Author's Note at the end.
Times like these are when Gerard knows more than anything that he will love no one else like he loves Bert. Sweet, loving words fall on his ears as his boyfriend whispers into his ear, cuddling him closer on their bed. Bert’s slim fingers trace a pattern on Gerard’s shirt, the iron-shaped scar he knows lies underneath. Gerard shyly hides his face in the crook of Bert’s neck as he blushes at the compliments he receives. Why couldn’t they always be like this?
Because he always ruins it. All it takes is one flinch when he feels a hand slowly wandering towards his belt. This isn’t right; Bert never takes him before he leaves for work. Before he can apologize for his actions, a rough hand shoves him to the floor.
“Don’t you fucking trust me, Gerard? Don’t you love me?”
Gerard nods furiously, terrified of what could happen next. “I just wasn’t expe-“
Kick. “Expecting what? Expecting a loving boyfriend to show his lover how much he loves him? What’s wrong with that?” Kick.
“N-nothing, it’s just that I have work-“ As Bert’s hands grab Gerard’s collar, pulling him up, the younger man closes his eyes, waiting for the punishment he knows he’s about to get.
“Fuck your job.”
*~*~*~*~*
It’s obvious to Frank that he’s currently seated at the typical outcast table. To his credit there are seats at other tables, but the people at them don’t seem to fit his personality. Instead of asking for their names (he’s actually pretty reserved when meeting new people) he gives them all his own little nicknames in his head for future reference. Fro-Kid is that one person who works on homework during lunch. His red locks cover his face as he hunches over to complete a calculation. ADD-Kid is rambling on and on to Silent-But-Deadly-Kid. Silent-But-Deadly-Kid may just be plotting to kill ADD-Kid. And Newspaper-Kid is doing what he does best: reading the New York Times.
For the whole 25-minute period, Frank tries to collect enough courage to speak to one of his tablemates. Honestly, approaching Garrett is the first time he’s ever been so bold. Of course, he does plan some of what he says, a habit his 5th grade teacher had given him after he spent the whole year playing away from the other kids. He doesn’t need to wait long though because ADD-Kid soon turns to him and starts talking about his classes and how awkward he feels in the school uniform.
His mouth is left slightly open as he’s awed by the amount of talking ADD-Kid can accomplish while still eating. There’s not even enough time to give his name before the bell rings, signifying the end of lunch and ADD-Kid leaves the room in record time. Newspaper-Kid folds his reading material and collects his trash, telling Frank that Adam is always like that. They all go their separate ways to class, Frank to his boring psychology class. His teacher is still in the middle of the neuron chapter. Science is not his thing.
He hardly stays awake during the class, but he does stay mostly conscious for the period and his last class of the day. After the final bell rings, he quickly runs to the bathroom to change into his work uniform before quickly (running) making his way to work.
Pete, his shift manager, jumps when Frank bursts through the front door looking around like a madman. “Jesus, Frank! You can’t come in like that; you’ll scare the customers. And no, Garrett is not here yet, I don’t know where he is.” He rolls up the magazine he was reading and whacks Frank with it.
The teenager whines and pushes Pete away to avoid the pummeling. Reluctantly, he heads towards the back of the store to the employee room to put his belongings away. The work timetable hangs on the announcement board and he checks Garrett’s schedule for the week. Garrett should have been in two hours before Frank.
He works his whole shift hoping his older crush will walk in, but he remains disappointed until he finally has to clock out and head home.
*~*~*~*~*
Gerard lies on the living room couch, tired from the multiple raping he’s experienced that day. Bert kicked him out of the bedroom, not wanting him to mess up the sheets. For the first time in years, Gerard attempted to fight back against the abuse; Bert retaliated by hitting and scratching his face until he left bruises and drew blood.
He remembers sobbing through the whole thing while Bert tells him over and over to remember whom he belongs to and who his first priority should be.
