The waiting was torture. The hours felt like years as the four of us sat in an empty waiting room.
Mikey was leaning on Pete, biting his lip nervously while Pete ran his finger's through Mikey's hair soothingly. Gerard's mom was twisting her fingers in her lap. I was just leaning on the arm of my chair, letting my foot bounce restlessly.
I couldn't stand the not knowing. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to know for myself that he was okay. How long could this take?
A few more agonizing minutes went by before the nurse that wheeled Gerard out of his room stepped into where we all sat. He smiled at us as we all turned to look at him.
"He's out!" The nurse said, cheerfully. "Just resting now."
"Did it work?.." His mother asked, quietly.
Nurse Ross shrugged. "We can't be sure until we take the bandages off. Even then, he may take awhile to react."
"It may not work at all?" I asked, feeling my heart sink.
The nurse frowned. "He's been so long without vision that, even with this surgery, his body may reject it."
"How the hell does that work?" Mikey asked, sitting up from Pete's shoulder.
"It's a lot of medical mumbo jumbo that would really hurt your brains because, believe me, it hurt mine." The nurse replied. His expression begged for us not to ask for the elaborate medical explanation.
"When can we see him?" I asked instead, making the nurse sigh in relief.
"I can get you as soon as he wakes up from the gas." He said with a nod, "Shouldn't be too long."
"Thank you..."
We all grew quiet as the nurse left. Gerard's mom was the first one to make a sound.
"Somethings should be left alone." She said, softly. "It was a miracle that he survived that crash after what it did to my husband..." Her eyes wielded with tears and she quickly hid her face in her hands.
Mikey got up from his chair and hurried over to her, wrapping a comforting arm around her. "They said he's fine, it'll be okay."
"But it might not even work." Gerard's mother regained her composure, slightly, wiping her eyes. "It might be the same as if we had just left him alone."
I looked down at my hands. 'What if' questions crept into my mind faster than a hyperactive squirrel running for an acorn.
Would it really be that bad if Gerard still couldn't see? He was already accustomed to the way his world worked. He knew how to navigate the darkness surrounding him... He'd be okay if it didn't work.
"I just miss his eyes..." His mother began to speak again, holding onto Mikey's hand. "The expression behind them. The way they would squint up and sparkle as he laughed. The color he always had me describe to him..."
"I haven't heard you describe the color of his eyes in years." Mikey said, quietly. "I almost forgot..."
"How would you describe them?" I asked.
She turned to me and let out a light laugh. "Your eyes are hazel too." She commented with a sad smile. "Hazel was the one color I could accurately describe, because of him..."
She took a deep breath before she continued, "Green is the color of life. Nature. The soft grass you feel beneath your toes, the fresh leaves on the trees that dance in the wind...That is green. Brown... Brown is the absence of life. It's the crunchy leaf you find in the colder months. It's the dirt you feel under your barefeet where grass isn't allowed to grow. It's the end of nature's life cycle... That is hazel in a way I suppose... A combination of both ends of nature's life cycle..."
"Just how I remember it..." Mikey said lowly, letting his mother's words sink in.
Pete had his mouth open in shock as he tried to process it. He quickly closed it, but still looked dumbstruck.
"That was beautiful..." I said. Gerard always loved the descriptions of colors. Any explanation was good enough for him, no matter how detailed or lack of, but his mother described hazel in a way I would of never imagined.
She smiled. "I think Gerard liked it because it reminded him of himself..." She chuckled, "When he was a young boy, he'd ask if his eyes were hazel so it would be easier for him to understand when they died..." Her smile faultered as she bit her lip, thinking back to it.
"He always was a weirdo." Mikey grinned.
"A weirdo you're related to." Pete laughed in response.
"A weirdo I love..." I said at a level no one could hear. He never failed to astonish me...
---
It was maybe another hour of sitting in the waiting room before nurse Ross reappeared.
"He's awake!" He smiled, "Same room as before if you'd like to see him."
I shot up from my seat first before I turned back to the others. "I-ah- I'm sorry. You're his family, you should go first."
Gerard's mom shook her head with a laugh. "You organized this. You go first, hun. Just don't take too long."
"Yes, ma'am." I grinned, turning to the nurse. He nodded his head and I followed him back to Gerard's room.
Gerard was laying in the hospital bed, but with a white bandaging covering his eyes. He was humming to himself as I walked in.
"Gerard?" I called out to him, making his humming cease.
"Frankie, oh my god."
"What!?" I felt a slight panic. There was urgency in his tone that made me rush over to his side. He turned his head in my direction before speaking softly.
"I think I'm blind."
"I swear to god." I exclaimed as he laughed, his cheeks pushing up on the bandaging.
"I love you." He giggled, extending a hand to reach out to me. I rolled my eyes and took his hand in mine.
"Yea, yea. I love you too, even with that mini heart attack you arranged." I leaned down and kissed him softly.
He hummed against my lips. "Too good to pass up..." He giggled between breaths of air.
I pulled away and just smiled at him. He was smiling too, but he couldn't see at what with the bandages. "How's it feel?" I asked lowly.
"Bit of a headache, but I think I can manage." Gerard shrugged.
I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before leaning my head against the side of his.
"When will we know if it worked?.." Gerard asked quietly.
"Soon, baby..." I mumbled, feeling him squeeze my hand. "Just don't rush it."
"About fifteen years blind and you think I'd rush it now?"
I laughed, shaking my head. "Course not." I rubbed my thumb against the back of his hand, "Just sayin'..."
"The doctors told me it may not work..." Gerard spoke quietly, "You... You'd still love me if I stayed blind, right?"
I pulled away so I could look at his expression. I could see worry covering his face, even with what was hidden under the bandages. I reached up with my free hand and cupped his cheek.
"Gerard, I don't give a shit if you can see or not. It's you I fell in love with, not your vision."
"Good, cuz my vision is really shit."
"That's what I fell in love with." I grinned, "The boy with never ending, smartass comebacks."
He smiled back at me, squeezing my hand again. "I mean, your face would probably be an added bonus, but I fell for the dog loving dork who describes the world around me in such a beautiful way."
"Oh my god, I would love you to see Sweet Pea!" I exclaimed, making him laugh.
"I'd love to see her." Gerard nodded.
I looked in the direction of the door, before back at him. "Listen-"
"My best sense."
"-your mom and brother are gunna wanna come in." I held back a laugh from his quick interruption, "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Hopefully I'll see you later too." Gerard grinned.
---
A/N~ there's only one or two chapters left! I think I know how I wanna end it... ((Definitely know parts, but endings are always hard))
Y'all are gunna hate me for how this chapter ended, I know, sorry. ((Promo AF but if it's any consolation I have a new frerard one shot up as well called 'inside the lines'))
Prepare for the end because I'm not, I love this book :(
~Skittles Out~