Hit and Run

Delia spread herself across the thin carpet, kicking aside Nadine's dirty clothes and piling them on top of a pizza box. Nadine smiled and set a large paper bag between them, pulling out plastic food containers. Delia smirked and clicked her chopsticks together, "I promised myself I would go on a diet... hurray greasy Chinese food." she muttered, taking in a mouthful of rice.

Nadine smiled and picked up a forkful of broccoli, "I'm glad we finally have the house to ourselves."

"And I'm sure Frank is glad we're leaving him alone today." Delia added with a giggle.

Nadine smiled and opened a packet of soy sauce, drizzling it onto her rice, "Yeah, and Bob and Ray haven't really spent anytime with him."

"Hey, I gotta ask... where's Gerard? I mean, we've called him for two days straight, and it goes to his voice mail." she trailed off and took a bite of an egg roll.

"Ummm, I think he's at his mom's or something... I dunno, he just kinda left." Nadine stammered out.

Delia perked an eyebrow, "Yeah... oookay."

Nadine sighed softly and continued eating, keeping her gaze away from Delia's. Finally though, she cracked, "He's in jail."

Delia looked up, a few grains of rice hanging off the corner of her lip, "Who-Wha?"

Nadine hung her head, her thick curls falling in her face, "Gerard was arrested and is in jail." she sighed, picking the polish off her nails.

"Are you SERIOUS?" Delia shrieked.

Nadine nodded and leaned back onto her palms, "They found him in the cemetery, drunk as shit with pot in his wallet. His bail is 500 dollars." she explained quietly.

"AND YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING?"

"I don't have $500 to spare!" Nadine retaliated.

"IT'S YOUR BOYFRIEND FOR FUCKS SAKE!" Delia screamed, her pale cheeks flushing a cherry red.

Nadine scoffed, "Whatever, he deserved it."

Delia rolled her eyes, "I get your mad at him for breaking his sobriety promise, but he's in jail... he could be hurt!"

Nadine chewed on the inside of her mouth, "Yeah I know but... I dunno... I'm so damn mad at him right now."

Delia sighed and rubbed her temples, "I should call Bob, we need to get him out of there."

"You do that," Nadine spat, going back to eating.

Delia scoffed at her friend's indignance, but then picked up the phone and rang her brother, "Bob?" she started timidly.

"Delia.. is something wrong?"

"Umm, yeah... Gerard is in jail."

"WHAT!"

"It happened a few days ago... they found him drunk and with drugs..."

Bob sighed on the other line, "Is he okay?"

"As far as I know, yes. But he's been there for 2 days."

"Shit... okay, I'm coming home and we're going to get him. How much is bail?"

"500 dollars, plus court fees..." Delia stumbled over the price.

Bob sighed again, "I'll be home soon... don't get arrested."

Delia said goodbye and snapped her phone shut, glaring at Nadine, "Well, I hope your happy."

Nadine glanced downward, breathing softly and thinking back about Gerard.
********************
Delia walked back towards the holding cells, keeping her face shielded from the hard and lustful stares of the men behind the bars. But then she spotted Gerard, looking bruised and defeated, huddled in a darkened corner. She walked up towards him, "Gee? Gerard?"

He glanced up, his eyes bloodshot, "Delia?"

"Yeah, Gee. It's me, come on you're coming home." she coaxed.

His eyes shot around the cell, and he pulled his knees to his chest, "They won' let me leave."

"It's okay, we posted bail... you can come home." Delia explained.

Gerard sighed softly and stood up, bringing his body into the light. Delia gasped at how ragged he looked. His shirt was dirty and bloody, his collar completely torn. He looked like he had received several beatings, not all of them from fists. Delia sighed softly and rubbed his cheek, "Oh Gee..."

He lowered his eyes, "I deserved this... karma is a bitch sometimes."

"NO, Gee... no no." Delia cried, the over whelming urge to hug him building up.

