What are you doing to me?

It was about a 2 hours later when the door finally opened and a very sad eyed Frank stepped out. He looked at me and attempted to smile. I put my arm around his shoulders and kissed his temple. He seemed to melt into my touch, good sign, right? I looked to Dr. Maria for any type of advice or information.
' Mr. Way? I'd like to speak to you, alone, if you wouldn't mind?' the doctor said already walking back to her desk. I looked at Frank and he nodded 'it's fine. I'll wait in the waiting room, but hurry, please. I'm hungry and really want some waffles' I chuckled at that. 'will do, handsome'
'close the door, Mr. Way, I don't want anyone else over hearing our conversation'. She gestured for me to sit on the chair directly in front of her. Once I sat down she launched into her diagnostic for Frank.
'there is only good news here, so don't worry. But, first, answer me a few questions; how old was he when he met Jorge? When they started dating? And now?'
I was quiet for a little while, waiting for her to elaborate on her last questions before realizing she meant his age.
' when they met, Frank was 13. They started dating when he was 14. And he is now 16, turning 17 on Halloween . The whole relationship lasted a full year before Frank opened up to me about the erm..... Abuse'. My mouth tasted sour when the last word left my mouth. I watched as she scribbled something into her notebook with a shocked expression.
'Shockingly, he is coming extremely well. Especially for being so young and going through that type of "relationship" - if you will. And, believe it or not, he gives you the credit for his mental stability. what throws me off the most is that he depends on you for his happiness. Now, mi abuela always told me that when someone can go through something traumatic, but keep it together for one person- that's true love. I just wanted to let you know that he might have an episode where he shuts down every once in a while, but all you have to do is get him to calm down.' I nodded. This was amazing news!
I stood and extended my hand out towards her. ' thank you so much, Dr. Maria. This is fantastic news.' she gripped my hand for a few seconds before telling me it was time to leave.

Frank was in the waiting room playing angry birds on his phone. I sat down next to him and waited until he noticed I was there. He smiled 'so, what's the news? Am I free to live therapy free?' I tangled my hands in his hair and pulled him in for a kiss
When we both came up for air he laughed, ' I'll take that as a yes?' I smiled at him. 'come on, let's get something to eat'

°°°

We were sat at this 50's aesthetic diner where I received a phone call from Mikes. I totally forgot that they were still dealing with the courts.
' Hello?'
' everything's good, bro. Turns out this was Jorge's third strike. He got sentenced 5 to life- turns out he also robbed a Circle K at gunpoint, and was charged with battery and assault. So, we won't have to worry about him for a while. Frank's mom, though, got sent to a rehabilitation center for a few weeks. Her liquor problem was worse than we thought.' I looked at Frank who must've heard everything that Mikes just said
'alright, thanks, bro. I gotta go'. I looked at my.... boyfriend....? Did we ever make it official? I shook myself mentally and waited for him to say something- it wasn't time for me to think about a relationship when he was going through this.
'looks like I'll be staying with you and Mikey until she gets out, then. We should probably get going, it's getting late'

°°°

Once we were back at my place, Frank walked down the stairs to my bedroom. He said something, but I couldn't quite hear him. He was going to take a shower, I'm assuming, because there was a trail of his clothes leading to the bathroom, where the door was open and the water was running. I decided to draw him whilst waiting, so I went through my phone gallery until I found just the picture I was looking for. And sat out to drawing it.


I was about halfway through the drawing when I heard the water stop and Frank step out. He threw on a pair of boxers and crawled over to me on the bed. I put my sketch book away and looked at him.
' Are you feeling okay, baby? Talk to me, tell me what's on your mind. You've been silent ever since the diner and I'm starting to get worried'. I started combing my finger through his hair while I watched him take a deep breath before looking up at me.
' I'm okay, I guess. I don't know. I'm freaked out. Scared. Hopeless. I don't really know how to explain it. Instead of me trying to defend myself, I just let him. I froze up, y'know? The past kind of came back to me and sucker punched me in the gut. I should've tried to stop him, but I didn't. I felt like I was a scared 14 year old again.' he wiped away a few tears before finally opening his eyes and looking up at me.
' it's okay to be scared, especially when facing something like that again. But, you fought back and won. You didn't let him get the best of you- you didn't let it affect you too much. That is greater than anything any hero could do. Hell, even the villains wouldn't be able to compare to what you did' I leaned down and kissed his closed eyelids. 'you did stop him. And I'm so proud of you'
He turned so that his face was buried in the crook of my neck and he started crying. He cried harder than he ever had in a long time- since his dad first left. I out my arms around him and started tracing small shapes on his back, waiting for him to calm down. ' thank you, Gerard, you have no idea how much that set my mind ease. I really does mean a lot. I don't know what I'd do without you. I love -' I cut him off with a kiss, hoping it can say all of the things I'm too afraid to admit out loud. we stayed kissing until he broke the kiss, yawned and laid down facing towards me.
I pecked his nose, turned out the light and pulled him close to me, hoping he understands everything that I can't bring myself to say aloud.

Notes

So, update. sorry if it kind of sucks- it was personal (in a way) and was difficult to write. I hope you all enjoy it

Xo s-omeone-els-e