Chapter Four

Mikey's POV

I really wanted to know what Frank wanted to tell me. Why was he so interested in my brother? I suppose it was because I had managed to keep Gerard a secret from him for so long. Why did I have to tell him about hearing Gerard's voice. I must have sounded so crazy. That's just not a normal thing to do. But I knew I wasn't lying, I could hear him speaking to me. Just softly when I was sad like he used to when we were little, he would just whisper things to me like "shh Mikey it's okay, you're going to be fine, I promise". That was the sort of thing I was hearing in my head now too. At first I thought that it was just a stage of mourning, and it just made me feel better to hear his voice in my head. But then I realised that it was real. Sometimes he would say things like "Mikey, be careful" right before something bad would happen. He only ever said short sentences or words though, and I could never have a conversation with him. It was like he couldn't hear me, but he knew when something was going to happen to me or when I was sad. As much as I wanted to talk to him, this was still better than nothing. He was looking after me, just like he promised he always would.

Frank and I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. I was surprised to find two pizzas on the table, one pepperoni for me, and one cheese and tomato for Frank (as he was a vegetarian). There was also a huge bowl of curly fries in the middle. Mrs Iero must have been in a good (and sober) mood today. The fact was that she was a lovely woman, but her mood could change so quickly and unexpectedly. I gained a lot of respect for Frank when I found out about all the times she had hit him, but he had never lashed out back at her. He had just taken the hits until she felt better about herself, as he did with his Dad as well. Frank's bruises were awful.

We sat at the table as Mrs Iero walked back into the room, smiling when she saw me.

"Well hello Mikey! How are you?" She asked me.

"Very good thanks Mrs Iero! This food looks amazing!" I smiled. She smiled back.

"No problem, I hope you boys enjoy it. I'm going out tonight so you can buy a couple of films on the TV if you want. I'll be back late"

Frank dropped his pizza, his mood clearly turning into the worst. I knew exactly why. By 'going out', Mrs Iero meant that she was going out to drink, and so would clearly come home very drunk, angry and abusive as always. She walked over to Frank, kissing him on the cheek before grabbing her purse.

"I love you darling!" She said to him. He grunted in response, refusing to look at her and she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Nice seeing you Mikey!" She said to me as she walked out the door.

"You too Mrs Iero".

Frank's POV

That stupid bitch was going out drinking again. It was just the other night that she stumbled into the door and fell in the hallway, laying down in her own sick. And I had to clean it up and help her to her bed. I didn't like when she was drunk infront of Mikey, and I knew that he would see her when she got back later. I had already been in a bad mood thinking about Gerard, and now this had made it ten times worse. I suddenly didn't feel up to telling Mikey about Gerard yet, it could wait until tomorrow or later tonight. I didn't need any more drama tonight, but I'd eventually tell him.

After we finished the food, we went into the living room to buy some movies. We bought all four Paranormal Activity movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and (to Mikey's delight) one of the Harry Potter films - the Half-blood Prince. That one was our shared favourite. The night went on normally and we were 3/4 of the way through the third Paranormal Activity film when I realised that Mikey was asleep next to me. How could he fall asleep watching PARANORMAL ACTIVITY? It wasn't even that it was scary - but that it was fucking hilarious. Especially when the lady got dragged down the hallway by the ghost in the second movie.

I turned the film off, sitting in the dim light of the lamp on the counter next to the couch. I stood up, swinging Mikey's legs up onto the couch so that he was laying on it, and then putting a blanket over him. He could sleep there tonight, and I would take the floor.

I left the room to go and get my covers and a pillow from my room, walking up the stairs and down the dark hallway. I passed the open bathroom door and looked in, and was shocked and did a double take when I thought I saw a white face staring back at me. But I looked again and it was just my own reflection in the mirror on the wall. Damn horror movies making me paranoid. But it happened again on the way to my room, where I thought I saw someone out the corner of my eye. I turned and of course, there was nothing there.

I grabbed the covers and returned to the living room, hearing Mikey's chainsaw-like snoring from the other side of the house. I turned to put my covers on the floor next to the couch, and that's when I saw the face for the third time. But it wasn't a demon. It was Gerard. He was standing on the side of the couch where Mikey's head was, staring right down at his face. If the light hadn't been on and Gerard had looked scarier, it would have been the perfect scene for a rad horror film. I stared in disbelief at Gerard, until he seemed to notice and turned to look at me. He still looked the same as always - black hair falling over his pale, white face, and the white hospital gown on with his bare feet. I studied him a little. He would have been nineteen had he been alive, and he definitely looked like he was about that age now. But did ghosts age?

As if he had read my mind, he shook his head. He stared blankly at me and then looked at Mikey and his gaze softened a bit. I could tell that Mikey meant a lot to him. He reached out his hand and brushed Mikey's cheek, and Mikey stirred a little but remained asleep. Could Mikey feel that?

Gerard then walked slowly over to me, and I resisted the urge to smile. It was so great to be seeing him again. But wait, did that mean something bad was about to happen?

When Gerard was standing directly infront of me, he brought his hand up to my face. His hand cupped my cheek and he smiled a little. I definitely need to tell Mikey everything tomorrow, I thought. Gerard pulled his hand back, shock rushing over his face. He must have somehow heard my thoughts again. He looked fairly angry, and shook his head a few times.

"I-" He put his hand over my mouth, stopping me from talking. He pointed to Mikey - he obviously didn't want me waking him. Gerard looked back at me, moving his hand again to stroke my cheek. I still couldn't feel anything, and that upset me. He frowned when I did, and then from the way he was fading I could tell that he needed to go. He looked upset about going though, like he was trying to stay but something was forcing him to leave. He realised he was fighting a losing battle and put his hand over mine, as he always did when he visited me. He smiled again, and then as he was disappearing, pointed to Mikey again. Gerard completely disappeared and the mist vanished. All that was left was a message on the wall behind Mikey that he had left, and that vanished too right after I had read it. It said in rough black letters:

"Don't tell him."