It's a not so secret, secret
28
Frank’s POV
The phone is cold pressed against my ear and I sigh heavily, leaning on the wall. After only two rings, the line is picked up, Gerard’s voice reaching me through the phone. “Frank?”
I sigh again, this time feeling a small amount of relief at just hearing his voice. “Yeah, it’s me.”
“What the fuck is going on!?” Gerard demands. I can hear some noise in the background and I assume he’s moving away from the probing ears of Mikey and Nathan.
“They found the pictures on my phone,” I explain calmly. “The ones Billie sent when he had Nathan. But, Gee, there were more. They were fucking sick. He was--” I choke a little on the words and take a deep breath to compose myself before I can continue. “Nathan was blindfolded and--” I choke on the words again and shake my head, feeling the tears building in my eyes. “Fuck, Gerard. Billie did this to him because of me. Nathan was raped because of some fourteen year old grudge that this fucker has against me.”
“Hey, hey…” Gerard hushes me on the other end of the line, trying his best to sooth me through the phone but his voice is strained. “Frankie, Nathan doesn’t blame you for this. None of this is your fault. This happened because Billie is a fucking psycho, okay?”
I close my eyes and shake my head again. Gerard sighs and I hear the phone being shifted hands before Nathan’s voice hits me. “Dad?”
I swallow hard and try to hide the tears in my voice. “Hey buddy.”
“Dad, what the hell is going on?” Nathan demands. “Where are you?”
“Jail,” I admit. “They’re keeping me here until they can confirm my story.”
Nathan is quiet for a long moment, his voice lowered when he eventually speaks again. “Did you tell them?” He wonders. “Did you tell them what Billie did to me?”
I nod, though he can’t see. “Yeah. I did.” Nathan takes in a shaky breath and I hurry on before he has a chance to react. “I had to, Nate. Billie’s sick, okay? And he has to pay for what he did to you. He raped you. Fuck, Nathan…” Well, here it goes. I guess there’s no better time to be honest than when I’m standing in a police station talking to my son with a guard standing off along the far wall scrutinizing my every move. “He raped me, too.”
More silence. For a long time, I don’t even know if he heard me, but the shallow breaths on the other end of the line confirm that he did. I simply wait, not sure what else to say and just waiting for Nathan to say something first.
“Dad…” Nathan whimpers, tears apparent in his soft voice. I hate hearing him cry. “I didn’t know. Why the hell didn’t you tell me before?”
I shrug, shifting against the wall. “There’s a lot you don’t know about my past, Nate. But I promise I’m gonna tell you everything, okay? As soon as I get back home, I’m gonna tell you everything.”
I can practically hear him chewing on his lip, a habit he picked up from me. “When are you allowed to come back?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I told the officers all I know about Billie and they put out an APB. He’s already in the system from a few years back so someone went to check his apartment.” I bite down on my own lip nervously. “As soon as they catch him, I should be able to go.”
“Is he--” Nathan hesitates, swallowing hard before he continues. “Is he going to jail?”
“For a long time,” I nod. “Even if they can’t pin the photos on him, they’ll still have him for kidnap and statutory. That is… If you’re willing to testify.”
More agonizing silence. If Nathan decides not to press charges and speak out against Billie, confirm to a judge that the sick fucker held him there against his will and raped him, then he’ll go free. I can’t let that happen.
Eventually Nathan sighs. “Yeah.” He agrees in a quiet voice. “I want to testify. I don’t want that bastard ever getting out.”
I smile a little before I hear the guard speak up behind me. “Time’s up, Iero,” He says. “The officers just got back.”
I nod and turn back to the phone. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you soon, though, okay? I love you, Nate. Tell Gee I love him, too.”
I hang up the phone and move back to the interrogation table in the center of the room, only just sitting down when the officer from before storms in. He sits across from me without a word, resting his elbows on the table and folding his arms. The questions are eating at my insides and the silence is too much as I lean forward anxiously. “Was he there?” I ask. “Did you get him?”
The officer shakes his head. “He wasn’t there,” He says and it feels like my heart sinks. “The place was trashed and it was obvious stuff was missing.”
“What does that mean?” I demand. “Are you staking out his place? In case he comes back?”
“I don’t think he’ll be coming back,” The officer says in a heavy Jersey accent. “I think he knew we were coming and he hauled ass out of there as fast as he could.”
“So you have nothing.” I huff out a breath and lean back in my chair, crossing my arms dejectedly.
“I wouldn’t say that.” The man leans forward, meeting my eyes and narrowing his own. “We found a cell phone at the scene. It had the same pictures we found on yours, plus a few more. We think whoever owned it sent them to you to frame you.”
I instantly perk up. “So someone sent me the photos and then called the police to tell them I had child porn.”
The officer is nodding along, confirming my suspicions. “But the plan backfired when you told us about Billie.”
I shake my head, confused. “So who sent the pictures to me in the first place? Billie?”
“I don’t think so.” The officer sighs, shifting again. “The phone was found next to a body.”
“A body?” I gape at him, my mouth falling open. “Like a dead one?”
The officer rolls his eyes. “No a body of water. Yes a dead body.”
I cock an eyebrow and bite back any sarcastic repsonse. “Who’s body?”
“You might recognize him,” The officer produces a photo from inside his trench coat and lays it on the table between us. “My guess is, this guy sent the photos in an attempt to frame you. When the plan backfired, Billie snapped and killed him.” I look down at the photo, flinching when I see the broken body of a man, head cracked open and spilling blood down the side of his face. I lean closer. “He’s the other man in the photos with your son and Billie. He’s been identified as Alex Gaskarth. We think Billie killed him.”
The phone is cold pressed against my ear and I sigh heavily, leaning on the wall. After only two rings, the line is picked up, Gerard’s voice reaching me through the phone. “Frank?”
