I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember
Chapter 38: Wonderland Bubble
Frank abruptly woke up on the morning of the second week of his return to his family to a ray of warm sunshine piercing through his window and hitting him in the face. The past few days had been spent crying, sleeping, and eating, ESPECIALLY eating. He began to find comfort in food when he was at his lowest points in that week alone, and it reminded him of his mother teasing him in the past about his eating habits before he was kidnapped. She would say that if ‘he hadn’t had such a fast metabolism he’d be pushing 500lbs right about now’ while his father would always add that they ‘would have been able to retire by now if he didn’t eat so much food, and that they’ve thought about filing for bankruptcy numerous times because of his eating habit’.
A week ago, his father had encouraged him to let out his pain each and every day, because soon he wouldn’t be allowed to isolate himself as freely as he could now. Frank knew the cops had been pushing his father to speak with him about his kidnapping, and he was eternally grateful that his father was protecting him from them until he knew Frank was emotionally stable enough to talk. Frank was aware that he was their only lead to finding the people responsible for his kidnapping, and that made the detectives eager enough to see him upon his return, but unfortunately for them, he hadn’t been ready at the time to be questioned. But today marked the day he couldn’t use that excuse anymore. He was given only a week to pull himself together, and he had tried to do so by letting out all the pain that he had suffered through while in captivity, but it just wasn’t enough time to fix EVERYTHING that he went through. His mother had assure him countless times that it could probably take him years to finally be ‘okay’ again, maybe even never.
“Good morning, Mrs. Iero!” A familiar voice called from outside Frank’s cracked window.
Recognizing the voice instantly, Frank slipped out of his bed and crept to the window. Peeking out, he could see the mail man stepping out of his mail truck with a handful of envelopes. His name was Jeffrey, and just like all the mail workers in their town, he was extremely friendly. The tall gentleman gave Margo Iero a wave from where she stood watering her dead flowers. “Oh, good morning to you too, Jeffrey. How is your day going so far?”
Crouching down by the window, Frank quietly inched his window open a bit more to listen in on the conversation going on outside. “It’s going smoothly so far. The dogs down the street still get riled up when they see me, which is probably never going to end. Anyway, I got some mail for you.”
Margo put down her watering can and wiped her wet hands onto her gardening apron. “Oh I bet you it’s nothing but the usual bills in there.”
Jeffrey handed her the mail, before looking up to study the structure of her house. “I hope you don’t mind me asking so boldly, Mrs. Iero, but…how is little Frankie doing? I heard he finally came home last night.”
Margo took a deep breathe. “He’s…he’s fine. He just needs some time to adjust, that’s all.”
Jeffrey nodded. “Of course. We’re all just glad he’s back safe and sound.” His toned dropped with his next remark, which made it impossible for Frank to even hear him. “Especially since the other kids haven’t been found yet.”
Margo gave him a strained smile. “Y-Yeah I know. We appreciate everyone’s concern about Frankie and everything, but right now we just need each other to be together as a family. Do you understand what I’m saying, Jeffrey?”
“Oh right! Of course. I’m sorry for prying, Mrs. Iero. I’ll just get back on my route and wish you a good day.” Jeffrey apologized before giving her a small wave goodbye while heading back to his mail truck. Margo waved to him too before picking up her watering can and finishing up caring for her dead flowers. Long after he drove off, and she had finished with her chore, she retreated back inside her house, and closed the front door shut behind her. As she stepped further into the house, she was surprised to see her son sitting on the bottom steps of the stairs with his head leaning on one of the ballisters, a lone tear trailing down his cheek. From the kitchen she could hear that her husband had already started making their morning coffee due to the whirring sound of their coffee machine going. She suspected Frank Sr. hadn’t seen Frankie come downstairs while he was making breakfast, and so was unaware of him crying on the stairs. Frank’s mother turned her attention to her fragile son, but kept her voice low so as not to scare him away back upstairs to his room. After all, this was the first time he stepped out of his room on his own. “Frankie…”
“I have to admit, I had a hard time believing that ALL of this was really happening to me a week ago. I thought it was all a dream that I had finally been brought back home and that I would wake up any minute now to…” Frank couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence and so he moved on with what he was going to say. “But then I knew once I stepped inside this house and I stood up in my own bedroom again that it was all real and that this wasn’t at all a dream like I had come to believe.” Frank mumbled as he stared down at the floorboards in a trance.
Margo took a seat next to him on the stairs and gently took his hand in hers, linking their fingers together. Her eyes were glued to his solemn figure. “It is real, my baby boy. I swear to God it is! There is no danger that will be able to touch you here now that you are back home with us.”
Margo’s vision blurred as she reached up to wipe a tear that fell from his eye as her own threatened to spill down her cheeks too. “No honey don’t cry, listen to me carefully, okay? The police are still working on this case. They’ll find the man that took you soon enough, and he will stand trial for what he did to you. If the cops could find you without ANY leads then surely they can find him.”
