Take Me By The Hand

Chapter...3eight

Fingers brush through my hair, nails just barely grazing scalp as the black locks are pulled gently through slim fingers. Someone hums softly nearby, a tune I recognize but can't place right away. It swarms around me, filling me with a serenity I've forgotten existed these past few days. I keep my eyes closed, not yet ready to fully wake up. However, when my peaceful dreamless sleep is replaced with half-conscious memories of what's actually been going on, I find myself getting restless. I recall seeing Doctor Webb's arrogant face on the television as he spread the details of my private life around like seeds on soil. And what do seeds do when they're planted? They grow. It would only be a matter of time until more news channels picked up the story, half-witted journalists, tabloids, everything would be interested in the allegedly pregnant teenage boy.

I groan and shift a little. The humming ceases and a moment later the brushing of fingers through my hair stop as well. Rubbing my eyes, I pull myself to a sitting position. Only when I take the chance to glance around do I notice I'm still on the sofa in the Way living room. Mikey has disappeared, along with Donna. Gerard sits to my right, biting down on his lip and looking meek.

"Sorry," I mumble, realizing I must have been asleep on his lap. I stretch and cross my legs on the couch, glancing in his direction.

He simply shakes his head. "You needed sleep."

I shrug, not arguing, but also not admitting that he was right. "Where's Mikey?"

"In the kitchen eavesdropping," Gerard replies. He crosses his legs now, too, mimicking my posture and shifting to face me. "My mom's been on the phone with yours for like a half hour now."

I don't bother to ask what they were talking about, instead just deciding to be silently grateful that it's Donna that has to deal with my mother rather than me. Still, I bring my knees to my chest, hugging my legs closer. "I have to go home, don't I?"

Now it's Gerard's turn to shrug. "Eventually," He agrees vaguely. "But not right away. Like my mom said, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

I let out a short, humorless laugh. "Yeah," I say. "I'll just take up refuge on your couch until these things are developed enough to just fall out."

Gerard returns the laugh and casts me an amused smirk. "I don't think they'll just fall out, Frank. That's not how labor works."

There's a teasing edge to his voice, but still it brings forth a topic I hadn't much thought of before now. "How are they supposed to come out?" I ask.

Gerard simply shrugs. "Same way they went in, I suppose."

My eyes widen with the complete and utter horror of his suggestion, my mouth falling open uselessly. "What!?" I demand, now absolutely cloaked in the fear of two children crawling out of my ass. 

Gerard, still evidently humored, but taking notice of my panic, sits up straighter, shaking his head. "I'm kidding, Frank." But I see the hesitation cross his features, the doubt in his own words. He has no more of an idea how this works than I do. "I don't know..." He admits softly, the amusement now vanishes, replaced with genuine concern. That's the issue; No one knows. There is not a single person in the entire world who knows how this is happening, or why, or what's to come. Nobody fucking knows. It's like I'm a rat, thrust into the hands of a beginning Biology student who's told to figure out the cure to cancer. Nobody knows what's going to happen, they're all just winging it and hoping for the best.

Gerard sees all of this playing across my face as it races through my head and he leans forward, wordlessly bringing me into a much needed embrace. I allow my eyes to close, biting back the tears that surge forward again. These damn hormones are going to be the death of me...