Photograph of You (Frerard/Rikey)

Elena brought us together (1)

-Gerards POV-

My feet led me down the empty street, it was quiet, peaceful, I liked the silence, it gave me time to think about everything that had happen in the past month. My grandmother had died, that was still a fresh wound in my already scared heart. Her funeral was held two weeks ago, it still feels like yesterday when I had to say goodbye to her.
Mikey had grieved just as much as I had, either way he seems to be taking it a bit better than I am. He's younger than me, but acts as though he was the older sibling, taking care of me and making sure I'm taking care of myself like I should be.
Mom had been dysfunctional since the funeral, she's been kept up in her room crying for hours on end. If Mikey wasn't here, then the two of us would have been screwed, he takes care of us both.
Dad hasn't been around much, spending a lot of his time at work. He's trying to get over things two, that's just his way of coping I guess.
A bit of rain hit my cheek, I pulled up the hood of my jacket. Rain doesn't bother me, in a way I find it calming and peaceful, almost as if the heavens where grieving the loss with me.
The cemetery gate stood in front of me, open as it usually was at this time. I had made it habit to visit the other graves when I came, grandma would be happy with me if she where still alive.
Tears burned my eyes at the thought, she'd lived a long and happy life, she made use of her time on Earth to better the lives she came in contact with, I'm going to miss her.
One by one, I visited the graves of family friends, grandmas late friends, strangers, even some of my late friends who had lost their fight. By the time I reached grandmas grave, my eyes where red from all the salty tears.
I sat down in front of the grave of my late relative, my knees brought up to my chest and my arms wrapped around them. My mind provided me with happy memories that I had with her, it made me miss her more, made me want this all to be some terrible dream. The idea of a world without her was invisible to me.
30 minutes passed, I sat there and reminisced in memories and sorrow, I would miss her and her smile, the laugh that cheered up anyone who heard it, her jokes that made everything better, and the person who kept me going for so long. I can't help but wonder, will I be ok? She taught me how to take care of myself, how to think for myself and about myself in a way that was good, she taught me how to be happy. She was my happiness, my best friend, but as she always taught me, I have to carry on.
Rain water dripped from my black hair onto my face, I couldn't tell what was rain and what was from me crying. Either way, it would be convincing enough when I got back home; I don't want Mikey to worry more about me than he already does, all that stress can make him sick.
My walk home was slower than usual, my mind wandering to visit the unused corners of my mind and make me think about a lot of things. 20 minutes passed and I was home, my mind a bit more clear and focused now that I had mulled over some things.
The only light on in the house was from my brothers room, the dusk sky bringing it out to be more clear to me. The door was unlocked, Mikey must have know that I left to visit grandma Elena.
I pushed open the door, taking down my hood in the process. The house was quiet, as expected. My hand wandered to brush through my damp hair, my ears picking up foot steps from the second floor of the house.
"Gerard? Is that you?" He stood in front of the steps, meeting my gaze. He threw his arms around me, squeezing me close to him. This is easy for him to do, he's taller than I am by a good few inches.
I returned the hug and said nothing, his question had already been answered.
"Moms doing a bit better today, she's eating and drinking without me telling her to. Are you doing ok?" He didn't have to specify what he meant.
"Yeah, I took some time to think. I visited Elena's grave as well as a few of my friends, family friends, you know."
Mikey's hand brushed through my damp hair, he wasn't smiling but it was clear that he was satisfied with my answer. "Take off that wet jacket of yours, I'll go get you a dry one and we can get some coffee from the kitchen."
He knew how to get my attention, the idea of a nice warm jacket and coffee was enough to put a small smile on my face. He ruffled my hair and went off to retrieve a jacket for me.
In the mean time, I took off my wet boots and jacket, locking the front door when I was over there. Mikey draped a warm jacket over my shoulders, I pulled my arms through the sleeves. He took my hand and led me to the kitchen, making coffee for the both of us.
"Mom is upstairs sleeping, she's doing better than I expected her to be." He kept his eyes on the table in front of him, sipping his coffee. A smile came to my lips for the second time that day, maybe the family would be able to function again soon. That's what I hoped, at least.

Song of the chapter: Photograph of Helena (mashup)