A Surprise Party?
Chapter Six
"Maid!" a shrill woman announces as she pounds on the door. I look over to Gerard. It's 10:32. I've been up for awhile, but Gerard was still knocked out.
"Not now...." he groans into the pillow.
"Maid!" she says again, not hearing him.
"Go away!" he shouts. I let out the loudest and most feminine moan I can. I hear her cart pull away immediately. Gerard looks up at me,
"What the fuck was that?" He says before bursting into laughter. I do too. He rolls over and stares at the ceiling for a few minutes before groaning "Might as well get up now...." and stumbling off to the bathroom. I get dressed and so does he. He sits down on one of the filthy arm chairs and lights up a wake up cigarette. I let him smoke it a bit before asking,
"So what about that fun you promised last night?" He chuckles and takes another lazy drag, looking out the small window.
"That's for later tonight. Today we drive."
And we drive, fuck do we drive. Gerard seems to have endless patients for this shit. I also noticed he smokes like a fucking fiend.
We drive.
Gerard pulls into a dusty old gas station off the highway. He gasses up and I go in to take a piss and get him more cigarettes, 'Not camels though, those are yuck as fuck.'.
I'm up at the register and I see the cashier clearly doesn't want to be here. He's got a cheesy little cop mustache and a haircut like Pa fucking Ingles. I bet he thinks he's too cool for this joint. I smirk to myself.
We drive.
We drive.
Finally Gerard decides that's enough for one day and pulls into another dirty 10 room hotel around seven. We get the suitcases under the bed and stretch for a bit. Gerard sit down on one of the chairs.
"So are we ever going to use anything from the second suitcase? When?" I ask.
"Whatever comes our way, Frankie." I nod. I like that. "Easy transport too."
"Fun?" I ask. He chuckles. He seems tired.
"C'mon."
We drive around the tiny town called Cotton Grove, trying to find something. There's nothing. A grocery store closed for the night, a diner, a school, a rundown bar, and a cemetery. We decide on the diner first, we're starving. Gerard says we can just walk around freely because we're almost to Ohio and we haven't done too much shit for there to be a nation wide look out for us, 'Yet'.
"What can I get you boys?" a plump waitress asks. We just get two orders of classic burgers and fries. We sit listening to the heartbeat of the diner. It's how you'd picture a warm mother's.
"So what's the deal with you and your parents?" Gerard pulls me out of my thoughts. I hadn't thought he cared.
"Um. Uh. Well...." he genuinely wants to know. "They just never really wanted me," I state simply. "But then my dad had the heart attack and he just kinda bummed around the house all day. Couldn't work. Only then did they pretend that the wanted me. Only to work and pay the bills though." he nods knowingly.
I think back to the first night, when Gerard asked me if he should kill his father. Sure my parent weren't the best, but I've never wanted to kill them. What could his father have done? Gerard seemed so crazy that night, I mean he's still fucked, but I have a better understanding of him now. I still don't know anything about him, but I understand him a bit more now. He didn't actually want to kill his dad that night, that's why he asked me. Under that crazy adrenaline rush all he wanted was relief.
I want to ask him about his past, but I'm scared he'll get mad. I mean, I've never really seen him mad, but I'm just scared with this he might.
"You want coffee, hun?" the waitress asks as she takes our plates away. I nod, and so does he. She pours our coffee and walks away. Gerard lights an after dinner cigarette.
"So why did we even wear the bandanas if everyone knows who did it anyway?" I wonder very quietly over my coffee mug.
"Just looks cool." he explains. There's the Gerard I missed.
We drive around in the dark a bit more before settling on the sleazy rundown bar. Gerard walks in like he owns the place and I follow sheepishly behind him. I've never actually been in a bar. No one to go with, no reason to. I sit on one of the tall stools and my feet don't touch the floor. Gerard giggles and leans up against the bar next to me.
"So how old are you Frankie? Sixteen? Seventeen?"
"Nineteen." I mumble, looking down.
"What? Really....."
"Yeah I know." I snap. He giggles again.
"What can I get you?" the bartender interrupts my embarrassment. Gerard looks to me.
"Uh... Just a beer." I say.
"Two." Gerard adds.
Nine beers later Gerard's a bit sloppy to say the least. I've only had two and I'm barely buzzed but he's just downing them. Gerard's just babbling about totally random shit. From muscle cars, to cats, to cool coats, to his favorite fucking flowers. It's actually really funny. The bar it pretty rockin' for such a shithole town. Satan's rock n' roll music is blasting from the speakers, girls dancing, people laughing.
All of a sudden Gerard swings around and almost falls on his ass. "What did you fucking say?" He asks the two guys behind us. One's wearing bellbottom jeans and a tie-dyed t-shirt, and the other's in a tight plaid button up rolled to his elbows. The both need a haircut, its too long and not in a cool way.
"Whoa dude." Tie-Dye says.
"What did you say about Nam?" Gerard says.
"Oh." he says. "I said we're getting our asses kicked and the soldiers are just a bunch of pussies."