An officer came and pushed her away, opening the door to let Gerard out. He gave him a sinister look, "Don't let me see you here again, faggot."

Gerard nodded meekly and shuddered, lowering his head even further. Delia reached over and gripped his cold hand rubbing it with her fingers, "Cm'on... Bob is waiting for us."

He closed his eyes and followed, keeping all his concentration on the ground. ONce they had reached the car, he scuttled into the backseat, curling into himself and staring out the window, "Gerard, you okay man?" Bob asked, wincing at the sight of his broken friend.

"Just get me home." he muttered, before drifting into a restless sleep.

Nadine sighed and picked herself off the couch as the car pulled into the driveway. Delia and Gerard crawled out, and Bob drove away in a rush, as if some bomb was set in the house and he didn't want to be around when it detonated.

Little did he know how right he was.

Delia coaxed Gerard inside, keeping a firm grip on his stomach as she brought him into the warmth of the house. Thunder growled overhead, as the sky became a purpled grey. Nadine stared at the two of them as Gerard shuffled behind, keeping his hands in his pockets. He then sighed and tromped up to his room, slamming the door hard enough to knock an old family portrait of the wall. Delia sighed and stared, she missed her parents. Nadine crossed her arms, "I can't believe you brought him home. He was drunk, and stoned!"

"So?" Delia spat, "He's hurt and obviously traumatized by all this."

"Shoulda thought about that before he went drinking." Nadine huffed.

"Jesus, he's emotionally destroyed right now! I doubt you leaving him alone in the County Jail wasn't the best of girlfriend moves!" Delia shouted, pointing accusingly.

Nadine just huffed again and blew some stray hair from her eyes. Delia bite the inside of her cheek, "He looks like he's been beaten with a bat! What if he had gotten raped?"

Nadine smiled maliciously, "Good!"

"GOD DAMMIT NADINE! HE'S YOUR FUCKING BOYFRIEND AND HIS BROTHER JUST DIED! SHOW SOME DAMNED COMPASSION!" Delia roared, her face blazing with crimson.

"HE SHOULDN'T DO DRUGS!" Nadine screamed.

"You would too!" Delia retaliated, folding her arms tight across her chest.

Nadine made a small scoff and flipped her hair behind her ear, "I would not."

"OH yeah, remember when Frank got shot? I saw that look, you would have given anything to forget. And when we got drunk at the Paramour..."

"Just because we got drunk doesn't mean we're recovering alcoholics!"

Delia sighed and leaned against the cold, plaster wall, "Go upstairs, take a look at him... he's broken Nadine."

Nadine sighed dramatically, as Delia grabbed a tuft of fabric and dragged her upstairs. She rapped gently on the door, "Gerard... sweetie?"

She heard a loud sniffle from within, "Go away..."

"I have water... and ice."

She stood there a few more seconds, hearing Gerard shuffle about, and finally the tiny 'click' of the lock. She opened the door and pushed Nadine inside, before squeezing in herself and shutting the door, "Now you two get the fuck over this."

Gerard blinked and stared at Nadine, "You don't look like water... or ice."

Delia huffed and tossed her arms in the air, "Gerard, sit on the bed! I'll get your damn ice."

Gerard waddled over to the bed and sat down, burying his hand into his clammy palms. Nadine puffed loudly and crashed into wall, refusing to make eye contact with Gerard, "You fucking drunk..." she muttered.

Gerard began to sob loudly, his shoulders convulsing slightly. Nadine scoffed, "Don't think I'll throw you some damn pity parade Gerard!"

Gerard lifted his head, tears tinted pink with blood rolling down his swollen face. Nadine sighed gently and broke eye contact again, "You look like shit."

"I feel like shit...." he murmured, sniffing slightly.

She gave a sympathetic moan, "What happened?"

"I... they called me 'faggot' and 'corpse fucker'. Then they beat me until I blacked out, and then," he then bit down on his lip, "I woke up naked..."

