Boy In My Class [Gerard Way]

Chapter 20: Chicago

"Well, Annie never said anything about Gerard," I shrugged, slumping onto the couch next to Holly. "I guess she's under orders to keep quiet."

Holly insisted that to cheer me up, we went to a bar and had a few drinks to forget about Gerard. I was reluctant at first, but Holly's abilities to convince me soon kicked in and we headed to a bar for a beer or two. Several beers later, we were happily chatting outside of the pub while I had a cigarette. 

"It's getting late," I said, inhaling on my cigarette. "Maybe we should head back."

The truth was that no amount of beer could make me forget Gerard. I was worried that he had left town and nobody knew where he was. I was worried that Annie felt the need to keep his whereabouts from me. I was worried that he had forgotten me.

"We could go into New York?" she suggested. "Have a real party like we did when you first started at NYU?"

"Uh-," I said, trying to think of an excuse not to go, but my phone went off before I had a chance to think of something.

"Hello?"

"Isabel it's Mikey,"

"Hey Mikey," I said, wondering why Mikey was calling me. Mikey and I never became good friends, we only knew each other through Gerard. "Are you alright?"

"Listen Isabel, don't panic okay? I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" I asked, trying not to panic as instructed.

"Gerard's had an accident."

"What?"

"A car accident, about half an hour ago."

"Is he alright?!" I asked, my panic taking over.

"i...I don't know."

"Mikey listen, just tell me what hospital and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"We're in Chicago...he's going to hospital in Chicago."

I hung up the phone and frantically turned to Holly.

"How long does it take to drive to Chicago?"

"Uh....maybe fourteen hours?" Holly said, looking confused.

"Fly?"

"About an hour and a half I reckon."

"Take me to the airport," I demanded.

Holly agreed and drove me to the airport, despite the fact she'd had several beers. After I told her the situation, she seemed to sober up as if by magic. We didn't talk much in the car, I just sat and fidgeted. I was panicking the entire way to the airport but all I could do was breathe deeply and tell myself that everything would be fine. It was probably the hardest thirty minutes of my life as we drove to the airport. I had to wait twenty minutes for the next plane to depart and it cost me $200, which I practically threw at the woman working behind the counter at the airport. I waved goodbye to Holly and boarded the plane. Mikey had agreed to meet me at the other side and drive me to see Gerard. I looked at myself in the reflection of the airplane window and sighed. I looked a lot different to how I looked when we were at NYU. My black hair had been stripped and bleached and dyed until it was a faint silvery-lilac shade. My make-up was heavier and the plugs in my ears were bigger. I wondered if Gerard would still be interested in me. I knew for a fact that I was in love with him, but I had started to doubt whether or not he had been in love with me.

If he had been in love with me, why did he let us lose contact?

I guess he could say the same thing about me.

The plane eventually landed in Chicago and, as planned, Mikey met me at the airport. I hugged him tightly, feeling emotional as I looked at his face which vaguely resembled Gerard's. He responded with a hug equally as tight, and I instantly felt sorry for him. I got into his car and we began the forty-five minute drive to the hospital Gerard was in.

"Mikey?" I said, breaking the awkward silence that filled the car. "Why did you call me?"

"Huh?" he responded.

"Why did you call me to come and see Gerard? I haven't seen him in a long time."

"He...uh...he was on his way to see you, we think," Mikey shrugged. Guilt swept over me as I realised that I was the reason that Gerard had been in a car accident. "Don't blame yourself," he said. "Frank saw what happened- Gerard was just driving down the road and a car pulled out of an intersection and turned head on into his car. It was nobody's fault except for the person in the other car."

I nodded and the silence took over again. When we eventually got to the hospital, we both ran inside at full speed. At the waiting room, I was reunited with Frank, Ray and Annie.

"Izzy," Annie said, running up to me and embracing me into a tight hug. "It's been so long."

"How is he?" I asked.

"We don't know," Frank shrugged. Frank looked whiter than I had ever seen, like the life had been sucked out of him. I walked up to him and hugged him, his head falling onto my shoulder as I did so. "It was so scary Izzy."

"It's fine, he's fine," I said, all of a sudden realising that I was the one who was reassuring everybody, like a parent who is scared but has to act brave for the sake of their kids. "Don't worry about it."

We waited for about an hour or so, barely speaking to one another, just waiting for somebody to come and tell us how he was. I kept picturing in my mind the image of Gerard walking through the door, picking me up and taking me back to my NYU dorm room where we would spend the night back together, wrapped in each others arms, where I felt truly at home. 

"Michael Way?"

We all looked upright to see a doctor stood in front of us in the waiting room. Mikey stood up and nodded.

"Your brother is stable. He said he doesn't want to see anybody until he's seen someone called Isabel?"

I jumped up out of my chair, my heart beating so hard that it was making me feel slightly nauseous.

"H-he wants to see me?" I stuttered.

"This way," the doctor said, directing me through the door and down a hallway. When we got to the room, I waited outside the room for a moment, trying to calm my breathing to a normal rate. I was finally about to see Gerard again. And I had no idea what would happen.