Frank nodded his head, even though he was in deep denial over her statement. He knew the cops didn’t technically FIND him. No, Poison had GIVEN him back to them. His mother truly believed now that he was home, he was now and forever safe from harm’s way, but Frank stilled remembered that time when Poison recorded himself in this very house, completely unbeknownst to his parents and the two officers that were even paying a visit. He was in plain sight yet no one had seen him, not once.
No, he didn’t believe her one bit about him being safe here, but he knew better than to tell her that, and cause her to start panicking, so instead he lied to her. “You’re right of course, mom. I-I know that I’m safe now that I’m back home, but still…what’s supposed to happen now? No matter how much I want to simply pretend this shit never happened to me, it’s just won’t be that easy, will it? No one is going to let me just move on and forget these terrible things that have happened to me.”
Margo sighed with regret and tightened her hold on her child’s hand. “I’m afraid not, honey. We can’t just move on from all that’s happened, not yet at least.”
“I understand.” Frank told her.
“Good.” Margo said, before remembering that her husband was in the kitchen waiting for them to show up so that they could discuss what the next steps that would need to be taken as a family. “Now, I think your father wants us all to have a talk this morning. He took a day off to help support you and did the honor of making us a breakfast feast in the kitchen.”
Frank closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m too scared to go in there, mom. I don’t think I’m ready to face my reality just yet. I want to go back upstairs and stay in my wonderland bubble where it’s safe, and nothing can hurt me.”
“Sweetie, if I had the power I would take away all the pain you had to endure for the past few months, and your father would gladly take away your pain too, but we can’t do that. You are the only one that can fight this battle honey, we can only stand by you in support.” Frank wasn’t satisfy with her answer, so she opt for trying another tactic. “Hey, what do you think your father would say to you right now if he was sitting here instead of me?” Margo asked him, with a teasing smile on her face.
Frank cracked a smile for the first time in months. “He’d tell me that I’m a Iero.”
“That’s right, and what does it mean to be an Iero?” She encouraged him.
Frank rolled his eyes and let out a short laugh at the same time his tears blurred his vision. “Everything, mom! Iero means to be everything! The list of expectations the Iero’s are meant to be is endless. One minute they have to be resilient the next they have to be facetious! It’s never ending.”
Margo laughed too. “No, that’s not what I meant, silly! What exactly do you think he would want you to be in this very moment?”
Frank shakily sighed, causing a tear to fall down his cheek. Before he could open his mouth, a voice cut in to give her his answer. “I’d want him tell me that being strong is what it means to be an Iero; to overcome your obstacles, no matter how hard, painful, and tormenting they could be. Am I right, son?”
Biting back a smile, Frank looked up at to see his father leaning in the archway that lead into the kitchen. He looked quite proud of him for making it downstairs on his own for the first time in a week. “Yeah dad, that’s exactly what I would have said.”
“Good, now c’mon on you two. I took the day off to prepare a feast for breakfast, and I don’t expect to be eating it all alone.” Mr. Iero informed them with a smile before turning into the kitchen to race them to the table, his wife and son hot on his heel.
A week ago, his father had encouraged him to let out his pain each and every day, because soon he wouldn’t be allowed to isolate himself as freely as he could now. Frank knew the cops had been pushing his father to speak with him about his kidnapping, and he was eternally grateful that his father was protecting him from them until he knew Frank was emotionally stable enough to talk. Frank was aware that he was their only lead to finding the people responsible for his kidnapping, and that made the detectives eager enough to see him upon his return, but unfortunately for them, he hadn’t been ready at the time to be questioned. But today marked the day he couldn’t use that excuse anymore. He was given only a week to pull himself together, and he had tried to do so by letting out all the pain that he had suffered through while in captivity, but it just wasn’t enough time to fix EVERYTHING that he went through. His mother had assure him countless times that it could probably take him years to finally be ‘okay’ again, maybe even never.
“Good morning, Mrs. Iero!” A familiar voice called from outside Frank’s cracked window.
Recognizing the voice instantly, Frank slipped out of his bed and crept to the window. Peeking out, he could see the mail man stepping out of his mail truck with a handful of envelopes. His name was Jeffrey, and just like all the mail workers in their town, he was extremely friendly. The tall gentleman gave Margo Iero a wave from where she stood watering her dead flowers. “Oh, good morning to you too, Jeffrey. How is your day going so far?”
Crouching down by the window, Frank quietly inched his window open a bit more to listen in on the conversation going on outside. “It’s going smoothly so far. The dogs down the street still get riled up when they see me, which is probably never going to end. Anyway, I got some mail for you.”
Margo put down her watering can and wiped her wet hands onto her gardening apron. “Oh I bet you it’s nothing but the usual bills in there.”
Jeffrey handed her the mail, before looking up to study the structure of her house. “I hope you don’t mind me asking so boldly, Mrs. Iero, but…how is little Frankie doing? I heard he finally came home last night.”
Margo took a deep breathe. “He’s…he’s fine. He just needs some time to adjust, that’s all.”
Jeffrey nodded. “Of course. We’re all just glad he’s back safe and sound.” His toned dropped with his next remark, which made it impossible for Frank to even hear him. “Especially since the other kids haven’t been found yet.”
