I'm Not Retarded, Just Unique

“You sure you don't want to stay the night?” Marie asked Frank once the two were alone. After the large scare that happened in the kitchen, Frank has become more distant and skittish in the Way home and especially around Donna. Once Donna and Mikey were away from the Iero's, Frank had come out and told Marie he wanted to leave. It was to be expected but still was a bit of a disappointment.

“Yea, 'm sure..” Frank mumbled looking down at the floor and nudging the tips of his toes together. Marie pulled Frank into a quick hug and kissed the top of his head. Donna and Mikey returned with smiled on their faces. Marie gives them a quick smile while Frank just wipes the frown off of his face.

“Frankie, you gonna stay the night?” Mikey asks once they Way's settled back down in the living room. Frank quickly glances between Marie and Mikey, fingers fidgeting and his body tensing up. He chewed on his lip and held back a whimper as he stared at Marie with desperation in his eyes.

“No, Frank's not gonna spend the night tonight. He has an appointment with Anna tomorrow that he has to go to.”

“Awe,” Mikey whined and Frank have him a sympathetic smile. “Okie dokie, Frankie, Tell Anna I say-said hi, yes?”

“Yea,” Frank nods. “Er-we go now? We is-are to leave now, please?” Frank said to Marie and she nodded.

“Okay Frank,” she gave Frank a quick smile before they all stood up to say their goodbyes. Frank hugged Mikey and Donna and Marie exchanged a happy grin and a quick handshake.

“See you two later.” Donna called to them once they left the house. Grandmother Iero waved one last time but Frank ran to the car. Once they both were piled into the car, they began the ride home. Frank laid back in his chair and sighed. Marie glanced over at him from the wheel and let out a small huff.

“Frank, I want you to come with me tomorrow, to the police station.” Frank frowned and stared down at the old car rug.

“To see mom?”

“Yea.”

“...why?”

“Because, I want you to get...closure. You don't have to go, Frank. If you don't, I'll schedule your appointment with Anna earlier so you won't be home alone.”

“Can't I just go to Gerard's house?”

“Gerard isn't your babysitter, Frank. I don't want to bother him with this. You need to talk to Anna.”

“I don't want to talk to her!” Frank screamed kicking the glove department of the car. Marie tensed up and Frank's foot slid down to the ground and he let out a small sob. Marie quickly parked the car in their driveway and brought Frank into a hug. Frank pushed her away and got out of the car. He stormed up to the front door and glared down at the floor until Marie reached the door and unlocked it. Once the door was open, Frank marched up the stairs and into his bedroom.

Frank was upset. He wasn't sure why, but he was. For now, he blamed it on the lack of sleep even though there was more to it. He stripped of his pants and crawled under the covers. He stared blankly at his bedroom wall for a long time. Marie stepped into his door frame and peered into his room. She tapped her knuckle against the door a few times before Frank glanced up at her.

“You want to sleep with me tonight?” The old woman offered and Frank stared at her.

“Yes.”

xoxoxo

Marie woke up the very next morning to a snuggling Frank and sweaty sheets. She loved her grandson to bits and pieces but he produced way too much body heat. She rolled out of bed and slipped on her fluffy cream coat and slid into her flat purple slippers. She took the stairs, one at a time, until she reached the bottom. When she finally made it into the kitchen, she began brewing up her cup of tea and warming up some Poptarts for Frank. Sooner than expected, Frank arose and made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. His food was on a plate and he picked it up and took it into the dinning room.

“Poptart is mine, yes?”

“Yes, it is yours, Frank.” Marie said as he took a sip of her warm tea.

“I get-...get milk?”

“You want to get it yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” she watched Frank carefully as he got out a blue cup and began searching the fridge for the milk. Marie knew that it wasn't too full and Frank should be able to pour it by himself. She still watched over him as he poured the milk into the cup, only spilling a few drops. He cleaned up his mess and put the milk away before trotting back into the dinning room. He sat back down and took a large gulp of milk before nibbling once more on his breakfast.

It was rather silent that morning. After eating, both Iero's got dressed and Marie assisted Frank with his shoes before they both made their way to the car. Frank kept on glancing nervously at Marie until he finally took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

“I want...to come with, you.” Frank's voice broke the silence of the car and Marie seemed to be shocked by this.

“To the police station?”

“Yes...to-uh...to see...m-mom.” Frank studdered out

“Okay,” Marie said nodding her head. Inside she was very pleased and anxious. Outside she remanded calm and collected until they reached the police station. She took Frank by the hand, and lead him inside. They waited until officer Gates, the man working with them, was ready to see them.

“Hello Marie,” Officer Gates said and then spotted Frank standing behind her. “I am assuming that this is Linda's son Frank?” Frank stepped even further away from the officer.

“Yes, I wanted to know if it would be alright if he could see his mother before she is sent away.”

“I'll see if I can arrange that.” The officer said motioning them to enter his office. The Iero's took a seat in the two available chairs as officer Gates got out the file regarding their case.

