FicWad

Third Person

There was a ringing in Willow’s ears, like insects swarming around her. It faded in and out. Darkness clouded her vision, and faint colors dotted inside her eyelids, pulsing brightly and then fading like a dying star. Her muscles were taught, and she could feel the warmth of her blood rushing turn cold. Her heartbeat was a faint beat, slowly getting louder till it began to hurt her eardrums. Boom, boom, boom.

Then there were the voices, quiet and hushed. They were everywhere, male and female. Some sounded familiar, and that frightened the part of Willow’s mind that was still able to feel. She didn’t want to hear these voices; some were laughter, some were crying, some were yelling and screaming. She wanted to smash her head into a wall, anything to rid these voices. The familiarity was haunting. They all called her name, dragging the syllables out painfully. She started to recognize the voices of her friends, her brothers and sister, her father, Brandon, and worst of all, her mother.

“Willow…” They called out. “Willow... why so afraid?”

“I’m not afraid!” She called out with her mind.

They all cackled, the volume coming out in wavelengths, strong enough to blow her over and fall. “Liar…” They echoed. “LIAR!”

“I’m not a liar,” She cried.

The voices all morphed into one, forming two hands that seemed to suffocate her throat.

“So pathetic!” They wailed. “So weak! So stupid! So ugly! Such a waste of space!”

Willow whimpered, and the voices surrounded her being, wailing and crying, until it blanketed her in darkness. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and she could feel someone touch her arm. Her eyes jolted open, and she shot up, knocking whoever to the ground, as she let out a piercing scream. The person on the ground got up, putting his hands on her shoulders, hushing her, making her let out another scream.

“Calm down,” He said. “Shh, it’s okay! I’m here.”

Her screams died off into broken breaths, as the person lied her back down. Her eyes slowly moved around, trying to focus. She blinked a few times, her blurry vision starting to focus on the being above her. Her eyes focused onto the black hair and the pale skin. Willow squinted in confusion as she looked into his hazel eyes, and raised her hand to cup his cheek.

It was Gerard.

“It’s okay,” He said softly. “You’re okay, it’s just me. I’m here. I’m right here.”

Willow took her hand back and used it to help herself up, until Gerard pushed her gently back down.

“Hey, hey,” He said. “You need to rest, okay?”

She sighed, nodding. She realized that she was lying down on a battered couch with a blanket pulled up to her chest. Her eyes wandered around the room, noticing how dark it was despite the two table lamps that were on. She could hear the buzz from the bulb from one of the lamps. There was stairs in the far right corner that lead to the top floor, and there were two doors beside each other; one a closet, and one a bathroom. The room had burgundy and black walls, mostly covered in drawings and horror movie posters. There was a messy bed and beside it was a desk full of paper and pencils, and a bat in a glass case. Above it was a small window which you could faintly see the snow falling.

As if Gerard could read her mind, he said, “You’re in my room.”

She gave him a questioning look. His room? So this means she’s in house? How she got there, she wondered.

Light footsteps soon sounded down the stairs, and the two looked up to see a woman carrying a small plastic case. Gerard stood up, taking the case from her.

“Thanks, Mom,” He said.

So this is his mother, Willow thought. The woman looked to be in her late forties, and was pale like Gerard, but had blonde hair. Her face was kind, and she smiled down at her.

“Hello, sweetie,” She said. “I’m gonna take a look at you to make sure there’s no broken bones or infections alright?”

Willow nodded slowly. The woman gently lifted Willow’s shirt up, exposing her bruised stomach. She furrowed her brows in concern, and Gerard gasped softly, shocked to see how big and black the bruise was. Her shirt was lifted higher, showing scratches with small patches of dried blood on her sides, followed by more forming bruises. Gerard looked down as his balled up hands that were in his lap, and couldn’t bear to see. His mother pressed her hand onto her ribs and her sternum, making Willow gasp out and shut her eyes in pain.

“Sorry,” His mother frowned, and then turned to her son. “Gerard, I’m going to run a bath for her, can you get a towel for her?"

“Sure, Mom,” He said quietly and ran up the stairs.

“Here, sweetie,” She said, slipping an arm under her shoulders, helping her up. “Upsy-daisy.”

