Blood Brothers

I reached the school early the next morning, as I usually did on Mondays. I found a nicely sized pile of envelopes on my desk, all of them addressed to houses in the more expensive part of town. A small note rested on top of the stack, asking me to deliver them. I rolled my eyes; the teacher usually took advantage of my presence to make me do mindless errands. I knew it was because mailing things through the school’s office always took forever, but I preferred to do my job instead of delivering things all over town.

After an hour of mindless running around, I found that I had ended up at the Iero household just as Mr. Iero was leaving for work. He and his wife were standing next to the Mercedes, and from where I stood, it sounded like they were arguing. I approached a row of mailboxes nearby and pretended to be searching for a particular one while I listened to what they were saying.

“I’m worried about Franklin, honey,” Mrs. Iero said nervously. “I’m certain he’s still hanging around that boy…‘Mikey,’ or whoever.”

“He’s got to have friends,” her husband assured her. “You’re just being overprotective.”

“He taught my son to curse!” she hissed. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea for them to mix. They’re from completely different families. Why, his mother doesn’t even own a home! She’s got at least seven children in this dilapidated little-”

“What does someone else’s situation really mean to us, dear?” he asked calmly. He sighed. “You look pale… Are you feeling okay?”

Mrs. Iero paused for a moment, looking deeply thoughtful. I recognized that malicious gleam in her eyes. She was forming a plan.

“No…no, I’m not. I feel dizzy.” She blinked a few times and placed a hand against her forehead. I raised an eyebrow, curious as to what she was doing.

“Maybe you should go lie down,” her husband offered. She shook her head.

“It must be the air,” she decided. “It’s so polluted and full of filth… It’s making me sick…”

“You’re just overreacting, dear,” Mr. Iero said with a sigh. “I’m going to be late for work if I don’t leave now. We’ll talk about this later.” He climbed into the car and drove away. I would have remained longer, but I had to get back to the school and see if I was needed again.
-
The next day, little Mikey walked into the classroom looking miserable. I considered pulling him aside to ask what was wrong, but instead I waited until recess. The rest of the kids quickly scurried outside to let off some energy, but Mikey stayed where he was, staring at his desk with a blank look on his face. He was seated next to the teacher’s desk, so I temporarily stole her chair and sat down to talk to him.

“What’s the matter, Mikey? Is everything okay?” I asked quietly, looking at him. His gaze never moved.

“My friend Frank… He said he’s moving away,” he said, bursting into a small bout of sobs. I handed him a tissue, feeling my heart sink as I understood the weight of his words.

“Did he happen to mention why?” I questioned. He shrugged halfheartedly.

“His mom’s sick or something. He said-” He sniffled once. “He said the doctor came over and she gave him some money or something and he said they had to move to the country or she’d never get better… He came over to my house yesterday to say goodbye.”

“I’m sorry, Mikey,” I said quietly, holding back a tear or two of my own. “That’s really not fair.”

“Can’t you do anything to stop it?” he asked, staring up at me through accusing eyes. I shook my head, and he sighed sadly. “I thought teachers could do anything.”

“If only,” I muttered to myself.

“So then I went to get my knife to give him as a present, and when I came back my mom and him were talking and she gave him this necklace she had… It’s got a picture of me and her when I was a baby. She said it’s so he’ll always remember her… I don’t really know w-why…” Before he could say anything else, he broke into full-blown hysterics, folding his arms on top of desk and sobbing into them. I placed a hand on his shoulder, and he practically tackled me in a tight hug. I carefully returned it, hoping I wouldn’t end up breaking anything. I had often been told I didn’t know my own strength.

Sniffling, he continued speaking, his voice muffled through my shoulder. “He was the best friend I ever had. He was really smart and always shared candy with me since my mom never gets me any.” I sighed, realizing it was yet another piece of childhood that was cut out of his young life. “I wish I could be more like him… His house is so nice and he’s always got new stuff.”

“Don’t say that, Mikey,” I said quietly. “Your mother loves you very much. That’s the most important thing.” He pulled away from the hug and returned to his desk, still sniffling quite a bit.

“I know…but still…” I gave another sigh and returned to my own desk as the bell rang and the kids reluctantly walked back inside. I felt more than a little guilty that I couldn’t help him feel any better, but I planned to go speak to Ms. Way about what had happened. I could only imagine how she was taking it.

I walked Mikey home that day. He stayed silent the entire time, and once we got into one of the rougher neighborhoods near his house, I think he was grateful. I saw several people – teenagers and adults alike – back away when the two of us walked by. I inwardly smirked at this, quickly becoming thankful for my own appearance. I wasn’t vain, but I knew that sometimes it didn’t hurt to look intimidating.

Mikey ran inside his house and disappeared within seconds. I hesitantly opened the door, seeing Ms. Way standing in front of a small stack of worn suitcases. She turned around at the sound of my entrance, wearing a wide smile that made her appear several years younger.

“I’m so glad you’re here! I have the greatest news!” she cried, kicking the lid of one suitcase closed.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

“We’re being rehoused. We’re moving! Finally getting out of this rathole.”

“That’s great,” I said with an immediate smile. She laughed aloud and continued collecting objects nearby to shove into the suitcases.

“I should probably frame the county’s letter once we get there. They’re tearing this whole complex down to build a store or something over the top of it. And the place we’re goin’ is out in the country. So much cleaner…and safer for Gerard and little Mikey. Apparently his friend Alicia’s moving too. She lives just around the corner.”

My smile wavered for a moment. “I was going to ask you about Mikey… He mentioned something about his friend Frank.”

“Yes… Frank said his parents were moving because his mother is ill.” Her voice grew bitter on the word ‘mother,’ but she quickly regained her more positive tone. “Probably going off to some town for the wealthy. It’s better if we’re not near each other anyway.”

“What’s goin’ on, Mom?” Gerard asked as he walked in the door. He scowled at me as he spoke.

“We’re moving, sweetie,” she said, running over and nearly squeezing the life out of him. He violently pulled away and stared at her in disbelief.

“Moving away…from here?” he asked. Ms. Way gave a nod and a smile. I could understand how he felt about leaving the only home he had ever known, but he would learn that there were much better places in the world. He stormed off to his room. I rolled my eyes and turned to his mother.

“Anything I can do to help?” I asked. She smiled and placed an empty box in my arms.

“Fill this up with anything you can find.”
-
I must have left about two hours later after helping her finish up with packing. It was almost dark by then, and I hurried to get home a little sooner than I normally would. I may have looked somewhat dangerous, but I would only be able to hurt a person if they had killed someone or done something equally horrid. Getting caught in a fight would not end well for me.

I rounded a corner and caught sight of four men standing by a streetlight, all of them smoking and laughing at some shared joke. I walked slowly by them, trying not to attract any attention.

“Did you hear the Ways are finally moving?” one of them called out, as if announcing it to the world. The other three greeted this with an excitement that seemed out of place for the situation.

“That’s too bad,” another said sarcastically.

“Yeah, real sad,” offered the third. The rest couldn’t help it and broke into laughter.

“Praise the Lord!” shouted the last one. “Finally getting rid of the trash and the trouble.”

“Well, wherever they’re going, I hope they know it’ll never be far enough,” the first added. I couldn’t stand to listen to it anymore and quickened my pace. Their social statuses weren’t much higher than hers, yet they still found the time to share a joke and a laugh at her expense. I hurried home with the slightest flash of fear, my heartbeat not slowing down to a normal pace until I saw the empty lot the kids had always used as a playground. I felt a little sad knowing they wouldn’t be around there anymore.

I quit my job at the school the next day.