I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember
Chapter 173: Today He Wasn't Alone
It was finally the month of October, and close to Frank’s 18th birthday, two days away in fact. Gerard had never counted down the seconds to a critical ceremony in his life like this, not even Christmas day. As often as he daydreamed of the day he’d marry the man of his dreams, Gerard had to keep himself focused. He had a job that wasn’t too overly demanding, and three kids and a baby that were. He couldn’t allow this special ceremony to devour his mind all day long, and so he fantasized on his breaks or whenever he found himself alone.
Today he wasn’t alone.
Presently, he was in the mall with his twins, Lorenzo and Venetia in hand. Margo, Frank’s mother, had a friend that was about to get married too, and had pleaded for his daughter to be a flower girl for the ceremony. Gerard trusted Margo and Frank’s decision to let her attend which is why they were at the Mall now. Margo had a dress constructed for Venetia dispatched to a reliable tailor shop within the large establishment and they were available today to fit it on his little Princess so it would be sublime for the monumental occasion. Frank had stayed behind with Milo, Jovani and his parents to spruce the house up for Halloween.
Entering the store, Gerard spoke shortly with the owner sitting behind the counter and watched as the old woman took Venetia’s hand and guided her into one of the changing rooms. Along the way, she retrieved what he believed to be the tiny dress from a rack by the dressing rooms. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t eager to see the dress. It was said to be designed by some renowned Panamanian designer that lived in Iceland, but flew to Rome to fashion it with his own fingers. Gerard was dumbfounded by the many wealthy people Frank’s mother knew outside of a courtroom.
Sitting in a chair in front of the dressing room, Gerard kept an eye out on Lorenzo when he slid off his chair and began to gallivant the tiny store on his own. The boy had been so delighted to come along, and now he was utterly disinterested and so began to entertain himself by passing through the clothes on the racks. Leaning back in his chair, Gerard smiled to himself at his amazing life and how blessed he was to be given this chance to relive it to its fullest potential.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Leaning against a pillar outside of the tailor store in the mall stood Pastel. The pale woman was disguised in a dark hoodie, sweatpants, and shoes. Her hood was pulled up to obscure her face as she stared intensely at Gerard’s face as he sat in a chair by himself within a store. She had tracked him here, but wasn’t sure she'd be able to find him in a multitude of people shopping before Halloween for costumes at the last minute. Lucky for her, she pinpointed him through the glass easily.
Pastel had meant to approach him straight away, but the sight of him had weakened her bones to where she had to tilt against the pillar for support. Her eyes drank him in longingly, not regarding anything but him. Not even the little boy messing around in the clothing racks took her attention away. Taking a deep breath, she urged her limbs to get to moving, and sure enough, they did. With a dreamy smile on her face, she fluttered over to him like a spector. Her eyes never left the side of his face.
Gerard launched himself from the chair and jammed his hands into his pants pockets when he heard his daughter call out his name. He could tell through the uncertainty of her voice that she was beginning to believe he might have abandoned her there in the store forever. She was still his super clingy little girl. “Yes, Princess, daddy’s still here!”
“Kay!” Venetia called back, her voice sounding much chirpier now that he heard him.
Smiling to himself, he shook his head as he turned around to check on Lorenzo...and came face to face with a woman he almost didn’t recognize at first glance. The rage that sluiced through his blood stream scorched his entire system. He hadn’t felt this kind of frenzy in a long time and was almost taken aback by it’s vigor. But one look at Pastel’s face made all the memories he had annihilated from his mind flood back to him. He couldn’t believe she had the audacity to show her face in front of his children when he already broadcasted he was quitting the Killjoys ages ago. Reducing his voice to a lethal level that promised only bloodshed, Poison growled with a glare. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Still completely blind to the child that was zigzagging in and out of racks for fun, Pastel parted her dry lips to respond in a much amiable, and subdued tone. Each word oozed of her love for him. “I-I had to see you, Poison.” She twiddled with her fingers as she licked her lips and smiled forgivingly. “You haven’t been answering any of my calls or text messages.”
