I Never Told You What I Did for a Living

The car ride back to Dad's house was quiet. Gerard and Mikey must have known how hard it was for me to leave, so they didn't want to say anything to make it worse. Which, in an odd way, sort of did make it worse. I wished that they would say something just to pass the time. I was glad that they weren't trying to comfort me. I'd heard enough good wishes and positive thoughts to last me for about ten years.

But the silence was suffocating.

"I refuse to go to school tomorrow," I muttered, glaring out the window.

"You can't stay locked up at home forever," Gerard replied, jabbing at various buttons on the radio, trying to find a station.

Mikey leaned up in between the front seats and slapped his brother's hand away. He took over the stereo and fidgeted with the tuner knob. After a couple of minutes, he gave up. He hit the off button and the silence returned.

I sighed audibly and tapped impatiently on the arm rest.

"How is it taking this long to get home?"

"We're almost there, calm down."

"I can't calm down. I just got kicked out of the one place I need to be!"

"You need to be normal for once," Mikey patted my shoulder.

"Normal is boring. I need to be abnormal."

"Abnormal is fun," Mikey agreed.

"Then why did you tell me to be normal?"

"If you two are going to argue, at least make it about something that makes sense," Gerard smirked, adjusting his grip on the steering wheel.

"It makes sense. In a strange, Mikey-and-Lily sort of way," Mikey chuckled, stretching his lanky form out across the backseat.

"Yeah, anything that has to do with you would have to be strange, Mikey," Gerard chuckled at his own joke.

It really wasn't that funny, but the fact that he thought it was made me laugh. Hanging out with two brothers who were so close made me feel like I'd seriously missed out in life. If I'd had siblings, they'd understand exactly what I was feeling right now. If I hadn't had Gerard and Mikey, I knew I wouldn't have been able to take the kinds of things my life had thrown at me over the past few months. I hoped they knew how much I appreciated them, but right now I wasn't in the touchy-feely, sentimental kind of mood. I just really wanted to lay down on my bed, crank the volume on my stereo, and forget about everything.

As if that would ever happen. I can never just forget. My brain doesn't listen to the off switch, it just keeps going. I'm cursed.

The car pulled into the driveway and I hopped out of the car. Gerard and Mikey followed and I unlocked the front door. I raced inside and kicked off my shoes, sliding across the floor in my sock-clad feet.

"Slow down," Gerard directed as he entered the house just in time to see me disappear through my bedroom doorway.

I dove into my awaiting bed, which was unmade from the previous morning. The blankets were tangled and I curled up beneath them, not really caring whether or not I was completely covered. Gerard poked his head inside and smirked.

"Tired?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I just want to sleep so I don't have to think about this right now."

He nodded and sat down beside me on the mattress. "I get where you're coming from. Get some rest. Feel better, okay?"

"When you're tired, you can come cuddle," I grinned.

"I'll keep that in mind. Mikey gets the couch, though. I don't want to wake up to him beside you again."

I laughed. "You don't like to share, do you?"

"Not when it's something this important to me," he kissed my forehead softly. "Go to sleep. I'll drive you to school in the morning."

I groaned and rolled over, turning my back to him. "School's for normal people. I think I've proven I'm not one of them."

"Go to school, graduate, and then come to college with me."

"Okay, fine. But I'm only doing it for you."

"As long as you'll do it, I don't care what the reason is."