The woman helped Willow up off the couch and led her into the bathroom and sit on the toilet lid as she started to run the water. She turned back to the girl, helping her strip out of her clothes, and she gasped at the dried blood, cuts, and bruises she had on her body.

“Oh my…” She whispered. “Who did this to you?”

Willow didn’t say anything, and wrapped her arms around herself. She closed her eyes so the tears wouldn’t fall. She felt arms wrap around her, and she opened her eyes to see that Gerard’s mother was hugging her.

“It’s okay,” She said, rubbing her back lightly. “We’re here to help, alright? Whatever it is, we can help you get through it.”

Willow sniffed, and nodded. She pulled back and gave her big smile. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”

Willow nodded, and got up from her seat and into the tub filled with warm water. She settled down, gritting her teeth as the water burned her scratched arms, back, and legs. Willow relaxed when the water became a bit bearable. She sighed, leaning her head back against the wall and feeling the water crawl up her hair and scalp. Mrs. Way rolled her sleeves up, and reached across Willow to a bottle of body wash and a body rag. She squeezed a generous amount of body wash onto the rag, and gestured to Willow’s arms. The woman washed her gently, mindful of the cuts and not to press to hard onto the bruises. Willow sat there, letting a woman she didn’t even know bathe her. She didn’t even ask for help, yet this woman was putting every once of kindness into the care she was giving her. A mother’s touch, some would say. Willow didn’t understand why Gerard had found and took her in; she didn’t understand why she was getting help she thought she didn’t really deserve.

And she suddenly started to cry. All the emotions that she had been holding back for weeks all spilled out. All the things that have happened to her; her mother’s death, her school, Gerard and the boys, the cheerleaders, Brandon…they all wore her out. She was drained.

“Whoa, there,” Mrs. Way stopped, gently putting a hand on Willow’s shoulder to comfort her. She raised her thumb, wiping it over her cheeks to brush the flowing tears away. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay to cry…”

Willow nodded, the tears only subsiding just a little, but continued to flow. Mrs. Way started to wash Willow’s hair, and she sat there sniffling. She dipped her finger in the water, watching the ripples spread out and become bigger and bigger. She leaned her head on her knee, the older woman’s finger working through her hair and creating soapy spuds.

“Thank you,” Willow said very quietly, barely audible, but Mrs. Way still heard her.

She paused the process of washing the girl’s hair, her eyes staring at the young girl with a bit of sadness. She have her a small smile and said, "You're welcome."

Mrs. Way washed out the shampoo and replaced it with conditioner. After awhile, she decided to make a little decent small talk.

"So, you're not much of a talker are you?" She asked. Willow shrugged in response. "Oh, so just like the Little Mermaid?"

Willow shot her a confused glance. "The Little Mermaid. You have seen it haven't you?" Mrs. Way said, and she shook her head in response. The woman gaped her mouth open. "Goodness gracious, young lady, it's a Disney classic! All the little girls have seen it. Before you shut your eyes tonight, I am making sure you watch it."

Willow smiled at thought, but wondered what was so special about that movie as Mrs. Way began to wash her hair out, turning so she could start washing her chest and back. To her, it seemed that the world simply watched too much television and rotted their eyeballs and brains.

Upstairs, Gerard's lips were set in a grim line as he fetched the biggest, fluffiest towel they owned. His thoughts were barely on Willow, but on how we was going kill whoever hurt Willow, his Willow. He never felt so much anger in his life. He wondered who caused her such pain, what monster would treat her this way. Gerard imagined all the things he would do, how he wanted to gut them with a knife slowly. Or how he wanted to rip their limbs apart from their body. Or setting them on fire, tied to a chair. He wanted so badly to do this. He wanted them to hurt as much as Willow; he wanted whoever who made her scream, scream just as much. He wanted them to bring them to their knees for making her cry. Gerard didn't realize how angry he was until he actually pierced two holes in the towel with his fingernails.

"Gerard?" He turned around from the linen closet to see Mikey poking his head out of his room, his forehead wrinkled in worry. "Is Willow okay? I heard some screaming..."