Poison wanted to spit in her face, and then slap her to the floor. The human in him, Gerard, wanted to assemble his kids and get out of there as fast as he could to end this walking nightmare of a mistake that was Pastel. Repressing both of those desires back to not make a scene, Poisoned settled for a subtle savagery. “That’s because I don’t have any wish to talk to you ever again for the entire duration of my life.” He took enjoyment in seeing her flinch, and her smile recede. It made him smile. “So...take your filthy presence out of my face, now!”
Anxiety was gobbling away at her like a swarm of mosquitos, and Pastel fought with all her might to remain in place. How could she leave now when he didn’t know the truth? Didn’t know of the baby they had conceived together? “D-Do you remember what I told you? Before you left the house? Before you left your family?” There was too much emotion building up in her voice. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she whimpered to him. “It’s important, Poison!”
“I don’t give a shit! I didn’t care what you had to say then!” Poison snarled at her, baring his teeth like he wanted to take a chomp out of her throat to shut her up once and for all. “And I don’t care what you have to say now! That part of my life is over now, and that includes YOU! Now leave this fucking store, Pastel, or I’m gonna make you regret it pain after searing pain!”
Pastel didn’t know how she was able to go on without acknowledging the sharp pang in her heart from his bitter words, but she did. In a frantic voice that was becoming shrill, she declared the secret aloud because in her mind she was certain he didn’t know it. “I’m pregnant, Gerard!” Pastel watched his face remain ominous at the news. Believing she needed to elaborate that he was the father, she went on. “I’m gonna have a baby! And y’”
“Good for you.” Poison shrugged it off carelessly, not understanding why she was here telling him this news again when he explicitly asserted before that he cared nothing about it the first time.
Pastel’s jaw dropped at what he said. She was heartbrokenly speechless. Her mind was dazed on what to do. Disoriented, her eyes flickered across the store aimlessly. It landed on the small form roaming about the store, a little boy minding his own business and stepping into the circular clothing racks only to merge onto the otherside with a giggle. It was much easier to observe this random child than it was to look at Poison after his heart wrenching words. He certainly lived up to his name, poisoning the very air she breathed and yet all she wanted was more, to inhale it so deeply it would be the sole reason her heart stops beating one day. “T-The baby...i-it’s yours, Poison…”
“Goddamnit, I fucking know this!” Poison hissed, not wishing to hear it again. He had already managed to quell all that information the first time, but hearing it a second time was getting on his last nerve. “You’ve told me twice already!”
Pastel’s eyes snapped to his in awe. He had known this entire time the baby was his when she had been certain he didn’t!? How was that possible!? “Y-You know?”
“Yes, you delusional bitch!” Poison snapped, lowering his voice when he saw his son’s head shoot up for a second only to continue on playing with the racks. “And just like before I don’t give a flying fuck!”
“Y-You don’t care?” Pastel recited faintly, in shock. Her brain wasn’t working correctly. It couldn’t decipher what this all meant. “Don’t care?”
“What are you, a fucking parrot?” Poison seethed. “No, I don’t fucking care about the damn spawn you’re carrying! You wanna know what I really care about?”
Pastel nodded her head foolishly, not sure of how else to respond to his combative feedback in her stunned state. She hadn’t been expecting all this. She had been expecting the father of her baby to jump with joy and swing her around in his arms, shouting to the rooftop how much he loved her. But that’s not what happened. What happened was quite the opposite. “What do y-you c-”
“Me! That’s who!” Poison misled, not willing to tell her the truth. Well, it would have been the truth if he had never had a family with Frank, or had fallen in love with him. He’d only probably love himself, he supposed. “I don’t care about you, my brother, Sable or anyone else! No one, but me! I don’t have the desire to care about you and your fucked up situation so if you came here expecting that then you’re fucking stupid to think I would do ANYTHING for you! I don’t want to be with you, Pastel! I wouldn’t want to be with you if you were the last person on Earth, and thank god, you’re not, because I’d have to shoot myself in the head then! A mouth full of lead would taste a hell of lot better than kissing you.”
