mikey

1

as i opened the frail screen door, i heard something creak behind me. i jumped two feet in the air, because last time i checked, i was alone. as i slowly turned around, i heard a small giggle. "mikey!!!" i yelled as he bolted off to the kitchen. "mikey i swear to god if you don't get your ass back here, you're a dead man!!!!" i yelled as i ran to the kitchen. i heard another giggle come from the old oak cabinet under the microwave. "ah hah!" i yelled as i swung open the cabinet. there, curled into a little ball, was my younger brother mikey garbis. mikey, being no more than eight years old, found much pleasure in scaring the everliving fluff out of me and my four other siblings, at any possible point.

as i said earlier, i was under the impression i was home alone, so why was mikey still here? sheila was working. danny was a daycare. lindsay and steven were at the park. i thought i dropped mikey off at mrs. binkham's house to play with jordan. in fact i was sure of it! i had, not ten minutes earlier!

"mikey, what are you doing home? i just dropped you off to play with jordan," i asked pulling him out of the cabinet.

"janie, i don't like it there! jordan never lets me play with him!" he exclaimed with the cutest little pout on his baby-like face.

"oh honey, im so sorry about that, but janie needs time to herself sometimes, you know that right?"

"yup," he said popping the p, "but i like playing with you and fred!!!"

"oh sweetie come here," i said embracing him in a hug,"im so sorry. we will find someone else for you to play with, but until then you can play with fred and i as much as you want."

"thank you! thank you! thank you janie! i love, love, love you!"

"i love you too. now how about you go wash up and ill take you for some ice cream with fred and me? huh? how does that sound?"

"yay! yay! yay!"

"ill take that as a yes," i said laughing.

fred had been my best friend for as long as i could remember. he was always there for me. he helped me to take care of the kids long after mom and dad abandoned us. he's everything i could want in a man and because of that, i was madly in love with him. sadly, the romantic feelings i had for him were not reciprocated. his love was already claimed by the horrid claire smith. claire smith was gorgeous, but only on the outside. she had made it incredibly clear to me and to every female to ever come in contact with fred, that fred was hers and only hers. claire was manipulative, and although fred was not aware of it, had been cheating on him more times than i had fingers and toes. i can't tell you how many times i almost told fred what claire had been doing throughout their five year relationship, but claire held something over my head that forced me to never peep a word to fred. claire knew the real reason my parents had left us, something not even fred knew, and i wasnt about to let anyone else know.

i sighed thinking about what life might be like if claire wasnt a part of it as i anxiously awaited fred's response about ice cream. finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, my phone buzzed. i read the response silently as a smile grew on my face. get ice cream with you and mikey, or listen to claire blab about how one of her nails broke while she was doing yoga. hmmmm is that even a choice? ill be at the place in five:)

"mikey!!! lets go!!" i yelled up the creaky old staircase. moments later, i hear the pitter pattering of feet behind me as i lock up the house.

"jannniiiieeeee. cmonnnnn lets gooooo," mikey exclaimed dragging me by the arm out the door.

i giggle as i watch him bolt to the car door and stand impatiently waiting for me to unlock the door.

"whats the magic word?" i ask, just to get a rise out of him.

"jannnniiiieeeee will you pleeeaasseee open up the door?"

"fine, but only cause you said the magic word."

i get in the car and start the engine. i look in the mirror and realize just how tired i look. there are bags under my eyes big enough to carry all the burdens of the world and wrinkles on my forehead so deep, if you dropped a penny down them, it would be lost forever. man, i thought, i look wayyy older than 23!! what is fred going to think of me? will he even care? i am brought out of my deep thoughts by the whining of mikey in the back seat.

"cmon janie!!! i wanna go!" the little ball of energy squealed.

i laughed and put my foot on the gas and started the car ride to our beloved ice cream shoppe.

author's note: hey look i successfully finished the first chapter!! i think i have an idea of where i want this story to go and im getting very excited about it!! yay! im back to writing! also be aware i haven't edited this so what you are reading is the rough draft. enjoy!!