Margo gave him a strained smile. “Y-Yeah I know. We appreciate everyone’s concern about Frankie and everything, but right now we just need each other to be together as a family. Do you understand what I’m saying, Jeffrey?”
“Oh right! Of course. I’m sorry for prying, Mrs. Iero. I’ll just get back on my route and wish you a good day.” Jeffrey apologized before giving her a small wave goodbye while heading back to his mail truck. Margo waved to him too before picking up her watering can and finishing up caring for her dead flowers. Long after he drove off, and she had finished with her chore, she retreated back inside her house, and closed the front door shut behind her. As she stepped further into the house, she was surprised to see her son sitting on the bottom steps of the stairs with his head leaning on one of the ballisters, a lone tear trailing down his cheek. From the kitchen she could hear that her husband had already started making their morning coffee due to the whirring sound of their coffee machine going. She suspected Frank Sr. hadn’t seen Frankie come downstairs while he was making breakfast, and so was unaware of him crying on the stairs. Frank’s mother turned her attention to her fragile son, but kept her voice low so as not to scare him away back upstairs to his room. After all, this was the first time he stepped out of his room on his own. “Frankie…”
“I have to admit, I had a hard time believing that ALL of this was really happening to me a week ago. I thought it was all a dream that I had finally been brought back home and that I would wake up any minute now to…” Frank couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence and so he moved on with what he was going to say. “But then I knew once I stepped inside this house and I stood up in my own bedroom again that it was all real and that this wasn’t at all a dream like I had come to believe.” Frank mumbled as he stared down at the floorboards in a trance.
Margo took a seat next to him on the stairs and gently took his hand in hers, linking their fingers together. Her eyes were glued to his solemn figure. “It is real, my baby boy. I swear to God it is! There is no danger that will be able to touch you here now that you are back home with us.”
Margo’s vision blurred as she reached up to wipe a tear that fell from his eye as her own threatened to spill down her cheeks too. “No honey don’t cry, listen to me carefully, okay? The police are still working on this case. They’ll find the man that took you soon enough, and he will stand trial for what he did to you. If the cops could find you without ANY leads then surely they can find him.”
Frank nodded his head, even though he was in deep denial over her statement. He knew the cops didn’t technically FIND him. No, Poison had GIVEN him back to them. His mother truly believed now that he was home, he was now and forever safe from harm’s way, but Frank stilled remembered that time when Poison recorded himself in this very house, completely unbeknownst to his parents and the two officers that were even paying a visit. He was in plain sight yet no one had seen him, not once.
No, he didn’t believe her one bit about him being safe here, but he knew better than to tell her that, and cause her to start panicking, so instead he lied to her. “You’re right of course, mom. I-I know that I’m safe now that I’m back home, but still…what’s supposed to happen now? No matter how much I want to simply pretend this shit never happened to me, it’s just won’t be that easy, will it? No one is going to let me just move on and forget these terrible things that have happened to me.”
Margo sighed with regret and tightened her hold on her child’s hand. “I’m afraid not, honey. We can’t just move on from all that’s happened, not yet at least.”
“I understand.” Frank told her.
“Good.” Margo said, before remembering that her husband was in the kitchen waiting for them to show up so that they could discuss what the next steps that would need to be taken as a family. “Now, I think your father wants us all to have a talk this morning. He took a day off to help support you and did the honor of making us a breakfast feast in the kitchen.”
Frank closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m too scared to go in there, mom. I don’t think I’m ready to face my reality just yet. I want to go back upstairs and stay in my wonderland bubble where it’s safe, and nothing can hurt me.”
“Sweetie, if I had the power I would take away all the pain you had to endure for the past few months, and your father would gladly take away your pain too, but we can’t do that. You are the only one that can fight this battle honey, we can only stand by you in support.” Frank wasn’t satisfy with her answer, so she opt for trying another tactic. “Hey, what do you think your father would say to you right now if he was sitting here instead of me?” Margo asked him, with a teasing smile on her face.
Frank cracked a smile for the first time in months. “He’d tell me that I’m a Iero.”
“That’s right, and what does it mean to be an Iero?” She encouraged him.
Frank rolled his eyes and let out a short laugh at the same time his tears blurred his vision. “Everything, mom! Iero means to be everything! The list of expectations the Iero’s are meant to be is endless. One minute they have to be resilient the next they have to be facetious! It’s never ending.”
Margo laughed too. “No, that’s not what I meant, silly! What exactly do you think he would want you to be in this very moment?”
Frank shakily sighed, causing a tear to fall down his cheek. Before he could open his mouth, a voice cut in to give her his answer. “I’d want him tell me that being strong is what it means to be an Iero; to overcome your obstacles, no matter how hard, painful, and tormenting they could be. Am I right, son?”
Biting back a smile, Frank looked up at to see his father leaning in the archway that lead into the kitchen. He looked quite proud of him for making it downstairs on his own for the first time in a week. “Yeah dad, that’s exactly what I would have said.”
“Good, now c’mon on you two. I took the day off to prepare a feast for breakfast, and I don’t expect to be eating it all alone.” Mr. Iero informed them with a smile before turning into the kitchen to race them to the table, his wife and son hot on his heel.