Hidden From Reality

29

Frank

"What do you mean he's not here?" I stared at Mikey as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but he's not here and he's not at school. Do you think he went home early?" Mikey and I had just finished searching the park for Gerard, but had come up empty. We sprinted home and burst through the door, calling for my mom. When she said that she hadn't seen Gerard since this morning, Mikey pulled out his phone and called Gerard for the fifth time. Unsurprisingly, he didn't answer. Mikey stared down at his phone, then turned and ran for the door. I quickly followed after him, and began to recognize where he was going. Before long, we stood before his old house. Without even thinking, he ran up to the door and barged in. We entered and found his mom curled up on the couch, watching Netflix. She paused her show and looked up at Mikey, her face lighting up with a smile.

"Mikey? Are you coming home?"

"Not a chance. Where's Gerard?"

"Gerard? I haven't seen him since you two left." I heard some kind of muffled scream come from Gerard's room. Mikey and I shared a look before quickly making our way to the room. Mikey threw the door open to find Gerard tied to his bed. I saw multiple needles sticking out of his arms, along with the blood that had dried after flowing from the wounds. What worried me the most was that Gerard's eyes were red and puffy. It was almost like I went into autopilot as I walked over to the bed and began to untie Gerard. Before I could even start on the knot, I was pulled away. Gerard's mom dragged me away from him as he screamed around the gag in his mouth. I screamed all the way to the door, kicking in an attempt to break free. Mikey was already outside, clutching his leg. Mrs.Way threw me down next to him, and before I could stand back up, the door was closed and locked. I got up and began to bang on the door, but nothing happened. Mikey limped over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. He began to pull me away.

"NO! HOW CAN YOU STOP TRYING!? WE FINALLY FOUND HIM! HE'S YOUR BROTHER, AND YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE HIM!?"

"I don't want to leave him, but there's nothing we can do. All we can do is go home and call the police. We're just kids, Frank." He pulled me away, tears streaming down my face.

"He w-won't make it. He won't..."

"He will. Gerard always makes it out. Don't worry." When we finally got home, I stumbled back to my room and sat on the bed, crying. My dad came in and made an effort to comfort me, but I couldn't stop crying. Just remembering the scared look on Gerard's face, and how I was helpless to save him. How I was useless. I was vaguely aware of Mikey talking on the phone, most likely calling the police. He came in and sat next to me, telling me how it was going to be okay.

"You were right. Gerard is one of the strongest people I know. He'll make it out."