Episode 18

I knocked on the door, wiping the tears running along my face as I continued to pound my knuckles onto their entrance until someone finally opened the door. Mike seemed angry as he aggressively pulled it open, bare chested with only pyjama pants. He had bed hair, and his eyes were filled with fatigue. I stepped backwards, meeting his gaze and attempting to wipe the tears continuing to overflow my eyes; I couldn't stop them.

"What the fuck are you doing August? You're lucky it was me that opened this god damn door," he spat, standing from the doorway before finally realizing that I was unable to stop sobbing. Immediately, he closed the door behind him and approached me with concern, all his sharp features softening. He reached me, placing an arm around my shoulders as he held me against his chest, embracing me in hopes to calm me down. I continued to sob for at least half an hour before finally being able to settle down into whimpers.

Mike had been at Alyssa's home, and since Eric and I ran out of ideas, and Uncle Chris did not seem to be able to help either, having caused mother to burst out into hysterical tears and lock her bedroom door, crawl inside her closet to assure no human contact, my heart ached tremendously. They had been unbelievably happy just a few weeks ago, and this was too soon to break it off completely. However, as I clung to Mike, he was certainly my only hope.

"August, stop fucking crying," he hissed, however his touch was different than his tone, as he sent his fingers through my hair and caressed my back, "What's going on?"

"Mr. Hawk wants us gone by tomorrow night," I breathed quietly.

Mike's eyes widened as he pulled apart from me and tilted downwards, to meet my eye level. "When did this happen? Who said that?"

"Uncle Chris," I muttered, "And Mr. Hawk did not want to see us apparently."

"That's bullshit."

"Mike, I don't know what to do—"

He shushed me instantly, seeing that I was about to start sobbing again, "Relax, we'll figure something out alright?"

I slowly nodded my head, and he returned his arms around me, tightly holding me as in to protect me from what was causing me to tremble in sadness. Suddenly, someone else came from the doorway, and she tightened her robe around her, raising her tired eyes towards the both of us.

"What's going on Mike?" Alyssa asked, evading my gaze as if I was not of any importance. However, she did not seem happy with my presence. "Come back to bed."

"Lyss, I'm going home for the night."

She raised an eyebrow, narrowing her eyes at him, "What are you talking about? She's the one crying this hard and banging on the door at two a.m in the morning?"

"Yea," Mike replied, tightening his hold.

She scoffed, "That's stupid Mike, get back inside."

"What the fuck did you just say to me?"

"I said," she stepped outside, "Get back inside," she turned towards me with gritted teeth, reached for his arm and pulled it from me. "And get your arms off from her."

"Don't speak to me like that," Mike hissed.

Alyssa chuckled, "You always kept bragging about how you were gonna make her life a living hell before she came and now every time she needs a bit of a bandage, you're up her ass."

"She's my fucking step-sister Alyssa," he roared. "Our parents are engaged, the fuck did you expect? Am I supposed to be an asshole to her for as long as we live in the same house?"

"At least don't be a fucking fraud about it," she retorted, "Be real about it. You know it's not because you guys are step-siblings and I know it too." She paused for a moment, fury rising in her eyes and she probably felt her blood boil. If eyes could kill, her gaze would have pierced through all the organs in my body.

Mike shook his head, detached himself from me and approached her. Although she was furious, she closed her eyes when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, placing a peck on her forehead and then connecting their lips. She moved her own as well, dancing to the familiar rhythm he kept. Soon, she was calmed, and he pulled away after one last squeeze.

"Let's talk about this when I get back. I love you," he said genuinely, and as I began walking back towards the car, he followed me. When we reached the car, I sat in the backseat and he jumped in the front, greeting Eric who turned the wheel and escaped the parking lot, drifting off to the road. "So what the hell is going on?"

"Dad is going ballistic," Eric sighed hopelessly, pulling the blunt from on top of his ear as he drove. As instinct, Mike reached for the lighter in the cup holder and lit the end, watching as his brother took a few hits and passed it to him. "Uncle Chris didn't say much."

"He came to the house today?"

"After we saw you at school," I replied with a sniff, turning away when he glanced towards me in the back. He noticed I was still greatly upset, and reached over to me, placing his palm on my thigh.

He bit his bottom lip uneasily, before genuinely saying, "Stop crying, August. We'll figure this out."

"What should we do? Should we send Olivia over to Chris'?" Eric asked, glancing towards Mike who returned to his original position, taking a hit from the blunt and passing it to Eric.

He shrugged his shoulders, "And if that doesn't work?"

"Maybe we could talk to him, we're his sons aren't we?"

"Hell no," his features narrowed, and his teeth gritted immediately, "Dad knocked me upside the head and told me that I was a mistake. He talked about something that should not have been spoken."

"Mike get the fuck over it, he was pissed."

