FicWad

Gerard pushed the doors of the trauma ward so hard, they came close to falling off the hinges. Abbey followed in his wake, praying that Mikey was alright. Gerard came to a halt in front of room number 529. Frank was leaning against the wall next to the door, his head back against the wall, his eyes closed. When he heard the approaching footsteps, he opened his eyes. He ran to the two newcomers and pulled them into a group hug. ‘Bob and Ray are on their way,’ he spoke into Abbey’s shoulder. ‘I don’t know what’s going on.’ Frank spoke in a panicked voice. ‘I’ve been here for a half hour and nobody’s talking. Fuck, I hope he’s okay.’

As if on cue, a nurse stepped from Mikey’s room and approached the three, who were still wrapped in a three way embrace. They broke apart upon the clearing of her throat. ‘Is he okay?’ Gerard asked in a choked voice. Abbey’s heart broke for Gerard and she reached over to grab his hand. He was far too wound up to notice. ‘Are you his family?’ The nurse asked, her eyes narrowed.
‘Yes. Yes, I’m Gerard Way. His brother.’
‘Okay. Well, I’d prefer to talk to you alone. As your brother is unconscious, we can’t know whether he would want your friends to know the cause of his condition. Would you give us some space?’ The nurse turned to Frank and Abbey. Frank nodded and grabbed Abbey’s hand, while she let go of Gerard and let him guide her away. Gerard gave her a small smile as she was pulled away. Frank engulfed Abbey in another hug once they were a safe distance away, and they watched as the nurse and Gerard talked.

Gerard returned to the group just as Ray and Bob arrived. ‘What’s going on?’ Ray panted, as he and Bob had run the entire way from the car to the fifth floor. Gerard sighed as he took a shuddering breath. Abbey left Frank’s hug and moved to grab Gerard’s hand again. He clutched her hand tightly, and she knew that whatever he had to say couldn’t be good. ‘So Mikey is suffering some head trauma at the moment, caused by a head on collision with another car. The damage is only to his head and it could be pretty severe, but they won’t know until he wakes up.’
‘Shit,’ Bob breathed.
‘And there’s more,’ Gerard went on. ‘The accident was his fault. They found lots of alcohol and drugs in his system.’
‘What?’ Frank asked, perplexed. The entire group looked confused. ‘Like, illicit drugs? Not his meds?’
‘Cocaine.’ Gerard spoke in a shaky voice as he stared at the ground.
‘But, Gerard, this is –’
‘Familiar, right?’ Gerard laughed darkly. The boys looked at each other worriedly while Abbey squeezed Gerard’s hand tightly.

~

‘Thanks for sticking around.’ Gerard spoke in a low voice to Abbey as they waited for Mikey to wake up. The nurse had said he was in a stable condition, that they could go home and the hospital would call when he woke up, but Gerard had refused. Frank, Bob and Ray had gone back to Frank and Abbey’s to catch up on sleep, but Abbey had insisted on sitting with her date in the hallway outside Mikey’s door. ‘You don’t have to be here. You can go home and get some sleep.’
Abbey shook her head wearily. ‘I’d never be able to sleep anyway. Just thinking about you sitting here alone, and him in there, unconscious.’
‘Do you think he’s gonna be okay?’ Gerard whispered, desperation in his eyes.
‘Yes.’ Abbey put her hand on his. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him, and in that position, they fell asleep together.

Gerard was awoken on Sunday night by light tapping on his shoulders. His eyelashes fluttered, and a voice came softly into his ear. ‘Your brother’s awake now. You can go in and see him.’
Gerard stood up in such a hurry, Abbey was jolted awake. ‘Is he okay?’ Gerard asked anxiously.
‘Yes, everything appears to be normal,’ the nurse replied. ‘He remembers everything clearly and all he’s complaining of is a sore head, which is completely normal, of course. We’re going to conduct an MRI tomorrow just to make sure we’re right, but other than that, it looks like Michael is going to be fine.’ Gerard and Abbey both sighed in relief, smiles evident on their faces.

The nurse opened the door for them, and they stepped into the room quietly. Mikey was sat up in his bed, a bandage around his head. Gerard looked speechless, so Abbey approached the bedside and spoke. ‘Hey you.’ He looked at her and then Gerard.
‘Hey.’ He looked sheepish.
‘How are you doing?’ Gerard asked quietly.
‘I’m okay.’ Abbey suddenly realised she had something for Mikey. She pulled a paper bag from her handbag and put it on the bed next to him. ‘I got you some sushi a couple of hours ago from the cafe. Probably tastes like shit now, sorry.’
Mikey smiled weakly up at her. ‘It’s the thought that counts.’