“Okay, so before I arrange a court date to settle this out, I am going to need some more information on the subject. We can't arrest her for making a small scene and standing on your porch. She does however have a few months at tops a year for punching a police man at the station. But ignoring that, I can't do much for you until I have more info.” He looked up from the file and looking between the two quiet victims.

“Uh,” Marie cleared her throat not really knowing much on the subject. If he wanted proof or information of abuse he would need to ask Frank and well...it wouldn't work out.

“Has she harassed you before?”

“No she hadn't, not since I gained custody of Frank.” Frank glanced between the two of them nervously understanding only half of what these people were saying.

“Yes, the custody, I wanted to talk to you about that as well. It stated that-”

“I'm sorry officer Gates, but I would prefer if Frank was out of the room while discussing this topic.”

“Alright that is fine with me.” Marie smiled and turned to Frank who was now staring rather blankly at Officer Gates' desk.

“Frank, would you mind waiting outside in the hallway?” Without a word Frank rose from his chair and stepped out of the room. The officer sent a questioning look to Marie before continuing.

“The custody claimed domestic abuse and lack of child watch. It's a miracle how CPS wasn't on this case in a heartbeat.” He folded his hands together and stared up at Marie. “Were you one to witness the abuse yourself?”

“No, the only one who is aware of the abuse is Frank and he hasn't spoken about it at all. His parents called me when they needed a babysitter or I would drop by unexpectedly and find Frank with a gash on his arm, but I never saw his father or mother physically hit him. I only saw the bruises that shown that they had”

“You knew of the abuse and still refused to call the authority?”

“It is very difficult to call the cops on your own child. Which is why I took Frank instead.”

“You took him?”

“Well, found him. His father had thrown him a trash bin. I went over to check on Frank a few days later and when I noticed he was no longer in the house I threatened to call the police on his parents if they didn't tell me where he was. I found him and took him home and filed a custody claim a week later.”

“You story adds up the claim but that still isn't going to keep her in jail for long.” The officer noted and Marie sighed and nodded.

“Yes I know, but unfortunately I don't know enough to keep her in jail.”

“Do you think her son Frank might?” Marie tensed up and glanced at officer Gates.

“I never approached the subject to Frank before.” Marie confessed and she hoped that she never would.

“Well maybe it's time to speak to him now.” Marie locked her eyes onto the desk of the officer and let out a long sigh. She hoped this day would never come. She never wanted to remind Frank of the bad times. Now she had too, she needed too. Slowly, she stood up and made her way out of the room. Frank was sitting in a small chair with a string of paperclips in his hands. He locked and unlocked them together and had a blank expression on his face.

“Frank?” Grandma Iero called and Frank looked up at her.

“We are to leave, yes?” Frank stood up, his paperclip string dangling form his hand.

“No, not yet, Frank..I want you to talk to officer Gates about-...about what happened with your mom.” Frank straightened up almost defensively.

“Why?” He demanded shifting his gaze as if he was being watched.

“Because your mom needs to be locked away from the bad things she did. We can't do that unless you help us out and tell us what happened.”

“Why is she, being locked up?” Frank pressed and Marie bit her lip and pondered over her words.

“Because she did bad things Frank. She's hurting you, Frank. She has hurt you. She needs to know that that isn't okay.”

“So why lock her away? Why can, you not, talk?” Frank counteracted and Marie pressed her thin lips together.

“Because you can't talk to her Frank. She needs the isolation. Isolation will help her get better.”

“Isolation never helps you get better.” Frank mumbles, sliding down in his chair. Marie sat down next to Frank and rubbed his knee sympathetically.

“Frank, are you willing...to talk about your issues with your mother?” Frank's eyes bored into Marie's but it didn't discourage her from continuing. “I need you to tell officer Gates about your mother.”

“Why?”

“So we can get her help.”

“Mommy doesn't need help!” Frank shouted pushing away from the chair he was sitting in. “Mom smoked, drank-she drank. Grampa smoked, grampa drank! Why didn't-didn't he get, get help! He died, he is, dead. I don't-” Frank's eyes filled with tears and his voice broke off. “I don't-don't want mommy, to...die.” His bottom lip trembled as tears slid down his cheeks. Marie warped her arms around Frank in a warm embrace and help him against her chest.

“Frank, if you talk to officer Gates then she won't die.” Marie told Frank as the depressed teen cried into her shirt.

“How-w d-do you kn-know-w?”

“You have to have faith, Frank. Without it you will be lost.”

Faith. Frank hated faith. Marie blamed it on how literal Frank was. How could he believe in something imaginary? It was like god. Frank thought it was absolutely maddening how some people believed that there was some man in the sky who controls everything. How could he keep track of it? Why did he create bad things? Why did he create evil things? Why doesn't he show his face? Why doesn't he just make everything bad go away? Frank hated faith and Frank hated the idea of god.

“Faith is stupid.” Frank spat, pushing away from Marie. He cleaned up his face and looked at officer Gates door. “I talk, then we go?”

“Yes, Frank.”

