I know. I’m sorry Frankie. We can hang soon. I promises.” The validity of that statement was unknown to me but it seemed to provide some small comfort for him, so I was happy. As soon as I set foot out the door, I realized I still had no shoes and the concrete was hot. I jogged home to avoid burning my feet.

You have no idea what it’s like to get home and be greeted by cops taking your father to a cop car. I hesitated for a moment, confused by what I saw before me.

“Daddy?” I approached a female officer. “Ma’am? May I ask why my father is being arrested?” She turned to me, a hard look on her face. I instinctively cringed away from it.

“That’s your dad?” She asked. Her voice was gruff. I nodded weakly. This was not a good day.