Everything Will Be OK

I felt a sharp pain in my side as I remained still on the ground. Gerard rushed over to me. He was now standing over me. “Taylor, are you ok? It seemed like she hurt you bad.” He mumbled, as he kneeled down beside me. “Yeah-yeah…I’m fine. She just kicked me in my stomach that’s all. She has done much worse before.” I could see the bruise that my stepmother left on Gerard’s face.I tried to lift myself up, but the pain was too excruciating. I groaned in agony. “Here, let me just take a look.” He said, as he lifted my shirt to reveal my stomach. He gave me an alarmed look. “What’s wrong?” I asked worried. “Your stomach is really beaten up!” He exclaimed. “She has been beating you up a lot recently, hasn’t she?” I didn’t have the guts to tell him about everything she had done to me the past few days. I stood silent, trying my best to not show any emotion. I finally decided to confess. “Yeah-she has been getting her anger out on me a lot lately. But it’s been much worse than before. Ever since my dad had been checked into the hospital, all she does is yell and hit me. He gave me a sympathetic look. “We’re going to have to clean up these wounds when we get home.” He spoke quietly. I furrowed my eyebrows. “What do you mean?” He held my back to lift my body up. “Well, now that you’re not living with your stepmother anymore, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if I take you in to live with me and Mikey.” He exchanged me a weak smile. “Gerard, I can’t let you do that… “He cut me off. “I’m not going to let you be homeless, the least I can do is have you stay at my house till you can get back on your feet.”I finally gave in. “Ok, I’ll take your offer…But on one condition. He gave me a puzzled look. “I will stay with you if you let me help pay for the rent.” I said. “Taylor, that’s ridiculous! You don’t need to pay for anything. Plus, you don’t have enough money to pay for your part since you don’t even have a job.” I rolled my eyes. “Gerard, I could easily get one.” I argued. “For fuck sake, you were just kicked out of your own home. You are not going to pay a penny!” I could tell he was done arguing. “Fine…” He then walked me to his car. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done.” I said. I held myself close to him as he embraced me in a hug.” Anything for you.”

We then arrived at Gerard’s house.We walked in through the front door and took off our shoes and jackets. “Is Mikey home?” I asked. “Yeah, he’s probably just up in his room playing video games or something.” I nodded in understanding. “Here, why don’t we go up to talk to him about you living with us now? He’ll be ecstatic.” I giggled. We hurried up the stairs to Mikey’s bedroom. He knocked on the door. “Hey Mikey, can I talk to you for a second?” There were a few minutes of silence. “Go away!” Mikey yelled from the other side of the door. I gave Gerard a questionable look. “What was that all about?” I asked quietly, not wanting Mikey to hear. “Ugh, he’s still mad at me from something I did a while ago. I keep on apologizing to him, but he continues to ignore me.” He sighed. “Mikey, please it’s important.” He grunted. “I said go away!” Mikey hissed. “Taylors here…” There was an awkward silence until we heard the door unlock. Mikey opened the door to face us. He refused to make contact with Gerard, but he instantly turned his gazes onto me. “Hello Taylor.” He mumbled. “Hi Mikey.” I replied awkwardly. “So what the hell do you want to talk to me about?” Mikey asked impatiently, now facing Gerard. “Taylor needs a place to live, so I offered her to stay with us for a while. “Mikey’s frown turned her into a slight grin. “So what do you think? “Gerard asked. “That’s great. It will almost be like having a sister.” I giggled. His grin grew wider. “Well now that that’s settled, I better get the guestroom setup for you. But before we do that, we better wash you up.” I shook my head in agreement. “Mikey, while I get her all cleaned up, I want you to order us some pizza for dinner tonight, ok?” Gerard spoke. “Ok!” Mikey said excitedly.

Gerard brought me into one of the bathrooms on the upstairs floor. “Just wait here for a minute while I find a washcloth. After a few minutes of waiting, he finally came back. He damped the washcloth in warm water and wiped the dirt off my face. I lifted my shirt halfway so he could wrap the gauze around my stomach. “This should make your bruises go away in about a few days.” He gave me a weak smile. “She didn’t hurt you anywhere else, did she?” I lowered my head. “Well- umm my…my back.” His face look worried.He went behind me to look at my back as he gasped. “What happened? Why are there cuts on your back?” Gerard asked frantically. “My stepmother was drunk… and she threw a glass beer bottle at my back…” I whimpered. “Oh my god. That’s horrible!” He exclaimed. “When did she do that?” he asked. “A few days ago…” I hesitated. “I’m so glad you are here with me now. Who knows what else she would have done if you stayed…” He washed the cuts and covered them in bandages. “Ok were done now.” I yawned from exhaustion. “You’ve had a long day, I think you should get some rest. I’ll wake you up when it’s time for dinner.” He handed me some blankets and a pillow. “You can take a nap in my bedroom for now, since the guest bedroom isn’t set up yet.” I grinned. “Ok, thank you.” I said wearily, as I headed over to his bedroom to sleep.

Notes