“You’re barking up the wrong tree, my celestial friend.”
“But I’m not,” I stated. “You’re the one that sent me here.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: Cooper
The rented tux hung on the back of my bedroom door, still in the zip-up bag. I’d really wanted to wear the formal suit, especially after Mikey said I looked better than a model during our fitting on Monday afternoon. Hastings joked that I was too short to be a real model. I didn’t think five-eleven was particularly short, but maybe in comparison to him and Mikey who were both two inches over six feet, I was short.
Hastings hadn’t texted or called after my outburst, so I figured my prom date had canceled on me. Without Mikey, Hastings, or even Jennifer texting me my cell was dead quiet which was an accurate exhibit of my future. No more Mikey, no more high school, no more popularity. My summer was stacking up to be the most boring summer of my life.
I heard a car door slam across the street so I sat up in bed to see if someone was at my house. Jen’s bright-red BMW was parked along the curb in front of Mikey’s but she wasn’t getting out of the car. I got out of bed and sat at my desk and waited for Mikey to come out. Maybe they had a date before the dance or errands to run. I no longer knew anything about Mikey’s plans, which left me feeling even lonelier.
My anger was subsiding, nevertheless. Now I was afraid with a pain too difficult to describe setting up residency in the pit of my stomach. I was nothing, and I had nothing without Mikey. The reality of life without him was unimaginable to me. He was everything to me and I’d been an asshole to him. In a matter of twenty-four hours I’d gone fromI’m finished with himtohow do I live without him?
This had never happened before. Sure, we had fights and disagreements.Boys argued like everyone else until they settled their dominance standing or accepted roles within their friendship. And Mikey and I had done all of that. Several times, in fact, but those separations were always brief and we mended our friendship because we knew we needed each other.
I’ve never had a romantic relationship, so I can’t be sure, but I likened our disagreement to when a couple fights and then makes up. Once back together they’re mushier, maybe they even have make-up sex, profess their love over and over. Mikey and I weren’t dissimilar. We’d settle things eventually and then we’d find every reason to touch each other, hug more, grab and wrestle one another. In a sense, the renewed connection was our sexual dance. Perhaps Mikey grew out of it. I never had.
He was growing out of many things and I think I was paying attention. What if I’d missed his growth because I felt the same blind love and devotion for him regardless of our ages? We were born on the same day, making us the exact same age. But Mikey had always acted older. He’d been my leader and I was okay with that. I still was if I were honest.
Mikey stepped outside in gray gym shorts and nothing else. I swallowed hard when the pain in my heart suffocated me at the sight of him. He was simply the hottest guy I had ever seen. He walked like a total dude and didn’t even realize he did. His stride was confident, but not arrogant; his chest was out with his head held high, yet he seemed welcoming and kind. I knew he was all of those things. I admired him so much.
He crossed his arms and waited for Jennifer to meet him halfway. Why had he stopped before reaching her car? I felt like I was invading their privacy but I couldn’t stop watching, so I adjusted my blinds to conceal my presence. Just in time too because Mikey glanced up at my window.
Mikey waited for about a minute before he turned and headed back inside. But then Jen stepped out of her car and made her way up the sidewalk, her hands animatedly gesturing. I knew her well. She was articulating her displeasure at not being catered to. A queen likes to be worshiped at all times. She was no different.
They didn’t hug. Mikey appeared unhappy based on his posture and facial expressions. I wished I could read lips. Of course, it would have only beena one-sided conversation because Mikey was the only one facing me. They talked for several minutes before Mikey began walking in a circle, pointing at her occasionally, and then stopping to listen.
Jennifer raised her arms and then let them fall to her sides a couple of times in what could only be described as frustration. Then it was Mikey’s turn. Eventually Jennifer stepped forward and tried to hug him but Mikey resisted, pushing her arms away from him. The slap came out of nowhere.
I shrunk lower in my chair, barely able to watch because I was ashamed I was witnessing their argument. But the scene was like a car accident on a freeway and I couldn’t look away.
Mikey rubbed his cheek, dumbfounded that she’d actually slapped him. I was shocked and wanted to yell for her to back off or even run downstairs and protect him. Instead I held my breath and continued to watch. Shaking his head, Mikey went inside his house.
Alone on the Hill’s front lawn, Jennifer crossed her arms and turned toward my house. She stared at my window, looking upset when she did something I could’ve never imagined Jennifer James doing. She flipped me the bird. Not once, but twice when she waved both her hands at my window with surprising ferocity.
She only stopped when Mikey reappeared. He was carrying a medium sized cardboard box. I recognized the teddy bear in a cowboy hat that Jennifer had gifted him that was peeking out of the top of the box. Picture frames and assorted artwork she’d made for him were also in the box. Was Mikey breaking up with her?
Jennifer pointed her key at her car and the trunk popped open. Mikey walked down the sidewalk to the curb and placed the box inside. Leaving the trunk open, he retreated when she came closer to him. Perhaps a second slap didn’t appeal to him. He yanked his arm away from her when she attempted to touch him again, so she walked to the trunk, removed a framed picture and threw it on the street. The glass shattered everywhere and the frame broke. Then Jennifer threw another, and another, and another.
Holy shit.
After flashing another middle finger at Mikey and then her other middlefinger at my house while giving us both the bird at the same time. Mikey glanced over to see if I saw her before he glared at her, saying something that elicited both middle fingers to swing in his direction. She slammed the trunk shut and got in her car, peeling away from the curb with a final finger waving in the wind.
Mikey watched her car disappear down the street before looking my way. I squatted and waited. After a minute, I peeked out. Mikey was still staring at my window, arms crossed, pain etched on his face. I recognized this face. This was his mouth tightly closed, quivering lips, try-not-to-cry look, and it broke my heart.
I lifted my blinds, revealing myself to him and admitting that I just witnessed everything. He touched his heart and then pointed toward me, asking if he could come over. Tears fell from my eyes when a familiar emotion awoke in my heart.
Mikey needed me.
I nodded and waited.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: Mike
Isat on the edge of Cooper’s bed. He was still seated at his desk but had turned the chair around to face me. He was quiet. I was hunched over, staring at my feet, trying to overcome the inability to speak without crying.
“You okay?” he whispered.
I couldn’t answer. I could barely nod let alone hold a conversation. Perhaps I should have waited before rushing over and unloading my emotions on Cooper.
