Death-Wish Kids

"You have to come back again soon, Sweetheart," Donna instructed as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, "You're such a wonderful girl and it's been so nice having you here tonight."

I smiled gratefully and nodded. "You still have to show me how to cook some things still," I replied, smiling wider as she did.

"I'll think of a recipe for the next time you come over," she promised, squeezing my shoulders before she let go completely. "Are you safe to drive in the dark? Don could always run you home. I'm sure Gerard could pick you up in the morning when he takes the boys to school," she offered, waving her hand towards her oldest son, who stood leaning against the wall near the entrance to the kitchen.

"I promise you that I'm okay to drive," I replied, letting her hug me again, "I'll text Mikey when I get home just so you'll know."

Donna's eyes widened and she nodded quickly. "You should take my number too, Sweetie. Just because I know how irresponsible my boys are. Mikey will forget to tell me and I'll worry all night long." She hurried over to the table near the couch and pulled out her cell phone. She fiddled with it for a moment before she sighed loudly and motioned for Gerard. "Gee, Sweetie, will you put Cyren's number in my phone, please?"

Gerard stepped away from the wall and pulled her phone from her fingers. "Number?" he asked after a couple of seconds, his eyes looking up to meet mine.

I told him the series of number and frowned in confusion when my phone buzzed in my hand.

"All good," Gerard stated, handing the phone back to Donna, "Don't forget to text or she'll be calling you all night to make sure you're alive."

I rolled my eyes at the older brother and turned back to his mom with a smile on my lips. "I promise I'll text you when I get home. Thank you for letting me come over tonight. I had a really great time."

"It's no problem, Sweetheart," she replied, hugging me once again before Frank sighed loudly and pushed her off.

"My turn," he stated, looking her dead in the eye. He turned back to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "See you tomorrow, Cy."

"See you, Frank," I replied, patting his back comfortingly. He pulled away after a second and Mikey moved forward to give me a one-armed hug.

"Drive careful," he said softly.

"Thanks, I will," I murmured, smiling at the lanky boy as he stepped back on the carpet. I turned and waved at Gerard.

"Hey," he said before I could walk out of his house, "You know, since you drive and go to the same school as these two, you could start picking them up for me so I can sleep in later." He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged at the suggestion.

I shook my head. "I can't," I denied, "I'm busy in the mornings."

"Doing what?" he questioned, challenging me with a smirk on his face.

His mom glared at him and smacked his arm roughly. "Stop badgering the girl," she demanded, stepping towards her son, "She said no, Gerard. Plus, you don't need to be lazy in the mornings anyways."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," I answered. I reached out for the door handle and pulled it open. I walked down the narrow sidewalk and unlocked my car, jumping slightly when the automatic unlock button made the car honk and the lights flash.

It didn't take long to get home and through the front window of my house I could see that the light was still on in the living room. I parked in my spot and headed into the house.

"Hey Dad," I greeted when I walked in, "Is Micah asleep?"

He stood up from the chair in the living room and nodded his head. Immediately his eyes moved to the clock above the TV. "Did you have a good time?" he questioned, setting his book on the coffee table before he moved over and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Yeah," I said honestly, surprising myself and him, "It was actually a lot of fun." I patted his back and pulled away.

"You were gone a long time," he commented, "What did you guys do the whole time?"

I shrugged. "We basically just watched movies. Mikey's mom is really cool too. Can you believe that she asked me to go back there soon?" I smiled at my own words and at the constant surprise on his face.

My dad pulled me to him and squeezed my shoulders. "I'm proud of you, Cy. That's honestly the first time I've heard that a parent liked having you at their house. It's a nice change."

I nodded too, smiling up at him. "I like it too," I admitted, "It's nice to hear an adult tell me that they like having me around."

"Are you hungry?" Dad questioned, already starting to lead me to the kitchen. "I made raviolis for dinner tonight. Micah loved them."

