I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember
Chapter 88: Hysteria
From that moment forward, it felt like Frank’s days had become much darker and destitute. After his emotional outburst had surpassed, he was able to recognize the truth his parents were trying to make him see all along. All it took was looking down at his protruding belly that held the life of his third child for him to comprehend on his own that they were right, he couldn’t continue to be seen by anyone…and that included Gerard. After sobbing and grieving over their newfound liaison lost, Frank Iero had no choice but to break it off with Gerard Way in the end. There was no other way! How could he maintain a relationship with him if they couldn’t physically see each other again? If there was some kind of disease outbreak or if Frank migrated to a different country than yes, they could probably continue dating but…that wasn’t the case here. The only fabrication Frank could come up with after thinking it over for hours was that his parents had learned about their relationship and opposed Frank from continuing it. Unfortunately, Frank was deeply convinced that that alibi wouldn’t work on Gerard. Somehow…he’d see right through.
And so, Frank began that very night to lock all of his windows tight. At the time he had no convincing disinformation ready to be told, or tricks ready to cover up the genuine reason why they couldn’t be together anymore, and instead of facing Gerard like a real man, Frank sealed his windows and cowered beneath his sheets every night. On that very same night, Gerard came by, and upon finding the window locked, he lightly knocked on the glass and called Frank’s name several times. The entire time this was happening Frank was curled beneath comforter bawling quietly behind his trembling hands. Eventually, Gerard left, and Frank spent the rest of the night crying. The next night Gerard returned and repeated the process. Frank could tell by the heaviness of the air that he wanted to shout out to him but didn’t want to risk being heard by Frank’s parents, and so much like the night before Gerard soon gave up and left again. Frank was left on the floor by the foot of his bed this time, reaching a trembling hand out to the same window that seemed miles away while his other hand remained clamped over his mouth to muffle his cries. On the third night, Frank wasn’t certain if Gerard came by to see him again because he had snuck out of his room to sleep in one of the guest rooms. It was the only other place to keep his heart from breaking throughout the night by the sound of Gerard calling out his name, and at the time Frank was suffering from lack of sleep anyway. For the health of himself and his baby, Frank had to sleep elsewhere.
Gerard on the other hand was losing it. He didn’t understand why all of a sudden Frank was locking him out of his bedroom when everything had been going fine between them. He found himself pulling at his hair as he walked up to the Iero’s home in broad daylight instead of under the usual shadows that would swallow him from sight. He was a desperate man on the brink of madness after being ignored by Frank for three straight nights, and it drove him right to his parent’s feet to beg to see their child face to face. His hair was probably looking more on the disheveled side than usual, and his light brown eyes were probably a bit bloodshot from lack of sleep. When he reached the door, Gerard wasted no time on pounding on it and demanding for the head honcho of the house to show himself. “MR. IERO! MR. IERO, I NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU RIGHT NOW!”
The door was yanked open in seconds and an angry disgruntled Frank Sr. Iero answered the door in his bathrobe. “Wha…WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, BOY!?” He jabbed a cautionary finger right against Gerard’s chest as he began to walk forward prompting Gerard to walk backwards, his hands now held up in peace. “I warned you that I didn’t want to see your face anywhere near my family or my home! Now, get the fuck out of here or else I’ll kick your ass off my property and call the cops on you.
The mention of the police should have been enough of a threat to Gerard to have him scampering away, after all he was still a Killjoy despite his ‘average joe’ appearance, but stubbornly it couldn’t bring him to run. Instead, Gerard stayed and tried to reason with Frank’s father. “I know what you said, sir, but I have to see Frank! Even if it’s for at least 5 minutes!”
“You’ll get no such luxury here, now BEAT IT!” Frank Sr. growled before boldly shoving him back, making Gerard nearly fall over onto the perfectly green lawn of the Iero’s residence.
“Sir, please! It’s import-” Gerard began before he was caught off by a feminine voice coming from behind Frank Sr.
“Frankie isn’t feeling well. He’s sick.” Margo updated him from the doorway, also wearing her own robe. Her arms were crossed over her chest and although her expression was grim, her eyes held a bit of softness in them for him. “Doctors says it’s the flu and he’ll be bedridden for weeks.”