I sigh again, this time feeling a small amount of relief at just hearing his voice. “Yeah, it’s me.”
“What the fuck is going on!?” Gerard demands. I can hear some noise in the background and I assume he’s moving away from the probing ears of Mikey and Nathan.
“They found the pictures on my phone,” I explain calmly. “The ones Billie sent when he had Nathan. But, Gee, there were more. They were fucking sick. He was--” I choke a little on the words and take a deep breath to compose myself before I can continue. “Nathan was blindfolded and--” I choke on the words again and shake my head, feeling the tears building in my eyes. “Fuck, Gerard. Billie did this to him because of me. Nathan was raped because of some fourteen year old grudge that this fucker has against me.”
“Hey, hey…” Gerard hushes me on the other end of the line, trying his best to sooth me through the phone but his voice is strained. “Frankie, Nathan doesn’t blame you for this. None of this is your fault. This happened because Billie is a fucking psycho, okay?”
I close my eyes and shake my head again. Gerard sighs and I hear the phone being shifted hands before Nathan’s voice hits me. “Dad?”
I swallow hard and try to hide the tears in my voice. “Hey buddy.”
“Dad, what the hell is going on?” Nathan demands. “Where are you?”
“Jail,” I admit. “They’re keeping me here until they can confirm my story.”
Nathan is quiet for a long moment, his voice lowered when he eventually speaks again. “Did you tell them?” He wonders. “Did you tell them what Billie did to me?”
I nod, though he can’t see. “Yeah. I did.” Nathan takes in a shaky breath and I hurry on before he has a chance to react. “I had to, Nate. Billie’s sick, okay? And he has to pay for what he did to you. He raped you. Fuck, Nathan…” Well, here it goes. I guess there’s no better time to be honest than when I’m standing in a police station talking to my son with a guard standing off along the far wall scrutinizing my every move. “He raped me, too.”
More silence. For a long time, I don’t even know if he heard me, but the shallow breaths on the other end of the line confirm that he did. I simply wait, not sure what else to say and just waiting for Nathan to say something first.
“Dad…” Nathan whimpers, tears apparent in his soft voice. I hate hearing him cry. “I didn’t know. Why the hell didn’t you tell me before?”
I shrug, shifting against the wall. “There’s a lot you don’t know about my past, Nate. But I promise I’m gonna tell you everything, okay? As soon as I get back home, I’m gonna tell you everything.”
I can practically hear him chewing on his lip, a habit he picked up from me. “When are you allowed to come back?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I told the officers all I know about Billie and they put out an APB. He’s already in the system from a few years back so someone went to check his apartment.” I bite down on my own lip nervously. “As soon as they catch him, I should be able to go.”
“Is he--” Nathan hesitates, swallowing hard before he continues. “Is he going to jail?”
“For a long time,” I nod. “Even if they can’t pin the photos on him, they’ll still have him for kidnap and statutory. That is… If you’re willing to testify.”
More agonizing silence. If Nathan decides not to press charges and speak out against Billie, confirm to a judge that the sick fucker held him there against his will and raped him, then he’ll go free. I can’t let that happen.
Eventually Nathan sighs. “Yeah.” He agrees in a quiet voice. “I want to testify. I don’t want that bastard ever getting out.”
I smile a little before I hear the guard speak up behind me. “Time’s up, Iero,” He says. “The officers just got back.”
I nod and turn back to the phone. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you soon, though, okay? I love you, Nate. Tell Gee I love him, too.”
I hang up the phone and move back to the interrogation table in the center of the room, only just sitting down when the officer from before storms in. He sits across from me without a word, resting his elbows on the table and folding his arms. The questions are eating at my insides and the silence is too much as I lean forward anxiously. “Was he there?” I ask. “Did you get him?”
The officer shakes his head. “He wasn’t there,” He says and it feels like my heart sinks. “The place was trashed and it was obvious stuff was missing.”
“What does that mean?” I demand. “Are you staking out his place? In case he comes back?”
“I don’t think he’ll be coming back,” The officer says in a heavy Jersey accent. “I think he knew we were coming and he hauled ass out of there as fast as he could.”
“So you have nothing.” I huff out a breath and lean back in my chair, crossing my arms dejectedly.
“I wouldn’t say that.” The man leans forward, meeting my eyes and narrowing his own. “We found a cell phone at the scene. It had the same pictures we found on yours, plus a few more. We think whoever owned it sent them to you to frame you.”
I instantly perk up. “So someone sent me the photos and then called the police to tell them I had child porn.”
The officer is nodding along, confirming my suspicions. “But the plan backfired when you told us about Billie.”
I shake my head, confused. “So who sent the pictures to me in the first place? Billie?”
“I don’t think so.” The officer sighs, shifting again. “The phone was found next to a body.”
“A body?” I gape at him, my mouth falling open. “Like a dead one?”
The officer rolls his eyes. “No a body of water. Yes a dead body.”
I cock an eyebrow and bite back any sarcastic repsonse. “Who’s body?”
“You might recognize him,” The officer produces a photo from inside his trench coat and lays it on the table between us. “My guess is, this guy sent the photos in an attempt to frame you. When the plan backfired, Billie snapped and killed him.” I look down at the photo, flinching when I see the broken body of a man, head cracked open and spilling blood down the side of his face. I lean closer. “He’s the other man in the photos with your son and Billie. He’s been identified as Alex Gaskarth. We think Billie killed him.”
Notes
First: I know it took me a really long time to update and I'm so freaking sorry >_<<br> Second: I actually don't know who Mcrlove412 had in mind when she made Alex's character, but I always imagined him as Alex Gaskarth.Third: WHOA! :)
-RachelMisery867
@What the fuck way
Your so very welcome! <3
12/31/16