I Think I Like It

After school on Friday, I went straight to Joe’s place to get ready for the party. Because of the party, I couldn’t stay at Gerard’s house as I normally would on a Friday evening, so I was just going to go to his place on Saturday. He was, as far as I was concerned, completely fine with it, but I couldn’t help but feel a little bit guilty.
“So, you’re sure it’s okay?” I asked for a thousandth time, holding my phone between my shoulder and my ear as I slid my tight jeans over my thighs. Gerard laughed.
“Yes, I’m fine. Mikes is here, I’ll just hang out with him. It’ll be cool.” Gerard replied. I heard something like the click of a bottle cap and froze, jeans halfway up my legs.
“Are you drinking?” I demanded. He sighed.
“Yes, I’m drinking. Is that okay, Mom?” he snapped.
“I thought you didn’t keep alcohol in the house.” I said, squirming on the bed as my ass pushed my jeans back down.
“I don’t keep a lot of it in the house. I’ve got a bit. Mikey said it’s okay.”
“Well, watch him.”
“I think I know how to take care of my own brother, Frank. But thank you. Your 18 year old wisdom is definitely appreciated.” He muttered.
“Just be careful, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep. Night.”
“’Kay, love you.”
“Good.” He said, a smile in his voice, and hung up. I sighed and, finally, managed to slip my jeans over my hips. I was sliding my lip ring into my mouth when Chris poked his head around the door, smiling.
“All good in here?” He asked. I nodded and smiled.
“Yep, all good.”
“I thought I heard you arguing with someone.” He said, raising an eyebrow. I laughed softly.
“Nah. He’s just being an idiot. It’s fine.” I murmured.
“Still so weird to think about, dude.” Chris said, shaking his head. I laughed and bumped him lightly with my hip.
“How about you stop thinkin’ about it then?” I laughed.
“Stop thinking about what?” Joe said.
“Nothing!” both Chris and I said, maybe a little bit too fast. Joe’s eyes flickered between us, but he shrugged it off and smiled again.
“So all the booze and stuff is in the car. You ready?”
“Yeah, let’s do this.” I grinned.

From spending so much of my time with Gerard, I’d kind of forgotten how much fun it was to just hang out with my friends. On the car ride, we smoked cigarettes and played The Misfits so loud we were almost certain all the other cars could hear it.
“So, I have weed.” Joe said suddenly. Chris’ mouth hung open.
“Dude, no. I’m so not about that life.” He said nervously, his eyes darting to me. My mind flicked to Gerard, drinking on his own, probably pissed out of his mind right now, and shrugged.
“Yeah, sure. You got it rolled already?” I asked, leaning back in the seat. Joe passed me back the joint and a lighter, and I lit up, sucking the smoke deep into my lungs. Already I could feel myself getting light-headed and I smiled.
“God, Frank, you’re such an idiot.” Chris hissed. I rolled my eyes as I took another pull.
“Ah, shut up, Chris. It’s not like I’m doing cocaine, is it? Just a bit of weed. Chill.” I said. He only raised an eyebrow at me and mouthed ‘Mr. Way’. I flicked him the finger.
“I don’t give a shit, man.” I sighed out loud. Joe smirked and reached back for the joint, but I tugged it out of his grasp.
“Nuh uh, honey. No drugs while you’re driving.” I smirked. He groaned and tightened his hands on the wheel.
“I should’a got pills.” He murmured.
“No, you really shouldn’t have! Jesus, Frank, that stinks.” Chris glared. I blew smoke out in his direction.
“We’ll see if Anna’s got any.” I murmured, my eyes feeling heavy as I dragged the joint back up to my lips. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I didn’t bother checking it. I’d only brought my Gerard phone with me, so it was either him or Mikey, and either way, they could deal with it themselves. Out of interest, though, I checked, and when Gerard’s name came up, I just rolled my eyes and shoved the phone back into my pocket. As much as I loved Mikey, drunk Gerard was, at this moment in time, his problem. I was too busy having fun to care if my asshole boyfriend was getting drunk or not.

The party was already in full swing by the time we arrived. Anna shot me a weird look when I came in, and dragged Joe to the side. I chuckled.
“I feel like I wasn’t invited.” I said to Chris. He shuffled uncomfortably.
“No, it’s not that.”
