Aaaand now I'm crying. I had actually never payed any attention to the lyrics of that song and had to give it a listen before I read this. Adding the lyrics in the manner that you did helped foretell what was to happen and did so effectively.
I found it to be very interesting that Gerard was at the point where he had become almost completely non-verbal and yet still had enough "light" inside of him to push Frank out of the car before he did what he did.
I thought that was a nice touch and spoke volumes to how someone can almost completely withdraw into themselves and yet still care for and love the people that are suffering because of it.
Most people simply can't understand that once people get the the point that they're "not there anymore" that they're still there. They still hear you and just because they don't acknowledge it doesn't mean that how someone treats them doesn't make a difference.
I really appreciate that you displayed Frank treating Gerard with grace and dignity. And, while he made a mistake, it was a mistake made out of desperation and it stuck out to me that it you showed that rather than simply telling the reader that.
And I've rambled on enough.
In short, I really liked it and I look forward to reading more of your work.
Author's response
This is the best thing I've ever read. Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I actually wrote this about my friend who recently killed himself, but I altered it to make it a little different. I'm glad you like it, and thank you so much!