When you go

Chapter 27
Franks p.o.v
(Time lapse 2 months)

Today was the 19th of december, a rather unimportant day to most. But for me and Gee, today was an extraordinary day for two reasons.
One, I got to keep Cherry for three days, over night.
Two, Mikey was coming home.
Gee had been flitting around all morning, fixing the Christmas decorations when they looked perfectly fine, or dusting place that was perfectly clean.
He had baked cookies for Mikey's and Cherry’s arrival, even though Cherry couldn’t eat. We now had jobs, as I worked at a record store and Gee worked at a bar, illegally. Better than a drug dealer. We actually managed to pay for the house and get a shit load of Christmas present for one and other.
We had fixed the house up a bit since Mikey left, made a band room like Mikey and Gee wanted. Since the basement was the biggest room, it only seem like common sense that me and Gee took Gee’s old parents room and put the instruments down in the basement.
We hadn’t seen, nor talked to Mikey since he said he needed to get better for himself, so we had no idea how Mikey was going to look when he got here. Healthy, hopefully.
Me and Bob had forgiven one and another, thank the Lord.
Gee had even dressed up in an green, ugly Christmas sweater and a weird elf hat. I had on a red Christmas sweater and an itchy santa hat, so we kinda matched.
Soon I heard the door slam and a very anxious looking Ray appeared in the doorway, an ugly Christmas sweater on him too. Gee must have coordinated outfits.
“Is he here yet?” Ray asked nervously. Ray hadn’t talked to Mikey either, except for a letter from one another every two weeks. Mikey couldn’t manage to stop talking to Ray.
“No, he’ll be here soon though. When’s Cherry gonna be here?” Gerard asked me.
“About two.” I responded. I looked over at our fake Christmas tree, staring the presents beneath it. There were at least forty, and that was only mine and Gerard’s shopping.
Gerard and Linda got along quite nicely. It was kind of weird how used he got to her so quickly, yet I think it was because he knew I wanted a mother. I also knew that if she were to hurt me again, Gee would be fucking livid and go off on her. He was trying to help, yet I knew he was just focusing on my problems because he couldn’t get away from his guilt for Bert.
I knew that, but I didn’t know how to help him. So I let him run away from it.
“He’s here!” Ray yells, snapping me out of my thoughts. He runs to look in the mirror, flatting down his poofy hair with his hands. Gee just fidgets with his hands nervously, so I intertwine my fingers with his. He smiles at me gratefully just as the door opens. Ray quickly comes back to our side, ready to greet Mikey and Pete (who drove him).
I’m taken off guard by what I see. Mikey has obviously put on weight, in a hugely healthy manner. His cheeks were more filled in, his knees weren’t so awkward because of the weight added to his thighs, his arms and chest weren’t so scrawny.
He has a huge grin on his face as he rushes over to Gee.
“You look so good Mikey!I missed you so much!” Gerard says hugging Mikey, tears of joy in his eyes.
“I miss you too Gee.” Mikey replies happily. He lets go of Gee, practically flying on to Ray.
“I missed you baby!” Ray says gleefully. Mikey grins, connecting their lips.
“I missed you more.” Mikeys says happily. I notice Pete still standing by the door, and shoot him a grin, gesturing for him to come over. He obliges, smiling as he does so. My eyes are taken off Pete as Mikey engulfs me in a hug.
“Missed you Mikes.” I say happily, clutching onto his shirt.
“I missed you too. But I’m here now.” He says into my shoulder. He pulls away smiling as he does so.
“Want some cookies? Gee has been going all out since he found out you were coming home.” I ask Mikey and Pete. Mikey chuckles and nods along with Pete.
“I grab the plate of chocolate chip cookies and hold it out to them as they take a couple. I watch Mikey ash eh eats, totally surprised by the action. He doesn’t eat to notice, just continues to eat them.
Gee gets teary eyed again, smiling at his brother. He turns to me and puts his head in the croom of my neck as I wrap my arms tightly around him.
“He eating.” He whispers so no one else could hear him. I nod, my head brushing against his forehead. Soon we hear a car pull up, and I know Linda’s here.
“There’s the baby!” I say happily. Mikey makes a confused face, since he never actually learned about Cherry.
There’s a knock on the door and I rush to answer it, finding Cherry and Linda on the other side.
“Hey mom!” I say happily, taking the car seat and all the baby supplies from her and setting it on the couch so I could hug her.
“Hey son!” She says happily, hugging me back and kissing my temple.
“Oh, who’s this?” She asks, gesturing towards Mikey and Pete.
