FicWad

|CHAPTER TWO|

Mikey Way sat in the passenger seat of the white van that Frank Iero was driving. They were listening to Morrissey and Mikey was staring out the window watching the scenery moving in and out of his view. They were going to pick up Gerard, then meet Ray Toro and Bob Bryar at the airport. Mikey was looking forward to seeing Gerard. It had only been three days but he had missed his older brother. After growing up so close, it was hard and a little unnerving to be away for so long. They shared a bond that he thought was special and unique. Gerard looked out for him and vice versa. Besides just missing his brother in general, Mikey was also worried about him. Before their break, Gerard has seemed anxious and nervous. Mikey had seen him like this before. In fact, he had seen him like that numerous times and it had never ended well. It usually ended up with Gerard getting his medication adjusted or re-enterting therapy. He knew this was something that Gerard didn't want to deal with again. Mikey let out a sigh that triggered a response from Frank.

"Something on your mind?" Frank asked, turning his head slightly toward Mikey. Mikey began to say something but paused a moment, then he hesitantly responded.

"I'm just a little worried about Gerard." He looked over at Frank. " Did he seem a little uneven to you?" He furrowed his brow as he waited for Frank to respond.

"Gerard is always uneven. It's just Gerard. Mikey, you worry to much." Mikey thought about this for a moment. He considered what Frank had said. Gerard was always a bit quirky. He relaxed a bit.

"You're right. Damn, I do worry to much." Frank laughed at this statement.

"And that is what makes you uneven but we still like you."

Mikey smiled and returned to looking out the window. They were turning onto Gerard's street and he could see his house. It was a single story brick ranch, much like the one they grew up in, and it had a gravel driveway. Mikey knew this was Gerard's favorite feature about the house. He wasn't sure why but then again, as much has he tried, he never fully understood anything about his brother.

Frank pulled in the driveway and put the van into park. Mikey got out and trotted up the front door and rang the doorbell. Gerard had always told him to just enter but he felt weird about doing that. He felt like he owed his brother the courtesy of ringing the doorbell. Mikey stood there for a minute and was greeted with the sound of silence. He rang the bell again and again but no one answered the door. He turned around and looked at Frank.

"He's not answering!" Mikey yelled. Frank rolled his eyes.

"Well, no shit! He's probably still sleeping! Just go in!" Mikey turned back around and fished his key ring from the pocket of his sweatshirt. He found the key to the house and fumbled it a bit as he put it into the dead bolt. He turned it until he felt a faint click. He turned the knob and opened the door. The light flooded the dark foyer and he cautiously stuck his head in.

"Gerard?" He called...nothing. He opened the door the rest of the way and stepped in, leaving the door slightly ajar so he could see where he was going. The house was silent and dark. He walked into the living room and flipped on a lamp. He smiled as he saw Gerard asleep in the chair.

"Gerard! Wake-up, we're going to be late!" He yelled as he walked toward his brother. He went to go playfully smack Gerard when his hand froze mid-air. Gerard's lips were blue. Mikey felt his body go cold for a moment and everything seemed to be in slow motion as he realized Gerard wasn't breathing.

His eyes darted around the room and fell upon the empty orange pill bottles that were strewn across the coffee table and then the piece of paper with Gerard's messy handwriting all over it. What was this? Why did he have pills? His mind was going a hundred and twenty miles an hour as he ran the rest of the way to his brother.

"Fuck! Fuck, what did you do?!" He yelled at him. He wasn't sure how loud he was screaming but to him it felt like it wasn't loud enough. He felt Gerard's neck for a pulse and was shocked to feel how cold he was. Mikey couldn't find a pulse and this sent a wave of fear through him.

"What the fuck did you do?!" He screamed again. He felt around for his cell phone franticly, panic filling his body. He was scared...scared that his brother was going die or already dead. He couldn't find his cell phone. Where the fuck was his cell phone?

"fuck!"He yelled again, feeling tears of frustration fill his eyes. He ran out of the house as fast as his shaking legs would let him. He knew Frank would have a phone. He had to get help. He stumbled out of the house, into the daylight and back to the van. Frank looked up and was startled by Mikey's appearance.

