FicWad

That night Gerard did not sleep at all. He tossed and turned all night, he could not get the meeting with Frank off his mind. Something about this lead made Gerard’s stomach churn and cause the hairs on the back of his neck to stand straight up. He thought of that last time he had seen his little brother it was the morning before the attack, the morning before everything changed.

Gerard grabbed the coffee and poured the hot liquid into the white mug on the counter. Mikey sat across from him; he was swinging his legs innocently as they hung off the edge of the counter.

“Mom would kill you if she saw you sitting on the counter again.” Gerard smirked and took a small drink from his mug.

Mikey crinkled his nose and nodded his head into the direction of the coffee mug,ignoring his brother's remark, “I don’t know how you drink that stuff, it’s so gross!”

Gerard chuckled, “It’s a drink from the gods Mikes… you’re too young to understand.”

“I am not young!” Mikey pouted.

“You’re nine, that’s young in my book.” Gerard grinned and ruffled Mikey’s hair.

“Almost ten!” Mikey countered, trying to fix his shaggy hair.

Gerard shook his head playfully, “I’ve got to go to school now, see you later Mikey.” Gerard grabbed his car keys that hung by the door and left the house.

Gerard groaned and sat up. He rubbed his eyes before getting out of bed, giving up on getting any sleep. Had he known that that was going to be the last time he would see his brother he would have said so many different things, like how much he loved him. Gerard walked out into the living room and sat down on the couch. He watched as the sun began to make its morning ascent, colors of red, orange, and yellow danced and mixed together in the sky.

Gerard didn’t know how long he simply stared at the rising sun but eventually the sky turned blue and he heard Lindsay shuffle out of the bedroom. She mumbled a good morning and made her way into the kitchen; Gerard assumed it was to make coffee. He had another day off that day, though he wished that he was working. He needed to get his mind off things.

He decided that he was going to take his wife out for dinner that evening. She seemed excited; she didn’t get out much because of the baby. By six she was dressed and eagerly waiting for her husband to finish getting ready.

Gerard took her to a small Italian restaurant a few miles away from downtown. He’d been there a few times with Ray and Jerry, but not with Lindsay. She carefully looked over the menu before deciding what she wanted. They ordered their food and the waiter filled their glasses with water.

Lindsay smiled, “Thank you for taking me out tonight Gerard.”

“My pleasure,” Gerard grinned; his eyes were wandering the restaurant when he saw a small figure walking in. He recognized the figure immediately as Frank, behind him was a tall, burly man. Tattoos adorned the man’s tan arms and his black hair was neatly slicked back. He noticed the slight resemblance he had with Frank, aside from the height. Gerard’s breath caught in his throat and he began to choke on the water he’d been drinking.

“Gerard, honey, are you okay?” Lindsay asked with a concerned expression drawn upon her face. Gerard merely gave her the thumbs-up as he continued to cough. He looked over to where Frank and the man had been seated. Frank stared at him with wide, frightened eyes before quickly turning his attention back towards the other man. Once Gerard stopped coughing he returned his attention to his wife, she smiled sweetly in his direction.

The couple talked about meaningless topics until their dinner was served. Gerard kept occasionally glancing over in Frank’s direction. Gerard observed through Frank’s facial expressions that he seemed to be in a heated conversation. Gerard excused himself from the table, saying that he needed to go use restroom. Lindsay simply nodded and continued to eat what was on her plate.

Gerard entered the restroom and headed to the sinks. He splashed cold water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror. Dark rings hung below his eyes and his skin was ashy. He heard the door open and he watched as Frank walked in quietly.

“What are you doing here?” Frank asked harshly.

Gerard glared in his direction, “Taking my wife out to dinner, this is a public restaurant you know.”

Frank grumbled something incoherently under his breath, “You can’t come here anymore. This is one of his favorite places to go.” Frank stated.

“I can go anywhere I want to Frank, I am a grown man. And who is he?” Gerard asked.

“No one. Please Gerard; if you want to see your brother again you need to listen to anything and everything I say. Time is running out for Mikey.” Frank said in a calm tone.

“Why do you keep saying that? You’re keeping too much from me Frank.” Gerard stated.

As soon as they heard the door opening again Frank quickly turned on the water. He acted as if he was just finishing up washing his hands.

“Frank, it’s time to go.” The man from earlier ordered; Frank nodded and quickly followed him out the door. Once again Gerard was left staring after him in shock.

After a few moments Gerard left the bathroom and rejoined his wife. She had finished her meal and was taking a drink of water.

“You okay babe?” She asked.

Gerard nodded his head, “Oh yeah, I’m fine. How did you like your dinner?”

“It was great,” Lindsay smiled.

Gerard paid for the meal and they walked out into the bitter night air. Lindsay shivered and Gerard wrapped an arm around her, trying to keep her warm as they walked to the car. Gerard started the drive home; all the while his mind was racing with thoughts; thoughts mainly about Frank and Mikey; who was Frank really? What did he mean when he said that Mikey’s time was running out? Where was his little brother?

If only I knew Frank’s last name, Gerard thought, than I would be able to do some research. Gerard knew this was the exact reason why Frank didn’t give out any personal information. He wanted to keep Gerard in the dark, if they were going to play; it was only going to be by Frank’s rules.