“That would be Mikey, Gee’s brother, and Pete, Mikey’s friend.” I say, introducing them.
“Nice to meet you guys! You look alot like Gerard.” Linda states, smiling widely.
“Nice to meet you too.” Mikey says, shaking her hand. Pete does the same, smiling happily.
“Well, I have work in two hours and the ride there is gonna take long, so I will see you in three days.” She says, making her way to the door.
“Alright. Bye mom, I love you.” I tell her, hugging her once more/“Love you too son. Take care of Cherry!” She says, opening the door and walking out.“I’m a little confused.” Mikey states bluntly. I start to get Little Miss Cherry out of her care seat and onto the couch, while I set up a crib Linda left.
“Uh, as you can tell, that was my mom. She got in contact with me the day we came to see you, like two months ago. That’s why Bob was angry and said all that stuff.” I explain, he still looks a little confused, but lets that go.
“And who’s that?” He asks, gesturing to Cherry.
“That would be my little sister. She three months old. The dad of her died in a car crash and we’re taking care of her for three days.” I exclaimed happily.
“Okay then…” Mikey says. I smile at him warmly, continue to set up the crib. Once i set it up, I filled it with warm blankets and set Cherry in it. Pete suddenly looks at his watch watch, alarmed by the time.
"Oh! I have work, I gotta get going." He says, making his way to the door.
"Bye Pete! I'll text you later." Mikey says waving.
"Will do, Mikey Way. Nice seeing all again!" He calls over his shoulder.
"You too! You should come by on Christmas." I tell him, smiling warmly.
"I'll try man, thanks for inviting me." He says, smiling at me one last time before leaving.
Cherry moves a little in her crib, yet stays asleep. Mikey looks at her fondly, seeming to take a liking to the small human being.
“She’s beautiful.” He says, staring at her small, heart shaped face.
“We could have a beautiful daughter some day.” Ray says quietly to Mikey. Mikey blushes and nods, burying his face in Rays ugly christmas sweater.
“Fuck, I missed you. I love you so much baby, I promise I will never let me mental illnesses get that bad again. I’ll tell you next time, I swear.” Mikey says into Rays shirt.
“It’s not your fault, my love. I do hope you trust me enough to tell me if you ever feel like that again. I love you Mikey, I just want what's best for you. For us.” Ray responds, kissing Mikeys head lightly. Gee smile lovingly at them, then at me, winking at me. Not in a sexual manner, way in a reassuring way. As if to let me know he knew it would all be okay.
“Okay, so I know it’s only the 19th, and christmas in five days away, but it’s a special day and I want to give you each a special early present.” Gee says lovingly. He exits the room, returning with 2 large presents and two smaller ones.
“Frankie, my love.” He says happily, holding one of the small boxes to me.
“Mikes,” He says, giving him a large box.
“Princess fro,” He Ray hands a small box.
“And little miss.” He sets the biggest box by the crib, now sitting down by me.
“Okay! Open them!” Gerard says gleefully. I start to tear mine open, finding a square box. I open in up, gasping at what I see. There’s a beautiful necklace, a sliver half of a heart. It says ‘I love you’ with a another heart i it with small diamonds in it. I stare at it for a second, dumbfounded by the beautiful gift.
“Gee,” I breathe out. It was a beautiful necklace, elegant and perfect for me and Gerard. “Where’s the other half?” I ask him. He grins at me, reaching under his shirt and pulling out the other half to the necklace. It’s black and has ‘I love you’ on it too, and a slightly small heart through it.
I stare at the necklace lovingly for a minute, as Mikey and Ray gush at these girls. Mikey got a neck that said “My brother, My friend,” and two hearts on it. Ray got a necklace too, a very pretty cross.
I decide to open Cherry’s present, since she obviously can’t. Inside I find six adorable outfits, completed with headbands and shoes. It makes me grin because he likes her so much. He must’ve spent a lot of time picking all this out.
“I love you Rawd.” I say quietly to him. He turns to me, a grin on his face.
“Did you just me Rawd? I forgot about that nickname.” He says happily.
“I did. I also said I love you…” I say in a duh tone. He laughs.
“I love you too Frankenstein.” He says happily. I lean into him, resting my head on his warm chest. He sighs happily, lying back onto the couch, my body crushed against his.
We spend the rest of the night laughing with each other and talking about what we were doing in the future.
Were all content and happy for once, each of us pleased by ourselves and each other. I think that’s the first time we were all happy at once, truly happy. There’s a first time for everything.

Notes