‹ Prequel: They Say You've Been Pleading
X-Kid
Seven
My hands were hurting from the way I’d had them clenched the entire car ride. Frank had insisted on driving me, but I knew it had nothing to do with me. He wanted to make sure Gerard was okay. They hadn’t seen each other since he’d walked out, and only talked over the phone the necessary number of times. He’d hung up the first few times, I believe, which didn’t ease my discomfort.
At first, I’d thought Frank wanted me to attend AA meetings or something of the like with him, but no, this was much worse. I took my time unloading my suitcases from the back of Frank’s car as he spoke to Gerard on the porch, before coming back to help me.
“Don’t get in his hair. Stay strong. He needs someone here, he really does. He knows this, too.” I nodded, feeling nauseous already. I walked with my head down until I was inside sitting on Gerard’s sofa and absolutely needing to greet him.
“You’re very quiet,” he commented, only quietly himself, before he stood up and said his farewells to Frank. I was hoping he’d stay longer. Like, for the whole month I was to be living here. I groaned internally before quickly composing myself upon Gerard’s return. He took my suitcases and walked them down the hall, placing them inside the room down the far end.
“This is your room,” he called out, popping his head back through into the hallway a moment later to make sure I was paying attention. “We’ll be sharing my bathroom, just in here,” he said, pushing a door open and cringing at what he’d seen. “My room is here, and I don’t want you in there. Repeat it.”
“You don’t want me in your room.”
“You’re welcome to anything in the fridge if you help buy the groceries.” With that last little snippet, he was off. He closed the door to his bedroom and that was that. I made my way to my bags and started to unpack them, as I’d only bothered to roughly shove everything inside before leaving Frank’s place. Nothing had been folded and now I was paying for my laziness as I pulled out wrinkled clothes. But, that was life. I gave them a shake and found hangers for them in the cupboard across from the bed. It gave me something to do for a while.
I tried not to worry as Gerard hadn’t yet left his room and it was nearing 10PM. I’d ended up heating a can of soup for dinner and planned to buy some more groceries tomorrow. Of the few things he had in his pantry, half of it was out of date and the other half was entirely microwavable.
I made my way to the bathroom, fiddling with the switches on the wall until I got the lights to turn on without having the fan running. I took my time brushing my teeth as I had a little snoop in Gerard’s bathroom cupboard, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary besides the half a dozen bottles of blue hair dye stuffed into the far back corner. I recalled that night I’d found Gerard on the floor of Frank’s bathroom and the blades he’d had on him. I made sure to check for anything harmful. I’d promised Frank I’d look after him. I intended to keep my promise. I was guessing there were parts of this whole setup that Frank hadn’t told me, but I’d figure it all out eventually. I wanted to know what was wrong with Gerard, and why Frank thought he needed anyone to begin with. With the way he was acting, it didn’t seem like he was appreciating the company at all.
At first, I’d thought Frank wanted me to attend AA meetings or something of the like with him, but no, this was much worse. I took my time unloading my suitcases from the back of Frank’s car as he spoke to Gerard on the porch, before coming back to help me.
“Don’t get in his hair. Stay strong. He needs someone here, he really does. He knows this, too.” I nodded, feeling nauseous already. I walked with my head down until I was inside sitting on Gerard’s sofa and absolutely needing to greet him.
“You’re very quiet,” he commented, only quietly himself, before he stood up and said his farewells to Frank. I was hoping he’d stay longer. Like, for the whole month I was to be living here. I groaned internally before quickly composing myself upon Gerard’s return. He took my suitcases and walked them down the hall, placing them inside the room down the far end.
“This is your room,” he called out, popping his head back through into the hallway a moment later to make sure I was paying attention. “We’ll be sharing my bathroom, just in here,” he said, pushing a door open and cringing at what he’d seen. “My room is here, and I don’t want you in there. Repeat it.”
“You don’t want me in your room.”
“You’re welcome to anything in the fridge if you help buy the groceries.” With that last little snippet, he was off. He closed the door to his bedroom and that was that. I made my way to my bags and started to unpack them, as I’d only bothered to roughly shove everything inside before leaving Frank’s place. Nothing had been folded and now I was paying for my laziness as I pulled out wrinkled clothes. But, that was life. I gave them a shake and found hangers for them in the cupboard across from the bed. It gave me something to do for a while.
I tried not to worry as Gerard hadn’t yet left his room and it was nearing 10PM. I’d ended up heating a can of soup for dinner and planned to buy some more groceries tomorrow. Of the few things he had in his pantry, half of it was out of date and the other half was entirely microwavable.
I made my way to the bathroom, fiddling with the switches on the wall until I got the lights to turn on without having the fan running. I took my time brushing my teeth as I had a little snoop in Gerard’s bathroom cupboard, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary besides the half a dozen bottles of blue hair dye stuffed into the far back corner. I recalled that night I’d found Gerard on the floor of Frank’s bathroom and the blades he’d had on him. I made sure to check for anything harmful. I’d promised Frank I’d look after him. I intended to keep my promise. I was guessing there were parts of this whole setup that Frank hadn’t told me, but I’d figure it all out eventually. I wanted to know what was wrong with Gerard, and why Frank thought he needed anyone to begin with. With the way he was acting, it didn’t seem like he was appreciating the company at all.