Mr. Way - Frerard

Gerard and I had been in New York for a week, and it was time for us to leave, go back to New Jersey. Gerard had really bonded with little Bandit, and surprisingly so had I. When we awoke that morning, I took one look at Gerard and saw how hard it was going to be to leave the kid not knowing when he'd see her again.

On our last day, the four of us were at a small play-park, when Lindsey took Gerard away to talk to him. I stayed with Bandit, playing with her and occupying her until her mom and dad came back.

"Fwank?" I heard Bandit say.

"Yeah, darling?" I asked her, while pushing her lightly on a swing.

"Mommy told me I was going to live with Daddy, but she told me not to tell. Is that true?" she asked inquisitively.

I was at a loss for what to say. "Uh, I don't know, B. Your mommy hasn't told me anything about that."

"Oh. Okay," she said, and returned to squealing in joy when I pushed her on the small swing-set.

When Gerard and Lindsey returned, I intended to talk to Gee about what I'd heard from the small child, but when I saw the furious look on his face, I took his hand and said, "Babe, what's wrong?"

"We're taking Bandit back to Belleville," he said, leaving no explanation.

"Wait, what? What happened, Gee?"

"Lindsey has been keeping my daughter with an abusive asshole and I don't want her to get hurt. Neither does Lindsey. This whole visit was just to get us to take Bandit home with us," he muttered to me, and I could see him begin to panic. I calmed him down, and took him to sit down while Lindsey took care to Bandit.

Gerard took a deep breath. "I guess we gotta do it, we have to take her back with us. I can't risk her getting hurt."

"I'm with you on this, Gerard, you're not doing this alone. I've been through this whole situation myself with my father," I told him, feeling sympathy for the little girl.

"I just... Frank, I can't take care of a six-year-old girl! How am I supposed to do this?"

"We'll manage it. I'm with you every step of the way."

And that was how Gerard and I ended up on a train back to New Jersey with a five-year-old girl and all of her luggage.

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