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I woke with Frank still in my arms. There were tears traversing his cheeks when I moved back from him a little to look at his face, and I was worried as to why his brow was furrowed.
“Frank?” I said quietly. He was still asleep but he was pushing gently at my chest and his legs kept moving like he was trying to run. “Frank, wake up, it’s okay.” I told him, moving my arm from behind him to give his arm a squeeze. Frank jumped awake with a sharp intake of breath. He looked at me for a second, shocked, before bursting into tears.
Letting him cry, I held him until he calmed down.
“Wanna talk about it?” I asked, smoothing his hair down comfortingly.
“No, it’s okay.” He sniffed. “I– I was being chased, that’s all.” He shrugged like it was a dream he had all the time.
“As long as you’re okay.” I smiled and kissed his forehead.
“Oh god, I forgot.” He said, eyes wide for a moment, smile daring to dance around the edges of his startled, open mouth. Looking right into my eyes, another tear squeezed out when he blinked and he kissed me quickly.
“Good job I remembered, huh?” I held my arm looser around him and moved my other so I could wipe the tears away from the good side of his face, making him giggle quietly. Upon closer inspection, I found that the bruise on the other side had faded slightly but his cheekbone had swollen a little.
“My face hurts.” Frank mumbled, face dropping from the smile again.
“It’ll be okay, I promise.” I hugged him more but eventually ushered him out of bed before we got too comfy and took a lazy nap.
On our way up to breakfast, we took turns waiting for each other outside the bathroom. I was second, making sure to find some witch hazel and cotton wool from the cupboard before I left. I applied it to Frank’s bruise carefully and took the bottle back.
“It still hurts.” He complained when I returned.
“Look, this is the last bruise I’m ever gonna let you be subjected to, alright? It’ll be okay in a while.” I comforted him, wrapping him tight in a hug. I had my eyes closed until I heard footsteps, opening them to see the back of my mom just turning the corner towards the kitchen. I anxiously wondered if she’d seen us.
“I love you.” Frank whispered shakily, his hands on my back moving up to grip my shoulders tightly.
“I love you too.” I replied, just as quietly.
Finally getting to the kitchen, we sat down at the table.
“What’ll it be, boys?” Mom asked, already cooking her own breakfast. Dad had gone to work on his early weekend shift, so he would have eaten and left an hour or two ago. Mikey shuffled in sleepily, rubbing his eyes and slumping down in a seat opposite us.
“Just some cereal, please.” Frank requested politely.
“Me too.” I agreed, not wanting him to feel like the odd one out.
“Does that mean I get more bacon?” Mikey asked, suddenly more awake at the thought of a bigger breakfast. Mom didn’t reply, simply continuing to cook and setting out bowls and cereal boxes for me and Frank.
Sitting down next to Mikey, mom looked over to us while she picked up her knife and fork. Her worried look puzzled me until I realised she was looking at the side of Frank’s face.
“Oh dear, Frank, where did you get that bruise?” She asked in concern.
“Oh, uh, baseball and I have a mutual hate.” He laughed once without a smile, staring straight into his bowl. I slipped my hand under the table to hold his and he took it gratefully. I heard Mikey laugh quietly along with mom’s chuckle; he didn’t know about Frank’s parents either. Laughing aside, I could still hear an interrupted breathing pattern. It was Frank, beginning to sob as new tears spilled from his eyes.
“Frank, there’s no need to worry anymore.” I put my hand on his shoulder. Glancing at mom, I saw her concern shoot through the roof.
“I’m s– sorry, D– Donna. I lied.” Frank apologised between desperate gulps for air. “It’s my…my parents…” He looked at me, eyes asking me to say it for him, lip trembling. I turned to my mom, mirroring her frown.
“His parents are abusive. They shout at him, threaten him, hit him; all sorts. That’s why he stays here so much. We don’t watch movies, mom. I comfort Frank and rescue him from needing a hospital.”
Mom was utterly lost for words, mouth agape, as was Mikey. They both looked to Frank sympathetically, who had his face buried in his hands. Out of habit, I opened my arms to him after dragging my chair closer. He collapsed against my shoulder with a sob and put his arms gently around my middle. I held his shoulders, looking over at mom and Mikey with a frown of ‘don’t let him go back home’.
Pushing him back a little, I did something which, regrettably, I could feel becoming a new habit - I kissed Frank’s forehead.
“It’s okay, Frankie.” I told him, pulling him back into the hug. My eyes widened. I froze and shot a glance at Mikey before working up the stomach-turning courage to look at mom. “Shit.”
