Frank was never in a good mood when he had to go to his dad's. This year, it was even worse.
"What's wrong?" Linda asked over breakfast. "Come on, you were a little bummed about your dad's last night but you weren't nearly this upset. Did you and Jamia get into another fight? I don't get why you two always fight. You've always done that since you were little kids."
"No, mom, it isn't Jamia," he mumbled. "It's nothing."
He really wasn't wanting to tell his mom about his boyfriend's sex tapes.
"Well," she sighed. "You have everything ready? Eve will be here to pick you up soon."
"Yeah," Frank sighed. "Haworth sucks, by the way. It's filled of rich snobs. If we ever win the lottery then we are not moving to Haworth like dad did."
Linda smiled softly and nodded.
"Finish eating," she said.
Frank ate the rest of his cereal before cleaning up the dishes. There was a buzz and he sighed, grabbing his backpack.
"Try to have some fun, Baby," Linda said. "And call me if you need anything at all."
Frank nodded, giving her a hug before walking down. Eve's fancy car stuck out from all the rest as he slid into the passenger seat and forced a smile to his stepmom.
"Hello, Frank," she said.
"Hi, Eve," Frank mumbled.
She drove off, turning on the music. It was silent and awkward between them but soon they arrived in Haworth, New Jersey. Or, as Frank liked to call it, Hell. They pulled up to the house. God, Frank hated this house. His dad always liked to brag about how big it was and how much it was worth. Frank didn't care about the stupid house and how it had seven bedrooms and about how it cost almost two million dollars.
"I made some snacks," Eve said. "The boys will be back soon, they went to go grocery shopping for me."
They went inside and Frank gasped happily. The only good part about visiting his dad was that they had a dog. Lucky was a gold retriever and Frank loved her, he always wanted a dog.
"Lucky!" He cheered. "Oh, I missed you!"
He gave her a hug, smiling happily.
"Your dad should be back from work soon," Eve said. "He is very excited to see you."
"You don't have to lie," Frank said.
The place was still decorated and Frank was sure they hired someone else to do it for them. Probably one of their maids. Frank went to go upstairs when his stepmom grimaced.
"Sorry, could you take off your muddy shoes?" She asked. "Mariana just cleaned the marble floors. I can have her wash them for you and those dirty jeans too."
"I just washed these jeans," Frank said.
Eve pursed her lips and Frank just sighed, kicking his shoes off. He went upstairs down the hall to his room. It was mostly empty, Eve always encouraged him to decorate it or add more of his stuff to it so he could visit more often but he never did.
He dropped his bag on the bed and pulled out his phone. His friends were still texting him, asking him if he's seen the videos but he was ignoring them. He didn't really feel like talking about them to anyone. He knew he had to face Gerard eventually but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
"Hello, Frank," Mariana greeted and Frank smiled. "Miss Eve wanted me to wash your jeans."
"No, it's okay, you don't have to do that," Frank said. "And not my shoes either."
She nodded and left the room. Frank hated having their maids do stuff for him, he always felt so bad. Frank just scrolled through his phone, not knowing what else to do until he heard the door open and footsteps started thundering up the stairs. Someone grabbed Frank and held him down and he fought against them before gagging when another person farted in his face.
"Twerp!" They yelled before running out.
God, he hated his step brothers. Justin was twenty-four and Jake was twenty-two but they acted like they were ten. And they loved nothing more than to pick on Frank, they always have ever since they were younger.
His dad came home an hour later and they all went around to have lunch. His dad barely even said a hello to him before they started eating their pasta. Jake and Justin kept snickering the whole time while Eve tried to make pleasant conversation.
"So, Frank, do you have a girlfriend?" She asked.
"No," Frank said quietly.
"He's too much of a loser to get one," Justin said.
"That isn't very nice," Eve said.
"You smell like pot," Frank Sr said in disgust. "Take a shower after this."
Frank frowned, eating quietly.
"What's in this?" He asked.
"It's just normal pasta," Eve said. "I made yours without meat."
The step brothers snickered again and Frank Sr sighed.
"You two need to shut your mouths," he said. "You're getting on my nerves. Why are you laughing?"
"We put meat in Frank's pasta," Jake said.
Frank froze, staring at his already half eaten plate as his stomach began to twist.
"Boys, you know he doesn't eat meat," Eve sighed.
Frank began to start gagging before he ran off to the bathroom to throw up. He was sobbing as he laid on the cold tile floor, thankful when Lucky came up to cuddle with him. No one else came to check on him. Not for the whole night as he laid there crying.
He couldn't eat that night at dinner. He just sat and stared at his plate. His family was having steak for dinner. And dear god, Jake and his dad liked to eat it practically raw. Even if Frank hadn't been sick, he still wouldn't have eaten because of how disgusting it was to watch them.
"Hey, Pansy," Jake said.
He chucked a piece of steak at him and Frank gagged at the sight of blood staining his shirt. He hurried off to the bathroom again, trying to clean off his shirt.
"Here, Frank, let me clean it for you," Mariana offered.