“What?” I asked. Chris chuckled.
“You really don’t remember? The Halloween ball?”
“Um, I nearly got fucked into the wall by my English teacher, so yeah, I remember.” I sneered.
“No, God, don’t you remember Anna? She got totally wasted and basically threw herself at you, and you rejected her.” Chris said. I laughed.
“Shit, that was her? I had no idea.”
“Yeah, well, it was.”
“Dude, that was a long time ago. Does she really still hold it against me?”
“She still has a thing for you.” Chris explained, smiling when Joe and Anna returned.
“Hey, Frank. Glad you could make it.” She smiled. I nodded and smiled back, feeling vaguely uncomfortable now that Chris had told me that she had a thing for me.
“Yeah, me too.” I said, hoping it was obvious how high I was.
“Hey, Anna, do you have any pills?” Joe asked quickly. She bit her lip.
“Um. No. I have weed, though.” She shrugged. I sighed and grabbed her wrist.
“Sure thing, show me where it is.” I said, suddenly tired. She nodded and pulled me towards a small group of people huddling by the back door.
“Someone hook Iero up with some weed.” She said, before returning to the main room of the party. A guy who I didn’t even know passed me a joint and I put it between my lips, lighting up.
“How do I know this isn’t laced with some shit?” I asked. The guy laughed.
“You’re lighting up.” He pointed out. I nodded slowly, sucking in.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t care if it is laced. But is it?”
“No, dude, you’re cool.” The guy grinned. I nodded and started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm.
“Hey, stay with us for a bit.” He said, holding out a bottle of beer enticingly – and hey, who was I to say no? I took the beer and smiled.
“Thanks, dude.” I said, pulling the joint out of my mouth long enough to take a long chug of the beer, humming happily when I felt it warm my stomach.
Of course, Gerard fucking Way had to choose that moment to call me. I passed the bottle back to the guy and answered the phone, taking a long drag as I did.
“What?” I snapped.
“Mikey yelled at me.” Gerard sighed, sounding pathetic.
“You deserve it.”
“I know. ‘M sorry.” He murmured. For a minute, I actually considered forgiving him, but I blamed it on the drugs.
“You’re still a selfish asshole. You can’t be drinking around him, dude. It’s not cool.”
“You’re drinking.” He pointed out.
“No I’m not.”
“You’re slurring.”
“So are you.”
“’Cause I’m drunk. And you’re drunk too.” He accused. I took another drag of the joint and smirked.
“No, I’m getting kinda stoned though.” I admitted.
“That’s really hot, Frankie.” He moaned.
“You’re drunk. Everything’s hot to you.” I laughed.
“Yeah, especially you. How about you come here and fuck me?” he slurred. I rolled my eyes.
“How about you go to bed.” I murmured. He didn’t reply, so I just hung up.
“Yo, who was that?” the guy asked. I shrugged.
“Some guy I’m seeing.” I said, taking my beer back from him.
“I’m Bob, by the way. Anna’s big brother.” He said with a vague smile. I nodded and shook his hand with my free hand, the joint sitting between my lips.
“Hey. Frank.” I said. Bob nodded.
“Yeah, I heard. You’re the one fucking your teacher, aye?” he asked. My eyes widened.
“Uh, no?”
“Sure you are, buddy. Hey, does he know about the other guy you’re seeing? Or was that actually him?”
“It wasn’t him, because I don’t have his number, because we’re not fucking.” I said tersely. There was no way out of the situation without looking guilty, so I leaned against the counter, dropping the end of my joint into the sink.
Maybe it wasn’t laced, but fuck was it strong. I found myself gripping the counter for support.
“Hey, don’t sweat it. That guy’s a slut. Even I’ve fucked him.” Bob laughed. I chewed my lip.
“You’re lying.”
“Nah. It was like, I don’t know, September? I picked Anna up from school one day and he and I sort of got talking, and then bam, I was screwing him in my van.” He smiled. I felt a sick feeling take over my stomach that had nothing to do with the booze or the drugs, and took a deep breath to steady myself.
“Oh. Nice.” I said briskly. Okay, it was before we started this whole thing, but it still hurt. I didn’t want to meet any more of Gee’s sexual encounters than I already had – and especially not while I was stoned.
“Yeah. Good fuck, you know? Loud as hell.”