“I fucking knew it.” Mikey smiled, slamming his fork down on his plate in the victory of working it out without having to ask.
“Watch your mouths!” Mom warned. “Gerard, you’re gay?” I nodded at her, holding onto Frank even tighter and rubbing his arm in an apology for outing us. Frank burst from my arms, leaning over to mom with his fists clasped together, pleading.
“Please, don’t tell my parents.” He begged, voice ripping to shreds, eyes still flooding with tears.
“Boys, it’s okay.” She held her hands up to calm us down. “I won’t tell them, Frank. Just promise that you’ll let me call the police or some sort of help.” Frank shrunk back into his seat.
“Yeah, I guess so.” He mumbled.
With the morning out of the way, I called Frank’s parents nervously after lunch and asked them if Frank could stay another night. Their reluctance to agree told me everything, but I eventually got them to say yes and mom dropped us both off at Frank’s house to get more clothes for him. What his parents didn’t realise was that the bags we took for Frank’s extra clothes actually contained several more bags, which we managed to stuff with most of his other things too and smuggled them out to the car.
Later, dad had returned from work, mom holding him back from going into the room that me, Mikey and Frank were sitting in. I heard her explaining everything – both Frank’s situation and our sexuality. Frank curled up close to me when I sat on the couch next to him and waited for dad’s reaction. Mikey’s foot reached over from the opposite end of the couch and poked my leg.
“I know who I’m telling first.” He mouthed, making me want to wipe the smirk off his face.
“You had a fucking bet with Ray, didn’t you?” I raised my voice in both anger and laughter, batting my brother’s ankle until he withdrew it.
“He now owes me fifty dollars.” He declared triumphantly. Among the laughter we’d all broken into, dad had entered the room. I noticed first and fell silent, the others following suit until we saw the greeting smile on his face.
“I have two things to say and I’ll put them in their simplest forms.” He announced over-dramatically. “First, Gerard and Frank – I don’t care. Second, Frank – I care.”
“Thanks, dad.” I relaxed, beaming, overwhelmed with how much weight seemed to be lifting from my shoulders.
With everyone sitting down – us three boys on the bigger couch and mom and dad on the smaller one – the evening continued. We’d eaten dinner and cleared away, and I watched Frank smiling properly at the movie we’d all somehow been able to agree on. It was nice to see him smiling – not just smiling, but really smiling, without all the anxiety and fear. He told me his face didn’t hurt too much either, which I was glad about; all the pain was fading away.
Mom sprung up in her seat momentarily.
“I almost forgot.” She turned to us, grabbing my attention but not Frank’s, and so calling his name. “Is it okay if I get on the phone to somebody for you now? I’ll need to talk to you about some things first.”
“Um, okay.” He mumbled nervously. Removing himself from being molded against me, he pushed himself up from the end of the couch. I squeezed his hand before he left with mom. Not concentrating on the movie anymore, I could hear their voices in the kitchen, mom starting off sounding questioning but then becoming soothing as Frank’s sobbing began to echo a little. I got worried after the crying went on, but I didn’t want to disturb any important questions or answers.
Frank came back and sat close by me again. I looked to him, heart sinking at his puffy eyes and sniffy nose. My arm automatically found its way around his shoulders.
“Your mom said calling the police would be the best option, seeing as they probably hurt each other too when I’m not there. Then they can get other authorities to help me if I need it.” He explained before leaning comfortably against my side.
Mom’s voice was still sounding from within the kitchen and I could tell she was on the phone. Trying to listen closely, I didn’t catch anything until near the end of the conversation, and I was sure Frank heard it too. They were words that made my insides flutter and warm me with happiness: “He’s been rescued by our son several times but we only got told today. Yes, he’ll be very safe here. Thanks, officer.” Frank looked at me, hope lighting up his eyes.
“I promised to look after you, Frankie. Everything’s going to be okay now.” I told him, unable to stop smiling.
“Thank you.” He said quietly, not moving. Mom returned, about to explain what was going on but getting cut off by Frank. “Thank you.” He said again, directing it at her and smiling at dad and Mikey afterwards. Tears welled up in his eyes but they didn’t spill. Turning back to me again, he bit his lip to stop himself from crying and I wound my arms around him tightly. “Thank you.” He whispered. Moving again, he leaned up to give me a chaste kiss. He rested his head on my shoulder and I closed my eyes to fully appreciate his embrace, hearing him sigh blissfully as if finally expelling the last of all his worries.