"I'll take care of everything. Just go home and clean up the mess," Gerard instructs and I feel obliged to obey his orders. He throws me his coat and I put it on, letting the remnants of his body heat warm me. I take Ryan with me, and head out of the hospital. I gave the cop my number without realizing my phone is soaked in blood in Gerard's apartment. Ryan and I hop the bus and get to the stop near the convenience store he works at. From here it's not a far walk to the apartment building. There are still cops in and around the building so we'll have to wait until they're done. I see Ryan shivering and I wrap Gerard's jacket around him.
"Let's go find a place to stay," I say, wrapping my arm over his shoulder.
"What do you say we pay a visit to my house? The one I haven't been to in way too fucking long," I offer. He nods and we start walking down the road. It's not that long of a walk but it seems eternal as the sun starts to set and the sinking feeling of seeing my mom bubbles in my gut. I had promised to call her but I haven't and I'm going to get a lengthy lecture but we need a place to stay. I knock on the door and a stranger opens it.
"Hello?" The man asks, his voice deeper than I was anticipating. For his size, I would've expected a softer voice.
"I'm looking for my mom," I blurt before thinking it through.
"Matt, who is it?" My mom's voice calls from somewhere in the background.
"I think it's Frank," he yells back. I hear footsteps rushing towards the door before the man- Matt- backs away.
"Frank? Oh my God, Frank! You were on the news! There was a stabbing and I just saw you being taken out of the building covered in blood. Are you okay? My precious boy!" She shrieks, pulling me in for a hug.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It wasn't me who got stabbed and it wasn't me who did the stabbing. Ryan was the stabber and his boyfriend was the stabbed," I explain, repeating stab way too much.
"I tried calling you but you weren't picking up. I got so scared."
"I kinda dropping my phone in the blood... Can we come in?" I ask, feeling the hair on my arms freeze to the sweat on my skin.
"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry," she mumbles, moving out of the way and letting us in.
We shuffle into my house and the warmth pushes the chill from my bones away. Ryan and I sit on the couch and my mom brings us coffee.
"So what happened?" Matt asks and that's when I recall the events for what seems like the millionth time today.
I take a break from the dampening conversation to have a smoke. Everybody else stays inside which I'm glad for. I need some time for myself for a few minutes. I sit down on the steps in front of my house and watch the air take the smoke into the air. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. It's been a really fucking long day and it's not over yet. Snow crunches from somewhere in the shadows and I sigh.
"If you're going to hit me over the head again, I'd rather go willingly with you," I whisper to the figure I know is Bert. I can tell from the shadow in the ground that it's him.
"Fine but can you wear this bag over your head?" He asks in return. What a captor.
"Can I finish my cigarette first?"
"I guess."
He sits down beside me and watches as I smoke.
"Want one?" I offer. He shakes his head and runs his fingers through his hair. I put out my cigarette beneath my heel and follow behind him to his car. He throws a sack at me and I put it on my head once I'm in the car. It's a long car ride but it gives me time to reflect on the day that I'm having. Of course he had to come back the day that the most shit went down. I slip the ring into my pocket, remembering what happened last time.
"Are we almost there?" I ask and he sighs in reply. He pulls off the road and the car comes to a stop. Guess so. He opens his car door and slams it shut before coming to get me.
"Can I take the fucking bag off my head?" I shout, wanting to see again.
"I guess," he replies, slipping it over my head and jamming it in his pocket along with his keys. He pushes me into this old barn and closes the door behind us.
"So why haven't you left him yet? What else do I need to tell you to scare you away from him?" Bert yells, slamming me into a wall before taking a few steps back, letting me crumple to the floor.
"You think I should be afraid of Gerard? Well, let me explain it to you, some days I feel afraid of what he'll do because he's weak and full of anger but other days I can recognize this fact and I know for a fact that someone broke him and if he says it's you, then why shouldn't I believe him? He wears his weaknesses on his sleeve for the world to see. And if you think I can't handle him, you've got another thing coming because I've thought long and hard about it and I know that I'm stronger than him and he wouldn't stand a chance against me. You keep trying to warn me about him but I think you failed to think about who I might be. I'm just a wolf in sheep's clothing. You haven't seen anything yet!" I shout, laughing a little. I get up and start to walk towards him. He responds by pulling out a gun and waving it semi-menacingly at me.
"What? You think I would be scared by you holding that chunk of metal? Let me tell you a story that I've never told a living soul. When I was 5, my dad left because he had an affair and that chick got pregnant. Simple enough so far, right?" I ask, walking around the room, the gun still pointed at me. Bert nods and I continue.
"She was pretty, the woman, I see why he took a shine to her. But 7 years later, he came back into my life. At least, he tried to. My mom was at work when he came banging on the door. He wanted to know where his girlfriend had run off to with their son. I told him I had nothing to do with it. Why should I have known?
"He had slammed me against the wall and was shouting obscenities at me, hoping for answers. He had a gun pointed at me, much like you do. His girlfriend was upstairs with her two sons, one from a previous relationship and one being my half brother. They were afraid for their lives. She had run to my house with a bruised and bloody face from my father's actions. I told them I'd take care of him if he came along. So you know what I did? I took care of him. He got reckless and I got the gun from him. He had done me the great favour of having a silencer on the damn thing so when I pulled the fucking trigger, the loudest sound in the room was his brain splashing onto the floor and his body collapsing like a bag of potatoes. Nobody came looking for him because nobody cared about him. I cleaned up and gave his girlfriend his wallet so she'd have some money to get away. Nobody came looking and his body was disposed of before my mom was even done work. Do you have family, Bert? I'd suggest lowering the gun if you do. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to little Berty." Bert's eyes hold fear and his hands have a twitch to them. I try to hold back my smile but eventually, it becomes too much work. He cocks the gun and starts walking towards me.