“I bet.”
“He made this cute little noise, like, “ah, ah, ah, more, please, ah,” and yeah, that was fuckin’ hot.” He smiled, taking a swig of his beer. I clenched my jaw because yeah, I knew the noise.
“Sounds awesome.” I said politely. Bob rolled his eyes.
“Dude, come on. I can totally see it. You’re totally fucking him.”
“I’m really not. That’d be literally illegal.” I sighed.
“So? I can’t imagine that stopping him. Like I said, the dude’s a slut.” Bob chuckled.
“So I’ve heard.”
“So, if you’re not fucking him, you won’t mind that we fucked for two hours, right? Or that he called me up like, I don’t know, maybe a month ago or two, and begged me to come fuck him again. That wouldn’t bother you at all, right?” He smirked.
I knew the time period he meant – it was when we weren’t together. When I was with someone else, and when Gerard was turning to literally anyone for comfort.
“Did you fuck him?” I asked, my voice hoarse, abandoning all hope of convincing him of my innocence. He smiled in triumph.
“Nah. He came to my place and sucked me off, and then like, passed out.” He shrugged. I felt a chill run up my spine.
“Oh. Gross.” I chuckled.
“I almost fucked him, though, but I didn’t want to while he was all unconscious, you know?” Bob jeered. A hand on my shoulder stopped me from punching him in the face.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Chris asked, concernedly. Joe stood a little bit behind him, his eyebrows knitted together.
“I’m just telling Frankie about how I fucked his boyfriend not too long ago.” Bob explained. Chris’ face dropped of all colour, his grip getting harder on my shoulder.
“Boyfriend?” Joe asked.
“Yeah. Mr. Way. Or Gerard, to me and Frankie.”
“Dude, he’s lying.” I hissed.
“C’mon, Frank, you’re dripping with jealousy. Just admit you’re fucking him – everyone here already thinks it.” Bob said. Everyone who was in the room was staring, and I felt myself get uncomfortably hot. Then again, maybe that was just the weed.
“That’s not true.” I said weakly.
“Yeah, it is. It’s all anyone’s been talking about.” Bob was almost yelling.
“Chris?” I asked, my eyes wide. He sighed and dropped his hand.
“Yeah. Everyone’s been talking about it for a while now. I didn’t want to upset you.” He murmured.
“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Joe demanded. Bob smirked.
“Your buddy Frankie has been fucking Mr. Way. I’d guess it’s been a while now. Go on, Frank. Try to deny it.” He jeered. I looked at Joe desperately.
“Is that what you two keep talking about?” he asked hoarsely, his face going pale.
“No, it’s-“
“Oh come on. Anna’s told me all the times you both come into class covered in lovebites and scratches, or even smelling like sex. She’s told me about how you two look at each other and flirt with each other. You really thought nobody had noticed?” he spat.
“Fuck you.” I hissed, tears threatening my eyes as I tore from the room, not even caring how I looked.
I heard footsteps behind me, and was glad to see Chris and Joe running after me.
“Can you just take me home?” I whispered. Chris put a hand on my arm, but Joe just stared at me.
“Is he telling the truth?” he asked softly. I sucked in a breath.
“Yeah, Joe. He is. Me and Mr. Way are, uh, together. We have been for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“October.” I admitted. He narrowed his eyes.
“It was him at the dance, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” I sighed.
“So you let us go through that whole damn thing, and you were already fucking him?”
“It wasn’t like I could just tell you.” I groaned. Joe shook his head in disgust.
“And why does he get to know?” he demanded, pointing at Chris.
“He guessed.”
“He guessed?” he repeated incredulously.
“Yeah. He fucking guessed, okay? And apparently, so did everyone else, and now that asshole has pretty much confirmed it, and – fuck. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” I said, tears pouring down my cheeks.
“You gotta tell Mr. Way, Frank.” Chris murmured.
“He’s drunk.” I groaned.
“Then wait until he’s sober, and tell him what happened. He’ll know what to do, okay? Just calm down.”
“Are you being serious?” Joe spat. Chris and I looked up, confused.
“What?” I asked. He shook his head.
“Frank, you need help, okay? Tell Mr. Tucker or something, but just get help. What he’s doing to you isn’t okay, and you don’t need to-“
“Wait, what? I’m not being forced into this, Joe. I love him.” I said. He shook his head, his face set in a disgusted expression.
