FicWad

4 - Can You Hear Me?
Gerard hastily wiped away his tears as Frank handed him a cup of coffee and muttered a soft thanks.
"It's okay to cry," Frank whispered in a barely audible voice as he watched Gerard blink rapidly in an attempt to clear his eyes.
He froze, the cup halfway to his mouth, and looked across the counter at Frank who stared at the tears that kept trying to gather in his eyes. He slammed the cup back onto the counter, a majority of the scorching liquid spilling over, burning his fingers in the process.
"No it isn't," he mumbled, his voice becoming clearer and louder as he spoke. "Mikey needs me right now. I can't be going to peices everytime I think about..." He paused, his voice trembling. "Elena." He managed to choke out her name. "Right now Mikey needs me. I can't keep..."
He stopped and looked up as he heard the door shut. Mikey stook in the doorway, his eyes red-rimmed from crying as he stared at him. Gerard whispered a soft swear as Mikey tore his eyes away from his brother and crossed the kitchen in a four long strides before completely leaving the room.
"I can't let him see me going to bits at every moment," Gerard hissed, more to himself, as Frank stared at the door that Mikey had left through.
"He doesn't need you to be a rock," Frank spoke softly to him. "He just needs his brother, now more than ever."

Frank's words circled in his head as Mikey sat on his bed. He clenched his hands together, his thoughts traveling to what Gerard had said.
He's right, Mikey did need him. But, Frank was right as well, he didn't need a stone-faced man there to watch him while he cried, he needed his older brother. The one who sat with him and cried, who comforted him while also soothing his own troubles. He didn't want a stranger to intrude on his memories of his Grandmother.
He needed his brother to sit with him and remember Elena.
He needed his brother to be by his side.
He just needed Gerard.

Frank left the kitchen as a knock sounded on the front door. So Gerard stood, leaning against the coffee splattered counter, his hand still throbbing from the coffee that had spilled against it. His mind raced at the words that Frank had spoken.
'He doesn't need you to be a rock.'
What the hell was that supposed to mean? He was just as human as everyone around him. And right now, Mikey needed him to stay strong. He had to be the older brother who was always there when need be.
'He just needs his brother, now more than ever.'
More riddles. That's all that Frank had spoken. Riddles that twised every which way until they were so misconstrued that Gerard's head pounded.

"Hey man," Frank greeted as he pulled the door open and Bob stood on the front step.
"Hey Frank," he said as a reply and Frank stepped back to let him in the house. "How's everything with Gerard and Mikey?"
The shorter's face fell and he just shook his head with a heavy sigh.
"Gerard's trying to play the strong one and Mikey, well, right now, Gerard being a stone isn't what he needs."
Bob nodded as Frank spoke and felt his heart aching for the two brothers. Then the kitchen door opened with a heavy shove and Gerard stormed out, a soft frown on his face and pain in his eyes.
"Hey Bob," he said as he walked past both of the two men standing in shock beside the door. "I'm going out," he called back.
This can't end well, was the only thought that raced through Frank's mind as Bob stared blankly after him.

Gerard ran a shaky hand through his hair, his eyes hidden behind a mass of black hair. The sun was now hidden behind a large mass of gray clouds.
He wandered through the empty streets, not watching where his feet took him. All that reached him was the sound of his feet slamming against the pavement. His hands clenched and unclenched by his side as he resisted the urge to run. To run as far away from the house as possible, to run as far away from the truth.
Time didn't matter as he haunted the streets, staying as far away from other people as possible. He couldn't handle a fake hello, hell, he couldn't even handle a decent smile at the moment. As his eyes raised to take in his surroundings he found a cemetery gate before him.
He gently lifted his hand and placed it on the bars before quickly pushing it open and taking a step onto the grass. His mind quieted as he began to walk among the headstones.
"Why?" He finally breathed into the still air. "Why did you leave?"
He halted his steps and waited, for a sigh, a breath, a simple word. There was no reply, and he fell to his knees. His hands flew to his hair, tangling into the black roots.
"Why?! I never wanted you to leave!"
Anger coursed though him. All traces of pain and sorrow left his veins as anger burned in its wake.
"Did you ever think that maybe I needed you?!"
He raised his face to the dark grey sky and cursed. He cursed the fact that his Grandmother Elena had left, he cursed the fact that she had been taken from him much to soon.
"WHY? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO?!" He took a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs, "I NEVER GOT TO SAY GOODBYE!"
He covered his face with his hands and felt hot tears spill forth.
"I never got to say goodbye."
His last sentece came out in a barely audible whisper as his hands fell to his sides and any ounce of anger in him drained. Now all he felt was the emptiness in this graveyard.
He sat upon the ground in the cememtery among the dead and realized that in this place, this place where the departed rested, he felt truly alone.
So alone.