Gerard broke the silence when he spoke in a suddenly stiff voice. ‘Are we going to talk about this properly or are we going to tiptoe around the issue?’ Mikey stopped looking at Abbey and turned to Gerard.
‘Talk about what?’
‘The fact that you were drunk, high and nearly died?’ Abbey flinched at the harshness of Gerard’s tone.
‘Nothing you haven’t done before, big bro.’ Gerard stared at Mikey, his mouth agape at the response he had received.
‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘But I’m not like that anymore. And I don’t want you to sink as low as I did.’ Abbey just stood there, at a loss for what to say.
‘Listen, Gee. Everyone in this room has had a little fun in their time. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun.’
‘Yes, there is, if it damn near kills you!’ Gerard yelled.
‘I don’t wanna talk about this,’ Mikey said in a flat voice.
‘Well, I do!’ Gerard said forcefully. ‘I’m worried about you!’
‘I’m fine.’ Mikey said shortly. Gerard made a noise of frustration and leaned against the wall.

Abbey moved to Gerard and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Come outside with me.’ She guided him out the door and into the hallway. She took his hands in hers. ‘You’re not going to get anywhere with him tonight. He’s in denial. You and I were both the same when we were in his position. Go home, get some rest, come back in the morning and we’ll all talk to him. There’s no use getting into a big argument over it at the moment.’
Gerard nodded his head and pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head. ‘I’m sorry our date was ruined.’
She shook her head and smiled at him. ‘It’s not your fault. And it wasn’t ruined. We just had to take a slight detour on the way home.’
He laughed morosely. ‘Do you want a ride home?’
Abbey shook her head. ‘I’ll just hang out with Mikey for a while. Try and see where his head’s at. I’ll get Frank to pick me up later.’
Gerard stroked a hand through Abbey’s hair. ‘You’re amazing.’ She smiled slightly at his compliment, unsure of how to respond. ‘We’ll go out again soon?’ He asked. She nodded. ‘Okay, I’ll see you in the morning.’ He lightly kissed her on the cheek and walked away, and Abbey watched his white hair disappear out of the door to the ward. She returned to Mikey’s room with a smile on her face.

As she closed the door quietly behind her, she turned to find him eating the sushi she had bought for him. ‘Don’t tell the nurse I’m eating it. She told me it’s probably gone bad. But I couldn’t help it. I do love the sushi.’ He sighed contentedly. Abbey smiled at him and sat on his bed. ‘Sorry I ruined you and Gerard’s date. Couldn’t help but overhear.’ Mikey grinned.
‘It’s okay Mikey. I know you didn’t mean for this to happen.’
‘No, I didn’t. But I was an idiot.’ He shook his head as he looked down at his lap.
‘Everybody makes mistakes, babe.’ He looked up at her, his eyes begging her to tell him that what she had just said was true. ‘I mean it. Nobody’s perfect. But you have to at least try, Mikey,’ she pleaded. ‘Don’t put yourself through this shit, both Gerard and I have been there. It’s not fun. And we all care about you so much.’
‘I know,’ Mikey said softly. He reached out and touched her face, looking at her adoringly. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. You know what it’s like, and I know you’re not going to judge me. I think Gerard sometimes forgets how hard it is.’

Abbey melted at his touch and his words. She took his hand in hers and moved it from her face, holding it in her lap. ‘He loves you and he cares about you so much. He just doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes he did.’
Mikey smiled wanly at Abbey. ‘Guess you guys are made for each other, hey? You’ve both been through the shit and come out the other side. And then there’s me. In the shit trying to dig my way out.’
‘You’re gonna be okay, Mikey. You’ve just gotta have a little more faith in yourself.’ Abbey rose from the bed to leave.
‘Please don’t go.’ Mikey looked terrified of being alone. Abbey had never seen him look so scared. ‘Stay,’ he begged. ‘Here, there’s room for you.’ He moved over to make space for her on the bed. ‘Even if you just sleep.’ Abbey did not know why she did it; maybe because he looked so vulnerable or because she still had feelings for him. But into bed with Mikey she crawled. He put his arm around her and pulled her to him, his body shaping around her so she was nestled next to him snugly. ‘I just feel so much better when you’re around, even breathing seems less difficult,’ he whispered in her ear, and he kissed the top of her head. ‘Thank you,’ he breathed, as they both drifted off into a deep sleep.