"What the hell..." Frank mumbled. Mikey's face looked pale and there were tears streaming down his face. "What happened?"

"Frank...call 911." Mikey started "Gerard..." He choked on the words. Frank's eyes widened and he grabbed the cell phone that was sitting on the dashboard and jumped out of the van. Mikey had sank to his knees and was shaking slightly.

"Gerard tried to kill...killed himself." Mikey finally choked out. Mikey kept a steady gaze on Frank, who was already dialing the numbers, trying to get a grip on the situation. He saw Frank's lips moving but he couldn't hear what he was saying. He watched as Frank snapped his phone shut and then all of a sudden he was face to face with Mikey.

"Mikey...Mikey!" Frank was calling his name. Mikey looked up as Frank placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Frank...Oh my God...Frank...He...Gerard" Mikey stuttered, fighting back more tears.

"The ambulance and police are on the way. Is he...?" Frank's voice trailed off.

" I don't know! I don't know! He was cold and I felt for a pulse and...and..." Mikey could hear sirens in the distance and he felt like they couldn't get there fast enough. Frank was sitting next to him, an arm wrapped around him. They both watched in silence as the ambulance pulled up in front of the house, the police behind them. Two paramedics stormed into the house with a stretcher and various medical equipment along with a police officer. The other police officer walked up to Mikey and Frank. It was a woman and she crouched down in front of the two.

"I'm Officer Mitchell" She said. Her voice was soothing and had a calming effect. Her face was concerned as she continued to speak.

"Are you family?" She asked. Mikey looked up at her.

"I'm his brother. He's his friend." Mikey pointed a shaky finger at Frank. Officer Mitchell nodded, then looked up as what they assumed was her partner walked out of the front door. "Excuse me" She said as he stood up and walked toward the other officer. Both men watched intently, unable to hear what the two were saying.

Mikey's gaze wandered to the front door and he felt his breathe get caught in his throat as he saw Gerard being wheeled from his house on a stretcher. He felt Frank's arm tighten around his shoulders as well. In the light he could see how bad Gerard looked. His skin was a grayish white and his lips still had that bluish tint to them but it was harder to see now that there were tubes in his mouth. Mikey felt the slightest twinge of hope as he watched the scene before him. If they were taking him to a hospital then he must be alive! He must have a chance. Officer Mitchell walked back over to them and began to speak.

"We're taking your brother to St. Joseph Mercy. Do you know where that is and can either of you drive?" She waited for a response.

"I do and I can." Frank said in a somber voice as the ambulance's engine roared to life and the sirens sounded again.

"All right. We'll meet you there." On that note, she trotted back to the squad car and got in. Within moments, the car had left, most likely following the ambulance to the hospital. Frank stood up and reached a hand out to Mikey. Mikey stared at it dumbly for a moment before taking it. Frank helped him up. Frank stood there, watching Mikey, who was still shaking. He looked lost, scared and a whole menagerie of other emotions. Frank instinctively pulled him into a hug.

"He'll be okay, Mikey. We have to believe that." He whispered. Mikey hugged him back.

"I want to believe that." They pulled apart and without speaking got back into the van. Frank started it and they backed out of the driveway. Mikey noticed how everything looked the same as it had when they were on their way to Gerard's house. He felt bitter about it. The rest of the world was going on like normal even though his was caving in on him.

The hospital was only twenty minutes away but it felt like twenty hours. The silence in the van was deafening and Mikey felt an enormous relief when they pulled up in front of the emergency room. Frank found a parking space, ran all the way from the van, then darted through the double doors that lead into the ER.

They went up to the receptionist and asked for Gerard Way. She looked up something in the computer and told them that they could wait in the waiting room and a doctor would be with them shortly. They were dismayed with this but sat down anyway. Mikey looked around the waiting area. It was a comfortable room with dark purple carpet and cream colored walls. There were abstract paintings hung on the wall and a few potted plants. The chairs, he concluded, left something to be desired. Frank was seated next to him, turning his cell phone over and over in his hands.