"Move a muscle and I shoot!" He warns me but it's an empty threat. He's never used the damn thing and I can tell. I close in on him and I know he isn't gonna pull the trigger. I touch the gun while it's in his hand and he practically jumps out of his clothes at how unafraid I am.
"Poor Berty pissed himself," I remark before taking the gun from his hands completely and kicking his shin. He falls to his knees and I kick him onto his back.
"I think you grew up in the wrong neighbourhood to know how to use one of these. Don't you think?" I chuckle, playing with the gun just to scare him. I straddle his waist and press the gun to his temple.
"This is how we like to do it on the murder scene."
I pull the trigger, watching the fluid seep out of him like water in a stream. The gun is hot in my hand and I lean back over his motionless corpse. I wipe my forehead and stand up, kicking dirt around in the process. You can still hear the blood against the ground, spreading out. I stare at the corpse as the warmth is eradicated from his veins and the life leaves his eyes. I'd do him the favour of closing them but he doesn't deserve to rest peacefully. I pull out my pack of cigarettes and light one. I watch the smoke hit the ceiling and seemingly disappear as I contemplate what to do with the body. I take a drag and watch the flow of the blood slow to a near stop. I rummage through his pockets and find his car keys and a matchbook before heading out of the barn. I jog over to the car and climb inside. I start the engine and drive it into the wood building. I throw my cigarette into the backseat and watch the sparks ignite against the fabric. I get out of the car ad walk over to Bert one last time.
I take out a match and light it, watching the flame dance on the thin stick. I throw the lit match on his body and not soon after, the smell of burning flesh fills the air. I make sure the wall of the barn catches before I leave. I start walking away from the kill, snow falling down onto my skin as I follow the tire tracks away from the building. The farmhouse we were in was made of wood so I know the flames will be dancing for awhile longer, as long as the wind isn't too strong tonight.
I start jogging down the path, looking behind me every couple of seconds. The building is already engulfed in flames and the smoke is rising high in the sky. I pick up my pace in case of any flying debris.
I make my way back to a main road and follow it until I reach familiar grounds. The sun has set and the dark seems to consume the universe. The snow does a great deal of reflecting so it's not quite so bad. Cars race past me without giving me so much as a glance before being consumed by the dark. I wonder if my skin is glowing or if it just feels like it's on fire. I can still taste the smoke in my lungs mixed with the smell of rotting flesh to fill my nostrils. It's nights like these that I wish the world wasn't quite so technologically advanced. They could probably determine that it's Bert from the dental records but what reason exactly do they have to tie me to the murder? It's not like I should've been there and Ryan would probably provide me with an alibi if I needed it. Hell, what reason did Bert have to be there? Who knows, maybe the barn is far enough from the mainland that by the time they find the body, it's half burnt and half picked apart. Animals are pretty common and if they're desperate enough, maybe they'd eat burnt as fuck meat.
I make it to a gas station with a payphone around the side. Thank God some of those still exist. I punch in Gerard's number and insert a quarter. It rings a couple times and I mumble 'pick up' repeatedly, hoping he answers.
"Uh, hello?" Gerard answers apprehensively.
"It's Frank. I kinda got lost and I'm at this ghetto as fuck convenience store off the freeway and I was wondering if you could come pick me up. Maybe we could rent a hotel room for the night since your apartment seems to be off limits while the investigation is ongoing," I say exceptionally fast.
"Yeah, sure, I'll be right there. You better have a good explanation for this when I get there."
"Oh trust me, you don't want to know."
I wait around for awhile, pacing until he pulls up. I get in the car and he stares at me for answers which I don't feel like giving.
"I'll explain it once we're in a hotel room," I promise but I know the second we're in a hotel room, my mind won't be set on what I've done, just who I'm doing. We get to the nearest hotel and we head up into a room after he checks us in. I pull him into the room and kick it closed behind him. I feel the silk of his tie as I tug lightly on it, pulling him into me. My lips meet his and I push him towards the bed. He sinks down to the mattress and I climb over top of him. I palm him over his jeans and he moans into my mouth. I taste the coffee tainting his tongue and the cigarette smoke on his lips.
"Frank, what happened?" Gerard tries to say but I'm persistent.
"I'll tell you after," I reply quickly, untying his tie and throwing it to the ground before unbuttoning his shirt. I slide off his sleeves and feel the warmth of his chest in my hands. I run my fingers through his hair, causing him to groan and I kiss his jaw. I continue kissing lower and lower down his neck until I reach his chest. I slide down between his legs and unbuckle his belt before pulling off his pants. I kiss the inside of his thigh, causing shivers to course through his skin. I smirk before I take him in my mouth, sliding my tongue along the shaft. He leans back and moans, grabbing hold of some sheets. I look up at him as he bites his lip and closes his eyes. His lower lip shakes slightly as he lets out a whimper. I stand back up, my lips disappear from around his cock and his eyes shoot open. I slide down my pants and lean in closer to Gerard. I kiss his collarbone as I thrust into him. His grip on the sheets tightens as I pull out a little and push back in. I let out a low groan and I screw my eyes shut. Whimpers escape my mouth as I roll my hips. My hair tickles my nose as I hold myself up above Gerard. Gerard moans loudly and it sends shockwaves through my dick. I groan lowly, releasing. I rock my hips a couple more times before I pull out. I curl my hand around Gerard and jack him off slowly until he comes. I wipe my hand off on some toilet paper from the bathroom.
"So what happened at the hospital after I left?" I ask, pulling my pants back on.
"Let's just leave it at Brendon won't be bothering us much anymore. What happened that got you this far out of town?"
"Let's just say that nobody should be bothering us much anymore."
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