Someone Out There Loves You (Adopted by Frank Iero)

23

ALEXA

There were no words exchanged when Frank got to the hospital this morning. We ran into each other's arms and stayed there, standing in the middle of the visiting room which was thankfully empty with my head against his chest listening to the steady beat of his heart, his arms around me, his chin on top of my head, holding me securely. Tears wouldn't stop falling from my eyes, and I could have been imagining it but I was sure I heard Frank sniffling a few times.

He kissed my hair and loosened his grip on me. "I'm gonna need to go find Melinda so we can get you out of here," he said softly, stroking my hair.

I was reluctant to let go. I loved Frank's hugs more than anything in the world, I could never get enough of them. It was as if I was trying to make up for the years I missed out on this kind of affection. But it wasn't just that. Frank was my favourite person, my hero. I loved how it felt simply being around him.

"Just one more minute," I whispered, hugging him tighter.

He chuckled lightly. "You can get all the hugs your heart desires when you're out of here. I need to find Melinda today so you can leave tomorrow."

"Just one more min- wait... leave tomorrow?" I pulled back from him slightly so I could look him in the eyes.

"Unless you wanna stay longer," he smirked.

"Are... are you serious?" My eyes were wide.

He nodded, a grin breaking out on his face. "That's why I gotta go find Melinda. I don't want you to be here any longer than you have to."

"Oh my god," I whispered, covering my mouth with my hand.

Frank smiled at me and pulled me back into his arms. "I don't know if I'll be able to see you after because I don't know how long it's gonna take, but I promise, tomorrow you can have as many hugs as you want," he said warmly.

I bit my lip and nodded. "I'll hold you to that."

He laughed lightly and kissed my hair again. "I'll be back for you tomorrow, and hopefully that's the last time we'll ever be here."

"I'll see you tomorrow," I smiled at him, biting my lip.

We continued to stall, neither ready to actually leave, until it got to the point where Frank decided that he really needed to find Melinda. To give ourselves a few more minutes together, I walked with him to Melinda's office where he gave me one last hug. I could feel his reluctance when he released me from his arms, just as I'm sure he could feel mine when I let go of him.

"Tomorrow, darling. I'll be back tomorrow. And then we're getting you the hell out of here." With a massive smile on his face, Frank's hazel eyes were full of warmth and love and excitement.

My heart began pounding in my chest at the thought that it was happening. It was actually happening. Frank came into my life, saved me from myself, and then saved me from this place. How could I ever repay him?

Today was my last full day here.

That sentence felt strange to say. There was a decent amount of time when it didn't feel like it applied to me. I guess I was wrong about that though.

I wasn't going to miss this place. The past four months of my life were spent locked inside the one wing of the hospital, with only a few rare occasions where I was able to see that the world outside of here does indeed still exist. Being cooped up for so long made me start to forget about the outside world, or aspects of it at least. It's a funny thing how you forget the most basic of things when you're not constantly reminded of them. All I began focusing on was how much I hated being in the hospital and how much I wanted to get out, but I didn't even remember what was so great about being out in the first place. I suppose we just want what we don't have.