FicWad

12. I Say It Runs In The Family

“NO!” I fell maybe a foot before arms wrapped around my torso, keeping me from falling. I hung there, suspended by whoever had enough nerve to keep me from tumbling to the pavement below, my feet tapping at a window.
“What…the…fuck?!” I twisted within the person’s grasp, trying to break free. Best case scenario: It was a doctor who thought I was killing myself again. Worst case scenario: Gerard.
It was neither. I was pulled up onto the roof, thrown onto my back.
“What the hell are you thinking?” I knew that voice. I looked up at who caught me.
“Mikey?”
“I come here to visit you, make sure you’re okay, and you’re throwing yourself off buildings!” He looked angry and relieved at the same time.
“I wasn’t trying to kill myself!” He wasn’t buying it.
“Really?! So is jumping at suicidal heights one of your hobbies?” his expression was wild, growing wilder as I laughed.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I said yes.” He pushed a hand through his brown hair.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.” He pulled me up, eyeing the bandage.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” He smirked
“I’m missing an exam to save your life. I hope you’re happy”
“If you’d understand I wasn’t risking my life in the first place…”
“You owe me so much it’s not even funny.”
“How about you take me home and we can talk?”
“I took a bus”
“That’s fine.” He rolled his eyes
“You cannot just leave. You have to be discharged or else the police will show up at your house.”
“I’m a patient, not a convicted felon. Come on, Mikey, live a little.” He opened his mouth to protest, but just smiled instead
“I don’t want to be a doctor anymore. You’d give me nightmares, girl.” I laughed.
“I thought you wanted to be a lawyer?” We started down the stairs and found an elevator.
“You’d still give me nightmares.” He pushed the button at least twenty times.
“That doesn’t make it go faster.”
“It makes me feel better.” I shook my head.
“Hey Mikey?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re a freak.” The elevator doors creaked open and he motioned for me to go first.
“Coming from little Miss Autumn who jumps from tall buildings for fun. But I’m the freak” I giggled
“Of course!” I leaned against a rail, my hand loosely grasping it. I watched the glowing numbers tick down to one.
“Hey, did Gerard go home already?” Mikey looked a little concerned now
“He left the hospital, but I don’t know if he went back to your house…” I picked at my thumbnail; I really didn’t want to talk about Gerard.
“I heard you guys had a…uh…falling out?” I grimaced slightly.
“I’m not allowed to see him anymore.” Mikey dug through his pockets for change.
“Oh, that sucks, A.” Mikey’s stupid nickname for me. I let it slide.
“Yeah, but whatever. It’s fine.”
“I thought you loved him, Autumn.” Ugh Mikey, did you ever stop asking dumb questions?
“Not anymore I guess.” Liar. Snowflakes danced in the early morning air and stung my skin.
“You don’t have shoes or a coat or anything?” I shook my head and he rolled his eyes.
“What am I going to do with you…?” I shrugged and laughed. I did wish I had shoes though. I wasn’t too keen on riding the bus barefoot, especially in New Jersey. The bus was exactly as I predicted: dirty and filled with the weirdest people. Luckily the driver didn’t question my appearance.
“Autumn, honestly, why would you do this?”
“Why is that the only question I’ve been asked since I woke up? Not ‘how are you’ or anything?”
“Okay then Autumn. How are you?” I scoffed.
“I feel like shit, Mikey.” He nodded. I guess I could talk to him a little.
“Okay so let’s say I have this secret.”
“Like a highly infectious disease or illegitimate love child?” I looked at him funny.
“Sorry. I read too much, I guess.” I laughed and continued.
“Okay sure. So I have this secret and-”
“Disease!” I sat back in the bus seat.
“Fine. So I have a disease and only if you have this disease, you know it exists.”
“Mhmm…”
“And, so, I thought I could trust Gerard with this, ah, secret. This disease isn’t exactly unheard of; it’s just that people tend not to believe you have it if you do.”
“So you’re worried Gerard’s going to tell people your secret?” I nodded.
“Can you tell me?” I shrugged.
“I seriously doubt you’d believe me.”
“It’s okay.” I wrung my hands. Why was I nervous around Mikey? He’s my best friend, for goodness sakes.
