In The Scenes

Eighth

WARNING: May be mentions of abuse, panic attacks, trauma, blood, etc. If you are sensitive to these topics, please don't read.

Micah POV:

I know what my problem is. I don't worry before something important. I worry when it happens. It's like my brain goes, 'you haven't worried in some time . . . here you go'. I'm sitting on Bryce's couch. The rest of the crew except Lia and Alex are here too. Asha should be here in two minutes.

One minute.

Thirty seconds.

Ten seconds.

Now.

"Hello?" someone outside said.

Bryce opened the door.

"Hey. Can I come in?"

My sister was standing in front of me. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. She looked around the room, and her eyes fell on me.

"I haven't met you before. What's your name?"

"Mi . . . Nicolas. It's nice to meet you. Asha, right?"

It hurt not to remember her, but I didn't want to make her think I was creepy.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you too."

She sat down.

"So, where do you go to school?"

"Faith High School. You go to Lysia, right? I know you're in school with Lia, Bryce, Alex, and Mattheo."

"Yeah. What's your full name?"

"Nicholas Bull. Yours?"

"Ashira Doe. What are your hobbies?"

"Bothering everyone else and being sarcastic."

"You remind me of my brother."

Her eyes lost their smile. She looked down. I moved next to her. I wanted to hug her, but that would be weird coming from a stranger.

"What happened?"

"I ran away. I blamed him for our parents' fighting. I should have been there for him. I wish I could go back in time and tell him I love him and hope he becomes successful and happy."

I would have said something, but Mindy came in.

"Micah-freaking-Doe. I'm going to kill you. You have three seconds to run. One . . . "

"Micah? Like my brother?" Asha asked.

" . . . two . . . "

"Yeah. Nice to meet you again. Sorry about lying," I said, not wanting two girls to be mad at me.

" . . . and . . . "

"She's gonna kill me, so I'm gonna . . . "

"Do whatever you need to do."

" . . . three."

I ran for my life. Mindy chased me and eventually got me. She's a fast runner for someone who hates exercise.

"What did you do to my perfume?"

"I put blue cheese in it."

"Why?"

"You said you liked blue cheese."

"As a dish. Not as a perfume."

She let me go. I'll live to see another day.

"Honestly, you're impossible."

She pushed me against the wall and put her face next to mine.

"You're lucky I've got a fat crush on you, okay?"

I nodded, and Mindy walked away. Fat crush? I smiled as I went downstairs. I saw Asha mumbling to herself. Gathering my courage, I walked down the remaining steps and sat next to her.

"So . . . you're my brother."

"Yep."

It was awkward. She already told me how she felt, but she didn't know it was me, and even though I thought she hated her, she hated herself for hating me, and she didn't hate me, and I never hated her. This is some My Little Pony complexity here.

"How's life?"

It didn't sound like a filler question. She genuinely sounded curious.

"Pretty good. I have a good relationship with Dad, and Paul's nice."

"You have a relationship with Dad? Also, who's Paul?"

I laughed.

"You really have missed a lot. Let me fill you in."

That's exactly what I did. I told her about Mom, Dad, Paul, Alex and Lia's year of torture, and the others in the crew. She was shocked by the end of it.

"That's . . . intense."

"Yeah."

We sat in silence. Sometimes, silence is nice.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to . . . "

"No, I do. This isn't a movie where everything is fixed without an apology. This is real life, and I screwed up a part of yours. You never had an older sister to look up to, even though you could have had one. You make jokes to hide your pain. I can see it. For all of that, I'm sorry. I know you might never forgive me, but I want you to know I'm sorry."

She was sincere, and that's all I wanted. I wanted someone in my life to be genuine and love me. I have my crew, and now I have my sister. I hugged her, and she hugged me back.

"Now," she said, "I think it's time I meet Paul and this refined Dad you keep talking about."

"Don't worry. You won't be disappointed."

We said bye to the crew and left for my house. I knocked on the front door, and Paul answered. He smiled at me but gasped when he saw Asha. He looked at me.

"Should I kick her out or invite her in?"