I woke up around midnight. Frank was still asleep, he was sleeping soundly, he was resting. A bit near 7:00, Donna finally came home and gave him some pills and stuff for him. He had been sleeping ever since.
I quietly shifted out of bed, I was careful not to wake the dogs. Vendetta was asleep, her face tucked against her chest and glossy white and red feathered wing over her face.
I quickly and silently left the room. I walked to the bathroom, did some stuff in there, I even brushed my teeth quickly. I walked to the kitchen, Donna was drinking coffee. She would be leaving soon for her shift at the hospital.
"Thanks for helping him, Ma." I said as I walked in. She looked at me and gave me a smile.
“Be sure to take care of him though, Gerard. And try your hardest not to get sick." Donna said. "He's really sick. If he gets even worse, call me." Donna told me. I nodded and she hugged me tightly. "You did the right thing, Geebear." She kissed my cheek and she made her way out the door.
I poured myself a mug of coffee and went back to my bedroom, Satan gave me a look but put his head down when I sat at my desk. I flipped open my laptop and my sketchbook. I opened my laptop and typed in Frank. I had to check Satan's collar tags to see what Frank's last name was.
Iero..
I went back to my laptop and typed it in. There were a few files on him. One of him and his criminal record, I guess he stole Satan from a local dog fighting group, stole Shasta from a work force and stole a lot of food from a market and money from a bank. He had no family left, he also was a great escapist, he climbed up the wall of the bank and escaped through a skylight.
"I'll talk." Frank said, I flinched in shock and looked at him. He was sitting upright in my bed, his black hair sticking up in odd angles. He had Vendetta on his hand, he stroked her feathers.
"Why'd you steal? And how did you manage to?" I asked, Frank looked at his dogs.
"I saved Satan, he was going to be slaughtered. And Shasta..he was going to be a bomb dog in a military unit...but he brought me food every night when I lived outside. So I took him with me because they were sending him to die. Elric was my dad's." Frank explained.
"What about the bank?" I asked.
"I needed money so I could get stuff from the hospital, I didn't have insurance." Frank answered. "Why did you have to go to the hospital?" I asked.
"When I stole Satan, the owner set his other dogs after me..and they got me." Frank told me. I stood up and walked over to him. He showed me his leg, his shoulder and arm. Sure enough, there were bite wounds that had scarred over.
"Oh.." I mumbled.
"I stole food..because I had to feed my dogs..and Vendetta." He said.
"And you came to Belleville." I said. "Yea, I grew up here..but not for long. Then we moved to some weird state, I don't remember what it's called..and my parents died two years ago. Ive been alone since." Frank explained.
"How old are you?" I asked. "Sixteen, almost seventeen." Frank said. "But age doesn't really matter with me. It's just a number." Frank said.
"Are you on the run?" I asked. "Not really. They won't find me here." Frank said. He coughed into his arm and sighed. "Unless...you throw me out to the cops." "I won't. Your secret is safe." I said.
"Thank you." Frank mumbled. "I trust you, gerard." He whispered. I smiled at him and I closed my laptop. I didn't remember why I opened my sketchbook, so I began doodling a cartoon Frank. He just sat there watching me scratch away at the white paper with a pencil.
"My mom is worried about you." I said. "You're really sick.. but I want you to get better, so will you stay here until then?" I asked.
"I guess." Frank said quietly. "Or I could go back to my home." He said quietly.
"Frank, you can't. I don't want to leave you alone. If you get sicker you could die, I don't want you to die." I told him. "But..the electricity and water there..they are free." He said. I gave him a questioning look. "The bank owns the house..they keep all of it on in case someone wants to buy it. They have no idea I've been using it." He told me
"What about when they shut it off? Then where will you go?" I asked. He shrugged and let Vendetta make her way up to his shoulder. He slowly stood up and walked over to me. "Then I get up and move again." Frank answered. He reached out and touched my hair. I raised an eyebrow. "You're more interesting than I am." He said quietly, he ran his fingers through it and I sighed lightly. It felt good...no it felt glorious. "Way more interesting." "How am I interesting though?" I asked. His fingers worked through tangles in my hair.
"Well..for one, you are still alive..even though that jock beats you up all the time. And for another, you're kind and caring, very open about yourself and not a fuck to give if anyone says wrong to you." Frank answered, his voice was quiet, and it was nice.
"You think that?" I asked, Frank nodded and I smiled at him. "And...you're pretty." Frank said, he blushed slightly on his pale face. I grinned and felt myself blush.
"Thanks. You too." I replied. "You're just saying that." Frank said. "No, I'm being serious. And this is coming from the probably gayest man you'll ever meet." I said.
"I'll have you beat." Frank said with a smirk. My jaw dropped and he gave me an evil look and then went back to my bed. I watched him. "Way, way beat." Frank said, he laid back down and cuddled into Satan. I chuckled.
