Worth Living For

Chapter 24

**Warning: Sexual Content.**

"Frank, it's your dad."

It had been a few weeks since I had gotten my job at the coffee shop, which meant over two months since I had lost my job and moved in with Gerard, which meant ages since I had talked with my father. The phone, which I had insisted on having in the house for emergencies, had rang, and Gerard had gotten up from his spot next to me on the couch to answer it.

Hearing him tell me that it was my father on the other line was kind of a wake-up call for me. I had a life outside of my art, my job, and Gerard. I had a family. A family that I had disowned after my mom had left it, but still a family. And I had forgotten about my father until now.

I just stared at Gerard for a second, watching him hold the reciever to his chest and wait for my response. I eventually got up from the couch, slowly taking the phone from his hands and placing it to my ear.

"Hello?" I said, my back stiffening when I heard his angry sigh loud in my ear.

"Who answered the phone?" He asked through what seemed to be clenched teeth.

"Gerard did. How did you get my phone number?"

"The fag-"

"I will hang up this phone immediately if you dare say that word to me again."

"Why are you living with him?"

"That's really none of your business."

"I'm your father-"

"And I'm no longer eighteen. You can't make me tell you anything."

He sighed.

"Why did you call?" I asked after a moment of tense silence.

"Well, I was planning on trying to solve the problems that developed when you visited last. But, since you're apparently with that man, I won't be able to."

"And why not?"

"I will not have a fag for a son." He said angrily before hanging up.

I slowly set the phone back on the table, standing still where I was. Gerard sat on the edge of the couch, asking if I was okay, but I found myself unable to respond. He eventually got up and made the few steps to me quickly, wrapping me in his arms.

~

"Why can't I be accepted for being with you? Why can't we go out together without being judged? I mean, my own father just disowned me for being with another man. I lost my job because I chose to be with you. I'm sure if I had met a woman at work it would have been fine. Why are we allowed to live like everyone else simply because of who we love?"

Gerard rubbed my back soothingly. "I don't know, Frank. I really don't know."

I sighed, wishing he had an answer for me. "It's not your fault," I said quickly, realizing that he probably thought it was. "I was the one that chose to love you. It's my boss's fault for not accepting me, my dad's fault if he doesn't want me in his life."

He remained silent, and I hoped that I had convinced him enough.

My mind started reeling, about how different my life would now be. It was just who I chose to love. Why did it have to affect how society treated me? I had lost my job and my father. I had disgusted my old "friends" and family members at my mom's funeral. Society didnt accept me anymore. And what if Gerard and I were to get married? I loved Gerard more than anything else in the world, but my life was slowly crumbling around me.

I started sobbing violently, and Gerard wrapped his arms around me, making 'shh' noises softly to try to calm me down. He placed kisses on my forehead, my cheeks where the years continued to fall, the top of my head, my ears; trying anything to comfort me.