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"He's dead."
"No."
"He's dead."
"NO!"
"Gerard. He's dead."
"NO! No, you're lying, no!!!"
"Gerard. Michael is gone."
"No!!! No, this can't be!! This is all your fault!!!"
"...yes. It is. I am sorry, for what it's worth."
"Nothing. It's worth nothing."
Gertrude looked sadly at the man he once considered close to a son, and who would now be no more. But what she did was for the best of the world. Surely he'd understand that. Someday. With one last look, she left the room, closing the door behind her quietly.
And when she left, Gerard let himself be broken.
He let his heart be broken.
He let it shatter into a million pieces as the words echoed in his ears. It was as if the world around him seemed to fade away, leaving him standing alone in an abyss of grief. His mind struggled to comprehend the devastating news, desperately clinging to the hope that it was all just a cruel joke. Even if she was not the type to make jokes like that, just this once, let her joke just this once.
The room was silent, save for the soft sobs that started escaping from deep within him. The news echoed in his mind, refusing to be ignored or denied. A desperate longing for this to be just a cruel nightmare consumed him, but he Knew it was the truth. Michael was gone.
They were never supposed to grow old together, not in this world, but they were supposed to be supporting each other, and helping regular people when the avatars decided to meddle too much in their lives. But now, that future lay shattered, forever out of reach.
As the waves of grief crashed over him, Gerry's mind turned into a whirlwind of emotions. Anger, intertwining with guilt, intertwining like a tangled web. Huh. He blamed himself for not being there, for not protecting Michael. For trusting Gertrude. The weight of that guilt pressed heavily upon his chest, making it difficult to breathe.
Tears welled up in Gerard's eyes, blurring his vision as he stumbled backwards, his hands thrashing around mindlessly, as if he was looking for something to hold onto, to.. support him. Support him and the weight of reality that had crashed down upon him, threatening to suffocate his very being. Every breath became a painful reminder of the vast void that now existed in his life.
As the painful words continued to still replay in his mind, anger surged through Gerard's veins, anger at her, anger at him, anger at himself. Anger, intertwining with his sorrow. He clenched his fists around the air he was trying to hold on to, his knuckles turning white, and he fought against the overwhelming urge to lash out at the world. How could she? Why.. him? Why did Michael have to be..?
Walking towards the nearest chair was almost like the hardest thing he's ever done, and he collapsed in it, burying his face in his, for some reason, well, for one reason only, trembling hands. The memories flooded back, each one a bittersweet reminder of the love they had shared. Of the love he had lost. The way Michael's laughter filled a room, his gentle touch, his eyes and quiet and kind soul that had led him to.. this.
Those were the happy memories. Now alone, with no new ones to join them. With no new memories to ever add on to them, since the main person in them all was now.. dead. And with Michael's death he lost the two people he ever thought close. One lost to death, the other to betrayal.
And Gerard was now all alone too.