“That’s bad, Frank. He’s manipulating you. He’s a fucking sicko, he needs to be locked away.”
“God, no, it’s not like that!” I exclaimed, stamping my foot out of frustration. Joe clenched his jaw.
“It’s worse than I thought. If you won’t tell, I will.” He sneered, storming away, back into the house.
“Fuck!” I cried, kicking the tire of his car. Chris put both hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes.
“Frankie, I’m going to steal Joe’s car and drive you home, okay? You’re going to call your boyfriend and make sure he’s okay, and then you’re going to go to sleep, and tomorrow, we’ll work this all out. Don’t worry about Joe, I’ll calm him down.” He said. I smiled a little and hugged him tightly.
“You’re the best.” I breathed. He grinned as he helped me into the car because, fuck, I was so high I could barely walk.
“Am I over-exaggerating because of the drugs?” I asked weakly. Chris laughed.
“Maybe just a little bit.” He smiled.
“You’re my favourite.” I sighed, leaning against him. He bumped my head up with his shoulder.
“Hey now, don’t get too comfortable. Call him.” He said. I groaned and pulled my phone out.
He didn’t answer until almost the last ring.
“Whossis?”
“Frank.”
“Oh. Why are you calling me?” he said, sounding upset. I sighed.
“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“My boyfriend is out somewhere doing a bunch of drugs, and I’m stuck here getting drunk on my own because my brother locked himself in his room. So, no, I’m not okay.” He spat.
“It was only weed that I did.” I defended myself.
“You still did it. Anyway, if you were checking that I hadn’t killed myself yet, you can rest assured. I’m not going to tonight.”
“Okay, good. That’s good news. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Just try to get some sleep.”
“Yeah, whatever.” He snapped.
“I love you, okay?” I said gently despite my anger at him. He paused for a moment.
“I love you too.” He sighed almost reluctantly. There was nothing left to say, and one of us hung up (I don’t know which one, of course. We were both fucked – it could have been either.) Chris looked cautiously at me.
“Everything cool?”
“Yeah. He’s being an idiot, but he’s fine. God, thanks, Chris.” I sighed.
“No, you’re okay. You needed to get out.”
“He fucked him, you know. Bob. He was telling me how they’d fucked, and how Ge-Mr. Way sucked him off not even that long ago. I wanted to fucking kill him.” I groaned.
“You should’ve.” Chris laughed.
“God, I love him. I love him so much, oh my God.” I breathed.
“You’re drunk.” Chris pointed out. I gave him that one.
“I do love him, though.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Why does it hurt so much? God, take me to his house, please? I wanna see him.” I said, leaning forward. Chris shook his head.
“Bad idea. He’s drunk, you’re drunk AND stoned, and you’re pissed off at each other. Just see him tomorrow like you said you were gonna.”
“I’m so in love with him, Chris. Do you think he hates me? God, what if he hates me? I’d die if he hated me.” I sobbed. Chris patted my shoulder comfortingly.
“He doesn’t. He loves you, okay? Just chill out.” He said seriously, parking in front of my house.
“You need help?”
“No, I got this. Thanks, buddy.” I smiled, staggering out of the car. To my delight, he stayed there until I fell through my front door, making sure I got in okay. I had no idea what time it was, but my Mom was already asleep, so I just dragged myself upstairs and fell asleep face-first into my mattress.

I awoke with a groan, and the awareness that all of me fucking ached – especially my head, which was pounding. I put a hand to my temple to try and stifle the pain, smacking my lips at the dryness in my mouth. As fun as getting wasted and stoned was, it was never any fun in the morning.
Or, as a quick check at my clock confirmed, the early afternoon. I dragged a clean shirt over my head, leaving my jeans as they were, and practically slid downstairs.
“You got in late.” My Mom commented as I pushed past her towards the door. I was more eager than ever to sort things out with Gerard after last night – starting with how he’d been drinking around Mikey, and ending with him lying to me about only sleeping with Bert.
“Yeah. Sorry.” I said grimly. She just rolled her eyes and dismissed me with a wave of her hand.
“You’re 18. It’s not like I can control you anymore.” She sighed. I just smiled and shook my head as I walked out the door.
