Hidden From Reality

15

Frank

I walked with Gerard as we entered the mall. He walked, our arms looped as we entered Hot Topic. He wandered around the store and looked at the racks of clothes. I pondered what he had said earlier about his mother. How she had gone crazy because of his dad leaving. I also remembered what Mikey had said. As we were walking home, we passed by a passed out bum on the street. Gerard looked straight ahead, refusing to look down at the man. We passed by quickly so that Gerard wouldn't have to be around him any longer. We walked into my room. I remembered how vibrant Gerard's room had been, even if it had painted grey walls and black decor. My walls were a pale tan, and an off white was exposed where the paint had begun to peel. The shag carpet was peeling up in the corners all around the house, my mom couldn't afford to keep the house in full upkeep. But for some reason, Gerard and Mikey had left their plush, money-filled life to come live with me. Gerard sat on the bed and pulled out his phone and scrolled through some pictures of a website. He pulled out his sketchbook and began to draw, continuously looking at some reference on his phone. After awhile, he eventually slipped into some kind of art trance.

"What did your mother do to make you leave? Like, you guys had money and stuff...why come here and live with me?"

"Because Frank, I love you more than I love my mom." I stared down at Gerard as he pulled his graphite-stained hand away from the paper, judging his art. He went back to sketching and I realized he hadn't answered why he left. I got up and found Mikey sitting on the couch, texting someone on his phone. I sat down next to him and he glanced up.

"Mikey, can I ask you a question?" He nodded, looking back down at his phone.

"Why did you and Gerard leave your home? Like, why leave a life with enough money and a big house and enough food and stuff and come live here?" Mikey looked up at me.

"A life with money is meaningless if you're not happy. If you have to hide from your mom everyday while she yells and screams, blaming your brother for something he couldn't control. A life like that isn't worth it. You and your mom may not have a lot of money, but you make up for that with just how happy you guys are. Gerard and I weren't happy around our mom, so we left." I processed what Mikey had said.

"I guess that makes sense..." I heard a thud and watched Gerard storm out of my room and go to the bathroom. Mikey didn't even look up, even as I left to go see what had happened. I found Gerard's sketchbook laying face-down near the wall. I picked up and unbent some of the pages. I flipped through it, looking at all the drawings. I saw the one Gerard had been working on as I had left the room. It was a picture of me sitting on the floor, playing with a dog. It wasn't a werewolf, just a dog. I smiled at it as Gerard walked back into the room.

"Oh, hey Frank." I waved his sketchbook at him, the drawing on full display.

"This is really good, y'know that?" He looked down at the floor, shrugging.

"I mean, if you say so." I smiled at him and tossed his sketchbook back onto the bed after flipping it closed. Mom called us out for dinner. We all sat at the table and ate. Around half-way through, a knock sounded at the door. My mom opened it to find my dad, standing there as if he never left.