"Oh? And what make you say that?" Gerard slurs.
"If men just stopped going they'd be forced to leave! They're all just too pussy for the jail time. Or they sign up for it!" he says, clearly picking up that Gerard was in Nam.
"So this is our fault is it?" Gerard shouts.
"Of course it's your fault!"
"Listen, now I don't agree with the war as much as you, but the second you start fucking with the soldiers that's, where you're wrong. You have no fucking clue what anyone of us have been through."
Tie-Dye spits in Gerard's face like I've see so many times on the news. Gerard throws the first punch.
Now I'm driving a sobbing Gerard back to the motel. I managed to get him off that dude pretty quickly, and get out of there fast. I'm not waiting around for people to start asking questions. "Frankie it was horrible!" he cries between sobs. He's kneeling on the floor and bent over the seat, his arms are hugged around it and his face is buried in the back part. "There was so many dead people! And there was just arms laying around! And... And, And." Now he's babbling about some Mikey. I try not to listen to him.
I pull into the parking lot and park in front of our room. "I wasn't there for my own brother because I couldn't keep it in my fucking pants!" sticks out between all the incoherent babbling and sobs. Finally I look over to him. I'm scared. I don't know what to do, what to say, what to think.
"What, Gerard?" I ask. He chokes up.
"Mikey!" he whimpers.
"Who is that? Is that your brother?" He nods.
"What happened to him?" I ask.
"I-I-I wasn't there to protect him."
"You weren't where?"
"In Vietnam!" He whines. What? Not in Vietnam?
"I thought you did go? Why weren't you there?" he sniffles.
"I-I got caught sucking a dude's dick so I got sent home." Oh, fuck.
"Um... Well... Why was Mikey there too?"
"When I got drafted stupid Mikey had to go and sign up! He thought he was going to be like me or something! After I got sent home Mikey got killed!" he breaks into another round of sobbing. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
"C'mon Gerard, let go inside. We'll get you in bed and you can calm down and sleep it off. Okay?" He sniffles a few times and nods. I get out and walk around to his door. I pull him out and help him to room number 4. I undress him, the whole time he cries quietly, and settle him under the blanket.
"Frankie, lie down next to me." he says sadly. I turn the light off and undress myself, climb into bed next to Gerard and wait for him to make himself comfortable around my body. He still cries softly into my chest until he drifts off to sleep.
The next morning he doesn't seem to remember anything after the diner. Or maybe he just pretends not too. Good. If we talk about it he might start crying, and I don't know If I can handle sad Gerard.
"Not now...." he groans into the pillow.
"Maid!" she says again, not hearing him.
"Go away!" he shouts. I let out the loudest and most feminine moan I can. I hear her cart pull away immediately. Gerard looks up at me,
"What the fuck was that?" He says before bursting into laughter. I do too. He rolls over and stares at the ceiling for a few minutes before groaning "Might as well get up now...." and stumbling off to the bathroom. I get dressed and so does he. He sits down on one of the filthy arm chairs and lights up a wake up cigarette. I let him smoke it a bit before asking,
"So what about that fun you promised last night?" He chuckles and takes another lazy drag, looking out the small window.
"That's for later tonight. Today we drive."
And we drive, fuck do we drive. Gerard seems to have endless patients for this shit. I also noticed he smokes like a fucking fiend.
We drive.
Gerard pulls into a dusty old gas station off the highway. He gasses up and I go in to take a piss and get him more cigarettes, 'Not camels though, those are yuck as fuck.'.
I'm up at the register and I see the cashier clearly doesn't want to be here. He's got a cheesy little cop mustache and a haircut like Pa fucking Ingles. I bet he thinks he's too cool for this joint. I smirk to myself.
We drive.
We drive.
Finally Gerard decides that's enough for one day and pulls into another dirty 10 room hotel around seven. We get the suitcases under the bed and stretch for a bit. Gerard sit down on one of the chairs.
"So are we ever going to use anything from the second suitcase? When?" I ask.
"Whatever comes our way, Frankie." I nod. I like that. "Easy transport too."
"Fun?" I ask. He chuckles. He seems tired.
"C'mon."
We drive around the tiny town called Cotton Grove, trying to find something. There's nothing. A grocery store closed for the night, a diner, a school, a rundown bar, and a cemetery. We decide on the diner first, we're starving. Gerard says we can just walk around freely because we're almost to Ohio and we haven't done too much shit for there to be a nation wide look out for us, 'Yet'.
"What can I get you boys?" a plump waitress asks. We just get two orders of classic burgers and fries. We sit listening to the heartbeat of the diner. It's how you'd picture a warm mother's.
"So what's the deal with you and your parents?" Gerard pulls me out of my thoughts. I hadn't thought he cared.
"Um. Uh. Well...." he genuinely wants to know. "They just never really wanted me," I state simply. "But then my dad had the heart attack and he just kinda bummed around the house all day. Couldn't work. Only then did they pretend that the wanted me. Only to work and pay the bills though." he nods knowingly.
