Hidden From Reality

17

Frank

I cuddled next to Gerard as Mom turned out the light. He clutched my body, basically trembling with fear.

"Dude, your dad is creepy." I nodded. He hadn't said anything to Gerard after we confirmed that his surname was Way, but had opted to continue to stare at him. Gerard eventually drifted into sleep, his breaths becoming shallower. I tried to fall asleep, and was about to when I heard my door creak open. I looked up over Gerard's thin body and watched my dad enter the room. He seemed surprised to find me still awake.

"Frank, how are you still awake?" I shushed him, gesturing to Gerard's sleeping form. I waved him out of room before he could even think about waking up Gerard. I knew just how important a good night's sleep was to him. I made sure My dad closed the door on the way out and snuggled back into Gerard's shoulder. I drifted into sleep and woke up the next morning. Gerard had left and I could here Mikey yelling at someone. I rolled out of bed and went down the hall. Mikey was clutching a shaky Gerard and yelling at my dad.

"DON'T YOU DARE TRY THAT AGAIN! GERARD IS A HUMAN BEING, NOT A TEST SUBJECT!!" My dad reeled back in shock as Gerard noticed I had entered the room. He pushed off his brother and ran towards me, tackling me in a hug.

"What happened?" Gerard shook his head, not saying anything. He buried his face in my shoulder, and I heard his breathing speed up. He started hyperventilating and crying slightly. I glared at my dad and carried Gerard into the bathroom. I locked the door behind us and turned around. Gerard had sank to the ground, and before I could even say anything he started throwing up in the toilet. I scrambled to hold back his long, black hair before he could get any puke in it. He retched and threw up again.

"What happened exactly?" He shook his head again and swallowed.

"Don't wanna talk about it." He shuddered and I leaned forward, placing a hand on Gerard's forehead.

"You're burning up. You weren't this sick yesterday."

"Maybe I was. I'm really good about ignoring sickness. And...I guess the lack of food finally caught up with me." I looked over to Gerard in shock.

"What do you mean 'lack of food?' I always see you eat dinner." Gerard smiled weakly and turned and threw up in the toilet again. I suddenly realized what was happening.

"Oh Gerard. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want you to worry. Besides, your mom has enough to worry about without me and my problems."

"She wouldn't have cared. She wants to make you comfortable, Gerard. You could of told us." He laughed without humor.

"Yeah? And add to my long list of problems?"

"Well, I want to help you. And to do that, we should probably do something about that fever."

"Fever?"

"Face it Gerard. You're sick. Like, really sick." He sighed and rubbed his head. I told him to wait there and left the bathroom. I dug around in the cabinet and cursed.

"Hey, Mom, do we have any medicine? Gerard caught a fever." She walked up next to me and looked around in the cabinet.

"I guess not. Go get him out of the bathroom. I'll go buy some medicine. Was he throwing up at all?" I nodded and Mom followed me back to the bathroom. I held out my hands, waiting for Gerard to grab them. When he did, I pulled him to his feet and let him lean on me as we walked to my room. I made sure he was comfortable and left the room, turning out the light behind me. Mikey was getting ready to go to the store with Mom, and my dad calmly watched from the kitchen table. After they left, he turned towards me.

"Let me see Gerard."

"After you tell me what went down this morning."

"I noticed that Gerard was looking a little unwell. I was going to give him a shot for it, but he freaked out at the sight of the needle. Apparently Mikey thought I was trying to drug his brother."

"Well, yeah. Who carries around syringes and medicine?"

"I do. I am a traveling doctor after all."

"Well, I'm trying to let him get some sleep. You can't see him right now." My dad scowled and stood up. He was very much taller than me, which was easy enough to accomplish seeing as how I was under five foot.

"Let me see him. I can help."

"What's stopping you from just walking back there?"

"Well, you two seem close. I just want your permission."

"Fine." I led him back to my room. Gerard had kicked off all the covers and was curled up in the center of my bed. I saw that he was sweating slightly as my dad crouched down next to him. He reached out and gently rested his hand on Gerard's forehead.

"This is dangerously high. How did he go this long without anyone noticing? He's also severely malnourished. You said he just moved in with you guys?"

"Last week, yeah."

"It's a good thing he left when he did. No parent who's in the right state of mind would let this happen to their child." I looked down at Gerard's small, sleeping body.

"Yeah, he is too skinny. I was gonna try to help, but I never figured out how...Or how fast I needed to act." My dad nodded and stood, turning towards me.

"When will your mom get back?"

"Whenever she can. Mikey went with her, so they'll be back as soon as they can. Mikey's always been a little over protective of Gerard." I heard the door creak open and Mikey call for me. My dad and I left my room, closing the door behind us.

"Where's Gerard?"

"He's sleeping back in the room. He actually fell asleep, like, almost immediately."

"When he wakes up, we're gonna have to force him to take the medicine. He can't swallow pills so we had to get him this liquid thing. He won't take pills, but he complains about the taste of the liquid stuff. It sucks, but he has to deal with it." I watched Gerard slowly walk out of my room, his bare feet making little noise on our hardwood floors. He rubbed at his eyes, still clutching the werewolf stuffed animal.

"I heard my name...What's up?" His speech had been slurred with sleep and he noticed the shopping bags that were still clutched in his brother's hands.

"What's in those?"

"Medicine. For you. Cause you're sick." His eyes widened as he looked at the bag.

"I don't need it. I'm not even that sick." I walked over and put my hands on Gerard's shoulders.

"You kinda are. You're practically sweating." Gerard rubbed at his forehead with his shirt's sleeve.

"Not even. You're just imagining things." I wiped at Gerard's forehead and showed him the sweat on my fingers.

"You literally are. C'mon, take some of the medicine and go back to sleep." Gerard slowly nodded and pulled a soda out of the fridge. I poured him a dose of the medication and handed it to him. He took it quickly and drained the soda almost as fast. He stumbled back to my room. I watched him close the door, and I walked back a few minutes later to check on him. Gerard was passed out on my bed, snoring slightly. I smiled as I gently shut the door. At least he was sleeping. Sleeping normally meant people were going to get better.