Jeremike-You're Different than the others

Chapter 12: Old Memories

Mike’s POV

I was walking through the pizzeria; I was heading to the office so I could get ready for my second night. It was around 10 pm, so barely any kids were running around the pizzeria. The only reason I came to this hellhole so early was so I could help Doll. (Prepare your feels guys; I’m sorry if this sucks in advance.) As I walked into the dining room I caught sight of her cleaning some plates off a table. She had short blonde hair, the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen, and a gentle smile on her lips. I felt myself smile at how gentle and beautiful she was. I was going to wave her over when I saw a man come up from behind her. He looked about my age and had black hair. I backed up a bit so I was in the left hallway, but I could see them. I watched as that punk wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

I felt my face turn red at their antics, while wishing that I was brave enough to bud in. The guy reached for something in his pocket and pulled it out. It was a letter, and it looked important. I narrowed my eyes, watching them close. Doll opened the letter and gasped, she seemed happy. I heard her shout, nearly crying from joy. “I got in! I can’t believe it, they accepted me!” She practically tackled the man standing next to her. Was he her boyfriend or something? I got my answer soon. “I can’t thank you enough for getting me this chance! You are the best boyfriend a girl could have! I’ll have to tell Boss I’m leaving tomorrow for college.” My blood ran cold. I couldn’t believe Doll was leaving. She hugged her boyfriend once again. It made me sick. I did the only thing that mattered right now, run. I ran out of the hallway and towards the door. I heard Doll shout for me, “Mike? Mike come back, what’s wrong?” I didn’t care what she would say. I felt betrayed even though she had never dated me. Doll was leaving tomorrow and I didn’t even get a chance to tell her I liked her. I know how cliché that sounds, but it was true. Doll didn’t tell me she had a boyfriend, I felt so lost. Her love for someone else took me by surprise.

I kept on running, the street lamps giving me some light. It was pitch black out so I could hardly see anything, the fact that my eyes were mostly blurred with tears didn’t help. My lungs were aching from my running and my body was starting to feel the bitter cold of November. Finally I stopped at a bench to catch my breath. I sat down on the bench panting heavily thinking that it couldn’t get much worse. I half expected it to start raining but instead my phone rang. I dug through my pocket looking for it. I finally grabbed it and flipped it open. It was a call from my friend Scott. My hand was shaking as I pressed the answer button and held the phone close to my ear.

“H-hello?” I was looking down, my elbows were resting on my legs. Tears were still silently streaming down my face as Scott spoke,

“Oh thank god you are ok! I’m so glad I thought you would be in the hospital by now.” My breath hitched.

“W-why wouldn’t I be OK?” I felt myself begin to shake. Whatever happened hadn’t been good.

“You mean you don’t know Mike? Y-you didn’t hear, oh my god. I really didn’t want you to find out this way!” I started to panic; I could feel myself shake with fear. Finally Scott spoke up in a voice that was filled with sorrow. “Mike, your parents….they got into a car crash.”

I jumped out of my bed; my heart was racing a million miles a minute. I was sweating and tears stained my face. I ran my hand over my face, lifting up my bangs in the process. I moved my hands and my bangs fell back down onto my tear stained face. I remembered my dream; it was when my father died. I remember one week later he was announced to be dead. I felt the tears come once again. I sobbed in to my hands as the memories starting flooding back in to my mind. That day was so tragic, I buried the memories a long time ago but my mind always trolled me; making me remember every fucking detail. Every year I spend that day alone. Then the week after I would stay home and try to forget my horrible past. I knew Jeremy would ask about it, I had no choice but to lie to him. I didn’t want his pity; I bet his life was way more hellish.

I pulled my covers off my body and slowly got up from my bed. My bed looked like it had been mangled; I must have been turning a thrashing and lot in my sleep. I left my bedroom and walked in to the bathroom. It was still dark out; I must have been sleeping for only a few hours. I stared at myself in the mirror. My dark brown hair was messed up a lot, my blue eyes had dark circles under them from my lack of sleep, and I just looked terrible in general. My face was a bit red from crying and still was stained from my tears. I felt so alone even though I had a few friends in town. Not many of my old ones, considering Doll was in college and she lived too far away to contact, Scott was busy with his new life, and I had no parents to help me. One of them was in permanent slumber and the other was in the ground. I exited the bathroom and stared out the windows that were in the living room. The sun was barely up in the sky, clouds covering it once again. I knew rain was on its way once again. I desperately needed rest so I decided to go back to bed; I passed my dresser on the way back. There sat two framed pictures. One of them was a picture of Doll that I saw when Jeremy was here and one of my now sleeping parents