As he lies there thinking, for a brief moment he considers running away. But where can he go? He’s not very sure how to get back home or if his family even still lives in the same place. Would they want him in his tainted condition? He can’t leave. And besides, Bert treats him okay. He gets fed enough, he has a job, he has a place to live, and Bert loves him.
But he’s lost a ton of weight, Bert takes all his money, he doesn’t have any belongings he can call his own, and Bert beats and rapes him.
He pushes these bad thoughts out his mind as best as he can before they can take over his dreams, turning them into nightmares.
*~*~*~*~*
Since Frank has stopped unsuccessfully flirting with Garrett he’s been able to observe him more often. He notices how tired and worn Garrett seems to be when he comes into work on the weekends. He notices how Garrett tries to avoid all physical contact or how he flinches when contact is unavoidable. He notice how he seems to dread the end of his workday when he would have to get into the car waiting for him in front.
In his psychology class they’re talking about the signs of physical abuse and Garrett fits most of them. Now, he’s not one to jump to wild conclusions, but he knows that physical abuse could easily escalade to something like murder. He’s too afraid to directly ask Garrett in case he’s way off, but he doesn’t think his mind will be calm until he knows. He decides to ask Pete about it one afternoon, but his manager simply brushes it off as Gerard’s shyness.
For the first time in his life he’s taking something so seriously. As a teenager he usually believes that he can do whatever he wants without having to think about consequences. After all, nothing bad can happen to him or people around him, right? He’s just an ordinary kid.
But bad things do happen to people, and with so many people in the world there’s bound to be someone around him suffering from something. He starts to often wonder if his lunch-companions-turned-friends. Why is Ray (Fro-Kid) so obsessed with getting all his homework done during lunch? Maybe he has to work long hours after school to support his family. Maybe Adam (ADD-Kid) is so eager to talk to his group of friends because of former bullying or a bad home life. Bob (Silent-But-Deadly-Kid) might have a deep secret that keeps him silent all the time. And Jamie (Newspaper-Kid) might have a reason for always searching national papers.
He begins to seriously make conversation with Garrett, trying to gather as much information as he can before he can make an accusation. At first, Garrett gives him short answers and avoids all eye contact. For months, he’s lucky if he can get more than 10 words out of him in a day.
He starts to think that maybe he’s assumed wrong, but his mind still can’t rest.
*~*~*~*~*
Oddly, Bert is late to pick Gerard up. Usually, Gerard can see him watching him while he works, but today he’s sitting outside waiting for his boyfriend. He’s startled when he feels a body settle itself beside him on the small bench until he notices that it’s his youngest coworker.
“Go home, Frank, it’s getting dark,” he says quietly. Frank being the stubborn kid he is, just sighs and continues to sit there. “Seriously, it’s not safe to walk home by yourself after dark.”
Frank shrugs and looks at him. “We’re in the typical suburbs. There’s probably no serial killer lurking.”
“Don’t ever think that.”
Finally, Bert pulls up to the building, and Gerard quickly gets into the car before Frank can reply.
*~*~*~*~*
Gerard nervously fidgets in his seat at the dining room table as Bert quietly makes dinner. He’s never that quiet unless something’s wrong.
“So… you like being around that kid?” He can’t really gauge Bert’s level of calmness because his back is turned toward him as he works at the stove.
Gerard shrugs and hangs his head. “Frank is just a persistent kid… I try to ignore him but he keeps talking to me.”
“Do you like talking to him? Would you like him to be your friend?”
“I don’t need any friends; I have you,” he says quietly.
Bert turns off the stove and removes the pot of soup from it. “But do you want a friend? I think you’re about ready to start having friends. I can’t be around all the time.”
Gerard’s eyes automatically light up as he looks at his boyfriend, trying to figure out if he’s serious. “Really? C-can I? He’s a really nice kid and I think we would be into a lot of the same things. And m-maybe this summer when he’s out of school we could hang out and-“ His speech is abruptly cut off by his screams piercing through the small kitchen when Bert pours the boiling hot soup into his lap. His frantic screams soon mixed with tears as he falls to the ground writhing in pain. “I ONLY NEED YOU! JUST YOU! I’M SORRY! I ONLY NEED YOU!” He begins to gasp so much that he can’t continue to speak; he can only lay on the ground as he feels the skin on his thighs begin to burn and blister.