"Actually, no," I replied, pulling away from him, "Donna made dinner too and the Ways have a constant supply of snack food that Frank and Mikey confiscated afterwards."

"Sounds like a typical teenage night," he murmured, leaning against the side of the couch with his eyes trained on me. On his face, I could see the relief that he felt.

"Yeah. It was." I nodded. I patted his arm softly as I passed. "I'm going to go do some homework before bed, okay?"

His eyes moved back to the clock on the wall again. "It's after ten o'clock, Cy, you should probably just get to bed. Micah went down early so he's going to be up even earlier in the morning."

I sighed inaudibly, knowing that I wasn't going to make it through the night. Micah's sleep schedule was fragile and he was highly susceptible to even the smallest change. "I'll go wake him up for a little while," I muttered, heading towards the stairs.

"Cy, you can't," Dad denied, "That'll wake Noah up too and he also has school tomorrow. Just go to sleep now and get up early with Micah. I'm sure your teachers will understand that you had to take care of your son."

I shook my head and tried to push the overpowering frustration away. None of my teachers knew about Micah and I didn't want to change that. "No, it's fine, I'll just do my homework and get up early tomorrow. I'll take a nap on Saturday or something." I climbed the stairs before my dad could say another word. I didn't want questions coming my way because I didn't want to have to answer them.

I went into Micah's room before my own. He slept perfectly in his crib, his soft blonde hair was all over the place and he'd kicked his blanket to the end of his crib. I reached down and slowly pulled it over him, knowing that he wouldn't keep it on for long though.

"Goodnight, Micah," I whispered, softly combing his hair back into place with my fingers. "I'll see you in the morning."

I left the room and stopped in the hall. My sister stood halfway leaning out of her room. "How was your night?" she questioned, tapping her fingers against the wood of the doorframe.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "It was alright. What about yours?"

She pushed her hair behind her shoulders. "Was Mikey's older brother there?" she continued, ignoring my question.

I nodded in reply.

"Cyren, you really shouldn't have stayed so there so long then," she sighed, pushing her hair out of her face with frustration coloring her features.

"Ryder, he was just watching movies with us. It's not like he was falling over drunk or high on anything. He's just a normal guy," I rebutted, crossing my arms over my chest, "You really shouldn't judge people that you don't know."

She sighed again and stepped out so that she wasn't half-hidden in her room. "I know you think that you're fine and I trust you just as much as Dad, but I just want you to be careful, Cyren. Mikey Way's older brother is different," she explained herself, knotting her fingers together. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"Okay." I nodded causing her to noticeably relax. "I'll listen to you for once," I stated, "I think you're wrong about him and I can look out for myself, but I'll be careful."

She smiled half-heartedly and nodded. I opened my bedroom door as she started to duck back into her room. I turned around quickly and called out her name.

"Yeah?" she asked, ducking her head back into the hall.

My eyes met hers and I could see the confusion she helf. I spoke softly and honestly, hoping she'd actually listen instead of just hearing the words. "If you and your friends want another rumor to spread around school, you could start sticking up for my friends instead of making everyone think their some kind of freaks," I stated, shrugging my shoulders like it was a suggestion.

"Oh," she uttered, stunned into silence by my words, "I just hear rumors, I didn't spread them," she claimed, not meeting my eyes.

"Well start," I instructed, "I don't like hearing them say that you're mean to people. It doesn't make me very proud to be related to you."

Ryder's eyes met mine and she nodded slowly. "Okay," she agreed, "But only because you're my sister and you can't make better friends."

"Thanks," I replied semi-sarcastically before I disappeared into my room and shut the door. I climbed into pajamas and crawled into bed, deciding that my dad's advice was a good idea if I just left out the part about explaining to my teachers as to why I wasn't able to do it.

I texted Donna before I closed my eyes and forwarded it to Mikey just in case his mom couldn't figure out how to open the text message. Mikey replied just a few minutes later, adding that he'd see tomorrow at school.

