Chào các bạn! Vì nhiều lý do từ nay Truyen2U chính thức đổi tên là Truyen247.Pro. Mong các bạn tiếp tục ủng hộ truy cập tên miền mới này nhé! Mãi yêu... ♥

Chapter One

Some credit to GerardWay56 for helping with the beginning.

I climbed into the back seat of the  car after tossing in the drawstring bag full of candy (and some pretzel sticks for Frank). Frank took the wheel and Mikey sat next to him in the passenger seat. Mikey wasn't really a good brother, always partying and getting drunk. Frank was the cutest guy in high school, and all the girls were in love with him. All the girls and one boy. Despite being silly almost every other waking moment, Frank concentrated hard on the road,his knuckles turning white from gripping the wheel so tightly. He made sure everyone's seatbelts were fastened before pulling onto the road. We were about twenty minutes from the apartment, and the pink-orange sky had disappeared. I pulled out my phone and squinted at the bright screen. Scrolling through notifications, I leaned back in my seat. I looked up every once in a while, but nothing really changed. Frank was driving the exact speed limit the whole time, never dipping below or above. He never even looked behind him, which was a good thing. I was staring at his head the entire time, though I'd much rather be looking at his face.
"Frank, you're so slow!" Mikey nudged him with his shoulder.
"I'm driving the speed limit!" Frank protested, glancing a little bit to his right.
"Still," Mikey chuckled. "You don't have to be such a—" He was cut off when a red car going miles over the speed limit slammed into the side of their car. I turned my head and covered it. My head slammed into the side of the car, and my elbow cracked the window when it hit. Tears welling up in my eyes, I scanned the car.
"Mikey!" I screamed. When the glass fell, I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed towards him. The car has slammed into his side of the car, and there were several deep cuts in his skin.
"Mikey," I whispered, feeling for a pulse.
"G-Gerard," I heard a hoarse voice from my left. Frank's neck was limp, and he also had cuts on his skin. I jumped into the front seat, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head.
"Frank," I whispered, a tear running down my blood-drizzled face.
"I- I-" Frank choked and coughed. "I l- lo-" he fell into my lap.
"No! Frank!" I yelled. I heard sirens in the distance. "Frankie..." More tears streamed down my face. I turned to the car that had hit us, and the driver had been thrown over the dashboard. His head made a crack in the windshield. I slunk down in my seat, taking Miley's hand in my own.
A paramedic threw open the door. She took Frank by the underarms and dragged him towards a stretcher. Another one, a boy, helped me climb out of the car before leaning back in for Mikey.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" The girl asked me, scanning my face. "That was a pretty bad crash."
"I-I," I tried to speak. I felt lightheaded. My legs felt like they weighed a ton. My elbow and head throbbed with pain. I collapsed in the woman's arms and blacked out.
————————————————————————————————————
I blink awake, hearing the soft beeping of the heart monitor.
"Mikey!" I bolt up in my bed. "Frank!"
Two nurses ran over to me. "You're finally awake," one smiles.
"Mikey," I murmur. "Frank."
The two nurses look down. A wave of sadness and guilt wash over me. "No," I say. I can hear the monitor speeding up. "No, they're not...?"
"I'm so sorry," the other nurse says.
I try to move my arm to my face, and it throbs with pain. I see a thick white cast on my arm.
"You fractured your elbow," the nurse confirms. "You'll have to wear that for about two months."
I breathe out a shaky breath. "Wh- when's the f- funeral?" I try hard not to burst into tears.
"Tomorrow."
I throw my head back and close my eyes. I can deal my face heating up as tears fall again.
"Can I preform?" I ask shakily. "We were in a band together, and-"
"Of course. I'll speak with the funeral director," the nurse places a hand on my shoulder. "You should rest some more," she gestures to the pillow.
I don't even try to fight. I just close my eyes and silently cry myself to sleep.
————————————————————————————————————
"Gerard!" Frank's voice calls.
"Gerard!" Mikey echoes.
I look to my sides. I'm floating in a black void, and my brother and crush are getting sucked away. I look to my sides. I can save one of them. Mikey seems closer, so I start "swimming" through the void.
"Wait!" Frank calls. "You didn't let me finish before!"
I turn to him and stare curiously.
"I love you," he blushes.
I can feel my face getting warm. "How?"
Frank giggles and reaches out a hand. "I'll show you," he flirts.
"Gerard!" Mikey's floating away faster.
"Mikey!"
"Gerard!"
"Help me, Gerard!" Both boys call.
I wake up in a cold sweat, panting. The sun shines through the window in pale rays.
"Gerard, are you okay?" A doctor asks. "Your heartbeat sped up a lot."
"I'm fine," I say. "When's the funeral?"
"4:00," The doctor smiled. "You have 13 hours, give or take."
I peek at the clock, which reads 3:00am.
"Can I go to school today?"
The doctor looks surprised. "Yes, you may," he says. "I'll call your parents."
That won't do any good. My father died of an overdose last year, and my mother is never sober.
"They won't answer," I mumble.
