Let Love In

3

'Aww, a puppy!' Frank hears a voice say. It sounds childish. Is he dreaming? Why is there a girl here? He tries to open his eyes, but the headache makes it almost impossible.

But the voices continue.

This time, farther away. It's Mikey – and another guy. 'Mikes, are you fucking crazy?' the other voice says, pretending to talk softly, but Frank can still hear them. He's still not sure this is a dream or not, or what the fuck is happening. Why is Mikey here? Where is he? The last thing Frank remembers is sitting at a bar crying. How bad was he? Did something happened with Mikey? The buzzing in his head keeps him from remembering more, while the voices keep arguing. 'There's a drunk man sleeping on your couch! You knew B was supposed to stay over today, and you let him in. With all of his tattoos, he could be a criminal and you have him in your place just like that.'

Does Mikey have a kid? Is he married?

'Seriously, Gee? If I remember well, there was a time when I was the one being drunk all the time, and you let me see your daughter without even thinking.'

'You know it's not the same. You're his uncle.' Oh. 'He's a complete stranger. I can't trust him.'

'Well, I trust him. Remember when we trusted each other?' There's a long silence after that, and that's when Frank finally opens his eyes, and finds himself in someone's living room. Nothing around him seems familiar. The furniture, a coffee table covered in mugs and paper, pictures covering one of the walls. And there's a girl sitting next to Lois.

'Hi,' she says when she notices Frank is awake. He doesn't reply though, but he makes his best attempt to smile. She has long, black hair and a kind smile. 'You're uncle Mikey's friend?'

'Yeah,' he says, his voice still hoarse since he just woke up.

'I'm Bandit. But everyone calls me B.'

'I'm Frank.' He tries to ignore the void in his stomach. He's not used to being around other people, and he can't help it.

'Is this your dog?' she asked.

'Yeah. She's a girl.'

'What's her name?'

'Lois.'

'Aww, Princess Lois!'

That makes Frank smile. He just met B, but he already likes her. He can't explain it. 'Actually, Lois is a very special dog,' he says. 'She's a super hero, actually.'

The girl looks at him in shock. 'Like Princess Leia?!' Frank nods. 'For real?!'

'Yeah. She has this super power, which consists on her knowing when I'm not feeling well. You could say she sees the future, so she takes care of me, and lets others know if I need help.'

'Wow!' It takes her some time, but then she turns to Frank with a worried look on her face. 'But – why don't you feel well? Are you sick?'

Just then, someone walks in the living room. 'Relax,' Mikey says. Frank sees him and the other man walk in behind him. Now he can see the resemblance. Though the stranger is just a couple inches shorter, with his hair a little longer, and some scruff. Frank can see some gray hair here and there. Unlike Mikey, his brother wears very comfy clothes. A large shirt covered in paint, and a knit beanie. 'I see you decided to finally wake up, Frankie.' He just turns to his friend and fakes a smile. 'Oh, this is my brother, Gerard. Gerard, this is my friend, Frank.'

'Nice to meet you,' Gerard says, stepping closer to shake his hand. His tone is dry, and after everything that Frank heard, not so sincere.

'Nice to meet you.' Frank's pride is bigger than him, but he has manners. Besides, he'd probably never see Gerard again, so there was no point in holding a grudge.