I tried calling both Gerard and Mikey, and grew somewhat concerned when neither of them answered.
However, my worrying was apparently for nothing, because Mikey answered the door when I arrived.
“Hey, you didn’t answer your phone.” I croaked as I slid in the door.
“Sorry.” He shrugged.
“It’s cool.” I said, sitting on the sofa.
“Want a drink?”
“Huh? No. Where’s Gee?” I asked. Mikey sighed.
“Passed out still. Want me to go get him?” he offered. I considered it, then shook my head.
“Nah, it’s fine. He’d probably just tell you to fuck off.” I laughed, and Mikey chuckled in response.
“So, you wanna talk about last night?” he said gently. It startled me.
“Um. About what?”
“Gerard said you were stoned?” he said gently. I pressed my lips together.
“Yeah, I was.” I admitted.
“He was pretty upset about that. I guess you know why.” He laughed dryly.
“I didn’t really think about it. I just did it.” I groaned. He shrugged.
“He wasn’t mad, just upset. He was worried about you, despite the alcohol.” Mikey shrugged.
“Are you alright? I mean, he didn’t-“
“No, I’m okay. I just sat upstairs and tried to ignore it. I mean, this is why I’ve got therapy, right? To sort this out. Apparently it’s working.” He said with a small smile.
“I’m really glad.” I beamed.
Gerard chose that moment to crash downstairs, wearing only baggy sweatpants. He cursed when he saw me.
“God, Mikes, you could have mentioned Frank was here.” He snapped groggily.
“We didn’t wanna wake you.” Mikey said, and Gerard just rolled his eyes.
“So, how was your night, Frankie. Did you have fun playing with your drugs?” he asked.
“Yeah. Did you have fun almost sending your baby brother into a relapse?” I hissed. He stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw locking.
“Go upstairs, Mikey.” He said coldly.
“I don’t think-“ Mikey began protesting, but Gerard fixed him with a cold, unwavering glare.
“Michael. Upstairs. Now.” He snapped. Mikey groaned, but did as Gerard said.
“I did not send him into a relapse.” Gerard hissed.
“You could have. You fucking selfish dick.” I spat.
“I wouldn’t have let that-“
“You were pissed. You wouldn’t be able to stop him.” I said. He growled.
“You’re such an asshole.” He snapped.
“Yeah. Feeling’s mutual. Oh, Bob said hello by the way.” I said.
“What? Who’s Bob?”
“Bryar?” I said, assuming he had the same last name as Anna. Gerard blushed.
“Oh. He was there?”
“Mmhm. He told me everything. Including what happened when we weren’t together?” I said.
“I didn’t want to upset you.” He sighed.
“How many people?”
“Seven.” He murmured reluctantly.
“You fucked seven people.” I said, my face blank. He nodded slowly.
“Sorry.”
I groaned and turned away from him.
“Look, can you just grab me some pain meds, please? They’re in my cabinet in the bathroom.” He sighed.
“Get them yourself.” I spat. He sighed and collapsed against the sofa.
“Please, Frank?”
“Fine.” I growled, marching upstairs. I guessed I knew which cabinet it was, and started rooting around. I was so focused on finding the medication that I almost didn’t see the bottle that fell into the sink. It was prescribed to Gerard, but it’d been given to him only about a month ago. The doseage was once a day, and it was supposed to last him six months – but it was almost empty.
“Fuck!” I cried, slamming my hand on the wall as I jogged back down to him.
“What the fuck, Gerard?” I asked, waving the bottle in front of him. He rolled his eyes.
“Xanax. It’s for anxiety.”
“Yeah, thanks, I know. Why do you have it?”
“Because I was prescribed it.” He answered lazily.
“Yeah, a month ago. Why is it almost empty?” I demanded.
“Because I overdose. A lot.” He said unwaveringly. His response caught me off guard, and I spluttered.
“You could die.” I murmured. He shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess that’d suck, but there’s no high like it. Just so relaxed, you know?” he smiled.
“Are you high right now?” I asked carefully. He seemed to mull the question around his head for a bit.
“Mhm, yeah. I’m pretty stoned.” He nodded. I groaned in frustration.
“You’re so fucking stupid sometimes, you know that, don’t you? Because of you and your stupid little fuckthing, the whole school knows about us.” I hissed. He raised his eyebrows in disbelief, but other than that, didn’t seem to be bothered by the news.
