Pyre (Frerard, Rikey, Ryden, Petekey)

30: Guilty Consciences Concealed With Comfort

Gerard eventually managed to remove himself and Mikey from the horrific scene when Bert began wrapping up Ray's body with the help of a few other vampires. The sight of Ray being prepared for the death rituals which should never follow so closely after a mating had Mikey sobbing even harder than he already was, inciting Gerard to all but drag him back to their home so he could grieve in private.

Mikey was practically catatonic by the time they arrived, not responding to any amount of touch or words except with the never ending stream of tears that poured down his face, leaving Gerard to attempt to clean them both up the best that he could while fighting against his own sobs which were clogging up his throat.

Gerard wet a cloth down so he could begin wiping away the blood that stained them both, helping Mikey change into fresh clothing before placing him in bed, dealing with himself after his brother was wrapped in a thick layer of blankets, but no matter how hard Gerard scrubbed, he couldn't erase the dirty feeling from his skin even after all signs of the crimson liquid was removed.

Gerard's hands moved slowly as he continued to wash himself, but his mind was running at a thousand miles an hour, his temples aching and his eyes burning as he tried to juggle the multitude of tragedies that had been thrown at him in a short span of time.

It was bad enough when Gerard only had his relationship with Frank to worry about, but now he would give anything for that to be the sole issue he was dealing with. Lindsey discovering their relationship was a paltry thing compared to having to cope with the loss of his best friend, as well as tending to his brother, not to mention his vision was still looming over him, although that had almost been forgotten about underneath the weight of everything else that was dragging him down.

Gerard wasn't sure if he could handle this without cracking under the strain, he wasn't strong enough - fuck, how was he supposed to save both Mikey and Frank now that Mikey's lifeline had been ripped away from him and he would end up putting Frank in danger if he so much as went near him?

Exhausted and heartbroken, Gerard curled himself around Mikey's trembling form, his lids slipping closed when Mikey immediately burrowed into his touch, the sound of their hitched inhalations mixing together as they both attempted to sleep with dismal results, their sorrow keeping them awake long after the sun had risen.

Gerard must have eventually dozed off at some point, although he couldn't remember the actual act, but the next thing he knew, he was being jolted into consciousness by a gentle knock at the door, causing his heart to pound rapidly in his chest when he recalled the last time that had happened only for it to be Lindsey with her terrifying ultimatum.

Gerard forced himself to get up when the second rap of knuckles against wood followed the first at a slightly louder volume, although that was the last thing he wanted to do, but the odds of it actually being Lindsey were slim to none. Gerard doubted she would rub her discovery in his face so soon after a tragedy, but he still found himself shaking with nerves as he padded into the front room, being careful to make as little noise as possible so he didn't disturb Mikey who appeared to be asleep.

When Gerard opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of Bert and Quinn, the latter being a bit of a surprise to him since the other vampire rarely left his home for any reason. Gerard cleared his throat roughly before attempting to greet them, wiping haphazardly at his face even if he knew his effort to remove the tear stains was useless. Bert spoke before Gerard could though, which was probably a good thing given the fact that he wasn't sure if he would be able to produce words just yet without breaking into sobs halfway through.

"Hello Gerard, we are so sorry to disturb you and your brother, but we have discovered what occurred which ended in young Raymond's death, and I thought you would appreciate being informed of our findings."