Latter Day Sinner

Chapter 17

Sinkholes are a phenomena, involving the erosion and breakage of the ground which forms a sizeable chasm under the surface of the Earth, producing a visible colour change on the surface of the water, and a sizeable hole in the ground on land. Sinkholes are destructive, taking down entire houses and bodies of water, because nothing is able to remain supported atop one of these holes. The degradation of, say, a building into a sinkhole, would be gradual, but evident. The slight sagging of the walls, the inability to close windows and doors. The feeling of something being...not quite right. And then, before you know it, you and your entire life are buried six feet under, looking up at the sky and wondering what the Hell happened.

Frank, that following week, was in the emotional equivalent to a sinkhole.

"You're sure everything's okay, Frankie?" his Mother asked, on the third day in a row of his missing school. Frank sighed, tugging the blankets up as he stared blankly at a spot on the floor, his teeth clinking gently against his lip ring.

"Yeah. I'm okay, I just wanna take a day off," he said dully, his eyes not moving from the point. His Mother sighed, leaning against the doorframe.

"You said that yesterday. And Wednesday,"

"And I'm saying it today, too. Ma, I'm 18, I don't have to go to school anymore. Not really. I just feel like being alone, okay? I'll...start again Monday," he grumbled, shuffling deeper into the warm confines of his blankets.
Linda Iero looked exasperated, at a total loss as to what to do with her son. She'd seen him in depressive episodes before, but it didn't help to soothe the discomfort she felt every time it came about.
She seemed to deliberate for a moment, before reluctantly nodding.

"Okay. One more day. Frankie, you have to promise me you'll go back on Monday, alright?" she sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.
Frank could see she was exhausted, and in a way, he felt bad about it. In his defence, though, there was little that could be done, on his end. He had no friends, everyone knew his secret, and his boyfriend probably hated him.
That last thing, of course, was the real kicker. Gerard had offered himself to Frank, in a moment of love and passion. The sex had been wonderful – Frank had never felt closer to anyone in his life, and he knew Gerard had liked it too. They were like two bolts of electricity, dancing inside a plasma globe, their strands of energy entwining in a bolt of pure love and joy.
And then it was gone. In a moment, that glowing pink swell of light dimmed to black, and Frank was left blind and alone.
Sick. Dirty. Impure. Those were the words Gerard had used to describe their time together. The feeling of Frank moving inside him, the hot, burning ache as he throbbed inside him, their bodies moving together in an explosion of heat and light, and in an instant it was gone.
Sick. Dirty. Impure.
The words made Frank's stomach turn, his body squirming further under the covers. He'd been so happy, and it was all shattered as those three words slipped from his boyfriend's lips.

Though, he wasn't entirely blameless. He knew that. Leaving Gerard, while somewhat justified, was certainly not the right way to go about reacting to the situation. Gerard was clearly scared, and panicked, and not quite himself – Frank should have stayed. He should have calmed him down, and spoken to him, and got him back home safely. If not for the sake of their relationship, then certainly just because it was right. Gerard had to rely on a cane to walk – the least Frank could have done was help him to his car.
He'd been stupid. Gerard had been stupid, too.
They were two damn stupid idiots, and that's why they loved each other so much. Frank knew it, but something – be it his pride or his humility – wouldn't let him admit it. Certainly not to Gerard.
So that left him in his current condition. Avoiding the outside world, in the vague hope that the world would right itself in his absence, and he could pretend his life hadn't fallen to pieces.
Which, for the record, it definitely had.