Frank sniffled, taking off his shirt.
"Those boys are going to get what's coming for them one day," she mumbled before walking off to the laundry room.
Frank went up to his room and just cried in his bed. He called Gerard, holding the phone up to his ear with a shaky hand.
"I hate my Other Family," he sobbed when someone answered. "They are so awful."
"Frankie? What happened?" Gerard asked.
"They fed me meat," he whimpered. "They threw bloody steak at me. It...it sounds stupid when I say it now. I'm sorry, you're probably busy and I shouldn't call."
"No, I've been wanting call you," Gerard said. "It's not stupid, that's really awful what they did to you."
Frank sniffled, pulling his blanket up over his head.
"When do you get back tomorrow?" Gerard asked.
"At about ten in the morning," he said.
"Do you think we could get coffee and talk about it?" He asked. "About...you know, the videos."
"I'm sorry, Gerard, I shouldn't have blown you off last night but I was just upset," he said. "We should talk now."
"Thank you," he said. "I don't want things to be ruined between us, I really like you a lot and I don't want to lose you just because of some stupid shit that I did."
"It doesn't matter, it was before you met me so I don't really have a say in it anyways," Frank mumbled.
"Just because it happened before we met doesn't mean that you don't have a right to be upset by it," he said. "It's okay for you to be upset, Frankie. Seriously, I wish I had never made those videos. It was stupid of me."
Frank sniffled. "Who was the man in the second video?"
"It was... it was a man, I don't know his name," Gerard admitted. "But it was a man who would...pay me to have sex with him. He would pay me a lot of money."
"How old was he?" Frank asked.
"I don't know, he was like thirty-two," he said. "I was sixteen and dumb."
"How long did it go on for?" Frank asked.
"I don't know, a year and a half," he said.
Frank sniffled, wiping his eyes. He saw the video, saw the way Gerard was tied and gagged and being whipped.
"I'm sorry if that's what you like and I can't give it to you," he whispered.
"Frankie, it's perfect with you," gerard said. "I love it with you. I wouldn't want it any other way."
But Frank had seen the video, seen how much Gerard had moaned and begged. Frank wasn't dominant enough to do anything like that, not confident enough. He couldn't tie his boyfriend up and hurt him even if he asked him to do it.
"Frankie, I only want you," he said.
"Was Lindsey the one to post these videos?" Frank asked.
"Yeah and I am going to chew her out, probably won't talk to her again after this," he said. "But I just wanted to get everything situated with you first. I wanted to make sure that you were okay after all of this."
"A-are you okay?" Frank asked. "They're your videos that were shown."
"Humiliated but I'll be okay just as long as I don't get in trouble for this," he said. "I've gotten the videos taken down."
It was quiet between them, neither really knew what to say.
"This didn't ruin anything between us, did it?" Gerard asked quietly.
"No, it didn't," Frank replied. "I'm maybe not totally happy about seeing you sleep with other people but it's not like I never knew that it happened. It's just weird and kind of gross. I'm sorry. I still really want to be with you because I really like you."
The blanket was pulled off of Frank and someone snatched the phone from his hand.
"Thought you told mom you didn't have a girlfriend," Jake teased.
"Oh my god, look at the caller ID," Justin said. "He's talking to a boy."
"Give me my phone back!" Frank shouted.
"Oh my god, you're gay," Jake said, hanging the phone up and tossing it back to him. "Hey, dad, guess what? Frank is gay!"
Frank felt his heart stop as he shook his head, chasing them down the stairs.
"I'm not," he denied. "I'm not gay, I'm not!"
They got to the living room where his dad and stepmom were.
"Frank was on the phone with a boy talking about how much he liked him and wanted to be with him," Justin said.
Frank Sr. stood up, walking over to Frank. He could barely breathe as his dad slowly walked over and looked him down. Next thing he knew he was on the ground, smacked across the face by his dad. He was sobbing, curled up in a tight ball. They all left except for Eve, who kneeled beside him.
"It's okay if you're attracted to other guys," she whispered and Frank sniffled. "Everyone can change, even you. One day you'll be able to learn to get over this."
She left him on the floor, shaking and sobbing. He finally managed to stand up and go to grab his bag. Frank walked out of the house and down the street, crying quietly as it snowed around him. He didn't want to call his mom and interrupt her, he knew she was busy at work. Instead he walked, walked for hours until his legs were aching. His mom was off work by the time he got home and he crawled into bed with her.
"Baby, what...what are you doing here?" Linda asked, turning on the lights. "What happened to your face?"
"I walked home," he sobbed. "It's awful there, mom. I ate meat and they found out I was dating Gerard and dad hit me."
"He hit you?" Linda asked. "Oh god, let me get some ice for you."
Frank cried in her bed as she got him ice.
"You hit my son?" She asked over the phone. "I don't care! He is perfect the way he is! I do not care about the fucking custody agreement! You are never, ever seeing my son again!"
Linda hung up and laid in bed with her son, both of them crying themselves to sleep quietly.