Sunshine (Frerard)

Chapter 8

The evening had set in and Frank was still transfixed by the new clothes Gerard had bought him. Every now and again he'd walk up to the mirror to hold one of the items up to his body, just to smile and return to the floor.

Gerard was in his usual spot, sat lazily on the sofa, coffee in hand as he watched the tv. He wasn't paying much attention but a particular story on the news pulled him back to reality.

"Two teenage boys discovered a body last night on the outskirts of Belleville, New Jersey. The body has been identified as a man aged between 50 and 60, with no dental records to match and too much decay to properly show the face, police have no clue who this man may be." The news reporter said in her usual monotonous droning voice.

With furrowed brows he thought about the possibility of this man being the same one that held Frank captive for so many years. He glanced over at him just to see him getting his head and arm stuck in the same hole of a jumper, light noises of struggle escaping the fabric. Gerard laughed and went over to help the poor thing out, which received a pout from Frank.

"No funny." He said sternly.

"Sure, sunshine, not funny at all." Which earned a satisfied smile from Frank, not seeming to understand the sarcasm dripping from Gerard's words.

"Gee?" Frank said with his nose scrunched up.

"What's up, Frankie?"

"Dirty." He stated before clambering upstairs, going in a few rooms before locating the bathroom and sitting in the bath fully clothed without the water running. Gerard followed and smiled at the sight of him.

"You want a bath, hm?" He asked as he went to pick Frank up out of the bathtub so that he could fill it up, making sure it wasn't too hot.

Frank had already made an attempt to undress himself but it wasn't really working, the struggle evident on his face as one arm hung loosely by his side while the other was still in the sleeve of his jumper. Gerard raised an eyebrow in amusement as he stared at Frank who looked utterly defeated.

"Help?"

Gerard laughed and started to help Frank remove his clothes, turning off the taps and holding Frank's hands as he stepped into the tub, slowly sitting down in the water. Sitting on the side, Gerard grabbed a pink plastic cup from under the sink cabinet and started to gather water.

"Head back, lovely." Frank did as stated and leant his head all the way back, allowing Gerard to tip the water carefully over Frank's hair, using the other hand to shield his face from any water, which apparently wasn't enough for Frank as he kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut throughout the process.

Gerard went through the usual routine of washing Frank's hair and body before going to grab a towel and holding it open for him to wrap around Frank's scrawny figure. He picked him up and carried him to the bedroom, changing him into some boxers and one of Gerard's shirts, with Frank practically passed out the whole time. He smiled and manoeuvred him so that he was properly tucked under the covers.

Gerard kissed his forehead gently before turning off the light, leaving the door slightly ajar so the lights from the hall would shine through. Heading downstairs, Gerard decided to see what more was said about the body found recently. The stories online described a decrepit, dingy house that was tucked away in the woods. Images of the house were published on some sites, with dirty dishes and half empty bottles of liquor littering the counter tops, dust and cobwebs coating every inch of the walls.

Gerard looked at the pictures with disgust, was this where Frank had been kept? While most reports stated that the death was of a stroke, some were more skeptical, detailing that the door of the house was left wide open, meaning someone had left the house, whether that was before his death or after was unknown. He scrolled down and pressed the next article, the activity now seeming tedious as they were mostly the same.

'Fingerprints were discovered on the bottles of booze, all of which belonging to the body, except one. A bottle of unbranded vodka showed fingerprints of someone else that didn't match either of the boys that discovered the corpse. Someone else was in that house, but who?'

Gerard thought about it for a second but there was no chance that it had been Frank that drank vodka, the innocent little thing hadn't experienced anything but water in all his years. The thought of his face if he did try alcohol made Gerard chuckle to himself in the dim lights of the kitchen. He'd cough and splutter with a scrunched up nose, a look of utter disgust painting his face, the image in his mind was enough to convince him that the fingerprints couldn't have been Frank's.

He tried to shake everything from his mind both literally and figuratively, his hair brushing his shoulders as his head shook briefly. He shut his laptop and downed the last of his water, filling the cup again before he went upstairs. He set the cup carefully on his bedside table as to not wake Frank up, he was curled up in a ball with his teddy bear, Love, loosely held in his arms.

Gerard got into bed carefully, trying not to cause too much movement, taking a sip of water before rolling over with Frank's soft snores lulling him into a deep sleep.