Frank marched into the room and sat down in the chair. Gates seemed surprised to see Frank in the room alone. He waited for Frank to settle in before turning away from his computer and looking at Frank. Frank stared down at the desk and let out a sigh.

“What, do you, want?”

“I would like you to tell me about your parents.” Officer Gates said as he watched Frank's fingers twitch.

“Why, do you want to know, about them,” Frank mumbled.

“You mother wants to hurt you, Frank.” Frank tensed up and slammed his hands down on the desk. He stood up so fast his chair got kicked over and he glared at the man in uniform.

“She does not! You lie! You are lying. She loves me. I love her. You are, you want to hurt-me. You do!” Frank screamed but the officer was trained to deal with ill-tempered people.

“Frank, why do you think your mother was at your house?”

“To say-it was my special day, birthday.” Frank glanced around the room, shifted his glaze to different objects. He felt extremely nervous and uncomfortable but he knew he wasn't allow to leave. His hands rubbed his arm in a poor excuse of a comforting habit.

“Had your mother ever showed up to one of your birthdays before?” The officer pressed but Frank shook his head. “Why do you think she'd show up to this birthday but not the others?”

“She's just slow. She forgets things.” Frank lied, he would continue to lie. Lying covered the painful truth that Frank wasn't ready to uncover just yet. That truth of being rejected, ignored, that fact that his mother didn't remember because she didn't care too.

“Frank, I want to take this conversation back to the original topic.” The officer leaned back a bit, trying to release some tense air. “Had your parents abused you?” It seemed like a pointless question to ask. The answer was obvious but Gates just wanted to see if Frank knew it. The police man wanted to see if he could cope with the news or if he already had.

“Abuse, no-yes. Mom-no, mom did-d not.” Frank shook his head, allowing his bangs to cover his face. “Dad...” Frank's gaze rested on the top surface of the officers desk. Officer Gates was able to watch as Frank's eyes board into his wooden desk as if it had the final answer to his question. The elder man remained silent, allowed Frank to think over his words and to collect his thoughts.

Images raced through Frank's mind. Has his father abused him? What was the definition of abuse? To hate, beat, to despise, abuse was something Frank had know. Abuse was a common thing in Frank's childhood. His mother had smacked him a few times and burned a cigaret out on his arm once or twice, but his father...

“Frank,” he said after a few minuets of silence.

“Dad...did.” Frank spoke, his voice was quiet and the officer had to lean in to hear the soft words.

“Your dad abused you?”

“Y-...Y-yes.”

“How often did this abuse occur?”

“Daily,” Frank let out a little whimper as his nails dug into the skin of his arms. He was tense and scared.

“What did he do, Frank? How did he abuse you?” Frank shook his head and covered his head with his arms. He curled up into a large ball and allowed soft sobs and loud whimpering to escape.

“Frank,” The officer rose from his seat and took a few steps closer to Frank's trembling form. His last question had gone to far, he shouldn't have pressed. Gates cursed at himself for allowing Frank to come this far in his anxiety. The police man quickly fled the room and spotted Marie sitting outside with a look of worry on her face.

“Marie, if you'd be so kind as to come into my officer and retrieve your grandson.” The officer said and Marie looked up and quickly made her way into the room. She gasped as she spotted Frank. His sobs had gotten louder and his body was visibly shaking.

“Frankie, honey, what's wrong, baby?” The officer stepped out of the room and allowed the two to have their time.

Frank let out a small whine, shaking his head. Marie continued to coo and nurture Frank. Guilt washed over Marie as she felt like she was the cause for Frank's situation.

Frank clung onto Marie's clothes, wishing he could just disappear into them and escape his nightmare. Detecting the situation was only getting worse, Marie sprang into action. She sat Frank up and took his terrified face in her wrinkly hands.

“Frankie? Frankie, baby, look at me.” Marie ran her thumbs under Frank's eyes, collecting a stray tear. Frank opened his eyes and stared into Marie's warm eyes. His own was filled with panic, fear, and distress. A whimper escaped Frank's throat as Marie brushed Frank's hair out of his face. “Frank, calm down, honey. It's just me and you in here, okay? Officer Gates is done with his questioning. Me and you can go home.”

“B-B-But, mom-m,” Frank took his eyes off of his grandmother and looked around the room as if she was hiding from him.

“Frank, she isn't coming with us.” Frank slowly pulled away from Marie. His fists releases allowing Marie's clothing to return crinkled. Frank wiped his hands over his face and frowned.

“Why?”

“Frank, she has to stay here. She did bad things.”

“She didn't do anything!” Frank cried but quickly covered his face. Grandmother Iero allowed Frank to take a few calming breaths before speaking up.

“Frank, we need to-”

“Can, I see..her?” Frank glanced up at his guardian as she stared back with wide eyes.

“You want to, see her?”

“Yes.” Marie sighed and ran a hand down her face before shrugging her old shoulders.

“We'll see Frank, I need to talk to officer Gates for a new more minuets. I'll ask if you can see her then.”