I stayed with Gerard as much as I could during his time in the hospital. Thankfully, none of his wounds were severely deep or in dangerous places, and he was healing incredibly fast.
He didn't understand why I hung around. Neither did I, really.
He was generally pretty rude, but in a joking, somewhat well-meaning way.
I watched as a nurse walked in, carrying a needle. Gerard shifted uncomfortably and glanced at me, refusing to give her his arm. I sighed.
“Gerard, you have an IV and a blood bag, this is just a tiny needle..”
He glared at me, his shoulders trembling.
The nurse stuck the needle in his arm when he wasn't looking. Gerard cried out and hunched over, shaking badly as he swore under his breath.
I frowned and reached over, rubbing his shoulders gently. “Hey...it's okay. I know it was scary and it hurt, but you're alright now..”
He lifted his head and slapped my hand away.
“Wasn't scared.”
“You were trembling.”
“I was fine!”
I sighed and leaned back in my chair. “Okay. You weren't scared. What are you gonna do when they release you?”
He hunched his shoulders again and glanced away from me.
“I don't know. I have no money. My apartment probably isn't mine anymore.”
I ran a hand through my hair, eyeing him. “Hm. So like...no money? At all?”
Gerard shook his head slowly, his eyes tearing up a bit. “Nope. And I'm gonna be in debt because of this trip. You know what I do, right? Well, my pimp gets all of the money. He just doles me out enough for groceries and rent. That's all I get.”
I sighed and leaned forward, my elbows on my knees. “I'm sorry. Will he want you back?”
Gerard shook his head again, looking down. “Nope. I got involved with police, and I'll have scars.”
I buried my face in my hands, taking a deep breath and rubbing my eyes. “Okay. Well...temporarily...you could stay with me, I guess. I have a spare bedroom.”
Gerard looked at me as if I was Jesus.

---

I watched as Gerard sat down on the edge of his bed. “It's so big.”
I smiled and leaned back against the doorframe, my hands in my pockets. “I'm glad you like it here.”
I had to admit, my apartment was a shithole, but much less of a shithole than Gerard's had been.
Gerard traced a finger over the wall, smiling to himself.
I bit my lip lightly. “Are you ready for bed?”
Gerard giggled and rolled his eyes, tucking his hair behind his ears. “Weirdo. But I guess. I'm pretty tired.”
I nodded and kicked off of the doorframe. “Okay. I have a shift in a few hours, so I'm gonna take a nap before I head out.”
Gerard nodded and I slipped out of the small room, quietly shutting the door behind me.

---

When I got back from work, Gerard was passed out on my couch, butt naked. I rolled my eyes and threw a blanket over him before picking him up and carrying him to his bed. I didn't have any alcohol or pills in the house, so I assumed he'd just been tired. As I tucked him into bed, he shifted, something small and white falling out of his hand. I picked it up carefully, turning the light off as I walked back into the living room.
I unfolded the piece of paper, frowning when I found a phone number scrawled on it.
I waited for Gerard to wake up, watching tv for a while. After a couple shows, Gerard wandered into the room, wearing a pair of boxers and nothing else.
“Frank?”
I looked up at him and sighed, patting the couch cushions. “Yeah?”
He looked like he'd been crying.
“I'm scared.”
I blinked, a little surprised. I never thought I'd hear those words from him.
“What of?”
He drew his knees up against his chest and hugged his shins. “My future….my past.”
I nodded and ran a hand through my hair, muting the tv. “I understand. It's hard being nineteen, on top of everything else you're dealing with. I can't promise much, but I will say that I'm gonna try and help you as much as I can. But we have to be honest with each other.”
Gerard nodded and tucked his hair behind his ears, staring at the carpet.
“I want to set some rules.”
He didn't really react, I guessed he wasn't surprised.
“I don't know much about you, so if any of these offend you, I'm really sorry. They're just general for anyone in my house.”
Gerard nodded and shifted his gaze to my face, studying me.
“I don't want you having sex here, like...for money. Please. And um...drugs and alcohol I prefer not to have in my house. My landlord won't let me have pets...so...don't bring animals home randomly...also, I'll want you to be helping with the dishes and other chores and stuff sometimes.”
Gerard nodded again vaguely, humming to himself. “Sounds fair.” He mumbled, after a short pause. I smiled and offered him a blanket.

---

I got used to the kid surprisingly quickly. He asked a lot of questions, but tended not to be so good at answering them. I was still working on finding him a job, but he informed me that he was trying to ‘lay low’ for a while, so the arrangement worked out pretty well.
Pete asked me about him a lot. Despite his speeches on how I'd see worse after years in the force, I could tell Gerard's attempted murder had shaken him a little.
It took us two weeks to find the guy. Gerard refused to press charges.
We were all extremely frustrated.

---

I looked up as Gerard stepped out of the bathroom. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his wet red hair dripping water down his face and chest. I kept my eyes on his face.
“Hey. You need anything?”
He shook his head and walked into his bedroom, shutting the door quickly. I sighed and turned back to the tv, reading over the phone number again. I still hadn't asked Gerard about it. It looked so familiar, and I couldn't figure out why. I'd tried going through my phone contacts, but couldn't find any matching numbers. I stuffed it into my pocket, deciding to ask Pete the next day.
I heard a thud in Gerard's room and jumped up, opening the door. He glared at me. “The fuck you want?”
I rolled my eyes and leaned against the doorframe. “I heard a thud.”
“I dropped my bag.”
“Okay.”
“Are you done now?”
“It worried me.”
“I don't give a flying fuck.”
“When was the last time you fucked someone?”
Gerard was off balance suddenly. I had no idea why I'd asked that question. Something was itching at my throat, but I couldn't figure out what it was. That number was driving me crazy.
“Yesterday.”
He looked about ready to cry.
“Did they pay you?”
“Not enough.”
I ran a hand through my hair and looked down at the floor. “I'm not gonna force you to stop...but it worries me. I don't want you getting HIV or getting badly hurt or something.”
Gerard started crying.
“Get out of my room!”
“No.”
“Please, please go!”
I sighed and walked away, leaving the door closed, but not all the way. He lunged towards it and the latch clicked. I rubbed one side of my face as I sat down on the couch, exhausted.

Notes