FicWad

Thursday Evening
Frank

As soon as I was inside my mom attacked me. She grabbed me around the waist, pulling me into a hug. “I thought you were dead!” She held me out at arm’s length. I could see the worry written all over her face. “Don’t ever worry me like that again!” Once again, she pulled me in for a hug.

I just smiled, wrapping my arms tightly around her small frame, “Mom, I’m fine.”

She sighed, kissing my forehead, “Just call next time. I don’t care if you go over to Mikey’s after school, just let me know first. You almost gave me a heart attack.” She laughed, “I was about ready to call the police.”

I shook my head, “I think you’re overreacting.” Shrugging, I pulled away from her and sat down on the couch, “Besides, I wasn’t at Mikeys. I was at that little park by the school. Gerard brought me home.”

She frowned sitting down beside me, “Why? What happened?”

Leaning against the back of the couch, I sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.” She smiled, scooting closer to me.

“Well, we went to a party last night, and Mikey was drinking.” She frowned, suddenly understanding. “Anyway, today after school, we had a fight about it. I was so upset that I slapped him and then left him in the car. I made it to the park and then I called Gerard and asked him for a ride home.” I felt ten times better after telling my mom what happened. I knew she would understand everything better than anyone else could.

She pulled me into another hug, “Oh, Frankie. I’m glad you stood up for yourself, but you should probably go talk to Mikey. Maybe try explaining it to him?” She paused, “I mean, you guys are getting married. He deserves to know.”

I nodded, “I know, I just don’t like talking about it.” Explaining how my father abused my mother and I... it’s not something I like for people to know. I’d rather keep it a secret for the rest of my life than tell anyone. However, Mikey and I loved each other. He deserved to know. I let out a breath, “I guess I can call him.”

She nodded, placing a hand on my cheek. “Look at you. My baby boy all grown up.” She smiled, tears building behind her eyes. “I’m so proud of you. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I love you, mom.” I pulled her into a hug.

She smiled, “And you know I love you.” She stood up, and headed into the kitchen. I assumed she was probably going to start cooking dinner. So, I headed upstairs to my bedroom. Shutting the door behind me, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Mikey’s number.

I sat down on my bed, waiting. It was about the fifth ring when I was starting to think he wasn’t going to answer. Sure enough, shortly after that it went to voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message and tried calling again.

I called four more times, each time getting the same result. He obviously didn’t want to talk to me. I wasn’t surprised. After what happened earlier, what with me slapping him and not answering his calls. Actually, I was kind of relieved that he didn’t answer. That meant I didn’t have to tell him anything.

I lay back on my bed and sighed. I hated this. Mikey and I had never fought before, at least not like this. Everything was just really strange. I wondered who the real Mikey was... the person I had known my whole life, the guy I fell in love with. Or this Mikey. The one that likes to party and that I’m constantly mad at.

I was about ready to get up and go downstairs when my phone rang. I was more than a little disappointed when it wasn’t Mikey. Instead, I was surprised to see Gerard’s name come across the screen. I thought about letting it to go voicemail, but I ended up answering anyway.

“Gerard?”

“Mikey is really pissed at you. After the fourth time you called he threw his phone against the wall while we were eating dinner. He then proceeded to pretend like nothing happened.” He paused, “Now, I’m out here picking up the pieces.”

I just shook my head. Mikey had never seemed like a violent person before. This was way out of character for him. I was starting to think that maybe the two of us weren’t going to work out. Maybe we weren’t supposed to get married. “I don’t know what to do... I was going to call and apologize, but know I don’t think I want to. He’s just... different.”

Gerard was silent. I was beginning to think he had hung up when I heard him sigh. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

I ran my hand through my hair, “I don’t know. Maybe we can still make it work. Maybe this weekend I’ll go see him.”

“That’s probably the best.” He paused, “Frank, he really loves you. He loves you so much, it hurts to watch it. I don’t know what his problem is lately, but he does love you. Never doubt that for a second.”

I nodded. I already knew he loved me. If he didn’t, we wouldn’t be here right now. We had been together for a long time, it was only a matter of time before we had our first fight. I just never imagined it would be like this. “Could you tell him that I love him?”

“Don’t worry, Frank. I’ll tell him.” At that he hung up and the line went silent. I closed my phone and set it down on the bed beside me. I collapsed back on my bed and sighed. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. It seemed like a bad dream, and that I would wake up any minute.