More Than Friends...

Chapter 17: Prove It

My head was spinning with so many unsettling thoughts. I look around in a distraught haze and it breaks my heart. My mom was sobbing into my dad's chest and my dad was trying to be strong for my mom, but you could still see the tears threatening to spill. Emily was sitting on the floor with her back pressed against the wall and her head was in her hands. She was sobbing into her hands. Her loose brown curls covered her face and acted as a curtain, but you could still hear her ragged breaths and sobs from a mile away.

Tears were streaming down my face and my legs gave out. I fell to the floor, a sobbing mess. I heard the sound of a door open, but I didn't dare look up in fear of it being the doctor with the bad news. My mind shut out the world, all I could hear was the muffled voices of people trying to speak to me, but it felt like I couldn't speak. It was like if I spoke this would all be real. This wouldn't be some messed up dream and I wouldn't wake up to Chris screaming at me to wake up for school. I knew this wasn't a dream, but I couldn't help but hope.

The muffled voices stopped talking and I felt a pair of strong arms around me. The familiar scent of Axe and mint surrounding me, but that just got me angry. How could he think that it was okay to hug me when I was so upset about my dying brother?

I started thrashing around in his arms and pushing and shoving, anything to get away from him. He wouldn't budge, his arms tightening around me. I looked up and was met with the same blue green eyes that I've become to both hate and love. I hit his chest and yelled, "Let go of me!"

He looked down at me, but he didn't say anything. His eyes said it all. Those beautiful blue green eyes weren't bright and happy like they always are; they were stormy and turned a darker shade. I kept hitting him, but I couldn't take it anymore....

I was broken.

I stopped hitting him and pulled him to me. My arms wrapped around his torso and his arms tightened around me. I sobbed into his chest while he stroked my hair and tried to calm me down and it worked. I had a sense of security with his arms around me protectively. I stopped crying and the darkness soon consumed me and I fell asleep in his arms.

I woke up to yelling. My eyes fluttered open and I saw Tyler, Mikey, and my dad yelling at each other. What a pleasant way of waking up. Note, the sarcasm.

"This is your fault!" my dad yelled at Mikey.

Mikey yelled back, "I didn't know that they would do this!"

Tyler spoke up, "If we knew than we would have protected you guys!"

My dad scoffed and yelled, "It doesn't matter if you knew or you didn't! My son and your brother, who is like a son to me, are in the hospital because of them!"

Mikey and Tyler looked down and Mikey whispered, "I didn't want this to happen. Chris and Drew are my brothers and Rick..."

Mikey looked up, tears in eyes and said, "I'm in love with your daughter."

I sat up and all heads turned to me when I said, "And I love you, Mikey."

I stood up and walked over to him and said to his face, "But, that doesn't change the fact that you won't fight for me."

He looked me in the eye and asked, "What if I told you that I would fight for you this time instead of taking the easy way out?"

I started walking to him while I said, "I would say-"

I stood on the tips of my toes and whispered in his ear, "Prove it."

He smirked and whispered in my ear, "Trust me, I will."

We stood there for what felt like forever until my dad cleared his throat and said, "Are we going to read the letter or not?"

I scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion and asked, "What letter?"