The Fantasy

Frank sat at the dinner table, pushing his food around his plate. It wasn’t because of the searing pain in his ribs that made food hard to digest or the bruises on his body which made simple tasks such as lifting a fork to his mouth difficult that had put him off his food. It was the same thought that had circled his mind since he left Ray standing alone in the changing room. He had fucked up. He hadn’t thought about what he was doing and now he had gone and gotten himself caught.

He swallowed hard, looking up at his mother who was chatting away to him as she ate. He didn’t listen, frankly he didn’t care. How could you have been so stupid he thought bitterly. He knew what would happen next, they would arrest Gerard and he would never see him again. A huge wave of sadness quickly washed over him, he didn’t want to think about that. He was nothing without Gerard. There was no way he could cope without him now. With him, he felt safe, secure, as though the world around them no longer mattered. Sure he had a temper but he could never date anyone boring.

Besides, all couples fought...right?

“Frank...Frank!” A voice called out, breaking through Frank’s thoughts. He snapped back to reality, staring up into the concerned eyes of his mother; her face a mixture of annoyance and worry as she sat before him, trying to suss out what was going on with her son. “See, this is what I’m talking about. You’re becoming more distant from me and you barely speak to me anymore. You’ve barely even touched your food” She groaned, gesturing towards his plate. Mrs Iero sighed, reaching out to touch her sons hand when he flinched at her touch. Her dark eyes narrowed, she knew something wasn’t right. He had never been this jumpy in his life.

“What’s wrong Frank, you can tell me?” She said softly. Frank sighed heavily, dragging his hands down his face as he rose from the table. He didn’t want to have this conversation with her, what happened in his life was none of her business. “Frank? FRANK! Don’t just walk away from me” She cried angrily, standing up and grabbing his arm; snatching him back. He winced in pain, biting his lip in order to silence his cries. He wished she hadn’t of done that. “FUCK OFF MUM, this has nothing to do with you” He screamed in her face, snatching his arm away from her.

Mrs Iero lashed out, smacking Frank across the cheek; imprinting a large red hand mark on his face as he staggered back. He gingerly pressed his fingers against his cheek, staring up at his mother with a look of horror plastered across his face. She had never hit him before.

In that moment, policemen burst through the door, rushing into the kitchen to find Frank cowering against the kitchen counter with a large red hand print across his face. The leading officer quickly grabbed Mrs Iero’s arms, arresting her on the spot and led her out of the house. “You can’t do this. I haven’t done anything. Frankie tell them. I haven’t laid a finger on you” She screamed, pleading her innocence as the policeman dragged her kicking and screaming outside to the police car. Frank slowly followed them, remaining silent as he stood in the doorway of his house, watching two policemen force his mother into the car. He swallowed hard, a mixture of guilt and shock washing over him as he struggled to come to terms with what had happened.

Child abuse?

His mother wasn’t a child abuser?

So why didn’t you speak up? A voice inside his head spoke. Frank hung his head in shame. He knew exactly why he kept his mouth shut. Because he would rather have thrown his own mother under the bus instead of his teacher.

A large hand suddenly rested upon his shoulder. Frank jumped at its touch, turning around to face a large burly police officer. “Have you got anywhere you can stay tonight? We’ll need to keep your mother in for questioning” The policeman explained. Frank hesitated, unsure of what to say. He didn’t have a father or any other family he could go to. He looked up into the emotionless face of the police officer, flashing a weak smile. “I’ll be staying at a friend’s house” He replied nervously. The policeman nodded, clearing his throat as he hooked his thumbs into the loop of his trousers. “Go and grab your things, I’ll give you a lift” he replied matter-of-factly.

From a distance, Gerard watched the scene unfold. A feeling of guilt creeping up on him as it dawned on him that this was all his fault.He had lost Frank the only family he had. But as he watched Frank climb into the police car with his belongings, a thin smile spread across his face, numbing the feeling of guilt that had once again tried to engulf his thoughts. He knew exactly where he would go. He was predictable like that. “You just can’t stay away” He muttered sinisterly, shoving his hands into his pockets and slunk away from the street.

Notes

So Frank and Gerard will be living together for a while...we all know what that means

I dont know if anyone will read this (or care for that matter) but today is the day I find out whether or not I get into University. I'm really nervous about the results and I keep having panic attacks every time I think about it. So if this chapter seems really shit, I'm sorry I'm just really stressed and I promise to write something better next time x

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