Lost

Chapter 16

Mikey yawned and stretched his arms above his head. There as something warm against his side, and it was making him drowsy. He looked over at Frank with soft eyes, smiling.
Frank was asleep still, looking oddly peaceful. Mikey didn't know how he could get so peaceful when during most of the day he was so ferocious.

He sat up and looked around his old room. His desk was still broken. Mikey unconsciously traced where the cuts on his arm had been from stumbling into it.

The door was flung open, and Mikey jumped badly. Frank muttered something beside him, but didn't wake up.

Mikey looked up at Gerard, who stormed over to him and grabbed his arm. The older Way dragged the younger out of bed and downstairs, completely ignoring Mikey's desperate protests.

"I don't care if you need to put a shirt on," he hissed, stopping in the front room and turning to his brother. "We used to take baths together as kids. And I'm your brother! Why would I ever be interested in that?" He scowled and finally let go of Mikey. The younger brother rubbed his wrist and glared ruefully at the older.

"Why am I here?"

"Because I want to talk to you. About Frank."

Mikey sighed. "Gerard, I don't care about what you have to say about him."

"Well I do," Gerard sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Why would Frank ever hurt me?" Mikey scowled. Gerard took a step forward, but Mikey stumbled back, away from him. "Plus, you can't talk! You left me all alone! What do you care for what hurts me?"

Something flashed in Gerard's eyes. "What would you know about why I left?" he snapped.

Mikey gave him a dark look. "I don't want to know. Leave me alone."

Gerard blinked. "Mikey-"

Mikey scowled and walked out of the room, towards the front door. Gerard grabbed his wrist again, spinning him around.

"Don't you walk away from me!"

"Oh, but you can run away from me?" Mikey shot back.

Gerard sighed. "Mikey, just listen to me-"

"Mikey?" Frank's sleepy but worried voice came from upstairs. Mikey looked up at him.

"Frank." He smiled a little.

"Don't shout," Frank muttered. "It's bad for your heart." Whether that was true or not, Mikey didn't know, but he obediently shut up. He walked towards Frank, who eyed up his bare chest with a small smirk. "And don't you dare put a shirt on."

Mikey flushed bright red, and Gerard muttered a curse word under his breath.

"Now," Frank said briskly. "Why were you two fighting?"

"No reason," the brothers both said.

Frank raised an eyebrow.

"Gerard left me alone," Mikey muttered after a pause. "I wanted to shout at him."

Frank sighed. "He didn't leave you alone. You always had me."

"I guess." Mikey sighed and hugged Frank tightly. Frank patted his chest and shot Gerard a glare that Mikey pretended not to notice.

He'd be fine as long as he had Frankie.

*****

"Gerard, why is Frank making your brother take pills?" Lindsey stood in the doorway, staring at Mikey and Frank, who both had a look akin to deer being caught in headlights. Gerard frowned.

"I don't know. Frank, what are you doing?"

"He takes pills now," Frank said defensively. "He just never remembers to take them, so I remember for him."

Gerard turned to Mikey with a thunderous look. "Spit them out. Now."

Evidently, he thought they weren't good pills.

Mikey grabbed the glass of water Frank was offering and hastily downed them. Gerard looked furious.

"Mikey!"

"He has to!" Frank yelled.

"You don't have to take drugs!" Gerard rounded on Frank, seething. "What are you getting my brother hooked on?"

Mikey couldn't help it: he started laughing.

Gerard pointed at him, still bellowing at Frank. "He's high already!"

Mikey's laughter only got worse as he clutched at Frank, trying to breathe. Frank sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Gerard, he isn't high. He's laughing at you."

Gerard stilled, looking at his brother, who was now taking deep breaths.

"But..."

Frank turned serious. "Gerard, a few months ago, he had a heart attack."

There was silence.

"He... he what?"

Even Mikey had stopped laughing now.

"He had a heart attack because he wasn't sleeping and he was getting so stressed over your disappearance." Frank scowled. "He has to take meds and I have to supervise him constantly to make sure he actually sleeps."

Gerard's mouth was open, his gaze flickering from Frank to Mikey. Lindsey had gone very quiet.

"Mikey, you-"

"Yeah." Mikey chewed his lip.

Gerard surged across the room and hugged him tightly. With a jolt, Mikey realized he was crying.

"Hey... it's okay..." He looked at Frank awkwardly. Frank looked just as mystified as him.

"It's not okay!" Gerard protested. "I could've lost you and... and I would've had no idea!"

Mikey blinked. "But I didn't die. So it's okay."

"And you were so depressed!" Gerard sniffed, his sobs getting louder. "It's all my fault!"

"Of course it is," Frank muttered.

"Frank," Mikey snapped. "Not helping."

Frank just looked mutinous as Lindsey carefully walked over to Gerard and led him to the couch, sighing.

It took half an hour for Gerard to calm down. Mikey sighed and looked up at Frank. He was sat on the floor whilst Frank was in an armchair, and it was quite different to be looking up to him for once. He sighed and looked back at his brother. He didn't know where to go from here, but if he had Frank, then he didn't care.