I was woken up early in the morning like I'd predicted. Micah was crying in his room around four so I hurried out of bed before he could wake anyone else up. I pulled the bawling boy into my arms and soothed him until he'd quieted, drooling against my sleeve as he slept again. While he cried a lot, he was easily soothed.

I climbed into the chair and curled my legs under me. Somewhere in the back of my mind the thought of doing my homework popped up, but it was gone just as quickly.

I fell back asleep with my son in my arms and woke with a different thought on my mind, one that I quickly shoved away, refusing to let it stay.

The only clock in the room blared harsh red letters and I immediately barreled out of the chair with Micah in my arms. If I didn't hurry I was going to be late to school and late to take Micah to daycare.

I rushed to get ready for the day. I skipped the shower since I didn't have time and dressed in an oversized hoodie and a pair of old jeans from the dirty pile in my closet. Micah fought with me when I tried to dress him, crying instead of cooperating.

"Micah, we have to go," I spoke to him softly as I lifted him from the bed, "We can't be late. That would make us look bad."

He cried all the way down the stairs and out of the house. The movement of the car calmed him on the way to the daycare and for that I was grateful. Tears were still on his cheeks when I pulled him out of the car and hurried into the building.

The woman at the front desk grinned at us and greeted us warmly. "Cyren, is Micah having a tough day already?" she asked, standing up so that she could touch his hand.

I nodded and shifted him to my other arm so I could sign him in on the sheet they had on the counter. "He was being lazy this morning and didn't appreciate me getting him ready."

"Aww, poor sweetheart," Jenny replied, gently patting his head, "He's probably just being cranky because he's tired. After his nap he should be good to go for the rest of the day," she commented, pulling away as I stood up.

"Hopefully," I commented, smiling just slightly to say goodbye so I could head to Micah's age group room to drop him off.

The woman in charge greeted me from her office as I passed and I quickly called back a reply before pushing into Micah's room and smiling at the women there. "Here he is," I stated as we walked in, "A little late, but we made it."

Olivia walked over and pulled him from my arms. "It's all good," she promised, frowning playfully when Micah fussed at her. "What's wrong with you today?" she questioned, rubbing his back.

"Bad morning," I answered, "I'll see you later, Micah. I've got to get going or I'm going to be late too."

Olivia and the other woman, Sam, called their goodbyes as I hurried out of the room and past a couple other parents who were making their way in. At this moment I was glad that my school was so close and I drove as quickly as I could, desperate not to be late to English. It was easier just to fade into the back of the class than to barge in after the bell and catch everyone's attention.

I grabbed my bag from the passenger's seat and rushed into the school. The bell had rung already and there were students ducking into classrooms quickly to avoid being late. Just as the final bell rang I pushed open the door and slipped in.

Mr. Oliver looked at me. He was already standing in front of his desk, waiting for the class to quiet down. "Cyren, you made it right on time," he said, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the desk, "Please take your seat so we can get started."

I nodded and headed to the back of the room. Mikey offered me a smile when I sat down next to him and Frank caught my eye from across the room, silently asking me why I was practically late.

I shook my head in response and watched as he quickly forgot about it, turning his attention to the novel that our teacher was reading passages out of at the front of the room.

When I opened my assignment notebook to see what homework I hadn't done the night before, the date startled me and instantly I knew why today was destined to be a bad day. Friday's were everyone's favorite day, but today was one that I'd been trying to forget about for a couple months. Tonight was the night that Micah's father was coming... and he planned on staying on our couch for the weekend.

I dropped my head onto the desk and closed my eyes, hoping that if I fell asleep now I could wake up on Monday with no recollection of anything that happened during the weekend. When I sat up, Mikey met my eyes with concern in his.

"Don't worry about it," I whispered across the aisle, shrugging my shoulders.

"Tell me next hour?" he asked hopefully, glancing to Frank who was watching us.

"Sure." I nodded, somewhat glad to have somebody to talk to about these things. "Yeah," I said strongly, "I'll tell you guys at lunch."