I think back to the first night, when Gerard asked me if he should kill his father. Sure my parent weren't the best, but I've never wanted to kill them. What could his father have done? Gerard seemed so crazy that night, I mean he's still fucked, but I have a better understanding of him now. I still don't know anything about him, but I understand him a bit more now. He didn't actually want to kill his dad that night, that's why he asked me. Under that crazy adrenaline rush all he wanted was relief.
I want to ask him about his past, but I'm scared he'll get mad. I mean, I've never really seen him mad, but I'm just scared with this he might.
"You want coffee, hun?" the waitress asks as she takes our plates away. I nod, and so does he. She pours our coffee and walks away. Gerard lights an after dinner cigarette.
"So why did we even wear the bandanas if everyone knows who did it anyway?" I wonder very quietly over my coffee mug.
"Just looks cool." he explains. There's the Gerard I missed.
We drive around in the dark a bit more before settling on the sleazy rundown bar. Gerard walks in like he owns the place and I follow sheepishly behind him. I've never actually been in a bar. No one to go with, no reason to. I sit on one of the tall stools and my feet don't touch the floor. Gerard giggles and leans up against the bar next to me.
"So how old are you Frankie? Sixteen? Seventeen?"
"Nineteen." I mumble, looking down.
"What? Really....."
"Yeah I know." I snap. He giggles again.
"What can I get you?" the bartender interrupts my embarrassment. Gerard looks to me.
"Uh... Just a beer." I say.
"Two." Gerard adds.
Nine beers later Gerard's a bit sloppy to say the least. I've only had two and I'm barely buzzed but he's just downing them. Gerard's just babbling about totally random shit. From muscle cars, to cats, to cool coats, to his favorite fucking flowers. It's actually really funny. The bar it pretty rockin' for such a shithole town. Satan's rock n' roll music is blasting from the speakers, girls dancing, people laughing.
All of a sudden Gerard swings around and almost falls on his ass. "What did you fucking say?" He asks the two guys behind us. One's wearing bellbottom jeans and a tie-dyed t-shirt, and the other's in a tight plaid button up rolled to his elbows. The both need a haircut, its too long and not in a cool way.
"Whoa dude." Tie-Dye says.
"What did you say about Nam?" Gerard says.
"Oh." he says. "I said we're getting our asses kicked and the soldiers are just a bunch of pussies."
"Oh? And what make you say that?" Gerard slurs.
"If men just stopped going they'd be forced to leave! They're all just too pussy for the jail time. Or they sign up for it!" he says, clearly picking up that Gerard was in Nam.
"So this is our fault is it?" Gerard shouts.
"Of course it's your fault!"
"Listen, now I don't agree with the war as much as you, but the second you start fucking with the soldiers that's, where you're wrong. You have no fucking clue what anyone of us have been through."
Tie-Dye spits in Gerard's face like I've see so many times on the news. Gerard throws the first punch.
Now I'm driving a sobbing Gerard back to the motel. I managed to get him off that dude pretty quickly, and get out of there fast. I'm not waiting around for people to start asking questions. "Frankie it was horrible!" he cries between sobs. He's kneeling on the floor and bent over the seat, his arms are hugged around it and his face is buried in the back part. "There was so many dead people! And there was just arms laying around! And... And, And." Now he's babbling about some Mikey. I try not to listen to him.
I pull into the parking lot and park in front of our room. "I wasn't there for my own brother because I couldn't keep it in my fucking pants!" sticks out between all the incoherent babbling and sobs. Finally I look over to him. I'm scared. I don't know what to do, what to say, what to think.
"What, Gerard?" I ask. He chokes up.
"Mikey!" he whimpers.
"Who is that? Is that your brother?" He nods.
"What happened to him?" I ask.
"I-I-I wasn't there to protect him."
"You weren't where?"
"In Vietnam!" He whines. What? Not in Vietnam?
"I thought you did go? Why weren't you there?" he sniffles.
"I-I got caught sucking a dude's dick so I got sent home." Oh, fuck.
"Um... Well... Why was Mikey there too?"
"When I got drafted stupid Mikey had to go and sign up! He thought he was going to be like me or something! After I got sent home Mikey got killed!" he breaks into another round of sobbing. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
"C'mon Gerard, let go inside. We'll get you in bed and you can calm down and sleep it off. Okay?" He sniffles a few times and nods. I get out and walk around to his door. I pull him out and help him to room number 4. I undress him, the whole time he cries quietly, and settle him under the blanket.
"Frankie, lie down next to me." he says sadly. I turn the light off and undress myself, climb into bed next to Gerard and wait for him to make himself comfortable around my body. He still cries softly into my chest until he drifts off to sleep.
The next morning he doesn't seem to remember anything after the diner. Or maybe he just pretends not too. Good. If we talk about it he might start crying, and I don't know If I can handle sad Gerard.
I stayed up till 4 am reading this and I have absolutely no regrets <3
10/29/15