Bert sighs and puts the pot in the sink. “Fuck. I kinda really wanted soup today.” He moves to stand over Gerard. “Well, that’s your dinner, enjoy. I’m gonna go get something to eat.” He pauses a moment to look at Gerard’s face, his expression blank, before he leaves the house, locking the door.
The pain is something Gerard has never experienced. Yes, an iron about a year ago had burned him, but he was lucky that Bert had unplugged it a couple of minutes before, saving him from severe burns. The soup had been at its peak temperature. He can remember hearing it bubble before it ended up in his lap.
He’s not sure how long he’s been lying on the floor when Bert reenters the house, a smell of french fries following him. He continues to lie on the floor while he watches Bert casually eat at the table. Bert doesn’t even spare him a glance when his stomach growls loudly. Despite the excruciating pain, Gerard picks himself off the floor and heads to the bathroom to try to nurse his wounds with a first aid kit.
The bathroom door swings open to reveal Bert still munching on the last of his burger. Gerard’s sitting on the toilet lid in his boxers as he applies burn medication to his blistered thighs. Bert uses his free hand to wipe off the tears streaming down Gerard’s face and kneels in front of him.
“You know I love you, right?” Gerard hesitantly nods. “I do think you’re ready to have friends, so I’m gonna let you hang out with Frank. But in order to do this, you’ll have to do some extra things for me to make up for the time I’ll lose with you.” He nods again. Bert reaches out his hand to tilt Gerard’s head up to meet his eyes. “Before then, there’s something I need to ask you.”
Bert quickly finishes off the burger and wipes his hands on his jeans. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulls out a small black box. A box that held a ring.
“Marry me, babe.”
Gerard’s eyes widen as he registers what he just heard. His knows that he should answer “yes”; it’s what Bert expects. But he knows that if he says yes, he’ll be basically sealing the fact that he’ll always be Bert’s property.
With his hair a mess, a tear-stained face, a growling stomach, and 2nd degree burns on his legs, Gerard’s not sure how to answer his abuser.
*~*~*~*~*
Jamie rolls his eyes as he watches his Frank bouncing his seat during lunch. As the school year drew to a close, Jamie and Frank have grown particularly close, so of course he knows about the crush his shorter friend had on his coworker. For the past two weeks Frank has been completely overjoyed with the progess he’s been making with Garrett.
When Frank’s bouncing causes Jamie’s drink to overturn, he hits Frank in the back of his head. Frank pouts before letting that stupid grin take over his face. “Are you still coming with me to work this afternoon to see Garrett?” Jamie shrugged.
“Do I really have a choice?” Frank spastically shook his head. “Then yes, I’m coming with you.” The younger man practically dances in his seat as he continues eating.
Jamie shakes his head and smiles into his hand. He really will miss Frank when he graduates in a couple of weeks.
The school day finally ends and Frank quickly changes into his uniform before grabbing Jamie’s hand and practically dragging him toward the bookstore.
Right before they get to the store entrance, Jamie’s phone ring. “Shit, it’s my mom.” Frank lets go of Jamie’s hand but bounces as he waits for the conversation to be over. He’s on the phone for only a few seconds before he frowns and hangs up the phone. “Both of my parents are working late tonight, I gotta go pick up my kid brother from preschool. Don’t pout like that, you’re almost an adult.” Frank stops making the aforementioned childish expression but still lets himself show his disappointment.
“But I really want you to meet Garrett… he’s absolutely amazing.”
“I know, Frank, and I bet he is, but my mom would kill me if I let a 3-year-old walk home and stay there by himself.” Frank nods in understand and sadly waves to his friend and goes inside the store.
