Teach Me, Mr Way

Chapter 9

That night, I found myself in Gerard's old room. I was to live with his mom and Mikey. He'd found himself an apartment the previous week, and had just finished moving the day after the sleepover. After I'd gotten into the car with Gerard, he'd told me what he'd arranged for me while mom was in rehab.
“You’re going to be taking my old room. Mom is more than okay with you staying there. And your mom is going into a rehab facility. It's been arranged for your landlord to be paid while she's in getting clean, so if you need to get away by yourself, your own house is available to you, too.” I started to cry again.
“Y-you did all that for me?” He smiled, nodding. “Why?” I wasn't used to people doing anything like that for me. I was used to having to fend for myself.
“Well, Frankie, you deserve a chance to have a stable environment for once, you deserve to have a chance at that scholarship, and someday, I want to be able to say, 'My Frankie created that work of art.’” 
“Your… I want to be yours.” He smiled, his eyes lit up with my words.
“C’mon. We'll go by your place and get you some clothes and things you'll need.” By the time we got there, mom was already gone, which was a relief. I don't think I would have been able to see them take her away. I went up to my room and packed up my clothes and my drawing pens and pencils, my sketchbook, too. When I came back down, Gerard was looking at the portrait of my mom I'd done from an old photograph of her.
“She was probably twenty one in that one. That was before I was born and just after she'd met my father. Before everything went to hell with her.”
“She was a beautiful woman. You did an excellent job on this portrait of her.”
“Thanks… I guess I was hoping that she'd see it and want to go back to being her old self. The woman who didn't have to drink her troubles away, one bottle of Jack at a time. I was hoping I could see that side of her, you know?” He came over and hugged me.
“I understand that, Frankie. Do you want to take it with us? If nothing else, you could use it as a part of your portfolio of work when you apply for an art school.”
“You really think I can do it? You really think I'm good enough?”
“With a portrait like that, I know you can. You're gonna blow them away.” I smiled up at him, biting my lip as I debated if I should do what I wanted to do. I did. I tugged on the front of his shirt to pull his face closer to mine, kissing him softly. He moaned quietly, kissing me back just as gently, his arms slipping around my waist.
When we broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against mine. “God, I'm not wanting to let go of you right now, but my mom's expecting you…”
“I don't want to, either… Gerard?”
“Yes?”
“Would you… would you hug me a little longer?” He smiled and nodded, pulling me tight against him, my head resting over his heart. We stayed like that for a few minutes. “I… I think I'm ready to go.” When he somewhat reluctantly let me go, I carefully took mom's portrait from the wall, then followed him out to the car after locking the door.
The rest of the evening was a whirlwind of getting settled, having dinner with everyone, and Mikey and I talking and doing our homework together. 
When I finally found myself alone and over thinking, I figured that I best get ready for bed. So, after stripping down to my boxers, I slipped into bed, putting my hands up under my head under the pillow, only to brush my fingers along an envelope. Pulling it out, I recognized the handwriting on it, which read, 'To Frankie on the first night of your new life’. It was from Gerard.
I stared at it for a while, tracing his handwriting with my finger before opening it with trembling fingers.