Gerard's Way

The young boy sighed as he lifted yet another box and carried it into the room labeled on its side. He’d been doing this for the last three hours and still had far more work ahead of him. The boy dropped the box onto a couch still covered in thick plastic and went back to get another. His shoulders tensed and stung from having to lift yet more weight than they had already been pushed to all afternoon. It wasn’t like the boy was alone either. A man sat in the only free chair; he was big, well equipped to handle heavy lifting, and still he sat and watched the boy as he continued until, finally, the last box was in its place. Wiping his brow with the back of his hand the boy bent and cut through the sealing tape and opened up the box. The man in the chair took out a pack of smokes, took one out, and lit it up as his emotionless eyes stayed locked on the boy.
The boy ran a pale, long-fingered hand through his messy black hair and rubbed his face. The dark rings under his eyes told of sleepless nights and the dull expression only served to confirm that. He couldn’t have been older than eighteen; he was tall for his age, though leanly muscled. His porcelain skin looked like he hadn’t been in the sun for quite some time yet it didn’t have the clammy look that usually came with pallor. The boy reached out and took out the first item in the box; it was a family photo. There was his baby brother next to his twin sister, and their parents, all standing beside a much younger version of the boy himself. A slight smile tugged at his lips as he placed the frame on the mantle above the fireplace.
Two hours later the living room looked like they had lived there for years, everything had its own place; the boy looked even more exhausted, and the man still hadn’t gotten up to help. The boy’s head shot up as he heard a car pull into their drive; he looked relieved more than anything else. The man finally stood up and walked over to the boy.

“Gerard, I need to talk to your mother; take your brother and sister and some boxes and take them to your room.” The man waited expectantly as the boy nodded and mumbled ‘yes, sir’ before he moved off in the direction of the front door. The boy, Gerard, picked up a couple of the boxes in the other room and took them with him to the front where the stairs were. He walked in at the same time as his brother and sister; they walked over to him and smiled slightly.

“We need to take some boxes to my room,” Gerard glanced in the direction of their father. His twin gave him a confused look.

“Isn’t dad here?” Jamia frowned when he nodded. Mikey simply stayed silent, like he had since mom had told him about the divorce.

“Yeah, he asked me to take you guys and some upstairs boxes to my room so we could start unpacking.” Jamia looked a little hurt, and Gerard knew it was because of their dad’s blow-off. The three of them went together to load up boxes before climbing the stairs to the upstairs hall; they opened the door that looked like it led to a closet to expose another set of stairs. When they reached the top, Gerard’s spacious attic room opened before them. The room was big; it had thick carpets, its own small balcony, and its own bathroom. Gerard’s furniture was already set up, so they dumped the boxes on the floor and sat on the bed.

“Did dad say why he wanted us out of the way?” Jamia asked, her voice hopeful despite her dejected expression. Gerard just shook his head and looked away. Jamia was Gerard’s twin, yet despite her age she was still very innocent in some regards. She still had hope that their father cared, that he wouldn’t go through with the divorce, hope that he wouldn’t abandon them. But her hope was useless; Gerard had seen the papers that their father had brought with him. He wanted them out of the way so that he could shove the papers at their mom, get her to sign them and then he would leave and they wouldn’t ever see him again. Gerard didn’t think that was so bad, but then his sister had never had to see their father angry; he was glad of that. Gerard turned his mossy green gaze on his little brother. Mikey was a little shorter than him, with blonde hair that hung into his face and eyes more hazel than the green that Gerard and Jamia shared. Mikey was only sixteen, and like his older sister, hadn’t been able to process the divorce yet. For the last six months, no one but Gerard and Jamia had heard Mikey speak. His silence was telling; he was normally such a bubbly person.

“No, but I guess it’s not our business anymore either way.” Gerard stood up and stretched his aching muscles. Leaving his siblings to sit and talk quietly. He hunted through the boxes that littered his room until he found the one he was looking for. The label said it was art supplies, so Gerard carried it over to his desk and began putting all his stuff away. It wasn’t long before he had unpacked all his art, clothing, and most of his immense music collection. In another five minutes he had his stereo set up and music playing. Jamia watched her brother closely; his exhaustion was obvious. But she knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep properly for a little while. Gerard had never slept well in new places.
Jamia waited patiently for her twin to finish with his stuff, it didn’t take him long. Gerard was a total perfectionist, at least when it came to his art. Gerard walked back over to his sister and sat next to her, his hand clasping hers gently. They didn’t have to think about it, it was so natural for them. Mikey shifted closer to his siblings, it wasn’t that he felt left out, he just liked being close to them.
The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs dragged their attention away from their thoughts. Gerard stood slowly and stepped between the door and his siblings. Behind him, Jamia held Mikey close, his panic lasting only as long as he was feeling alone. Their father pushed the door open without bothering to knock and stopped short at the sight of his children huddling, his youngest son practically cowering, at his approach. Gerard stepped forward, his face stony.

“Let me guess: she signed them and you’re leaving and you’re sorry?” Gerard crossed his arms and glared at his father. His siblings remained silent. Their father opened his mouth to defend himself but closed it when he couldn’t think of what to say. “Yeah. That’s what I thought. Get the fuck out of my room.” Gerard continued to glare until their father got the message and walked out. As Gerard turned back to his brother and sister, all he could think was: does it get any better?

Notes

Hey, let me know what you think ^_^ I'm a little nervous tbh