“Margo, go inside, I can handle him!” Frank Sr. ordered his wife over his shoulder just as his son Frankie, who had been eating breakfast with them that morning came sprinting out from the kitchen for the stairs leading to the security of his bedroom. Frank Sr. didn’t have to know that his son was distressed about the argument going on outside.
“FRANK!” Gerard screamed as he raced forward in a desperate attempt to try and charge into the house after the dark form of Frank flashed by, completely forgetting the Ieros currently impeding his path. “FRANKIE, IT’S ME! GERARD!” He didn’t get very far past the dad before Frank Sr. sent him launching across the lawn with a single shove that had an impressive amount of strength behind it. This time, Gerard landed on his back and got the wind knocked out of him.
“THAT’S IT! I WARNED YOU!” Frank Sr. alerted Gerard as his wife scurried on inside out of panic and closed the door behind her. Frank Sr. strode over to point a finger down at him and spat. “I’M CALLING THE POLICE RIGHT NOW!”
Gerard didn’t move from where he was for a long time. He merely watched in silence as Frank’s father strode back into his house and slammed the door behind him. His every objective was to call the cops, and Gerard knew it. Sitting up slowly, Gerard peered up to Frank’s room where the curtain dropped.
From that day forward, Gerard vowed to himself that he would stay away from the Ieros and go back to being Poison full time, but that only lasted a good 30 minutes before he came knocking on their door again, this time more politely. He was expecting Frank Sr. to show up but this time it was his wife who didn’t look thrilled to see him either. “Good morning, Mrs. Iero.”
“Good morning, Gerard.” Margo answered back respectfully though her tone didn’t match her sympathetic expression. She remained inside her home, only opening the door a few inches. “Why are you here again? You know how my husband feels about you being here.”
“I know, ma’am. I just…” Gerard sighed and ran an unsteady hand through his long black unruly hair. “I-I just need to see Frankie for a second. Please, it’ll be quick. I-I won’t touch him, I swear I just need to SEE him.”
And just like before, Margo turned down his request and gave him the same excuse as before. In fact, it was the only report they would give him as that full month went on by. Frustrated that he wasn’t getting anywhere with the Ieros, Gerard went to the only two people left that knew Frank. At this point, Gerard’s mind was driving him further into hysteria. He didn’t believe in the slightest that Frank had the flu. For reasons he wasn’t sure why, because it was certainly flu season, he couldn’t accept it. The only other explanation he could even think of was that MAYBE Frank didn’t want to see him anymore. Perhaps Gerard had gone to far and assumed what he had intimately done to him thus far was consensual? Why did he believe this to be true? Well, it was because Frank kept his windows locked. Why all of a sudden lock up all of your windows because you have to flu? It made no sense. But there was still the question as to why Frank didn’t want to see him. Gerard could make up thousands of cases why but only Frank Iero knew the factual one. Gerard couldn’t just settle for a million different reasons. He couldn’t leave it like that. No, he needed to know why, and so here he was sitting on Frank’s Aunt Edith and Uncle Peter’s patio drinking lemonade while the twins played with their toys on the back lawn. Peter had a look of uncertainty on the subject of Frank, and so he allowed his wife to do all the talking so he probably wouldn’t accidently let the wrong thing slip, Gerard suspected. “So, that’s why I’m here. I wanted to ask you guys if you had seen or talked to Frank recently. I can’t seem to get him to contact me at all. I have no idea if I unsettled him or something and if so I’d love the chance to apologize for my misbehavior or misspoken words.”
“My dear boy…” Edith started out after calculating on how much to divulge and how much to keep suppressed. She stopped to sip her lemonade before continuing with a bright smile. “We all know Frankie has had a difficult time these past two years, what with the police still running around looking for the very man who kidnapped him and his friends when he was 15 years old.”
“Yeah, I agree. It has been hard. I can’t imagine going through what he had gone through. It takes a strong and brave person to make it through something like that alive.” Gerard strongly nodded, his eyes drifting to catch Peter nodding along too like a robot. His eyes then were drawn over to the twins who were happily playing with their many toys.
“Exactly.” Edith agreed before her eyes drifted away to glance elsewhere. “Frankie is in a fragile state right now, and he just needs time to readjust to the normalcy of his old life again, that’s all. I’m sure he’ll snap back to and you two will be hanging out together in no time.”