"Watch how the fuck you talk to me Eric," he spat, glaring towards his brother.

Eric rolled his eyes with a long annoyed sigh, "You're acting as if you never said things that hurt me when you're pissed at me."

"When have I ever?"

"You used to say that you wish I was killed by Dad's goons, and that Dresden was going to come back and slash my throat; you are a fucking lunatic."

Mike shook his head and turned away, "That's not the same thing."

"Explain how it's any different."

"Let's try to focus on Mr. Hawk and my mother okay?"

They both groaned, but returned to the topic. Eric threw the rest of the joint outside, rolled his window back up. "Look," Mike started, "Your mother fucked up. Why the fuck is she still talking to your father?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, you have to tell us what happened in your family. Why did your mother separate from him?"

I shook my head, "It's a long story."

"We got time," Eric chuckled, staring at me from the rear view mirror.

"Nothing but time," Mike added on.

I wish I did not need to speak about their relationship, since it always caused me to feel as if my lungs filled with fluids. It caused my organs to feel as if they began to fail, and I needed to be brought to a nearby hospital. Those were the effects speaking about my past with my father, had done.

Again, I shook my head. "I can't," I whispered, and the hurt behind my tone was clearly evident, that Mike even glanced backwards to see if I was sobbing again.

He observed my twisted features, and I looked away from him. "Whatever you went through," he murmured, "It's probably not as bad as what Nina did." I sighed, clearing my throat, attempting to let a few words escape my tongue. However, silence followed, and Mike glanced backwards. "You going to start anytime soon?"

"It's hard," I replied helplessly.

He shrugged his shoulders, "If it's hard then how the fuck do you expect us to help your mother if we know nothing about why the fuck she's staying with your Dad and how he's like?"

"You don't need to know about what he did, to figure something out."

"No, you're right we don't," he said sternly, "But it would help since we would find a way to remind your mother of why she left him in the first place."

My fingers massaged my temple, "But it'll make my mother seem horrible as well."

Mike turned around, meeting my worried gaze, "August, I really don't give a fuck. Get out of your emotions, and tell us what the fuck happened. I've heard crazy stories before, I live in a crazy story, I promise I can handle it." My mouth slammed shut, and my breathing stopped for a split second. He faced forward, "Start your story."

I sighed; there was no other way out. It was not exactly a story I loved to speak on about, but if it was to help them find a way to make my mother fall away from my father and focus on Mr. Hawk, then it mattered.

"It was right after I was born. After being pregnant, my mother did not exactly want to have sex for a few months. Even after those months, they rarely had sex, my father and my mother. That's when it really started. One day, my father came back home carrying my mother. My mother was not a lightweight, she could carry her liquor, but this time she was already passed out. That night, they had sex, but she was unconscious. That's when it happened frequently; every time they went on dates, my mother would come back unconscious. It went on until I was six, that we finally realized that it was my father putting drugs in her drink, to make her pass out."

Mike and Eric's eyes widened, and they glanced towards one another, but did not say a word.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the expression on their faces. "My mother was angry at first, but since my father insisted and insisted, she went along with it, and it's not as if she did not entirely enjoy it, knowing that he fancied her body. She didn't want to have sex so she told herself that it was her husband touching her while she slept. Not until my father started inviting his perverted friends and they started having rounds with her. When she found that out, she was furious, but that's when the abuse started. He cussed her out, slammed her into walls, strangled her until she passed out. She was just too scared to do anything, until one night, a few years later, he brought back a kid and told us that it was going to be my brother. That kid was William."

"Hold on," Eric cut me off, "William? So that means..."

I nodded my head sadly, "William isn't my real brother. He's my half brother."

"How the fuck did that go about it?"

"He fucked a prostitute, and when she became pregnant, he forced her to keep the baby by promising her money and love. Then when the baby was out, he got full custody and never spoke to her again. She's in jail now, since she could not afford the child support money she owed him."

"No offense, but your father is insane," Mike said underneath his breath. He turned around and quickly added, "But it's not that bad," in hopes to cheer me up.

I sighed, "And they broke it off because he didn't show up to the house for four months, and soon my mom found Mr. Hawk, and we just ended up moving out."

"You knew they never signed the divorce papers?" Eric asked.

I shook my head, "I wish I had, I would have made her sign them."

"That's very odd," Mike commented. When all of us raised our eyebrows, he continued, "She didn't break it off because he was letting other men, basically rape her. She didn't break it off because he came home with another son, but instead because he didn't show up at home for four months? Is it out of order or something, because I've stayed out longer than that."

I shrugged my shoulders, "She just found Mr. Hawk during that time."

"I get it now," Eric interrupted. "Maybe she just wanted your Dad's attention since he obviously wasn't giving any to her, so she broke it off as like a warning to lose her, but then ended up falling in love with my father, so it would make sense that she still has feelings for your Dad."