Gerard let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his messy hair. "Yeah, she's fine. Fuck...I don't understand why this happened. She doesn't deserve shit like this..."

Mikey frowned. "This is so fucked up. I mean, who does this kind of stuff?"

"That's what I would like to know. Fuck, I'm going to fucking end who did this. I just..." he began digging his fingers into the towel again.

"Whoa, calm down, okay?" Mikey said. "Right now we need to make Willow comfortable, then figure out what exactly happened."

Gerard nodded, breathing in deeply and then breathing out. "Yeah, okay."

Gerard left Mikey, going down the hall and down his basement steps with the towel in hand. He could hear the sound of water rushing from behind the closed bathroom door, and his mother's warm gentle voice talking. He also heard Willow wincing slightly from the pain from her body. The door was opened just a crack, and without thinking, he discreetely looked in. He gritted his teeth at the sight of Willow: her back was to him and his mother ran a washcloth over the reddening and dry bloodied skin. There were scratches and large cuts, as well as blue and black bruises, on her back. She looked as if she was dragged along the pavement. He couldn't imagine what Willow must've been feeling.

He stepped back from the opening and rapped his knuckles gently on the door. "Ma, I got the towel for you."

His mother's head peeped from behind the door and took the towel. "Thanks, sweetheart. Can you let her borrow a set of clothes while I wash hers?"

He nodded. "Yeah, sure, Ma."

Mrs. Way returned back to Willow while Gerard rummaged through his drawers. He pulled out some pajama pants decorated with Batmam and Robin. They looked small enough to fit her, as well as one of his old black T-shirts. He folded them nicely for her; then he realized that she needed clean underwear. He sighed, hoping she wouldn't mind wearing boxers. He went upstairs so she could have some privacy; that, and so Gerard himself could clear his head.

Mrs. Way lead Willow out of the bathroom, wrapped in the towel Gerard had fetched for her.

Mrs. Way had a hand on the railing. "I'm going to start dinner. Will you be alright?" Willow nodded. "Okay, there's some clothes for you on the bed. Come up when you're ready, alright?"

She disappeared up the basement steps, and the young girl sighed. She held her towel tightly to herself as she picked up the clothes; Gerard's clothes she noticed. Willow's lips turned up slightly as she held the boxers in her hand. They had Scooby-Doo on them. She pulled the boxers and pajama pants on, then the shirt. The clothes smelled just like Gerard, setting her at ease. She towel dried her hair, then finger-combed through the knots.

She hesitantly walked up the basement steps and opened the door, the bright light a change from the darkness of Gerard's room. A sense of familiarity hit Willow as she recognized the living room when she turned her head from the last time she had been at Gerard's home. This time she lingered in the dimly lit hall, looking at a few framed pictures of Gerard and Mikey. They looked more similar when they were toddlers; now you could hardly tell they were brothers. Unless you looked closely, of course.

A delicate smell wafted around her nostrils, and she sighed. Leaving the hall, she made her way down the hall quietly, following the delicious aroma. When she was closer to the doorway, she recognized the smell of oregano and tomato sauce. Part of her said Italian food. She peeked into the room and saw a brightly lit kitchen with Mrs. Way at the stove humming and Gerard sat at the kitchen table flipping through a comic. He looked up when he heard her, and gave her a small smile. She looked even more adorable in his clothes.

"Hey," He closed his comic, and stood up.

His mother turned around with wooden spoon in hand. "Oh, Willow, have a seat. Dinner's almost ready."

Willow quietly sat down as Gerard did the same, politely pushing his comic aside. It was silent except for the occasional pop or sizzle from the pot Mrs. Way was stirring. After a while his mother broke the silence.

"You know, Gerard," she said as she turned to another pot full of pasta, straining the pot from it. She emptied the pasta in the pot full of sauce. "Willow has never seen the Little Mermaid."

He looked at her with an incredulous look on his face. "Wow, really?"

The back of her neck heated, and she nodded slowly. He grinned, "We can watch it later."

Again, she nodded and flashed him a small smile. But even a smile couldn’t diminish the things she had endured.
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SHIT SORRY I HAVENT POSTED IN SO LONG SORRYY