Gerard let out a sigh before looking down at his glass of lemonade in defeat. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with these two. Edith sounded just as stubborn as her sister Margo, and there was no way he’d break past their walls unless he decided to physically torture them. As for the men, Peter was the weakest of the two clearly, and was probably a terrible fabricator. Normally, he’d be the easiest to pick apart…but Gerard couldn’t do that to Frank. He couldn’t hurt him like that by torturing his beloved Uncle Peter in a dark basement somewhere where no one could hear his screams of agony.
And shockingly enough, neither could Poison bring himself to do it either.
And so, Frank began that very night to lock all of his windows tight. At the time he had no convincing disinformation ready to be told, or tricks ready to cover up the genuine reason why they couldn’t be together anymore, and instead of facing Gerard like a real man, Frank sealed his windows and cowered beneath his sheets every night. On that very same night, Gerard came by, and upon finding the window locked, he lightly knocked on the glass and called Frank’s name several times. The entire time this was happening Frank was curled beneath comforter bawling quietly behind his trembling hands. Eventually, Gerard left, and Frank spent the rest of the night crying. The next night Gerard returned and repeated the process. Frank could tell by the heaviness of the air that he wanted to shout out to him but didn’t want to risk being heard by Frank’s parents, and so much like the night before Gerard soon gave up and left again. Frank was left on the floor by the foot of his bed this time, reaching a trembling hand out to the same window that seemed miles away while his other hand remained clamped over his mouth to muffle his cries. On the third night, Frank wasn’t certain if Gerard came by to see him again because he had snuck out of his room to sleep in one of the guest rooms. It was the only other place to keep his heart from breaking throughout the night by the sound of Gerard calling out his name, and at the time Frank was suffering from lack of sleep anyway. For the health of himself and his baby, Frank had to sleep elsewhere.
Gerard on the other hand was losing it. He didn’t understand why all of a sudden Frank was locking him out of his bedroom when everything had been going fine between them. He found himself pulling at his hair as he walked up to the Iero’s home in broad daylight instead of under the usual shadows that would swallow him from sight. He was a desperate man on the brink of madness after being ignored by Frank for three straight nights, and it drove him right to his parent’s feet to beg to see their child face to face. His hair was probably looking more on the disheveled side than usual, and his light brown eyes were probably a bit bloodshot from lack of sleep. When he reached the door, Gerard wasted no time on pounding on it and demanding for the head honcho of the house to show himself. “MR. IERO! MR. IERO, I NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU RIGHT NOW!”
The door was yanked open in seconds and an angry disgruntled Frank Sr. Iero answered the door in his bathrobe. “Wha…WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, BOY!?” He jabbed a cautionary finger right against Gerard’s chest as he began to walk forward prompting Gerard to walk backwards, his hands now held up in peace. “I warned you that I didn’t want to see your face anywhere near my family or my home! Now, get the fuck out of here or else I’ll kick your ass off my property and call the cops on you.
The mention of the police should have been enough of a threat to Gerard to have him scampering away, after all he was still a Killjoy despite his ‘average joe’ appearance, but stubbornly it couldn’t bring him to run. Instead, Gerard stayed and tried to reason with Frank’s father. “I know what you said, sir, but I have to see Frank! Even if it’s for at least 5 minutes!”
“You’ll get no such luxury here, now BEAT IT!” Frank Sr. growled before boldly shoving him back, making Gerard nearly fall over onto the perfectly green lawn of the Iero’s residence.
“Sir, please! It’s import-” Gerard began before he was caught off by a feminine voice coming from behind Frank Sr.
“Frankie isn’t feeling well. He’s sick.” Margo updated him from the doorway, also wearing her own robe. Her arms were crossed over her chest and although her expression was grim, her eyes held a bit of softness in them for him. “Doctors says it’s the flu and he’ll be bedridden for weeks.”
“Margo, go inside, I can handle him!” Frank Sr. ordered his wife over his shoulder just as his son Frankie, who had been eating breakfast with them that morning came sprinting out from the kitchen for the stairs leading to the security of his bedroom. Frank Sr. didn’t have to know that his son was distressed about the argument going on outside.
“FRANK!” Gerard screamed as he raced forward in a desperate attempt to try and charge into the house after the dark form of Frank flashed by, completely forgetting the Ieros currently impeding his path. “FRANKIE, IT’S ME! GERARD!” He didn’t get very far past the dad before Frank Sr. sent him launching across the lawn with a single shove that had an impressive amount of strength behind it. This time, Gerard landed on his back and got the wind knocked out of him.