"And staying in contact and allowing him to take you, makes sense as well," Mike added.

Finally, we arrived to our home, and he parked in his garage. We stayed within the car for a moment. "So how are we gonna go about this?" Mike asked, placing an index finger on his chin to think.

Eric shrugged his shoulders, "Knowing the history makes sense now though."

"My Dad isn't gonna come around, we need to convince him that your mother actually loves him," Mike said.

I nodded my head, "So what's the plan?"

"I have one, no worries. Let's just go to bed and set it up tomorrow, okay?" He whispered, turning around to meet my gaze. I paused for a moment before rapidly nodding my head with a weak smile.

Mike chuckled, "You're exactly like Eric." He reached forward and ruffled my hair, before exiting the car and heading inside with Eric following behind us as well. As we headed upstairs, the lights shut and our footsteps resounded within the darkness, I noticed Mike had not turned towards his room. Eric yawned a goodnight, and entered his room, probably falling asleep right when he hit his bed. However, Mike stopped at my bedroom door, and faced me, leaning against the side of my door.

I raised an eyebrow, pulling my key from my purse. "I'm sleeping here tonight," he whispered, leaning forward and placing his lips on my forehead.

"You can't," I replied.

He frowned, "Why is that?"

I gulped uneasily, "I thought whatever we had ended the other night."

He nodded his head, "It did, but I can't help being in love with you August." As he advanced towards me, I closed my eyes and finally felt his warm lips hit mine, and gently dance against my own. It was a comfortable kiss, as if to say that I was always welcomed here, and that he would always be there to care for me. I placed my palms against his pecs, feeling his own hand reach for my waist and the other one for my jaw. He did not deepen the kiss, and pulled apart after half a minute.

Afterwards, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I opened my door, allowing him inside and closing the door behind us. It was causing my heart to ache kissing him, since he had kissed Alyssa the same way not even an hour ago. I scratched the top of my head and sent my fingers through my hair.

"Listen Mike," I started, "I'm starting to fall in love with you too."

It was strange, since I had never seen such expression within his eyes. As he sat on my bed, he seemed incredibly pleased, his eyes brightening, and a small smile poking the ends of his lips. "That's good news, why do you seem so upset though?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because of Alyssa."

He shook his head, confusion causing his eyebrows to furrow, "What do you mean, 'because of Alyssa'?"

"It can't be the both of us Mike," I sighed, "It has to be one of us."

After a small pause, holding my gaze with his, he finally whispered, "You're making it so fucking complicated and it doesn't have to be."

I scoffed, "Then let's stop doing this okay? Let's stop all those kisses, all those caring for one another—"

"You came to my door, begging for my help."

"And you walked to my room, and kissed me," I retaliated.

He shrugged his shoulders, "You can't expect me not to."

"Yes, I can. And I do," I hushed, crossing my arms. "Please sleep in your own bed tonight."

His mouth tightened, examining all the features on my face for a slight budge of different emotion, insinuating the opposite. And he found it. As he stood from my bed, he approached me, and leaned down towards me, his lips coming terribly near to my ear that his breathing caused my entire body to fall numb. His palms caressed my back, "You don't want me to do that August," he whispered seductively, and I closed my eyes, attempting to shut down all the ecstasy I had missed.

However, I knew I would regret this later, and the thought of Mr. Hawk and my mother without a reconciliation did hinder my emotions. Therefore, I slowly placed my palms on his pecs and pushed him apart from me. I was breathing heavily, and so was he, and as I looked up to meet his gaze, I noticed his clenched teeth tightening his jaw. "You don't want me to, August," he repeated much more sternly and aggressively.

"I'm sorry."

He paused, before turning his head away. "You keep rejecting me and it breaks my heart," he whimpered, and his childish side was beginning to present himself. As I stared at his face, all his sharp features appeared to be similar to a child's. He did not appear dangerous at all, and it hurt me to say no to him. It was the first time he admitted to something hurting him.

I pressed my palms against his jaw, "Listen Mike. You keep rejecting me, and I can't be with you if I'm the second option. I am falling in love with you, but you need to figure out your own side first."

"Alyssa isn't a factor."

"She is, you and I both know that."

"She doesn't have to be if you don't let her be," he attempted to fix.

I shook my head, "We could not be together even if Alyssa wasn't in the picture. Sleep in your room tonight, alright?"

"Let me sleep with you," he cooed, and as he met my eyes again, he whispered, "Please."

That was how he ended up snuggled against my stomach, his arms around my waist, like a baby gripping for dear life. For an hour, I stared at his snoring face, my fingers peacefully travelling in waves through his hair, and listening to him. Mike seemed different today than other days; he was much sweeter and opened up a bit more. Either or, it was clear that he wanted to come home, and not stay at Alyssa's.

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