“Well, the other problem is that this ‘disease’ you could say everyone in my family has it. But my sisters and I only, um, kind of have it.”
“So it’s not an illegitimate love child?” I laughed
“No, Mikey. Sorry to burst your bubble.” I winked at him. What?
“Damn…can I try to guess?” I closed my eyes, realizing how tired I was.
“I’d rather you didn’t…”
“Hey Autumn, you do realize there is snow on the ground.”
“Thanks Mikey I was completely unaware…” I shook my head.
“You can wear my shoes if you want…”
“Uh…You sure?”
“Yeah, because the bus stops like, a mile away from my house.”
“What about my house?”
“It’s even farther.” I sighed. He handed me his tennis shoes that I slipped uncomfortably over my bare feet. The bus jolted to a stop and we jumped out. Poor Mikey I do owe him…
---------------------------Gerard---------------------------------
“Olivia, I thought we were going to your house,” I finally pulled my eyes away from the ground to notice we were in my neighborhood, not hers. She stopped every ten seconds to kiss me; it would take all night at this rate. The sun was just about to come up as well.
“Oh Gerard, I haven’t been to your house in ages, can’t we go there instead?” she breathed into my ear, pressing her lips gently to my cheek.
“Sure, doll.” I kissed her back. Her arms were slung around my neck at this point; my best guess was she got drunk and wandered away from her house. This was so awkward. Were we even going out now? I didn’t want her to go home with me, this could only get worse. I should just tell her now, I’m not over Autumn, she should give me a few weeks and then maybe I’ll reconsider. I stopped her at my driveway.
“Hey, ‘liv?”
“Yes, Gerard?” Her little voice whispered the words so cautiously. I looked at her again, her dark hair framing her face perfectly, blue eyes shining even in the dark.
Why wait a few weeks for something I could have now?
I pulled her close and whispered:
“Are you ready?”
----------------------------------Autumn (again…) --------------------
“I hope those fit you okay…” Mikey was referring to the sweatpants and tee-shirt he had given me in place of my hospital gown.
“Nah they’re fine, Mikey.” I smiled at him. He was replacing a bandage on my wrist after I had broken the scab. It would be so much easier to look at him if his eyes weren’t the exact shade of brown that Gerard’s were.
But I wasn’t thinking about him anymore.
“I’d imagine you’d want to sleep now?” It had just hit me that I was incredibly tired. I nodded and he smiled.
“You can sleep in my room, since the only other room is…well…” I nodded again. Gerard’s, we both thought.
“Well goodnight then,” He wrapped his arms around me. This wasn’t the first time I’d been hugged by Mikey, but it felt, I don’t know, weird this time. Mikey was practically my brother, what made this hug any different? Then I realized he had not let go of my hand, that he was kissing my cheek. I quickly muttered “’night”, and slipped upstairs.
It was eerie in his house when there was only his parents, but they were sleeping. It was so quiet. I was used to Gerard blasting music in the background, Mikey playing bass at ungodly volume levels. His house being silent felt out of place. And I hated it when it was too quiet. Of course I pick the most genuine time to forget which room was Mikey’s. I didn’t want to stumble in on his parents. If I saw Gerard’s room again, I would cry. I heard the softest giggle and I jumped. Where the hell would that be coming from? I made my steps as quiet as possible as I inched towards a door. Another muffled noise, more masculine, more of a moan. I was scared, so why did I keep walking? I heard words that broke my heart.
“Oh, Gerard…” The door was open a crack. I couldn’t look, could I? Even though I knew what was on the other side? I heard both of them laugh, then Gerard sighed. I couldn’t hide any more. I pushed open the door and saw my worst nightmare.
Gerard had his arms around a shirtless girl, who I figured was Olivia. Both of them were very drunk, so much, that they hadn’t stopped kissing to notice another person was in the room. It took me a second to realize Gerard wasn’t wearing anything.
“G-gerard?” My voice a hoarse whisper, unrecognizable to even myself. My face registered in Gerard’s mind somewhere, and he tore himself from the girl.
“Autumn…?” I shook my head and ran out of the room.
I gave him up. I just didn’t expect him to move on so fast.