M, actually.

The Morning After

I woke up the net morning, a Monday, to an unusually silent household. My head pounded stronger than any alcohol induced hang over and my eyes still red from crying. Making my way out of bed I noticed that it was well past the usual 7 AM and I was extremely late for school.

"Mom! I overslept - again. Can I just miss out on school today, I already look like shit."

No response. I left my room in search for the birth giver.

"Mom! Hello?" I called all the way down the stairs. Nothing. Just as I opened my mouth to call for her again I heard a voice from behind me.

"She left for work hours ago. Said that it was fine if you stayed home, you know.. given the circumstances."

I turned to meet Mike face to face. To my dismay I was still dressed in my PJs and my hair was an absolute mess. I distanced myself from him so I didn't kill him with my morning breath before answering.

"Mike.. hi. Sorry. How are you feeling?" He shrugged which was a clear indication he didn't want to talk about it. Seems like the wall he tore down last night was right back again. Looks like Rome was built in a day after all.

"Do you want coffee? Anything?" I asked. He looked down at his hands indicating the cup of coffee he was clearly already drinking. Nice one. Thankfully this seemed to lighten the mood a tad between us as he laughed at my incapability to recognize things around me.

"Do you want to get out of here?" He asked me, with a clear look of mischief displayed upon him. I laughed as he was clearly up to his old ways.

"Where do you suppose I go looking like this?"

"Doesn't matter what you look like, grab a blanket and get in the car."

I ran upstairs and quickly brushed my teeth, suddenly my phone buzzed alive as Kats name appeared on the screen.

"Kat hi, not a good time."

"Im sorry, sorry just wondering why the fuck you'd leave me abandoned in Ms. P's class."

"Fuck. You don't know. Fuck."

"Not to mention I haven't even heard from you since Saturday when you - disappeared with that- wait what? What don't I know?"

"Mike's mom got in a crash dude. She's in a coma and he's staying with me."

The phone went silent for a minute.

"You're kidding? Mrs. Fitz is in a coma. That's horrible Em, i'm so sorry. I know this must be terrible for Mike and all but.. do you really think its the best idea that he stay at your house. Especially after all the shit he's done to you I mean Em, honestly."

"Kat, he has no where to go. What am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing Emi, just be careful. What is he doing right now?"

"Well, that's kind of the reason I have to hang up now. He's taking me somewhere. A surprise or something I don't know."

"Emi no. I can already see this going badly don't -"

"Em we gotta go!" Shouted Mike from downstairs.

"Don't kill me but I have to go bye." I blurted into the phone before she could answer and headed downstairs.

__________________________________________________________________

The ride there was surprisingly normal. As if having Mike sitting a few inches from me made me anything other then lightheaded; however, somehow this time I was able to control my breathing as I tuned into the song playing in the background. The Calendar Hung Itself by Bright Eyes, not too shabby of a selection. 

It was about an hour and a half later that we reached our destination. Something about this place seemed so familiar, it was a beach just off the pier where there was a small amusement park. Mike looked at me eagerly as if I was supposed to understand the whole reason as to why we were here.

"Well?" He asked. "Don't you remember it all?"

I looked at him puzzlingly. "Mike I don't know what your talking about." I laughed nervously. Mike's eyebrow furred together in an expression that made him look adorably confused. It was hard to constantly have to resist the urge to wrap my arms around him like I did just the night before. That moment seemed years away now.

"Em, I can't believe you don't remember!" He stated, his voice hinted at a bit of disappointment. "My mom, she-- uh, she used to take us here all the time when we were younger."

The place did look awful familiar, but that had been almost a decade ago. A place like this hardly was something to keep in your thoughts, but to Mike it seemed like somewhere he thought of often. Although now the beach was fairly littered and the amusement park seemed more then a little run down, I could see why this place was somewhere Mike remembered as his fondest childhood memories.  He continued, "Don't you remember? When I was nine and my tooth fell out in Mrs. Ames's class my mom took us both out for ice cream and she sat by the beach while we ran down to the shore line and let the waves chase us back." He chuckled sourly. "Guess it meant more to me back then than it does to you now." The sun was indicating to set soon so I grabbed the blanket out of the car and set it on the sand signaling Mike to sit down next to me. 

"Sorry I don't remember M, it just seems like another lifetime now. I haven't even been to the beach in forever, let alone this one." He looked down and then back at me squinting which made me unconsciously stop breathing for a second. 

"Don't worry about it." He smiled at me and  I was sure that if I had to hold my breath for a second longer I was going to pass out but I couldn't conjure up enough air somehow. "I'm just happy you're here with me now." Mike grabbed my hand and squeezed it for a second before letting go and staring at the ocean. Every last bit of air inside me had escaped and I was left with an overwhelming sense of breathlessness. How was it that he made me feel everything at once? When I was with him I didn't think of anything-- anyone else. That was until my phone came to life as my screen read One missed call from Nate. Mike seemed to have noticed too as he looked at me puzzled. 

"Nate? Why is Nate calling you?"

"You know Nate?" 

"Uh... yeah Nate Halkin right? The one you were with that day when.." his voice trailed off as he became more tense and uneasy.

"Yeah! He's a really sweet kid. Totally saved my life." I added trying to play off Mike's obvious discomfort. "How do you know him?"

"He goes to school with me." Mike explained, "He's my roomate."