"I'll just tell them the bill," the doctor says, ignoring me.
Shit. I forgot about the bill. Mom doesn't even pay for water. No way in hell she can pay for the hospital bill.
Before the doctor dials the number, the phone rings. I can't hear what they say, but the doctor handed the phone to me. "It's for you," he says.
I hold the phone to my ear. "H-hello?"
"Gerard, hi," I hear a sad female voice through the phone.
"Mrs. Iero?" I say, stunned. "To what do I owe the- the uh, pleasure of..." my voice trailed off.
"How much is the hospital bill?" She asks quickly.
"Mrs. Iero, I couldn't." I tell her.
"It's not like your mother can pay it," she says. "Sorry," she adds quickly.
"You're not wrong. One second, I'll check."
I lean over and asked the doctor the bill.
"$699," He reads off a sheet.
"Mrs. Iero, it's a lot of money..." I try to reason.
"I'll send $1,000," she says. "Will that be enough?"
"That's a lot. It's only $700."
"Keep the $300 for yourself. Get yourself something."
"I don't even know how to say..."
"Will you be at the funeral?"
"Of course."
"That's enough thanks for me. I'll see you later, Gerard."
"Thank you, Mrs. Iero. See you soon."
I hang up and hand the phone back to the doctor.
"She's paying the bill," I say. "Mrs. Iero. Frank's mom. She called."
"Okay then," he says, slightly confused.
"Thank you," I say, jogging away. My cast was heavy, but it was in a sling, so that helped.
I get back to the house, an old wooden shack with no running water or electricity. I creep inside and found the old backpack that I'd been using for eleven years now and slung it over my not-broken shoulder. I look at my watch again. It reads 4:55. I walk towards the coffee shop, which opens at 5:00, and stand outside.
Violet, a girl with brown hair and red streaks walks out of the shop, making the bell that hangs above the door jingle. She places a sign outside and smiles at me.
"Hey, Gee," she waves. "You're early."
I chuckled and walked inside. "I'll have the same thing I always have," I said. "Just alone," I add quietly.
Violet places a coffee cup down on the table and sits down across from me.
"Oh my god," she slams her cup down, splashing light brown liquid on the white table. "I'm such an idiot. Are you okay? What happened?"
"It's okay, Vi. I'm fine. You probably know about..."
"Yeah," she hangs her head. "I'm always here if you need to talk," she smiles.
"You're the best, Vi. I don't know what I'd do without you."
She shrugs. "It's okay," she stands up and hugs me from behind. "You should probably run and catch the bus. It's 5:16, so I wave goodbye, slurp down the last of my coffee, and quickly walk out of the store. I see the bus pulling up, and I hesitate. Instead of going to the bus, I walk back into the coffee shop.
"Gee?"
"Oh, Vi," I run towards her and throw my arms around her neck. "What do I do?"
She pats me on the back. "C'mon, Gee. Let's go in the back. I'll make you a donut," she says, taking my hand.
Who can refuse a donut? Not me. I walk into the back with her and watch as she rolls the dough. She sets it in the deep-frier and starts getting out icing.
"You're the best, Vi," I sniffle.
She pulls the donut out, puts red and purple icing on it, and hands it to me.
Let's get this straight- I like Vi, she's awesome, but not as a girlfriend. She knows about Frank, and she's gay, too, so we've dismissed the topic of liking each other. She's dating Mallory, and she usually comes in around... ding! Now.
"Hey, babe," Mallory kisses Violet on the cheek. "Hey Gerard."
We spend the entire day talking about the funeral, the crash, stuff like that. At 2:00, I have to leave.
"I have to get something to wear for the funeral," I wave to Vi and Mallory. "Bye guys!"
"Bye Gee," Vi calls.
"Bye Gerard." Mallory waves.
I see Mrs. Iero on the side of the road. "Gerard!" She waves at me. "I have to give you this," she holds out three hundred-dollar-bills.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Iero," I neatly fold the bills and put them in my pocket.
"You're welcome, honey. I'll see you at four."
I walk off to get a suit for Frank and Mikey's funeral. They're having a combined one at the church, courtesy of Mrs. Iero.
I get a black jacket with a red tie, and run home. I grab a band shirt from my drawers and some butterscotch candies that Frank and I hid.
At 3:45 I walk to the church. I see Violet wearing a stunning black dress and Mallory wearing a dark purple one.
"I heard you're singing at the funeral," Vi smiles. That's so sweet.
"Yeah. I'm singing two of my band songs. The World Is Ugly and Helena."
"I can't wait to hear them."
*****************************************
The funeral speeds past, and soon it's time for me to go up. I'm preforming last, and I'm shaking like mad.
"These are the eyes and the lies of the taken, these are their hearts but their hearts don't be like ours," I start to sing. When I finish, everyone claps, and someone throws a rose. I clear my throat. "I wrote that song for my brother," I say into the microphone. "It's called The World is Ugly, and this next song is called Helena, and, uh, that's it."
Everyone claps politely.
I start singing softly. "Long ago..." Tears roll down my face as I sing. My voice breaks before I sing the last few lyrics. "Things are better if I say, So long and goodnight."

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro