Photograph of You (Frerard/Rikey)

The longest 2 weeks of my life (8)

-Franks POV-

I sat with Gerard on the couch, he fell asleep a while ago. His head lay in my lap, my fingers brushing through his messy hair. He was tired, it's been a few days since he called me.
Someone came in and kidnapped Mikey at 3 am a few days ago, I haven't left a Gerard alone for a second since. He's been staying at my house, I wasn't willing to risk his safety too. He haven't slept well since Mikey was taken, the officers ares still searching for him.
They have a few leads, and the search is going well. If things keep like this, then they think they'll find him within the next 2 weeks. The anxiety is having negative affects on both me and Gerard, my main concern at the moment though is Gerard.
If he's up, so am I. If he's crying, I'll hold him. If he needs sleep, then I'll be his pillow. I swear, if I find out who did this...
Dad walked in, interrupting my venomous thoughts. "Frank, how are you two holding up?" He knew what happened too, he agreed to letting Gerard stay with us until it's safe. He took notice of Gerard's sleeping form, keeping his voice quiet.
"I'm worried about him, he's not sleeping well. It's taking all I've got to take care of him and myself at the same time, one of us has to stay strong though. It's better that it's me, Gerard is more affected by this whole thing. He needs support, and I'm here to give him just that."
"Do his parents know about this?"
"From what i last heard, no o e else has been near the house since I left with Gerard. The police are keeping a close eye on it, I have no idea where his mom went. I never did actually see his dad, I'm not sure if he lives there or not but I'm not in a position to make assumptions."
Dad sat down next to me, hugging me. It was one sided, but I appreciated it. "We'll get through this, I'll be here for you both ok? Have you been having any symptoms lately?"
"No, I've just been really tired. Sleep isn't coming easily, there's to much worry for that to be easy right now."
"I understand that Frank, are you two at least getting some sleep though?"
"Yeah, little bits at a time. It's mostly from when we end up falling asleep on each other though. Sleep is coming a bit more at night though, Gerard's mind is letting him be."
"Poor kid, he doesn't deserve any of this and neither do you."
"Everything happens for a reason dad," I met his gaze. "This will make us stronger, that's the only way to view this positively."
"Your not feeling depressed?" I shook my head no, I appreciated that he clearly cares about me though.
"Just a lot of anxiety and not enough sleep. I hope Mikey is ok..."
"Have you talked to Ray lately?" He changed the subject, sorta.
"Yeah, he's helping us through this whole thing. He's talented in the whole therapist thing, really knows what he's talking about." I smiled a bit, taking a moment to appreciate Ray.
"That's good, I'm glad your keeping up with your social life, despite everything. I'm going to go make some lunch, sandwiches. Want me to make some coffee?"
I thought for a second. "No, I'm going to eat and then try to get some sleep. I'm going to try and get Gee to sleep also, we both really need it." He nodded and headed off to make the sandwiches.
This almost reminded Frank of the first time he stayed with Gerard, he was welcomed back to being awake with coffee and waffles. That was the same night as-
Shit the nightmare...
I had yet to schedule an appointment to see someone about it, more or less talk to someone about it. Damn it...
Now wasn't the time though, my focus had to be on Gerard's well being and safety. I wrote a note on my phone to do it later, this was me being responsible for once.
Dad came back with the coffee and sandwiches, there where enough for all three of us. "Should we wake him up or let him sleep?" He asked.
"I want to make sure he's eating alright, I'm going to go ahead and wake him up." I gently shook Gerard's shoulder, he groaned in response.
"Five more minutes..." to cute.....
"Gerard, we have coffee and sandwiches waiting. I'd suggest you got up before we eat them all." I planted a kiss on the top of his head.
It didn't take long for Gerard to come to, accepting the coffee and food he was offered once he finally did.
Once more, I was unable to focus on the sound in the room. It was background noise, monotone and just there. I'd spaced out, my ears not processing a thing that was being said. The room was a bit cold, the scene presented threw me right back into thinking about that dream.
It has to mean something, or it wouldn't be plaguing me like this. Even the experts said so, dreams mean things sometimes. It can't be reminding me of something, there's noth- oh
It hit me hard, I knew exactly what was going on right now. That dream was a warning, a warning about a few nights ago and possibly the next few weeks. I woke up to my phone, Gerard's voice was a bit more high pitched and we had to call the police. The sound wasn't understandable, my mind processed slowly that night.
It was dark and cold outside and inside, symbolically it could mean dark times are ahead maybe...? I could move in the dream, maybe that's because there's so little I can do, I feel trapped.
Just like that, I had it figured out. All those years of sleep therapy really did me good, I learned something and now I'm using it. Gerard's voice snapped me out of it, also like in the dream.
"Frank, you ok? You've been spaced out for the past 10 minutes." His tone was concerned, his eyes and expression reflected that. It was the same with my dad.
"Yeah, uh you know that dream I had? I uh- I think I might have figured it out." I explained what went through my mind, taking care to the details, any symbolic meanings, and how I knew all of this. I made sure to include some of the things I learned during sleep therapy all those years ago.
"Wow, Frank that's... that's a lot to process. Was Mikey anywhere in that at all?" I shook my head no, I didn't remember anything that could possibly relate to him.
"No, sorry. I don't think there's anything that I missed though I might be wrong about that. I- ...I'm pretty worried about him, I mean-" I stopped, it wasn't good to pass my worries on to Gerard. Either way, he understood what I was saying.
"He was sick the last time we saw him, there's no way he could properly take care of himself right now, where've he is, more or less try to get away. I miss him and worry about if he's ok or not..." I pulled Gerard close to me silently, I understood what was going though his head right now. We're both worried, that's an understatement actually.
"We should be getting word later today, I've been getting daily updates. The police have some leads right now and they're investigating them. It's likely that we're going to be seeing Mikey soon, keep your head held high until we do ok? He wouldn't want us to worry to much." He knows I'm right, but I can tell that he hates that.
Mikey means everything to Gerard, he's really all he has. His mother as far as I know can't take care of herself, more or less two teenage boys. I feel bad for him and pray that this whole thing will help him and not hurt him.
Dad treats Gerard as another son, it's clear that's been helping him a lot. Right now, he needs love and support, someone to be there for him, someone to talk to or cry with and worry with. And right now, that's us.

(Time skip)

A few hours passed, Gerard once again was asleep on my lap. My fingers brushed through his hair, the TV was on as background noise in the dark room. A blanket was wrapped around Gerard and I, my phone sat on the coffee table in front of the couch.
I'm in the process of waiting for the phone update, it's been 3 days but feels much longer than that. I refused to let myself think of 'what ifs,' those where just that, ifs.
I had to stay calm and positive, believe that Mikey is safe and being treated as he should be. If I where to find out otherwise though...
The ringing of my phone pulled me out of my dangerous thoughts, I picked up quickly, making sure it didn't wake up Gerard.
"Hello?" My voice was quiet as I answered.
"Frank Iero?" Harpers voice sounded from the other side of the line.
"Harper, yes this is Frank. How are things going?" I did my best to keep the worry from my voice.
"We're still following any leads that are being sent in. We have a few possible suspects and a few people who've said they saw suspicious activity. We even got a license plate number, the investigation is going well. At the rate things are going, it won't be lone until he's back with you."
"Is there a time frame right now?"
"Not exactly, we went out as far as two weeks though. We have to leave room for any possible dead ends and investigation time. How is Gerard doing with all this?"
"He's... not doing as well as I hoped, but better than expected. He's trying to keep a clear mind, taking care of himself and using distractions to his advantage. He really is trying, but I can tell he's worried and hurting."
"That's good to hear at least, and I know your taking good care of him. I could tell you two are close when we where over there. I'll call you again if there's anything new before tomorrow, alright? Get some sleep Frank, it's late."
"Thank you Harper, for everything, and I will." Harper hung up, I put my phone back on the coffee table.
Two weeks, that's a while to wait. Either way, at least I have a time period now, but this was going to be the longest two weeks of my life.

Song of the chapter: Nate (NF)