Someone Out There Loves You (Adopted by Frank Iero)

7

ALEXA

I laid down in my bed staring at the clock on the wall. Visiting time began in 6 minutes and I knew Frank would be there, waiting for me. Only this time, I wouldn't be coming. The guilt of me wasting his time like this was becoming overwhelming. I wish I could have told him not to come today, or tomorrow, or for the next however long it is until I'm allowed to leave my room and see him again.

Andy and I were placed on what is essentially 'room arrest' until the doctors decide we can have our privileges reinstated. That meant being locked in our rooms alone, with only quick check ups from the nurses, and the worst part, no visitors. Previously, that wouldn't have been issue, but it is now. The solitude was supposed to give Andy and I time to 'reflect on our actions and re-evaluate our priorities during our stay at this facility.' My main concern was how many days would it be before my mind takes over and it becomes too much to handle?

I sighed, pulling the blanket over my head and closing my eyes. Maybe it would hurt less if I didn't watch the clock.

FRANK

I checked the time on my phone.

2:08pm

Where the hell was Lexa? She was never late. She looked forward to this just as much as I did, there was no way she wasn't coming. I looked around the room at the other kids clad in their scrubs to make sure she definitely wasn't here. I waited until a nurse I recognised walked past me, allowing me to grab her attention without making a scene.

"Hey, uh excuse me?"

"Frank, hi, can I help you with anything?" she asked. After realising I was a regular visitor for Lexa, the nurses became friendly with me. Based on how they interacted with me, it gave me hope that Lexa was being treated well in here.

"Yeah actually, I'm here to visit Alexa but she didn't come?" I furrowed my brow. It felt odd referring to her by her full name.

"Alexa doesn't have visitation privileges at the moment I'm afraid." She looked at me sympathetically.

"Huh?"

"Alexa was involved in a bit of an... incident. She's on room arrest until the doctors decide otherwise, I'm sorry. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Wha- is she okay? Do you know when I can see her?" My mind was racing through every worst case scenario I could imagine. Her in danger, crying, hurt.

"She's fine. You can see her when she's granted visitation privileges again, unfortunately I can't say for sure when that'll be. I'd say it will take a week at least." She paused for a moment, as if she was contemplating adding more to what she had said. "It's nice seeing someone who cares about her come by. She went a long time without seeing anybody. I was starting to think she had been forgotten completely."

With that she left, disappearing before I got the chance to ask what had happened and leaving me with more questions circulating through my head paired with a hollow feeling in my stomach.

"You're back early," Gerard called from his lounge room as I let myself in.

I considered the Way brothers' house my second home. Ray and I are over here so often that they gave us both a key. You could try make it out to be some kind brotherly gesture of trust and family, but really the Way brothers are just lazy and got sick of having to get up to let us in all the time and realised they could solve that problem by giving us our own keys.

I flopped onto the couch next to Gerard, assuming it was where Mikey was sitting since his phone was on the coffee table directly in front of me. However, since he got up, his spot was for the taking. There are no friends in the seat game. He can whinge about it later.

"Yeah, they didn't let me see her. She got involved in some kind of incident and isn't allowed visitors until the doctors so. It's bullshit," I groaned, running my hands through my hair.

Realising this was serious, he took his feet off the coffee table and turned to face me. "Oh shit, is she okay?" He sounded as concerned as I felt.

"Yeah, no. I don't know... They didn't tell me anything other than I can't see her for at least a week. I feel so bad; she looks forward to it so much. I mean, she tells me every time I don't have to come but every time I see her she just gets happier and happier. I can see how much it means to her. I mean, I'm getting all worked up about not being able to see her, but it's got to be ten times worse for her. I can still go out and do whatever the fuck I want and see whoever the fuck I want but she's locked in her room there and can't do anything. And you know else what the nurse said to me?" My face was getting hot. "She said that it was nice that someone cared about her enough to show up and see her because no one had done that before me and she thought Lex had been forgotten about. I just- I just want to be there for her and now I can't be." My voice cracked. I lifted my head from my hands and looked at Gerard hopelessly, my eyes brimming with tears I wouldn't dare let fall.

Mikey walked into the room as I was finishing my rant, slowing down as he approached us.

"Is everything okay?" he asked carefully. Any other day he would have made some comment about me stealing his seat, but he must have decided to hold back this time. I was silently grateful.

I leaned forward on the couch and held my head in my hands.

"I don't know."

"You really care about her, huh," Gee murmured, rubbing my back.

All I could do was nod.

GERARD

It was late when Frank left. It took some time to calm him down, but after talking some more and channel surfing until we found a cartoon to watch a few episodes of, he left smiling, leaving Mikey and I in our own worlds in the lounge room.

"Is Frankie starting to worry you at all or just me?" I asked my younger brother, looking up from my comic. I was in the middle of rereading X-men.

"Does this have anything to do with his breakdown that he insisted wasn't a breakdown over not being able to see Lexa?" Mikey mumbled, not taking his attention away from his phone.

"I feel like he's getting really attached to her and I don't know if it's a good thing. There's gonna come a time when he has to stop visiting her, like what happens when tour starts up again? Or when she leaves there, y'know? It's a really nice thing he's doing but I'm getting kinda worried about him," I admitted.

"You know Frankie; he has a big heart. He cares too much about people he hardly knows."

"That's what I'm worried about. He was attached from day one and the more he sees her the more he cares about her but how long can it go on for, y'know?" I put my comic down on the coffee table knowing I wouldn't be able to focus on it any longer and rubbed my forehead. As much as I could use the escape, seeing the state Frank was in was playing on my mind.

"I don't know what we can do about it though, it'll end up being his problem. He should know what he's getting himself into," Mikey pointed out.

As much as I was reluctant to admit it, he was right. We couldn't tell him what to do, but it wasn't easy sitting silently on the sidelines, especially after what unfolded mere hours ago. I sighed.

"Who are you texting?" I decided to change the subject.

"Huh?" Mikey finally looking up from his phone.

"Who are you texting?"

His cheeks grew red. "No one," he rushed.

"Okay, okay," I grinned while standing, "keep your secrets. But it doesn't sound like no one."

His blush only deepened, causing me to let out a loud laugh. With that, I decided to retreat to my room, knowing full well my mind would be occupied with this Frank-Lexa situation.

"Night Mikes. Tell no one I say hi."