Geric | An Inspector Calls fanfiction

13

It's pitch black outside and heavy rain falls from the clouded sky.

Sheila runs.

Her ugly dress is sticking to her skin and her wet hair is falling out of its up-do. But she doesn't care, all she wants is to get away from everything, from her suffocating family and their stuck-up superiors. She runs across a deserted road, her foot splashing through muddy puddles. Warm tears are streaming down her face but no one would be able to tell, cold raindrops have drenched her body from head to toe. Nothing makes sense, everything is just a blur. She doesn't know where she's going, her mind filled with mangled thoughts.

She runs past a couple strolling arm in arm, who give her a disgusted look. She knows most people in this area will recognise her but still she doesn't care. She runs right into the poorer parts of town and she suddenly knows where her feet are taking her. Sheila's soaked feet speed up and she soon reaches a dingy back alley. She dodges the stream running down the middle of the path and races right up to a familiar door. Three quick hard bangs on the wood and the door opens. George stands confused and tired, he's dressed in just brown trousers and a cotton long sleeved shirt.

"Sheila?" He says. "What are you doing here?"

Sheila stands breathless, staring up at him. Her  words are stuck in her throat, too much is going through her minds and she doesn't know exactly why she's here.

"Come inside, you must be freezing." George reaches his arm out to guide Sheila indoors. His hand touches Sheila's bare arm and it's like ice, though Sheila hadn't noticed the cold.

George reaches behind him and grabs a coat off  of the rack in the corner. As he wraps the large coat around Sheila's shoulders, she grabs his face. Her small hands are like ice cubes against his warm cheeks. George stares down at Sheila, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed, but before he can say anything her lips are on his. George closes his eyes and pulls Sheila closer to him, her wet body sticking to him.

In that moment everything disappears, no more arrogant parents, no reputation to uphold, there's nothing around them, just George and Sheila. For the first time in a long time Sheila feels love, a pleasant, warm vibe radiates through her veins.

She pulls away from the kiss and George rests his forehead on hers, his eyes still closed.

***

A frilly lamp sits on a bedside table casting yellow light over a small fragment of a hotel room. Heavy raindrops hit the window, they're loud and forceful. Through the silence, it's almost as if the glass is going to break. It already feels as though a window is open, cold condensation has formed on the single window and a draft is blowing in from somewhere.

In the dimness, Gerald lies bare on a messy double bed. He stares at his lover, wondering what he is thinking. Eric looks conflicted and torn, like something is really bothering him. Gerald knows what it is and wishes he could make everything right

"Please don't worry about it too much Eric, she'll probably be there tomorrow." Gerald says, his hand rests on the back of Eric's head, twisting hair around his fingers. Eric lies on his front, his head turned to Gerald but he's not looking at him. He's looking at the tiny gap between them, tracing the creases in the bed sheets. He can't get Eva out of his mind.

Heavy footsteps in the corridor pass the wooden door that is hiding Gerald and Eric away from the world. They sound out of rhythm, as if they are drunken steps. They stumble all the way to the end of the corridor where they stop and a door creaks open, followed by loud slam.

"Eric please." Gerald looks at Eric with pleading eyes, but Eric doesn't see. Something inside him is telling him to give up and that the reason why she wasn't there was because she doesn't want his help, doesn't want him in her or the baby's life. Because if she was as desperate as she sounded she would have been there, would have accepted his money and help.

"I should be going." Eric says abruptly. He gets out of the bed before Gerald can stop him, keeping his back to him so he doesn't see the silent tear rolling down Eric's cheek.

"Why? I booked the room for the night, you don't have to leave until morning." Gerald says, sitting up. Eric pulls on his black trousers and tucks his shirt into them.

"Eric?" Gerald swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands up. He looks at Eric with a confused frown. He moves round the double bed to Eric's side, his body as bare as the day he was born. Taking Eric by the shoulders, Gerald makes Eric look at him.

"I just want to go home." Eric sighs but the lack of eye contact tells Gerald otherwise.

"I'll come with you then." Gerald hastily starts putting on his own clothes. At least if Gerald is with him, Eric won't do anything stupid, like drink himself to death.

Eric doesn't object and leaves the hotel room, with Gerald following 5 minutes after. They rejoin once they're a couple of meter's away from the hotel entrance. Thick raindrops have already soaked them through to the bone. They walk in silence, a large gap between them. Streetlamps guide their way through the night and all the way to a dirty back alley.

The further they walk up the slimy alley, the more apparent it comes to them that something is going on. Ahead, a crowd has formed. They're looking at something blocked from their view and whatever it is, it's got them in a panic. A small boy runs past them and although he seems to be uninjured, he's yelling for medical help. Gerald gives Eric a worried look and the two speed up, eager to know what's going on.

A woman's cry becomes apparent and Eric pushes his way to the front of the crowd, with Gerald right behind him asking people what's happened. Eric drops to his knees at the sight before him. Propped up against a wall, looking like a wet rag doll, Eva cries with pain. She sits with her knees close to her chest and clutches her stomach, agony written all over her pale face.

"Eva!" Eric shouts, crawling closer to her. Her once screwed up eyes open and she grabs Eric by the arm.

"The baby!" She cries, her grip on his arm reflects the pain circling through her body. Blood trickles down her legs. It's too thick for the heavy rain to wash it away and a rain stream in the middle of the alley way is dyed red. Eric notices the blood and realises something is wrong.

"We need to get you to a hospital!" Eric says. "Can you stand up?"

Eva shakes her head.

Turning around, Eric shouts at the crowd. "Does anyone have a car? She needs to go to hospital!"

The crowd exchange questioning looks, all of them unable to give help. Then a hand shoots up at the back and a voice cries "I have a car!"
A path way is parted and a thin man in his late-twenties appears.

"Help me get her up." Eric says and the two men slide one arm under leg legs and another under her arms.

"My car is this way." The man speaks loudly, the rain is coming down heavier and he's slightly panicked. They reach the end of the street where a black squarish vehicle is parked. The crowd has followed them on their short journey and watch as Eva is lifted into the back seat. She grits her teeth and another shot of pain surges through her body.

The owner of the car jumps in behind the wheel and urges Eric to get in. Eric turns around, rapidly looking for Gerald. He's stood with the crowd, looking rather dismayed. His light wet hair has flopped out of place and his clothes are soaked from the never ending rain, it only makes him look more miserable.

"Gerald!" Eric calls. "Come on!"

"You go on without me." Gerald says in a voice that seems too calm, as if he's trying his hardest not to look bothered.

"Gerald please!" Eric pleas. His eyes are wide and his eyebrows are furrowed. He's holding the eye contact between them, desperate for Gerald to get in the car.

Gerald shakes his head. "You won't want me there, I'll only get in the way."

Behind Eric, Eva is getting restless and she grunts in pain. Time is ticking but Eric won't go without Gerald.

"Gerald...I need you." He says. It goes almost unheard, the rain drowning out his words, but Gerald hears it and his heart swells: Eric is starting a new chapter in his life and he wants Gerald to be there. Everything around him seems to stop and suddenly it's just Gerald and Eric. 

Without another word, Gerald slides into the front passenger seat while Eric joins Eva in the back.