"Should we call anyone?" Mikey asked in a small voice as Frank looked up.

"Your parents?" Mikey shook his head.

"Out of town. I have the number at home."

"Ray and Bob?"

"I guess so. They are probably wondering where we are." Frank nodded in agreement and stood up.

"I'll call them. Come and get me if the doctor shows up." Mikey said that he would and Frank went in the direction of the lobby, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He thought about random conversations and memories from the past years and it helped comfort him. When he ran out of those, he thought about nothing at all. He stared at the doorway to the rest of the hospital for awhile and then at Frank's feet when he returned. Frank told him that Ray and Bob were on their way there. Mikey nodded.

"How much longer do you think?" Mikey asked Frank. Frank shrugged.

"It's only been an hour. No news is good news, right? Isn't that what they alw--" Frank stopped mid-sentence and stared at something in front of him. Mikey followed his gaze to the doctor that was scanning the waiting room. The doctor focused in on them and he swiftly walked over.

"Gerard Way?" He asked. They nodded. "Follow me." The stood up and followed the doctor out of the waiting room and into the harsh hospital halls. They were lead into a small room with a few chairs, a coffee table and box of tissues. They all sat. The tension in the room was thick and Mikey couldn't keep himself from fidgeting.

"I'm Doctor Constantine. I was the attending that treated Gerard." He looked at Mikey and Frank, seeing the anxiety written across both of them. "We found an overdose of three different medications in his system. We administered charcoal but unfortunately, a lot of the pills were already dissolved. Because of the medication, it caused his respiratory system to shut down and..." Dr. Constantine paused a moment. "...his heart to stop. We tried for forty minutes to resuscitate him but I'm sorry, he died."

Mikey felt his throat make a sound that was inhuman and couldn't control the tears that were coming from his eyes. There was a dull ache in head and he felt dizzy. He looked at Frank, who sat stone still silently in the chair, his mind reeling and feeling slightly numb. Mikey took a deep breath, regaining his composure for a moment.

"Can I see him?" He asked, wiping his eyes. Dr. Constantine nodded, standing up.

"Mikey...Oh God, I... I'll wait for Bob and Ray." Frank told Mikey, who stood up as well. "I'll come find you when they get here." Frank exited the room with the others. The doctor and Mikey turned left while he turned right and went back into the waiting room. He stumbled to a chair and sat down before letting the tears fall. Gerard was dead.

"Frank?" Frank's head snapped up at the sound of Ray's voice. "What happened?" Ray and Bob were standing in from of him with worried expressions on their faces. They knew that Gerard was the reason they were here but they didn't know why. Frank hadn't been very clear on the phone. Frank took in a shaky breath before speaking.

"We went to pick up Gerard and Mikey...Mikey found him. " Frank was searching for the right words. "He had overdosed on pills."

"Is he okay? Where's Mikey?" Ray's voice was sounding slightly frantic. Frank was looking at Ray but the noise surrounding him had faded into silence. He could feel the tears fill his eyes.

"Gerard is...dead."

******

Mikey had followed the doctor to a trauma room and entered as the doctor opened the doors for him.

"I'll leave you alone for a while. There is a chair in the corner. Again, I'm sorry." Mikey waited for the doctor to leave before pulling up a chair next to Gerard. He felt the hurt welling up inside of him as he stared at his brother's lifeless form. His skin was pale and blended in with the hospital sheets. His dark hair fell damply around his face, framing his features. He looked so peaceful, almost like he was sleeping. Except for the absence of his chest rising and falling, Mikey almost believed that was all he was doing. He took Gerard's hand, noticing how much bigger and darker his looked on top his brothers. He hated how cold his hands felt.

"Gerard..." Mikey began softly, letting the tears fall. "Why? Why did you do this?" He could feel the anger rising in his throat now.

"Why didn't you talk to me? Why didn't you ask for fucking help?" He knew his voice was rising but he couldn't help it.

"What the fuck am I going to do now?!"

Gerard remained silent.