The Lost Boys

Chapter Ten

Michael watched Mattie leave the house from the stairs, preferring to hang back than deal with his twin. They had been drifting apart ever since the divorce, but since their arrival in Santa Carla, the distance between them had become a gulf. It left Michael feeling guilty, but he couldn't bring himself to fix the situation. And he hated the fact that she was dating one of the guys. Shaking himself free of the negative thoughts, Michael dropped his sunglasses onto his face and stalked into the kitchen.

"Big date, Grandpa?"

"Just dropping off some of my handiwork to the 'Widow' Johnson." His grandfather replied.

"Oh, yeah?" Michael sneered. "What'd you stuff for her? Mr. Johnson?"

His grandfather frowned in displeasure. "See you laters, boys." He left quickly.Sam glared at Michael. "That wasn't funny." Michael shrugged. "I'm making you a sandwich."Michael recoiled at the idea. "Don't bother."

Sam glanced at brother's ear, noticing the earring for the first time. He chuckled. "Lose the earring, Michael. It doesn't suit you."

"Piss off."

"You and Mattie have such great personalities lately. Real charmers, the both of you. You should open your own charm school."

Michael opened his mouth to retort, but headlight beams shining brightly through the kitchen windows in a way that was too quick to be considered normal turned their attention outside.

"What's that?" Michael mumbled more to himself than Sam as they both headed into the living room. The roar of motorcycles and disjointed whispering filled the air around them. The whispering became clearer.

"Michael, Michael, Michael." The voices were taunting him.

Michael edged towards the door.

"Don't open it!" Sam screeched.

Michael ignored his younger brother and reached for the doorknob.

"No!!"

But Sam's worry was for nothing because as soon as Michael opened the door, it was obvious that there was absolutely nothing outside. The front yard was empty. The brothers shared a bewildered look.

"Weird." Sam muttered as Michael closed the door.

"Where did Mattie say she was going?"

"Uh, out to the Boardwalk."

"Did she say if she was meeting up with anyone?" Sam shook his head in the negative. "She should've waited for me."

"For us, you mean." Michael frowned. "You're supposed to be babysitting me tonight, remember?"

"Oh yeah, right."

"So are we going to the Boardwalk?"

"No, let's stay in."

Sam sighed in defeat. "Great. Another night at home without TV. I'm gonna go take a bath."

Michael wanted to reach out to Sam and offer him some comfort as he passed but held back. Instead, he walked back into the kitchen and went to the window over the sink. He stared out into the darkness, trying to see if there was anything out there.

There wasn't.

He sighed and turned his back to the window, leaning up against the sink with his arms crossed. He was worried about himself, his family, and Star. He had had girlfriends in the past, but Star was different; she was special. Michael felt protective of her in an unfamiliar way. His mom would like her. And he knew that Mattie and Sam would come around eventually. He wasn't sure why Mattie and Star didn't get along anyway. It wasn't that they were nasty to each other; it was more that they ignored each other. It was strange.