the annoying yet reassuring beep of his black alarm clock woke him up from his sleep, and he sat up, yawning. his face had felt tight, and it had reminded him about his tears shed the night before. he could feel his heart in the pit of his stomach, where it had been since he was thirteen. he rubbed his sunken eyes, and ambled into the bathroom he used to share with nancy.
he turned the shower onto the hottest it could, and felt the warmth hit his cool skin. he stood there for a moment, letting the steam and water engulf him. he washed his face, scrubbing the tears and sweat that came after the nightmare.
when he got out of the shower, and brushed his teeth, he put on one of his red shirts, with a grey jacket on top, because by the way it looked outside, he could assume it would be a rainy day. his short brown hair had become more curly with age, and he could tell that today it was going to be less tame than usual. that was alright though, he decided, as he looked at himself one last time before he left his room. his blue jeans were getting more faded, he would have to buy a new pair later.
mike wandered downstairs, hearing the little bing their toaster made every time it was done with something. some eggos popped out. he squeezed his eyes closed for a second before continuing his way down the plush, brown carpet on his stairs. his mom was helping holly, his second-grade sister, pack up her backpack before school today. "michael, son, could you help me with her this morning? i have a class at the ymca to get to, and i and don't have time to drop her off. would you mind taking her to school?" mike sighed, and agreed, wondering why she would even bother taking up those classes again. last time she did, she found out it was being instructed by his dad's new girlfriend, and she dropped out, more emotionally distraught than before. his mom and dad had gotten a divorce when he was in the ninth grade. he was cheating on her with a younger girl, and their mom just shut down.
he didn't know what it felt like to be the only single mother in the girl scout troop holly was in, and he would never know the pain his mother felt when they would go to the grocery store, and always hear whispers behind them. whispers saying how she wasn't good enough to keep one man. whispers saying she was the one who cheated on him. mike had always gotten so mad, and tried to fight for his mom, shooting dirty looks at suburban mothers who were living their own toxic lives with toxic families, baking pies and tarts to hide their troubles. little did his mom know, however, that when he heard her crying herself to sleep, he was doing the same thing. half of their family was suffering of a broken heart, and nancy and holly were the only ones who had never felt that pain.
"yeah, of course mom. have fun, okay?" mike asked his mom, who had the same sunken eyes as him, but at least she tried to cover them up with makeup and jewelry. she nodded, before giving him a hug that lasted two seconds too long, and making her way out the door. mike helped holly finish packing up, and they took off, forgetting about the eggos on the counter.
