Silence and Sadness

Speech Therapy

{Frank's POV}-Time skip 2 months bc it's late and I'm lazy.

It's been two months since the car accident, two months since I told Gee about the abuse. He talked to his mom-well, he wrote down what he wanted to say and showed it to his mom- and she immediately told me that I was staying with them. She actually said, "There is absolutely no way I am sending you back there with that monster of a man." Gee and I laughed really hard when she said that.
Donna and Gee's doctor had offered to get him a speech therapist to help him regain his speech ability, but Gerard refused. He explained to me that he didn't want to have to talk to someone he didn't know, that he didn't feel comfortable with, and I understood what he meant. I explained to Donna and the doctor and they agreed that Gee's family should be able to help him on their own, since he was making fairly good progress. We would have to be extra patient with him, since trying to form the words and get them out would sometimes prove difficult for Gee. We all agreed that we would help as much as possible, and once the doctor was satisfied, we went home. I had gotten used to calling Gee's house "home" sometime around two weeks ago. It's weird, but nobody ever corrects me, so I just kind of ignore it.
Gee and I fell asleep almost right after dinner on Friday. I guess we were both more tired than we thought. Right before bed, I turned to Gee, sitting up in the bed and asked, "Hey, baby? Can you say something for me? Something small, like "Goodnight"? I'll help you. You can go slow." I encouraged. I had missed hearing his voice for weeks, and every time I heard it I got so happy inside.
Gee took a deep breath and started. "G-G-Good...n-night, F-F-Rank-kie." he said, gasping for breath, tears pricking the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill. I smiled and said, "Hey, it's okay, baby. You did fantastic! Really, Gee, you're doing so good! Goodnight, baby." I replied, leaning over and pressing my lips up against his softly. He pulled away after a few minutes and snuggled in close to my side, smiling contently. I snuggled close to him and smiled.
      I woke up a little earlier than I had planned the next morning. Gee was still asleep, snuggled into my side. I looked down and smiled at his beautiful face. Sighing in quiet content, I slowly turned to climb off the bed, trying not to wake Gee. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at being quiet. I felt a soft tugging on my shirt and turned back around just as Gee sat up in bed, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes. "Morning, baby." I said. He smiled and gave me a little wave. "How does your throat feel? Any better?" I asked. He shrugged as he climbed out of bed, stretching. "Well, that's good. I'm going to get dressed, then go get some coffee. How does that sound?" I asked, already knowing the answer. He smiled and nodded excitedly. Man, he sure did love his coffee! "Alright."
I went over to Gerard's dresser. It had five drawers, but he only used the top three. The bottom two was where he kept his art supplies, so he just took all of that stuff out and dumped it in an old bin that Donna had found and put it in his closet. I pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans with small tears running up and down the legs and a Bouncing Souls shirt. I turned around to see Gee standing behind me, smiling as he waited to get into his dresser. I smiled and let him by, getting dressed quickly. Gee pulled out his clothes and quickly put them on before looking up at me expectantly.
"You ready?" I asked him, and he nodded. I took his hand and led him out of the room, stopping to turn and close the door, before continuing on to the kitchen. When we reached the kitchen, we were greeted by Donald and Donna, who were sitting at the kitchen table, quietly eating breakfast and sipping their coffee. "Good morning, Frankie. Good morning, Gerard." Donna greeted. Donald looked up from his newspaper and smiled, giving us a small wave. "Morning!" I said, taking a seat across from Donna. Gee sat beside me, tugging gently at my shoulder sleeve.
I looked over at him questioningly. He turned to Donna and took a deep breath. "H-H-Hi....M-Mom. H-Hi-i, D-Dad." He gasped, rubbing at his throat. Donna and Donald looked up at him, huge grins spreading across their faces, and I could feel a similar grin forming on mine. "Hello, son." Donald said, proudly. Gerard smiled, before turning to me. "W-Wa-Water?" He asked. I smiled and nodded, getting up and grabbing him a small glass of water. He took it from me, nodding a thank you. I sat back down and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as he slowly sipped his water. "So, what are you two planning on doing today?" Donna asked. "I don't really know. We didn't really plan anything." I said, looking over at Gee questioningly. He just shrugged. "Well, if you are going to go out, let me know. Ray is coming to pick up Mikey. They're going to hang out at Ray's." Donna explained.
      As if on cue, Mikey walked into the room, stretching his arms up above. "Morning!" He greeted. Donna and Donald nodded their greeting, each taking a sip out of their coffee mugs. "Hey, Mikey!" I said. "H-Hi, M-M-Mikes." Gee said, smiling at his younger brother. Mikey ran up and practically threw himself into Gee's arms. Gee was beaming. "Hi, Gee!" Mikey said, grinning. "Mikey, dear, you may want to get ready and eat fast. Ray should be here soon." Donna warned. "Alright, mom. Any coffee left?" He asked, moving to check the pot. "Yes!" He cheered. "Your father and I have been up for a while, so we each had two. I figured I'd make an extra pot for the three of you!" Donna laughed. "Good call, mom." Mikey complimented. We were all laughing at this point, except Gee. He was smiling-laughing too much was too much strain on his throat, and it hurt.
       Mikey quickly finished his coffee and rushed to his room to get dressed. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it-" Donna was interrupted by Gee running to the door. "I guess he'll get it." She laughed. I smiled and followed Gee out to the living room, where he was excitedly unlocking the front door. As soon as it opened, Ray saw us and smiled. "Hey, Frankie!" He said, waving to me. "Hey!" I said, waving. "Hey, Gee!" He said, ruffling Gee's long, black hair. Gee smiled, took a breath, and said, "H-Hi...R-R-Ra-ay." Ray was surprised for a second, but then his expression of shock turned in to one of happiness. "Man, your doing so good, Gee! Soon, you'll be able to do that without so much effort. It will only get easier and easier. Just keep practicing!" He encouraged, throwing an arm around his friend's shoulders proudly. Gee smiled, giving Ray a little mock salute.
      Right then, Mikey came out, stumbling slightly in his rush. "Hi, Ray!" He said as he corrected himself, coming over and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. "Hey, Mikes. Ready to go?" Ray asked. Mikey nodded before turning and yelling, "I'll be back later, mom! Love you!" Donna popped her head out of the kitchen and said, "Love you, too! Bye, Ray!" Ray and Mikey left, closing the door behind him. "Let's go downstairs." I suggested. Gee nodded his head in agreement and followed me to his room, which had become more-so our room.
      "You want to get some practice in?" I asked him. He shook his head, smiling, and said, "N-No, Pr-Pract-tice. J-J-Just...Y-You." Gee laid down on the bed and patted the space beside him, smiling even more. "J-Just...You." I smiled and laid down beside him.

Well, that was nice, huh? I'm sorry if you think I'm rushing it a bit with Gee's healing, but writing the halted language and stuttering gets really annoying after a while, so I just decided to skip around a little. If you liked this, click that little star to vote, and don't forget to comment. Later!