Today he wasn’t alone.
Presently, he was in the mall with his twins, Lorenzo and Venetia in hand. Margo, Frank’s mother, had a friend that was about to get married too, and had pleaded for his daughter to be a flower girl for the ceremony. Gerard trusted Margo and Frank’s decision to let her attend which is why they were at the Mall now. Margo had a dress constructed for Venetia dispatched to a reliable tailor shop within the large establishment and they were available today to fit it on his little Princess so it would be sublime for the monumental occasion. Frank had stayed behind with Milo, Jovani and his parents to spruce the house up for Halloween.
Entering the store, Gerard spoke shortly with the owner sitting behind the counter and watched as the old woman took Venetia’s hand and guided her into one of the changing rooms. Along the way, she retrieved what he believed to be the tiny dress from a rack by the dressing rooms. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t eager to see the dress. It was said to be designed by some renowned Panamanian designer that lived in Iceland, but flew to Rome to fashion it with his own fingers. Gerard was dumbfounded by the many wealthy people Frank’s mother knew outside of a courtroom.
Sitting in a chair in front of the dressing room, Gerard kept an eye out on Lorenzo when he slid off his chair and began to gallivant the tiny store on his own. The boy had been so delighted to come along, and now he was utterly disinterested and so began to entertain himself by passing through the clothes on the racks. Leaning back in his chair, Gerard smiled to himself at his amazing life and how blessed he was to be given this chance to relive it to its fullest potential.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Leaning against a pillar outside of the tailor store in the mall stood Pastel. The pale woman was disguised in a dark hoodie, sweatpants, and shoes. Her hood was pulled up to obscure her face as she stared intensely at Gerard’s face as he sat in a chair by himself within a store. She had tracked him here, but wasn’t sure she'd be able to find him in a multitude of people shopping before Halloween for costumes at the last minute. Lucky for her, she pinpointed him through the glass easily.
Pastel had meant to approach him straight away, but the sight of him had weakened her bones to where she had to tilt against the pillar for support. Her eyes drank him in longingly, not regarding anything but him. Not even the little boy messing around in the clothing racks took her attention away. Taking a deep breath, she urged her limbs to get to moving, and sure enough, they did. With a dreamy smile on her face, she fluttered over to him like a spector. Her eyes never left the side of his face.
Gerard launched himself from the chair and jammed his hands into his pants pockets when he heard his daughter call out his name. He could tell through the uncertainty of her voice that she was beginning to believe he might have abandoned her there in the store forever. She was still his super clingy little girl. “Yes, Princess, daddy’s still here!”
“Kay!” Venetia called back, her voice sounding much chirpier now that he heard him.
Smiling to himself, he shook his head as he turned around to check on Lorenzo...and came face to face with a woman he almost didn’t recognize at first glance. The rage that sluiced through his blood stream scorched his entire system. He hadn’t felt this kind of frenzy in a long time and was almost taken aback by it’s vigor. But one look at Pastel’s face made all the memories he had annihilated from his mind flood back to him. He couldn’t believe she had the audacity to show her face in front of his children when he already broadcasted he was quitting the Killjoys ages ago. Reducing his voice to a lethal level that promised only bloodshed, Poison growled with a glare. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Still completely blind to the child that was zigzagging in and out of racks for fun, Pastel parted her dry lips to respond in a much amiable, and subdued tone. Each word oozed of her love for him. “I-I had to see you, Poison.” She twiddled with her fingers as she licked her lips and smiled forgivingly. “You haven’t been answering any of my calls or text messages.”