Usually, Garrett’s standing behind the counter or organizing books in the aisle, but today he’s not. Being a good coworker, he immediately works at the counter and checks out a few patrons while he waits for Garrett to return.
After 20 minutes, the blonde man Frank bumped into a few months back comes from the back of the store and stands near the front entrance of the store. Garrett closely follows behind him looking disheveled and red. The blonde man forcefully pulls Garrett into a sloppy open-mouthed kiss before he leaves.
Frank frowns, his worries about Garrett being physically abused coming back to him. He’s concerned about the way the older man won’t make eye contact with him.
“Is that your boyfriend?” he asks, already knowing the answer. At the moment he’s just trying to gauge the reaction of how Garrett reacts to the mention of his boyfriend’s name.
The redhead looks at Frank with almost sad eyes. “Fiancée.”
Frank is speechless for once. Then, the sparkle of the ring on Garrett’s left hand catches his eye.
Realizing how bleak the moment is becoming, Garrett quickly plasters a smile on his face, half-genuine half-forced. “We can hang out this weekend if you’d like to. We could go the park or something.”
“Ye-yeah… Yeah, we could.” Frank looks away for a second trying to clear his head of all the thoughts whizzing around. “Or we could go to the movies. I’m not exactly sure what’s out, but we could always see when we get there.”
Garrett frowned. “I don’t have any money for a movie.” Frank found this strange, being that Garrett worked almost everyday.
“I can pay for both of us… that’s no problem.” The older man smiled and nodded slightly, going back to his work.
*~*~*~*~*
For the rest of the week, Frank sees Garrett’s boyfriend coming in and out of the store at the same time. He hasn’t exactly seen what they’ve been doing, but he could probably guess from the way his and his boyfriend’s clothes are rumpled afterwards.
His stomach drops a little bit each time this happens. He knows that Garrett is a fully-grown man who’s allowed to have a boyfriend, but he can’t help but feel that pang of jealousy every time he sees them together.
At the very least he has their movie semi-date to look forward to on the weekend.
*~*~*~*~*
Saturday afternoon, Frank is slightly panicking as he tries to pick out what to wear when he picks up Garrett. The older man informed him of his inability to drive so he had to do a lot of convincing for his mother to let him borrow her car for the night. Jamie sits on Frank’s bed holding his little brother. About an hour before, the younger man had phone his friend freaking out. He had been at the park babysitting, but promptly came over.
“I have to wear something good. Something he’s never seen me in,” Frank yells from the depth of his closet, throwing clothes out onto the bed. Ben, Jamie’s 3-year-old brother, abandons his coloring book to play with one of Frank’s shirts.
“Has he ever seen you in anything but your work uniform?” Jamie moves the shirt before his brother can rip it.
Frank emerges from his closet and stares at his friend. “…No. But still I need to look good for him. I mean, this will be my first date. Never mind the fact that he has a boyfriend… fiancée. I don’t really think he likes him anyway. So, if everything goes well, he’ll fall in love with me and we’ll get married and have lots of kids.” He smiles triumphantly.
“You are a girl.” Jamie deadpans. Frank just glares at him before grabbing a shirt and pair of jeans off his bed before going into the bathroom to change.
*~*~*~*~*
Frank picks Garrett up at a coffee shop near the bookstore they work at. Garrett wears baggy jeans and a hoodie over a t-shirt. Frank’s actually surprised at the plainness of his fashion. He would have expected Garrett’s everyday wear to be outrageous due to the redness of his hair.
The older man shyly gets into the car smiling at Frank. “Thanks for taking me to the movies… I haven’t seen once in years… since I was fifteen.”
The car is silent as Frank drives to the theater. Fortunately, Garrett doesn’t seem uncomfortable around him, which makes him feel a little better about the night. The redhead just silently bobs his head to the random radio station softly playing in the car.
At the movie theater, Frank quickly gets out of the car to open Garrett’s door, which has the older man chuckling softly at being treated like a woman.