“THAT’S IT! I WARNED YOU!” Frank Sr. alerted Gerard as his wife scurried on inside out of panic and closed the door behind her. Frank Sr. strode over to point a finger down at him and spat. “I’M CALLING THE POLICE RIGHT NOW!”
Gerard didn’t move from where he was for a long time. He merely watched in silence as Frank’s father strode back into his house and slammed the door behind him. His every objective was to call the cops, and Gerard knew it. Sitting up slowly, Gerard peered up to Frank’s room where the curtain dropped.
From that day forward, Gerard vowed to himself that he would stay away from the Ieros and go back to being Poison full time, but that only lasted a good 30 minutes before he came knocking on their door again, this time more politely. He was expecting Frank Sr. to show up but this time it was his wife who didn’t look thrilled to see him either. “Good morning, Mrs. Iero.”
“Good morning, Gerard.” Margo answered back respectfully though her tone didn’t match her sympathetic expression. She remained inside her home, only opening the door a few inches. “Why are you here again? You know how my husband feels about you being here.”
“I know, ma’am. I just…” Gerard sighed and ran an unsteady hand through his long black unruly hair. “I-I just need to see Frankie for a second. Please, it’ll be quick. I-I won’t touch him, I swear I just need to SEE him.”
And just like before, Margo turned down his request and gave him the same excuse as before. In fact, it was the only report they would give him as that full month went on by. Frustrated that he wasn’t getting anywhere with the Ieros, Gerard went to the only two people left that knew Frank. At this point, Gerard’s mind was driving him further into hysteria. He didn’t believe in the slightest that Frank had the flu. For reasons he wasn’t sure why, because it was certainly flu season, he couldn’t accept it. The only other explanation he could even think of was that MAYBE Frank didn’t want to see him anymore. Perhaps Gerard had gone to far and assumed what he had intimately done to him thus far was consensual? Why did he believe this to be true? Well, it was because Frank kept his windows locked. Why all of a sudden lock up all of your windows because you have to flu? It made no sense. But there was still the question as to why Frank didn’t want to see him. Gerard could make up thousands of cases why but only Frank Iero knew the factual one. Gerard couldn’t just settle for a million different reasons. He couldn’t leave it like that. No, he needed to know why, and so here he was sitting on Frank’s Aunt Edith and Uncle Peter’s patio drinking lemonade while the twins played with their toys on the back lawn. Peter had a look of uncertainty on the subject of Frank, and so he allowed his wife to do all the talking so he probably wouldn’t accidently let the wrong thing slip, Gerard suspected. “So, that’s why I’m here. I wanted to ask you guys if you had seen or talked to Frank recently. I can’t seem to get him to contact me at all. I have no idea if I unsettled him or something and if so I’d love the chance to apologize for my misbehavior or misspoken words.”
“My dear boy…” Edith started out after calculating on how much to divulge and how much to keep suppressed. She stopped to sip her lemonade before continuing with a bright smile. “We all know Frankie has had a difficult time these past two years, what with the police still running around looking for the very man who kidnapped him and his friends when he was 15 years old.”
“Yeah, I agree. It has been hard. I can’t imagine going through what he had gone through. It takes a strong and brave person to make it through something like that alive.” Gerard strongly nodded, his eyes drifting to catch Peter nodding along too like a robot. His eyes then were drawn over to the twins who were happily playing with their many toys.
“Exactly.” Edith agreed before her eyes drifted away to glance elsewhere. “Frankie is in a fragile state right now, and he just needs time to readjust to the normalcy of his old life again, that’s all. I’m sure he’ll snap back to and you two will be hanging out together in no time.”
Gerard let out a sigh before looking down at his glass of lemonade in defeat. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with these two. Edith sounded just as stubborn as her sister Margo, and there was no way he’d break past their walls unless he decided to physically torture them. As for the men, Peter was the weakest of the two clearly, and was probably a terrible fabricator. Normally, he’d be the easiest to pick apart…but Gerard couldn’t do that to Frank. He couldn’t hurt him like that by torturing his beloved Uncle Peter in a dark basement somewhere where no one could hear his screams of agony.
And shockingly enough, neither could Poison bring himself to do it either.