Safe?.... Never! (Re-edited for easier reading)

Gerard didn't know how long he'd been there. He'd lost track of the days, the weeks.. the months.
He spent more time unconscious than awake now, and time was just slipping away, like sand through an hourglass.
He'd been left alone for some, indeterminate amount of time.. though he didn't know for sure, he thought it was several days.

The room was like an icebox, but Gerard was almost too far gone to shiver.
He hadn't eaten or drunk a thing in over a week, and he knew, that he was nearing the end.

Flashes of memory played in his fractured mind.

A birthday party, when he was 13, maybe 14. Frank giving him that damn hamster. The one that escaped a week later, and chewed through an electric cable, killing itself, and somehow shorting out the whole house.

A school trip to The Bronx Zoo. Feeding the elephants, then having to hold Frankie's hand as he squeezed his eyes shut while they wandered through the insect exhibit, cos he'd been told they had tarantulas.

Christmas, just last year. Before all this Bert shit. When Gerard could still see, and Frank spent all day, making it his best Christmas ever.

Gerard couldn't cry anymore. There wasn't enough fluid left in his thin, dried up body, for that. But he mourned the loss of the life he'd had.. knowing that, before too much more time had passed, he would die, lost, and alone in this frozen place.

As he slid back into dark oblivion, the only sound in the room, the quiet wheeze of air as it struggled to inflate his weakened lungs, he thought he saw a light through the black, but then again...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frank had stopped communicating with everyone now. They all believed that Gerard was dead, and that he should just let him go.
He refused to let him go!
Frank knew, he felt it, that Gerard was still alive. Out there, somewhere, just waiting to be found, and brought home.
No one else believed.. not even Mikey.

Frank had been shocked the day Mikey and Ray told him that they were thinking of holding a memorial service.
He'd shouted and screamed at them that Gerard was not dead, then he'd thrown them out of his house. He hadn't spoken to them since. That was nearly a month ago now, and the only visitor he ever received these days, was Bob.
Frank still opened the door to him, and pretended to listen as Bob waffled on about his day, but he didn't care. Bob was still too happy for Frank's liking, but he just didn't have the strength left in him to tell to man to go.

It was five painful months since Gerard was snatched from his life, and Frank was, as always, sat on the sofa, staring at the wall.
A quiet knock on the door broke him from his dark thoughts.
For a moment, he considered ignoring it. Then the knock came again, this time, louder.
Groaning exhaustedly, Frank hauled himself to his feet, and stumbled weakly over to the door. When was the last time he'd bothered to eat, anyway?.. He couldn't quite remember, and didn't really care.

Opening the door, while leaning his weight against the frame, an unwashed, unshaven Frank took a few seconds to recognise the man that stood before him. It seemed like a lifetime since they'd talked.

"Hi Frank.."

The man spoke, softly.

".. How you doing?"

Frank blinked up at him, not really sure what to say, then gestured for him to come inside.

"It's been a while.."

Frank ignored the man's query.

".. Why are you here, Callum?"

The detective frowned, glancing around the messy room, beer cans and empty takeout cartons on every surface.

"I have news for you.. You might want to sit down.."

Frank looked the other man in the eye, his guts twisting fiercely.

"Just tell me, Callum.. Please, just tell me?"....

Notes

Hi there chipmunks..
It's been a while!
Do you all remember Detective Callum Blue? From the first story?.. Well, he's back! Though probably not for long.
please comment, and tell me what news you think Callum has for Frankie.
peace out babies
<3