“You told them?”
“No. Bob did. Turns out, everyone already knew anyway.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.” He murmured.
“And Joe’s threatening to tell someone. Is that just unfortunate?” I cried, desperate for a response. He dragged himself to his feet and sighed.
“That’s crappy. Want a drink?”
“No. Fuck, Gerard, if you’d-“ I said, but cut myself off. He spun around, an amused smile on his face.
“Go on.” He said, looking positively predatory. I gulped.
“If you’d just actually sit and think about it rather than getting drunk, you’d realize how serious this is.” I groaned.
“Well, I am drunk. And stoned. And happy.” He snapped.
“This is happy for you? Being a miserable, lonely, drugged up little slut who opens his legs for the first guy to blink in his direction? Your parents must be so fucking proud. I know your brother certainly isn’t.” I spat.
I didn’t even see his hand coming until it collided with my face with a loud smack. I reeled back, looking at him in complete shock. Even he, as drugged up as he was, looked horrified.
“You hit me.” I said weakly, still in shock. He staggered towards me, pulling me into his arms. I remained stiff.
“Oh my God. Frank, I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry, God. I’m sorry, baby.” He whispered, kissing every piece of me he could reach with his mouth.
“Stop. God, let me just, fucking, think.” I said, squirming out of his embrace.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. You just…I didn’t…” he spluttered. I put a hand to my face and winced. He’d definitely left a mark.
“I can’t believe you hit me.” I said, expressionless. I didn’t even know how I felt about it. Really, I was more angry that he was stoned than anything else.
“Me neither. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s because of the drugs, right?” I sneered.
“No. I’m not using that as an excuse. That was all me, and I’m sorry.” He pleaded.
“Why did you even get drunk in the first place? You’ve been doing so well, Gee.” I groaned. He sighed.
“No, I haven’t. I just never told you how bad it was. And it’s bad, Frankie. It’s real bad.” He said with a shaky laugh. I couldn’t help but hold his hand, despite my anger.
“Why? Aren’t you happy?” I whispered.
“You make me happy, but when I’m not with you, it’s so easy to just-“
“Of course it’s easy, but you have to fight for it.” I whispered softly.
“I can’t fight anymore.” He groaned wearily, before making an odd hiccup-like noise, and vomiting the contents of his stomach onto the kitchen floor. Lip trembling, I held his hair back, rubbing his back gently and whispering words of comfort to him.
“I’m so sorry.” He whispered as he retched again.
“C’mon, honey, it’s okay.” I murmured. How could I possibly be angry with him when he was like this? Sure, he’d been irresponsible and selfish, but Mikey was fine, and at least he was admitting that the drugs and alcohol were a problem, rather than dismissing them.
“I’m so sorry. Just leave me.”
“What? No. Don’t be stupid.”
“I’m not worth it.” He groaned.
“Yeah, you are.” I whispered, helping him to stand on his shaky legs. His face was paler than normal, a thin sheen of sweat across his brow as his breath came heavy and labored.
“I’ll help you upstairs.” I murmured, wrapping an arm around his waist and practically dragging him up the stairs and into his bedroom.
“Want me to undress you?” I asked. He shook his head and curled up on his bed, patting the space next to him. I slid in with him, my arms circling around him as he rested his head on my chest.
“So Bob told everyone we were together, and now your buddy is threatening to tell.” He said. I nodded.
“Okay. Not good.” He laughed softly. I shook my head.
“What do we do?”
“We deny it like a couple of motherfuckers.” He smiled. I kissed the top of his head, combing through his hair.
He pulled away from me then, turning to vomit over the side of his bed. Again, I rubbed his back comfortingly, and he wrinkled his nose when he came back to me.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered.
“Gee…I think you need help. You’re not coping, okay? Obviously, this is a lot worse than I realized, and I’m sorry for not noticing-“
“No, I hid it. I didn’t want you to know.” He mumbled.
“Well, whatever. I want you to get help, okay, honey? Do it for you, not for me.” I murmured. To my surprise, he didn’t argue, he just nodded.
“Yeah, I’ll get better. I promise, Frankie, I’ll get better.” He whispered.

Notes

*evilly messes everything up just when you thought things were going well*