I Lost My Fear of Falling

I woke up the next morning to hear two male voices just outside my door.
One was River’s.
And the other was Forrest’s.
I made a face and dragged myself out of bed. Mom must have gone to pick him up from the airport already.
Saying that Forrest and I didn’t get along very well was an understatement. We just hated each other I guess.
I figured I might as well get up now and get it over with, so I opened my door and nearly got crushed by River, who must have been leaning on it.
“Say hello to your brother.” Mom said, elbowing me. She’s always trying to get me to be nice to Forrest, but never vice versa.
“Hey.” I grunted, heading downstairs. If I was gonna be pleasant, I was gonna need some caffeine and sugary food.
A bowl of Cocoa Puffs and a cup of coffee later, I was willing to be nice to him.
Until he came down and ruffled my hair, like he knows I hate.
“How you doing squirt?” Something about him just makes me so irrationally angry.
“Fine.” He started to say something but I shushed him.
Upstairs I could hear my parents arguing about something. I couldn’t hear the words, but the tone told me it was bad. My stomach twisted, listening to their angry voices.
“Riv, I’ll be next door.” I called, pulling a jacket over my tank top and slipping on some shoes.
“What’s next door?” Forrest asked. I ignored him.
“Her boyfriend.” River was saying as I closed the door.
I knocked on the door and tried not to turn into a Popsicle in the time that it took Gee to answer the door.
“Mikey’s at work.” Gee said.
“I know, but I can’t take being at home. Do you mind if I just chill here with you?” I crossed my fingers and prayed he wouldn’t subject me to what was at home.
“Come on in kid.” He grinned.
I pulled my knees up to my chest on the couch and tried to regain feeling in my fingers.
“So what’s going on? You look upset.”
“Let me count the ways.” I sighed. “My asshole brother is home for Christmas, my parents are starting World War III, and I’m fucking frozen.”
“Sounds suckish.” He patted my shoulder. “Fighting parents are always the worst.”
I’d almost forgotten that Mikey and Gee’s parents were divorced. I’d never actually met his dad, although he talked about him a lot.
“Sometimes I actually want them to get a divorce, as awful as it sounds, just to make the fighting stop.” My parents had been fighting for a while, but it had been escalating recently.
“It’ll be okay. Trust me.” I gave him a disbelieving look. “Hey, you have my brother at least, and Wes and Frank and me.”
“Thanks Gee.” I felt a little better. “Think you and Mikey could murder my brother for me?”
“What’s so bad about him?”
“He’s an egotistical prick who treats everyone like they’re beneath him.”
“Sounds like me.”
“Yeah, but you do it with love.”
“Are you sure that’s love? Cuz I think it’s usually disdain.” He threw his nose in the air and I couldn’t help but laugh.
We spent a long time talking about random shit, including cartoons and why Jersey sucked.
“So what are you in school for?” I asked, crossing my legs underneath me.
“Art. I’m in the middle of drawing a comic book.” He said shyly.
“One day you and I will write our own graphic novel.” I laughed.
“You write?”
“For myself mostly. It’s…calming. Like the storm inside my head stops for a bit.”
I don’t know how the conversation turned to Mikey.
“I think he really does love you. A lot.” Gee said. I smiled to myself.
“I love him too. A lot.” I couldn’t imagine life without him now. He was my rock.
The door opened and my head shot up.
“Mikey!” I cheered, flinging myself towards him and nearly knocking him over.
“Hey.” He laughed, giving me a kiss. “How long have you been here?”
“Couple hours. The family is making me homicidal, so I came and hid here.” I buried my face in his chest. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too sweetheart.” He kissed the top of my head and we cuddled up on the couch.
“Time for me to get the hell out of here before you two start losing clothes again.” Gee headed upstairs and I heard his door close.
“What’s bothering you?” Mikey asked, taking my hand. I told him about my parents and Forrest being home. He cuddled me against his chest.
“I love you.” He whispered, kissing my neck.
“I love you too.” I had a feeling if I kept letting him kiss my neck like that I’d end up underwear-less, so with some degree of difficulty I pulled back.
“My mom’s gonna get pissy if I don’t go home soon. Come with me for moral support?”
“Of course.” So we waded through the snow back to my house and into the warmth again.
“Hey Mikey.” River said, glancing up from his laptop screen. He was devouring a bowl of what looked and smelled like my mom’s chili. I grabbed two bowls for Mikey and me and started serving.
Forrest wandered in and took one of the bowls out of my hand. “Thanks Em.”
“Nice jackass.” I muttered, getting another bowl. Forrest then sat down in the seat next to Mikey, completely oblivious to his presence.
I gritted my teeth and tried not to lose my cool. Mikey stood up and squeezed my hand.
“Let’s just go in the living room.” He suggested quietly.
“Who are you?” Forrest asked, noticing Mikey for the first time.
“Mikey, meet Asshole. Asshole, Mikey.” I spat before making a beeline for the couch.
“He is kinda douchey.” Mikey remarked, handing me a spoon.
“Ya think?” I muttered. “Come on, let’s eat so we can escape.”
We ended up sticking around, watching a movie on TV and cuddling. Having Mikey there made me forget about my dickhead brother, about my parents’ fighting, about everything.
And I loved him all the more for it.