Mikey was waiting for me once I got out the locker room. "Finally," he jokingly said. I rolled my eyes. We walked out and found Frank and Gerard. "Are you going to talk to your mom about New York and the concert?" I nodded. Mikey frowned at me.
"Are we still going to the park right now?" Frank asked.
"I can't go so ask Gerard and Mikey," I stated quietly.
"Yeah. Sorry, Iris, you're going to have to walk alone," Gerard said apologetically.
"I'll manage on my own." I always have. I didn't say that out loud, though. We stopped at an intersection. I'm supposed to go right.
"We're going left, see ya tomorrow Iris," Frank said.
"Bye!", Gerard said. Both of them started walking away. Mikey hesitated before walking with them. I turned around and started walking home. Alone. I don't know why, but I started feeling sad. I walked faster. I turned to my street and soon got home. I opened the door. I saw Tony with some friends playing video games. I groaned.
"Where's Mom?", I asked.
"My mom is in the kitchen. Your mom is probably burning in hell for creating a demon child like you," Tony said coldly. His three friends laughed. This was a stab to my heart, but I made sure I didn't react to it. I walked upstairs to my room. I heard them mumble 'freak' as I left. I closed the door to my room and locked it. I crawled on my bed and started crying. I don't even know why I was crying. I buried my head in my pillow to muffle my sobs. I heard a tap. I sat up and frowned. I heard it again. I turned my head and faced the window. I wiped my tears away and opened the curtains. I wasn't surprised when I saw Mikey on the other side sitting on the branch. I opened the window and he got in. He hugged me when he saw my tear-stained face. I cried silently into his chest and wrapped my arms around him. He sat down on my bed and held me tightly.
"What's wrong?" he whispered into my ear.
"I don't know.", I mumbled. "I don't know..." He kissed the top of my head. He pulled away and wiped the tears away. "I guess I'm not that strong after all."
"No, no don't say that. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. Both physical and emotional. Even the strongest people need a shoulder to cry on," he said and continued to wipe my tears away. He kissed my forehead.
"Weren't you supposed to be at the park?" I asked.
"Trying to get rid of me already?" he asked with a laugh. I smiled and shook my head.
"I was just wondering."
"I told the guys I had to do homework or else I'll fail two classes. I think they were trying to find a to get rid of me." I grinned. He wrapped his arms around me.
"Tony said something to me that got me upset," I whispered and played with my fingers.
"What did he say?"
"I asked where my mom was and he said that his mom was in the kitchen and my mom was burning in hell." He held me tighter.
"Tony is a jackass. You know that isn't true." I nodded. I took a deep breath and smelled Mikey's cologne. He felt good. I sighed and laid down on my bed. Mikey was next to me. I rested my head on his chest. I could hear his heart racing. "Do you remember anything from your parents?"
"We used to go to the zoo a lot," I whispered. "My dad would carry me on his shoulders and buy me ice cream a lot. My mom was out in the garden a lot. She planted lots of flowers. We had a cat. I still have that cat, Pearl. She's hiding somewhere around the house. She hates it when people are over. We had pancakes every Sunday." I started crying again. Mikey rubbed my back and whispered soothing words into my ear. There was a knock on the door. I quickly wiped my face and pushed Mikey under my bed. I took a deep breath and opened the door. My mom was there.