Nadine lowered her gaze, and walked over to him. She lifted his chin slightly with her finger and brushed loose hair from his face, wincing slightly as the passed over wet cuts. Gerard drew in a sharp breath, "Oh... ow ow..."

She withdrew her hand quickly, "I'm sorry," she said in a tinny voice.

Gerard sniffled again, a fresh set of tears appearing in his listless eyes, "I m-miss him so f-fucking much..."

"Shhh, I know." Nadine cooed, sitting down next to him.

Gerard slowly broke down more and more, "Why him? Why not me? What did I do to deserve mercy?"

Nadine bit her lip, "I don't know Gee..."

He cried into his hands again, feeling Nadine trace her fingers along the shaking curve of his spine. He recoiled slightly at her touch, curling his body a bit tighter into himself, "Everything hurts..."

Nadine sighed and laid her arm across his back, "Do you wanna go to the hospital?"

He groaned, "Hell no."

"I'm sorry for doing all that shit. I'll try to stop." he mumbled, wringing his hands.

Nadine stopped, "You'll try?"

He glanced down at the carpet, "Yes."

"No, Gerard. You'll stop! I'm sick of carrying your fat drunken ass around!" Nadine yelled.

"I said I would try..." Gerard argued weakly.

"I've seen you 'try'. You overdosed on cocaine three days later!" Nadine barked, standing up off the bed.

Gerard began to get heated, his eyes burning a bright gold, "How would you like for Frank to die?"

"He did Gerard! He stopped fucking breathing!" She screeched.

"HE'S STILL ALIVE!"

"JUST BECAUSE MIKEY HAD TO BE A DUMBASS AND PLAY HERO ISN'T MY FAULT!"

Gerard sniffed and collapsed to the floor, "But yours does and lives?"

Nadine huffed loudly, "Fuck you Gerard."

She turned on her heel and headed for the door. "I fucking loved you Nadine!"

"No, you loved fucking me! You sick bastard!" she spat.

"Oh yes! I just LOVE underage women!"

"You had a crush on Delia a while back, too! Your a pedophile and a freak!"

Gerard bit his tongue, "You never said 'no'."

Nadine sighed and placed her hand on the doorknob, "If Mikey could see you, he would've killed himself."

This broke an already fragile Gerard and pitched him over the edge. Nadine sneered at him, "I'm leaving Gerard... go cut yourself or od on something..."

"Fine! Maybe I will!" he screamed at her, launching himself off the bed.

"SEE IF I CARE!" Nadine yelled back, slamming the door.

She stormed out into the hallway, crashing into Delia and sending a glass of water flying through the air. It landed and broke, soaking into the carpet and littering the hallway with tiny flecks of glass. Nadine ran downstairs, and Delia heard loud crashing and cursing coming form their room. She opened the door slowly, watching as Gerard dismantled everything. Delia gasped, "Gerard stopped!"

He looked up, a cannibalistic look in his eyes. Thats when delia noticed the knife in his hand. "H-Holy... Gerard put the knife down."

Delia felt her thin frame quiver and watched as Gerard strode closer, "Get. The. Fuck. Away." he growled.

"J-just put the kinfe down Gerard..."

He pressed it against his wrist, "I'll fucking do it!" he threatened, tears clinging to his eyelashes.

"Gerard! Stop this!" she screamed, grabbing onto his wrist.

Gerard paniced and pushed Delia hard into the wall, before bolting from the room and to the nearby park. Her eye's widened and she followed him, trying to keep her pace and calling his name, "Gerard! GEE! WHERE ARE YOU?"

But she got no response, only a heavy silence and the sounds of distant thunder. She gave a loud scream and ran back to the house. She was breathless by the time she reached Nadine, "Gerard... knife... he vanished..."

But Nadine had heavy tears in her eyes, "De-Delia?" she whimpered.

"I can't find him Deeny! Please help!" she cried, tugging on her friend's sleeve.

Nadine let out a quiet sob, "R-Ray just called Del," she choked out, hiding her face, "B-Bob is dead..."