You Said You Read Me Like A Book

I nervously led The Rev to the door of Mikey’s apartment. He squeezed my hand reassuringly. I reached up and pressed the doorbell. The sudden chime made my heard race. I heard shuffling from inside and a click as the lock as unlatched. The door open, and Mikey stood in front of me, staring for a minute, before wrapping his arms around me tightly.

“I am so sorry. I was so worried about you. I love you so much. I don’t even care if you love Gerard. I just want you to know that you are everything to me, ”he mumbled quickly into my ear. I laughed nervously.

“I love you too, Mikey, ”I said softly. After a couple of minutes, he let go of me. He looked behind me, finally realizing that there was someone else. “Mikey, this is James Sullivan, sometimes called Jimmy, but better known as The Rev, ”I smiled at him. His eyes widened. He was silent for a couple of seconds.

“Yeah, I’ve heard of him. Uh, come inside, ”he ushered, suddenly coming out of shock. I went inside and The Rev followed me. Mikey shut the door behind us, and I had the sudden overwhelming urge to cry. I tried to blink away the tears that were forming, but a couple spill out anyways. “Hey, are you okay?” I nodded, wiping away the fallen tears.

“It’s really good to be back here, ”I sniffed quietly.

“You were only gone for a couple of days, ”he laughed quietly.

“That may be, but I thought that I was never going to come back, ”I admitted quietly. He nodded slowly, and I turned to The Rev, who was just looking around, waiting patiently. “Jimmy really is the reason that I’m actually here. He let me pour my heart out to him, and he didn’t judge me. He just listened, and I am very grateful for someone to have been able to talk to. That, and he got me coffee.”

“Chocolate mint, ”he beamed. Mikey shook his head, laughing.

“You shouldn’t have done that, ”he chuckled. The Rev raised a brow in confusion.

“Why not?” He challenged.

“She’ll expect coffee every time she sees you, ”Mikey warned.

“Then, she shall get it, ”he smiled at me. I grinned and laughed evilly. “So, where’s the teacher? I take it this is the brother.”

“Yeah, where is he at?” I asked, turning to Mikey.

“Oh, he’s at home with Lindsey, ”he shrugged. I looked at him for a minute.

“So, she knows everything?” I asked nervously. He nodded. “What did she say?”

“Well, she’s not going to tell anyone. She said that she was hurt, but she loves him, but really, they’re even now, ”he shrugged.

“What do you mean?” The Rev asked, suddenly joining the conversation. Mikey looked at him before shaking his head.

“Well, it’s a long and very complicated story. The short version is that she cheated on him on their wedding day and for an entire year after that. He found out on their first anniversary, but he didn’t leave her. He just told her that he loved her. She promised that she wouldn’t cheat again, and she didn’t, for about two years. He caught her with this guy, Matt, who used to be his best friend. Then, she thought it was over, but again, all he did was tell her that he loved her, and she promised not to ever do it again. She hasn’t, as far as anyone knows, ”he explained. The Rev nodded understandingly.

“So, she’s not mad?” I asked to clarify. He just shook his head and I sighed in relief, but that didn’t stop the panic I felt when the phone rang.

“Speak of the devil, ”he sighed. He answered it. “Hey… Yeah, she called… No, she’s okay… Yeah… Okay… I don’t know… Okay… Whatever… Sure… Fine… I’m just saying… No… Okay… See you soon… Bye…”He closed the phone and looked to me. “So, he’s coming over…”I bit my lip. I was not ready to face him.