Poison wanted to spit in her face, and then slap her to the floor. The human in him, Gerard, wanted to assemble his kids and get out of there as fast as he could to end this walking nightmare of a mistake that was Pastel. Repressing both of those desires back to not make a scene, Poisoned settled for a subtle savagery. “That’s because I don’t have any wish to talk to you ever again for the entire duration of my life.” He took enjoyment in seeing her flinch, and her smile recede. It made him smile. “So...take your filthy presence out of my face, now!”
Anxiety was gobbling away at her like a swarm of mosquitos, and Pastel fought with all her might to remain in place. How could she leave now when he didn’t know the truth? Didn’t know of the baby they had conceived together? “D-Do you remember what I told you? Before you left the house? Before you left your family?” There was too much emotion building up in her voice. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she whimpered to him. “It’s important, Poison!”
“I don’t give a shit! I didn’t care what you had to say then!” Poison snarled at her, baring his teeth like he wanted to take a chomp out of her throat to shut her up once and for all. “And I don’t care what you have to say now! That part of my life is over now, and that includes YOU! Now leave this fucking store, Pastel, or I’m gonna make you regret it pain after searing pain!”
Pastel didn’t know how she was able to go on without acknowledging the sharp pang in her heart from his bitter words, but she did. In a frantic voice that was becoming shrill, she declared the secret aloud because in her mind she was certain he didn’t know it. “I’m pregnant, Gerard!” Pastel watched his face remain ominous at the news. Believing she needed to elaborate that he was the father, she went on. “I’m gonna have a baby! And y’”
“Good for you.” Poison shrugged it off carelessly, not understanding why she was here telling him this news again when he explicitly asserted before that he cared nothing about it the first time.
Pastel’s jaw dropped at what he said. She was heartbrokenly speechless. Her mind was dazed on what to do. Disoriented, her eyes flickered across the store aimlessly. It landed on the small form roaming about the store, a little boy minding his own business and stepping into the circular clothing racks only to merge onto the otherside with a giggle. It was much easier to observe this random child than it was to look at Poison after his heart wrenching words. He certainly lived up to his name, poisoning the very air she breathed and yet all she wanted was more, to inhale it so deeply it would be the sole reason her heart stops beating one day. “T-The baby...i-it’s yours, Poison…”
“Goddamnit, I fucking know this!” Poison hissed, not wishing to hear it again. He had already managed to quell all that information the first time, but hearing it a second time was getting on his last nerve. “You’ve told me twice already!”
Pastel’s eyes snapped to his in awe. He had known this entire time the baby was his when she had been certain he didn’t!? How was that possible!? “Y-You know?”
“Yes, you delusional bitch!” Poison snapped, lowering his voice when he saw his son’s head shoot up for a second only to continue on playing with the racks. “And just like before I don’t give a flying fuck!”
“Y-You don’t care?” Pastel recited faintly, in shock. Her brain wasn’t working correctly. It couldn’t decipher what this all meant. “Don’t care?”
“What are you, a fucking parrot?” Poison seethed. “No, I don’t fucking care about the damn spawn you’re carrying! You wanna know what I really care about?”
Pastel nodded her head foolishly, not sure of how else to respond to his combative feedback in her stunned state. She hadn’t been expecting all this. She had been expecting the father of her baby to jump with joy and swing her around in his arms, shouting to the rooftop how much he loved her. But that’s not what happened. What happened was quite the opposite. “What do y-you c-”
“Me! That’s who!” Poison misled, not willing to tell her the truth. Well, it would have been the truth if he had never had a family with Frank, or had fallen in love with him. He’d only probably love himself, he supposed. “I don’t care about you, my brother, Sable or anyone else! No one, but me! I don’t have the desire to care about you and your fucked up situation so if you came here expecting that then you’re fucking stupid to think I would do ANYTHING for you! I don’t want to be with you, Pastel! I wouldn’t want to be with you if you were the last person on Earth, and thank god, you’re not, because I’d have to shoot myself in the head then! A mouth full of lead would taste a hell of lot better than kissing you.”