To The Last Parade

Two

~Gerard~

Suddenly the door bell rang, releasing the familiar chime I'd heard a million times before.

I looked up in shock.

"Ignore that." Mama told me. "It's just the stupid police." She began to cry out in anger as she left the table and fled to the telephone.

"Aw, mama please don't cry." Mikey whispered to himself under his breath.

I couldn't help but to stare at the closed door. Maybe she was right. They were probably going around to offer assistance like usual.

"One just turned 18 and the other turns 16 in a week! They can't go!" Mama raged to whomever she was talking to

"Gerard, I-I don't wanna go." Mikey mumbled, looking down at his soup.

"I don't want to go either. But those bastards are making us and there's nothing we can do about it." I answered honestly.

He gave a sad nod and picked his spoon back up off the table.

The bell began to ring yet again but this time, constantly. At first, I ignored it, but then it became nerve rattling. I ground my teeth together and clenched my fists to avoid an outburst.

"Mama!" I gave in and yelled in irritation.

She stomped over to the door, mumbling curses to herself and threw the door open.

A small boy ran in. He had short, dark hair and his pale skin with two visible inks.

"Umm... hello?" Mama awkwardly asked, probably expecting an officer.

The boy's face had been stained with tears and he was trying desperately to catch his breath. I quickly took notice that he had various bruises over his cheeks and eye sockets.

"Oh my god." He wheezed. He began to bawl. He ran over to glance out the window then ducked behind the couch.

"Excuse me? Who are you?" Mama quietly questioned. She looked over to me and Mikey and pointed to the stair case telling us to go.

Mikey stood up and tugged on my sleeve, pulling me up the stairs with him.

I silently jerked away at the top to lean over the rail to spy on the boy and mama's conversation.

I was far too curious. It was as though the dark haired boy had a magical force at his side, directing me into a black hole that would suck me into his domain. Or a giant magnet that's pull is impossible to resist.

I heard his sobs continue. I slowly peeked through the small, wooden pillars that held the stairs in place.

"C'mon sweetie, take deep breaths. What happened?" I could see mama trying to comfort him but he only sat shaking in silence.

"I-I'm Frank. Frank Iero." He sputtered out.

"Okay, hi Frank, my name is Donna." She kindly stated. "What is scaring you honey?"

"It's m-my dad." Frank answered.

Mama glanced up at me and scowled.

"Gerard. I said go upstairs." She scolded angrily. I obeyed and moved slowly up the last few steps. But instead of going to my room, I stayed put.

"What did your father do?" Mama asked.

I heard Frank sigh then take a deep breath following an exhale.

"We got a call saying that I had to go fight in two months. My dad got mad at Roosevelt and began cursing. Then he hit my mom and threw shit around the house..." I noticed as his voice gradually shifted from shaky to angry. "He said I wasn't going then he began to beat me. I screamed but nobody could hear. I ran away and out the door but he followed. He chased me untill I finally came to a house that would let me in. He's still out there." Frank explained.

"Awe, I'm so sorry hun." Mama sighed.

"My boys have to go too." She admitted.

"Sorry mam." Frank apologized in sympathy.

"Please don't let him get me." He whispered, pleading.

It was silent for a moment then mama spoke up.

"Would you like for me to speak to the police about your dad?" She offered him.

I heard a gasp and then I soft whimper.

"N-no please no." Frank begged. "He'll do it again. I only see him like 8 times a year and he always does it."

I began to worry about the dark haired boy myself. He seemed special in some way.

"Calm down. Take deep breaths." Mama said in a comforting tone. "What does he do?"

Frank gave no answer. I imagine he was shaking his head or staring into space.

"Frank, you can stay here for as long as you need. I have two boys about your age upstairs who would gladly hang with you." Mama offered.

"Michael! Gerard!" she hollered out across the nearly empty house. I heard Mikey's boots thud down the dark hallway near me at the top of the stair case. We both hesitantly stepped down the stairs and stood near the bottom.

"Now, boys, this is Frank." Mama introduced him to us, though I'd already heard his name before. He seemed scared and his face was still a deep red with his tear stained cheeks.