X-Kid

“WELL I’D LIKE TO SEE YOU DO ANY BETTER!” was all I heard upon waking up, followed by the mighty slam of a door and a groan. Frank and Gerard had been fighting a lot recently. I didn’t want to have to be the one to tell Frank that Gerard probably had to go home. His living with Frank was doing neither of them any good. Deep down, I knew Frank missed his family. I’d caught him crying on the phone a few times to his wife, but neither of us had said anything about it.

I walked out in my pyjamas to grab a coffee, surprised to find Frank standing right there about to knock.

“Oh. Good morning,” he said, lowering his hand and looking away.

“Did you want something?”

“No. Well yes. But I’ll let you… wake up first.” I ran a hand through my hair and used the other to rub my face, nodding to signal that I was ready. He hesitated.

“Frank… is it about Gerard?”

“It’s about you.” That surprised me. I shook my head, not wanting to think about that before I’d ingested some sort of caffeine first. Frank seemed to realise what I was doing as I walked myself into the kitchen, ignoring his careful watch. He waited until I was sitting down at the kitchen counter with my hands wrapped around a mug before he spoke again.

“His lyrics… they’re all about you. All of them. They’re not bad they’re just… I just… It’s weird reading about my cousin like that, you know? I tried to tell him and –”

“How do you know they’re about me? Why would he show them to you if they were about me?” I asked, very sceptical of the whole thing.

“I just know…” I could sense Frank was keeping part of the story from me, but I didn’t want to ask. I didn’t want to know. Gerard was not writing about me and that was that. Why would he? We were practically strangers. “You know, he has a very gentle heart…”

“I’ll remember that the next time he decides to shatter mine,” I replied bitterly, sipping my coffee.

“He… It’s complicated.”

“Everything about that man is complicated.”

“I love him, Alice. He’s my best friend. I just… I want him to sort himself out. You could help him..?”

“Are you serious?” I took a moment to study Frank’s face and the dead serious expression it held. “No. No way.”

“He can’t stay here any longer. I miss Jamia. I miss my kids. She refuses to move back in whilst he’s here because she knows what he’s like and… well, I understand that. But I can’t live like this. I can’t live without her, but I can’t kick him out to be by himself. He needs someone right now. Maybe you.”

“Are you seriously suggesting what I think you’re suggesting? Even if I wanted to extend my trip here, it’d be a complete other nightmare. I’ve had enough of those already. I thought you were getting me away from one, and here you are pushing me into one so much worse. I can’t deal with him.”

“You used to adore him.”

“And that’s exactly it, Frank. There’s something in me that I don’t like to think about. It surfaces when he enters the room, or when I can hear him moving about. He’s just… he’s dangerous for me. I don’t want to get hurt. Not again. Not by him.” Frank sighed.

“Think about it. You could save a life…”