You're a Mind Fuck, Babe

Chapter 66: The End.

The next few weeks pass by in agony. Gerard refuses to go back to work, claiming he never knew the feeling of this kind of freedom because right after high school, he threw himself into university. I love that he's painting more and drawing and generally seeming happier but he doesn't clean and he won't listen to me. I can't pay his rent on minimum wage. I can barely pay for the cigarettes he chain smokes even with a discount. I don't know how he expects me to fix all of his problems.. And I know that he's been drinking again. I can taste it on his tongue and smell it in his clothes. He denies it but it's unmistakeably recognizable. I still care about him, I just don't have the time or the energy to deal with it. I tried so hard and he just won't listen to reason so I stopped. I stopped trying because it was useless. It made my heart sink in my chest because I knew he wasn't right, he wasn't doing well and he just didn't want to admit that he was defeated, or at least that he felt that way. He didn't want to get back up. He liked being down. It makes me upset but between working every shift I can at work and going to school every day for a chance at a better job down the line, I don't have any time to deal with it without getting too angry because I'm so tired I can't regulate my emotions properly. Half of the time that I leave, I'm either over boiling with anger or crying from the exhaustion of dealing with him. It's killing me.

-

My eyes are puffy and red as I shuffle to work. I wipe my eyes, warm tears coating my hand as I open the door. I spot Ryan, who'll be finishing his shift as I arrive. He's busy with a customer, talking about the watches on the counter. The man in a leather suit leaves the watches alone and pays for his cigarettes. I unzip my sweater, adjust my name tag and head behind the counter. Ryan gives me a wave of hello as he finishes with the customer. The bell dings as the man leaves and Ryan turns to look at me. Instantly, his smile falls and he approaches me.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you or something?" He asks, touching my cheeks and examining my face to check for any signs.
"No," I reply through shaky breaths.
"Why are you crying?"
"He won't listen to anything I say. I don't know what to do," I choke out, fighting more tears.
"I thought you told him that if he didn't get a job or start helping out in some way that you'd leave him to figure it out himself," Ryan recalls.
"I meant to but I couldn't. I'm kinda scared to tell him in case he gets really mad or if I actually have to leave him. I shouldn't be scared but I am," I explain.
"Oh come on, you're like super bad-ass, you can do it," he encourages, though it doesn't change any of my emotions towards this.
"Don't you have anybody you could ask to help you with this? His mom, dad, brother or sister or something?" Ryan asks, staring into my eyes as though I'm a helpless animal.
"I could call his brother but then I would be disrupting his life entirely because he's probably busy," I say, thinking about Mikey and Fletcher and Pete.
"I think you should bug his brother now before you have to bug him after to home Gerard," Ryan laughs. I smile and sigh.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Do you want me to give his brother a call for you?" He asks and I nod almost immediately.
"Okay well what's the number?" He asks, pulling out his phone. I give it to him and he dials it. He stands around for a few seconds before anyone picks up.
"Yes, hello. Is this Gerard Way's brother? I'm a friend of Frank's. Yeah, they're both okay. But Gerard's being a stubborn asshole and he's stressing Frank out because Gerard got fired and he doesn't want to get a job and Frank can't afford rent because he's still not done high school and he can't really get a good job that pays more than minimum wage without any experience and Gerard won't listen to reason and-... You'll be here in three hours? Really?! That's great. Thanks," Ryan says in conversation. He hangs up and looks at me happily.
"Sorted. He'll be here in-"
"Yeah, yeah, three hours. Thank you for doing that," I thank and hug him.
"Any time. But look, I've got a hot date in 5 minutes so I need to go. Might stop by later to check on you. Okay, bye," he says and runs out. I head towards the cash and look around for anybody else. The store's empty so I pick up a magazine and start catching up on celebrity gossip. This is going to be a long night...