"Mikey? Its me, Frank "
He whispered, closing the bathroom door behind him.
"listen, yes i've got him..yeah he's bad..yeah, I know its in a few hours, but no, Mikey, really you wouldn't be asking if you could see him ,
I cleaned him up best I could but it's gonna take a lot more than that ,he's still not sobered up or spoke,
eh? what? ,no - he's puked and passed out for the last 8 hours ,there's no way he's fit to get on a plane ,
yeah, yeah I know Mikes, we all do, but keep it quiet ok? I don't think its gonna work that way ,remember last time we tried that intervention shit, let me just see what he wants this time ok ?
, yeah you too Mikes I'm sorry bro , You know I'd be there but I can't leave him in this…
you know I have to do this , I'll be thinking off you ,no, no, I'm not telling him , I think he knows though...
no, nothing that clear yet, but why else now?
Yeah I'll keep you posted, ok I better get back, take care bro .
He snapped the phone shut, making sure the 'silent' icon was still on screen, and slid it into his pocket.
Frank closed his eyes, leaned his back against the wall tipping his head back to try to stem the flow of tears threatening to overspill, then, unable to hold it anymore he slid down the wall to crouch on the floor and sobbed his heart out, the tears running free and silent sobs wracking the small figure hugging his knees on the bathroom floor.
Sometime later, Frank stopped crying and felt utterly drained, empty and numb – there were just too many conflicting emotions to cope with at once and now his brain and body were demanding sleep , he still had no idea what to do or say ,but drawing on the last of his energy, he turned the handle and stepped out of the overbright bathroom and into the dim bedroom.
He walked over to his bed and not hesitating or thinking ,he shucked off his shoes and jeans stepping out of them and got into the other side of the bed, no longer caring about the mess or the sour smell of sickness permeating the room.
He wanted the comfort of a hug, not in a sexual way at all, just the simple comfort of being physically close to another person while falling asleep, and still not trusting that he had found Gerard again – he kept expecting him to suddenly disappear, he wanted to keep him close, however he stayed far away on his own side of the bed, tucked the duvet up over Gerard's shoulders then turned and fell straight into an exhausted dreamless sleep.
Only to be woken a few short hours later by Gerard screaming about trees and coffins and needles attacking him, the sheets drenched in sweat.