FicWad

SEVEN:

The phone rang, breaking the comfortable silence between Gerard and Bob. They looked at each other in confusion. The phone never rang. Gerard jumped to his feet, grabbing the phone from its dusty resting place.
“Hello?” he asked into the handset.

“Mr Way?” asked a voice from the other end. “This is Doctor Jenkins”. Gerard let out a small sigh of relief.

“Oh, hello” he said again. “Is Mikey okay?” he asked. That could be the only logical explanation for a call from the Doctor.

“Michael is doing fine” replied the doctor. “In fact, he managed to spend the entire day engaging in social activities with the staff and other patients”.

“Oh, sounds good” smiled Gerard. It seemed like an age had passed since Mikey had been committed. Gerard still felt guilty for having to send him to such a place, but after the last incident that happened, he really didn’t have a choice.

“The reason for my call is not your brother Mr Way, my call is about you” replied the Doctor.

“Me?” asked Gerard, he was more than a little confused.

“Yes” replied the Doctor. “You see Mr Way, after our last discussion I have been thinking about you, your case is one that baffles me”.

“Baffles you?” asked Gerard. What was it exactly that the Doctor was getting at? Gerard hadn’t been his patient in a long time, and he really wanted to keep it that way.

“Yes” replied the Doctor. “It unnerves me that you stopped your medication so abruptly, and that your situation improved so rapidly, it is something that I would like to know more about. I am inquisitive by nature, Mr Way, and I would like to know what changed for you and what helped. Of course, I was hoping that I could talk to you in person, but we seem to be missing each other at the hospital”.

“I see” said Gerard. He didn’t really know how to reply to this, nor did he really want to let the doctor in on his secrets. “Well, I don’t really know what to say Doc, I am pretty busy...” he trailed off. This man knew his life, or what Gerard let him know, inside and out.

“I understand Mr Way” replied the Doctor. “That is the reason for my call. I was hoping that you would come in tomorrow to see Michael, and that you could hang around and have a chat with me”.

“I was planning on seeing Mikey tomorrow, so I guess I could hang around a little while” replied Gerard. The Doctor knew he would always visit his brother, if not every day, every second. “But I won’t be able to stay for long Doc”. Gerard needed to think of something to help him get out of there as quickly as possible. The last thing he wanted was someone trying to get into his head, again. It didn’t really work out very well the last time.

“I understand completely Mr Way, thank you” replied the Doctor. “I am grateful for your co-operation. I shall see you tomorrow”.

“No worries” replied Gerard. “Talk to you tomorrow” he added, hanging up the phone.

“Didn’t know you were so popular” said Bob, looking at Gerard from across the room.

“Neither did I” replied Gerard, putting the phone back in its place. “It’s not like I have much of a choice but to go, this guy can be rather relentless”.

“Well, in his field I am sure that he needs to be” replied Bob with a shrug.

“Yeah, makes life for us hard though” sighed Gerard. “I have to assume he is watching me, at least when I am at the hospital. I guess I have to watch my back a little more”.

“That makes two of us” replied Bob. “I guess that means that your girl gets to live to see another day, for a while”.

“We have no choice” replied Gerard. “It would look a bit suspect if she suddenly turned up dead, especially if it is right around the same time as the doc is trying to get back into my head”.

“Are we calling off tomorrow night then?” asked Bob.

“Not on your life” smiled Gerard. Tomorrow night was something he was actually looking forward to.

***

I was starting to grow used to this room, it was dark and the four walls seemed like protection to me. They kept me safe from whatever was outside them. Since the night Gerard had clearly stated the rules to me, and given me hope that I might live through this, he had been nothing but nice. I suppose nice was not the word, he had been cordial. Either he, or Bob, brought me meals and water; I was not allowed to leave the room though. I don’t know why, I don’t think I could get far away from either of them, even if I tried. I was weak and pathetic, I always had been.
I could hear someone turning a key in the lock of the door; I closed my eyes, ready for the light to flood into the room, for the all too familiar wave of fresh air to hit me.
“I have a present for you” Gerard’s even voice broke my usual silence. I looked up at him, opening my eyes slowly to adjust to the light. A present? Could it be the end of this nightmare? I think I could handle death now, anything but this routine silence. I hate being alone.
“Follow me” Gerard said, waiting for me at the door. I climbed out of the bed, walking slowly towards him, my limbs aching from being still for so long. He led me down the hallway I had seen once before, but instead of moving down to the dining room, we headed up a flight of stairs covered in dust and cobwebs. He led me up the stair and around another twisting hallway. Pictures covered in sheets lined the walls, everything was covered in dust. It seemed like this part of the house, if it even was a proper house, had not been lived in for a long time, it also made me wonder how big this place was.
Gerard came to a stop in front of me, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. There were many keys, old mixed with new. I wondered how many other people like me he had hidden around this old place.
Gerard opened the door; it creaked in protest, probably from not being opened in years. I stood behind him, wondering what was behind the door, I was more than nervous. Was this the place he brought everyone to kill them?
He stood aside and what lay in front of me made my stomach churn. I let my hands busy themselves with each other, trying to hide the fact that they were shaking.
The room was nothing short of beautiful. Simple, but so very elegant, a small window letting natural light flood the small room.
“You’ll be staying here” said Gerard, not moving from the door but his eyes watching me as I took in the room. “Don’t bother trying to get out that window; you’ll likely break your legs or worse. You are welcome to go anywhere in the house, all the places that are off limits are locked and while Bob and I are here you are not likely to get very far anyway”. I looked at him and nodded, I was finding it hard to believe that this was happening. Was I suddenly getting some form of freedom? Here I was thinking that I was going to die in this place and it seemed like they wanted to keep me around for reasons completely unknown to me.
He left in silence, shutting the door behind him. I didn’t hear the familiar sound of the lock clicking over. I guess he meant what he said about me being able to go anywhere and that scared me more than it should.
I tried to settle myself by exploring the small room, trying to find and figure out where everything was. There was another door that led off to a small dirty bathroom; in its day it would have been grand but the layers of dust and dirt just made it look tired. I splashed some cold water over my face, looking up into the mirror. The person starring back at me didn’t look like me at all; I didn’t know who it was. Who was I kidding? I had never known who I was.

***

It always seemed amazing to Gerard that so many people could fit into such a small space, or even how much noise one room could hold.



Sorry for taking so long to update guys, I actually forgot about my stories here, and I feel really bad. Hopefully I won't get too busy and can keep updating. Thanks so much for sticking with me. xoxo