Shattered

Chapter 14

Michael's lips slowly left mine, leaving me breathless. He pressed his forehead to mine and loosened his grip on my waist. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes. This kid really was something else.

"Nice beanie." He whispered.

"Heh thanks," I blushed. "They lent me a complimentary beanie at Casa De Clifford."

"It looks good," He smirked, quickly stealing a kiss. "But uh, that pizza out there isn't going to eat itself."

"Well you never know, it might be a very talented pizza."

"Yeah I'll believe it when I see it." He chuckled and made his way back to the living room. I smiled and jumped off the counter, following behind him.

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"So, Miss. Evans," He said, plopping down on the couch. "What'll it be? Romance, Action, Horror, or Comedy?"

"I'm in the mood for a good laugh." I sat next to him and picked up a piece of pizza from the table.

"Have you seen White Chicks?!" He asked excitedly.

"That movies great! My brother and I used to..." I stopped and felt my eyes weld up with tears at the mere thought of Max.

Michael's smile fell and he looked at me with lost eyes. "Do you wanna talk about it?'

I looked away, wiping my eyes and shook my head. It's not that I didn't want to tell him about Max, because I did... I just couldn't find the words. I opened my mouth to speak and kept my gaze on the floor, but the sudden lump in my throat prevented me from making a sound.

Michael sat quiet next to me for a while before standing up. "You know what we need?!"

I looked up at him from my spot on the couch. "...a drink."

"Miss. Evans! There will be no underage drinking in this household!" He giggled and winked at me. "What we really need is some music! I know it always helps me out when I'm down in the dumps!"

I just nodded and pulled my knees to my chest. Michael jumped up from the couch and quickly ran upstairs, stumbling over a few steps as he made his way to the top and disappeared. I struggles to fight back my tears as the thought of my dead brother entered my head. There was so much I wanted to tell Michael. I wanted him to wrap his arms around me while I cried into his chest and told him about Max, but it's so hard opening up to people. I shut my own mother out at one point, how was I supposed to let Michael in?

A loud crash came from upstairs followed by a "Mother fucker!" I let out a muffled laugh and shook my head. The grasp I held around my knees tightened as Michael emerged from upstairs. He cautiously made his way downstairs clutching a handful of CD's in his left hand and a guitar in the other."Alright Evans, are you ready to rock?!"

I shrugged and let out a sigh. Michael rested his guitar against the arm of the couch and walked over to the stereo system that perched on a shelf next to the television. He flipped through the albums, tossing them on the floor below him, until he finally pulled the disk out of one and placed it in the tray.

Heavy guitar filled the room and Michael turned around, strumming his air-guitar and jumped around the living room. The song was familiar, it sounded like that music Max used to blast in his room on nights I was trying to study. The memory brought a faint smile to my face. Michael busted into song and continued to jump around the room. "Come on Scout!" he shouted, motioning for me to join him.

"No thanks," I giggled. "I don't dance."

"Neither do I!" He smirked, extending his hand out to me. I took it hesitantly and stood up, only to fold my arms across my chest.

"THIS IS THE DAWNING OF THE REST OF OUR LIVES... ON HOLIDAY!!!" Michael danced around me, shouting the lyrics to the song. "Green Day?! Scout you've got to be kidding me. This is the greatest band known to man-kind. You're killing me kid!"

I laughed and adjusted the beanie on my head. "You know what Clifford, it's been a while okay?"

"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard." He smiled taking me hands and moving them in sync with his.

The fast pace of the song continued, but Michael slowed down. He entwined my fingers in his and pulled me closer. His arms pulled mine up to his shoulders and he let go, sliding his hands down my torso and stopped at my waist. We began swaying side to side to the music. Our movement was completely out of sync with the music, but somehow it felt right. Michael's arms loosened around my waist and slowly pressed on my back, pulling my body closer to his.

I wrapped my arms around his neck the best I could and rested my head against his chest. The song ended and the next track began, this one being much slower than before. I recognized this one though, "Wake Me Up When September Ends." Max played it for me on my birthday last year. He saved up the money from doing lawns around the neighborhood and bought a guitar without my mom knowing. She'd always wanted him to do good in school and succeed in life, but Max had other plans. He wanted to be a rocker. He wanted to travel the world and play music, but our parents never allowed it. So he practiced in private, and on midnight of my 17th birthday Max woke me up and played the song for me... it was the best birthday gift I've ever received.

Michael removed his hands from my back and spun me around. I kept my head down, trying to hide my tears from him. He stopped and lifted his hands to my face, wiping the wetness from my cheeks. My arms instantly wrapped around Michael's stomach and I let out a sob. Michael put his arms around my body, pulling me tightly to him. I felt safe in his arms, like nothing would hurt me... not even myself.

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pshh it totally hasn't been over and month since ive updated.. heh no definitely not /.\ but uh... sorry to whoever's reading this for the wait. writers block is a bitch and with it being my senior year @ school and everything, the exhaustion is strong :p i hope you enjoyed this chapter and i promise you that im not losing hope on this story. i have ideas planned out, i just suck at putting them into words. please vote/comment/share this chapter, i worked really hard on finally getting it up (i mean its been a months work in progress haha) and i'll see you next update :} Always, Ariana ♡