Unreachable

11. On My Laine

"Morning Mom, morning Michael." I glanced at my mom, then my brother. My brother was reading the newspaper but I took no notice to it.

I went to the fridge and got some milk to pour into my cereal. Yummy. I walked by the table and then actually cared about why Michael was reading the newspaper. I laid my bowl down at the other end of the table because something weird is going on here. 

"Michael. Why are YOU, out of all people, reading the newspaper?" I gave him a confused look. "Mae, Michael wants to know what's going on, he wants to learn new information on what's happening at home."

She sighed and then opened up another newspaper but this time, for herself. "Nah mom. I'm just interested in the murder part" he shut the newspaper and shoved a spoon full of cereal in his mouth." "Wow Michael" I said and hit him on the back of the head. My necessary force on the back of his head hit the cereal right out of his mouth. "Death isn't funny" I glared at him. "I never said it was funny. I think it's cool." he said as milk poured down his chin. Gross.

"Wow. Genius" I sarcastically smiled at him and walked to the other end of the table where my cereal was waiting for me.

After 5 wonderful minutes of watching Michael shove cereal in this mouth I decided I lost my appetite. I walked into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I put on some mascara, brushed my hair, and pulled it into a messy bun. Then, I walked into my room and started unpacking my suitcases.

We didn't bring much stuff, probably because we don't have much stuff. Just as I opened my suitcase I got an alert on my phone.

Hey Mae. Want to help me look for a place? I can pick you up.
-Mike

Idk I really need to unpack.

How bout in an hour? I need to unpack my suitcases.
*Mae

I hope he will still want to hang out.

Okay sure thing. What's your address. I'll pick you up at 9:30.
-Mike

I texted Mike my address and continued setting up my room. I'm glad Mike still has the same phone as he did in 6th grade, if not, I wouldn't have his phone number. For an hour I set up my room and labeled all my drawers.

"Mae! Someone is here to see you" my mom popped her head into my room and gave me a goofy smile. "Haha mom" I grabbed my phone off my bed and walked out of the room. I saw a blonde guy leaning against the front door.

I think I recognize that idiot. I giggled at the thought. "Hey Mike." I grinned at him. "Hey Mae" he grinned back.

"Thanks Ms. Darwins for letting me bring her out to lunch" he waved at my mom. "Aw please Mike. You've known me since you were 5, you always call me Karen. Now your making me feel old." She joked around and Mike laughed.

"Sorry Karen. Thanks again!" He grabbed my hand and led me out to the car. "So where do you want to go?" He smiled at me. "Well I only know about Bernie's Burgurs, know anywhere else?" I asked Mike as he played with his car keys. "Well yeah. I know a cool Italian restaurant a few Laines away" "Okay" I smiled.

**********************************

"Mike. Isn't this expensive?" I asked as we finished ordering. "Mae. Let me remind you, my family was practically above average, money wise" he smiled at me.

Mike pulled out 100 tags and showed me. "Woah Mike. They really did leave you lots of money" I was shocked. "Yeah. I guess they had a backup plan" he gave me a sad smile and my heart dropped. Our food arrived a few minutes later and we enjoyed our meal. We talked about life and how different it was here.

"So. Um Mike. Did Keeley die too?" Keeley was Mike's younger sister, she was Michaels age and we always teased them about it. "I don't know" he whispered. I felt bad for Mike. So bad that anger rose inside me, again. We thought moving here would solve our problems but it just left us to realize what we had lost from our stupid society.

"You don't know?" I was really confused. He doesn't know if his sister is dead? Well. I guess it makes sense. I'm not 100% positive that my dad is dead. Only 99.9% sure.

"She disappeared. She was mad that my parents died. When school ended I waited hours to walk home with her and she never showed up" He looked down and played with his hands, I could see tears building up in the corner of his eye.

"I'm sorry Mike." My eye level dropped and I put my hand on his. "It's okay Mae. I hope I'll find her though." He cleared his throat and stood up. "How about looking for an apartment for me?"

He smiled and I laughed. "Sure thing" I giggled and we walked out of the restaurant after he paid.

*********************************

"How about this one?" We walked into a small apartment and went through all the rooms. "I think it's good Mike. The windows are pretty clear. It's a nice place I guess".

I gave him a small smile, I didn't want to give him too much advice, it was his choice. "It has a bad stench though. Idk maybe we can come back to this one. I'm sure there is a less expensive and better smelling one closer to you."

"It smells pretty good doesn't it?" I smiled. "Haha Mae. Your hilarious" He chuckled.

After many apartments and many weeks, Mike finally found the perfect apartment for him. And it was on my Laine.