Frank chooses a random movie, a dumb comedy that Adam’s been raving about lately and goes into the theater with his friend. The two of them settle somewhere in the middle of the almost empty theater. They’re about 20 minutes early so they have to wait a little bit before the previews start so they began to idly chat. Mostly, Frank does the talking as Garrett is known to be a man of few words.
Frank is talking and gesturing about some stupid stunt he and Jamie pulled the other day when Garrett takes his hand and lands a small peck on his lips.
The taller man laughs as his date opens and closes his mouth several times, closely resembling a fish. “Are you gonna be okay, Frank?”
He nods dumbly, hardly registering that the movie previews are starting. He’s more focused on the fact that his hand is still in Garrett’s.
The pair hardly watches the movie as Garrett continues to steal kisses for the whole hour and a half. Frank returns the kisses but can’t bring himself to initiate the kisses.
*~*~*~*~*
At work Tuesday, Frank is practically on a cloud as he walks in. All weekend and the day before he’s been daydreaming about kissing Garrett. He never thought his first kiss would be with someone so gorgeous.
He frowns wen he doesn’t see the man on his mind at the front counter. Yes, he got used to it happening last week, but he thought it was clear that Garrett liked him more. So, being the curious teenager he is, he walks into the employee room to see what the older man is up to.
He doesn’t expect to see the blonde-haired man raping Garrett.
He’s never had sex before, but he’s sure that the receiving party should be crying so much or begging the person on top to stop or screaming that he’s being hurt.
Quickly, before he’s spotted he leaves the employee room and goes back to the counter.
Is this what’s been going on the whole time? Or did Garrett’s fiancée find out about what they did? No matter the cause, he feels that it’s his fault.
Pete comes in from the stock room and stops when he sees Frank’s face. The teenager is the palest he’s ever seen. “You okay, kid?” Frank looks up at Pete with the same expression and nods. Pete stares for a few seconds more before shrugging and going to the travel aisle to flirt with a girl who’s been coming a lot lately.
Garrett and his fiancée exit the employee room soon after, looking the same way they always did. The couple share a sloppy kiss before the blonde leaves, and Garrett comes behind the counter.
Frank can only stare at the older man as he settles in like nothing has happened to him. The redhead can feel the eyes on him and turns to look at Frank and smiles.
“Don’t worry about him. I like you the best.”
Is it possible to feel scared, worried, concerned, happy, and heartbroken at the same time?
*~*~*~*~*
Jamie slings his arm over his friend’s shoulder as they walk to the bookstore. Frank’s been feeling bummed out lately about the situation with Garrett. Yes, he’s continued to let the older man kiss him, but he knows he should stop. He knows he should tell someone about the rape, but he doesn’t know who. Jamie, sensing his friend’s troubled mind, volunteered to walk him to work.
Before they enter the store, they both see Garrett’s fiancée leaving, a smirk on his face. Frank doesn’t know whether to glare or feel sad so he chooses to keep his face blank.
Jamie doesn’t know the man so he continues without Frank into the store. When Frank’s done staring at the blonde, he walks into the store, colliding with Jamie’s who just standing there. “What the hell, man? What are y-“
Garrett is frozen in place in the middle of the open space in front of the store. He’s staring at Jamie as if he’s a long lost puppy he hadn’t seen in years.
“Gee?” Frank frowns at the mention of Garrett’s nickname. How did his best friend already know his crush?
“How do you guys know each?” He’s 100 percent sure he hasn’t introduced the two and Jamie has never reacted to Garrett’s name and Garrett hasn’t reacted to Jamie’s.
Jamie’s voice drops to a whisper, but Frank can still clearly hear him when he says:
“He’s my brother.”
Wah! A lot has happened in this chapter! With that being said, the next chapter is probably the last of this chaptered story. As I've said in a previous post, this story will probably be a verse meaning I plan to write lots of one-shots following this, but the next is most probably the end of the original story.
Constructive Criticism always welcome ^^
Interlude I | Chapter 2 |
Interlude II