Claustrophobic Mind

Chapter 14

It has been two days since Billie Joe had gotten away from the cops, and Mike was a little freaked out. The last time he had seen Billie, he was acting strange and made him leave. Billie told him not to come back, so he didn't.

Mike had rushed to the hospital right when he found out about Tré. When they told him who did it, Mike couldn't believe his ears. They informed him that Billie Joe was shouting things like, "it wasn't me, he made me do it, it's Fink's fault" and Mike didn't find it hard to believe. The only thing that threw him off was the name "Fink." Where did that even come from?

He would spend most of his time in the uncomfortable hospital chair next to Tré's bed. Britney would often call him and tell him to come home, but Mike couldn't possibly leave Tré's side.

Tré was asleep most of the time. Mike didn't mind that at all. He didn't want to face Tré and be forced to ask him about what happened. Even when Tré was awake, he wouldn't say much. Now that Mike thinks about it, he hasn't said anything about it. He hasn't spoken a word. The pain killers made him extremely tired, so there wasn't much time to get any answers out of him.

He had to get over a hundred stitches because of the amount of times Billie stabbed him. Thankfully there was no internal bleeding.

Now Mike sat in his living room with his phone close by. He wanted to make sure that he had it around him at all times in case Billie Joe calls. He never did. What did Mike expect?

Britney happily hummed in the kitchen while she made dinner. It amazed Mike how she can be so calm at times. She spent all day buying gifts, balloons, and get well cards for Tré.

The TV that played corny cartoons in front of Mike was completely blocked out. He sat drowning in his thoughts about Billie. Where is he? Why did he run? Is he dead? Why hasn't he called Mike? Why did he do this? Is there anyway Tré will forgive him? Does he understand how serious it is to run from the authorities?

"You okay?" Britney asked as she laid a gentle hand on Mike's shoulder.

Mike's head snapped up and looked into her eyes. He looked tired and over worked. The dark bags under his eyes became more visible. His bloodshot eyes were no help.

"Uh, yeah. I...I think I'm just going to take a walk before dinner," Mike said standing to his feet.

"Well, are you sure you'll be back in time?"

"I'm positive," Mike assured Britney. He carefully kissed her cheek and walked out the front door.

It was around nine o'clock when Mike left his nice warm house for this thoughtful walk. The darkness had taken over the night sky, and the city was asleep. Rodeo wasn't much of a busy town to begin with, so he wasn't surprised when he saw that there were no more people at night than there were during the day.

Flickering streetlights shone down on the path that Mike made his way down. His eyes glanced over at the homeless teenagers that were sleeping in the alleyways. It upset him to think that there were so many kids just living on the streets.

He passed by dozens of abandoned houses that were filled with teens and weed. It reminded him of the times when all he and Billie Joe would do was smoke and play music. He missed those days. They may never happen again, and that made Mike sad.

Mike was starting to get further into the bad side of town. It intimated him even more when it was dark. Every once in a while he would see kids with pocket knifes carving their names into dumpsters. He occasionally saw blood in the dry dirt and graffiti on the walls.

He soon decided that he wanted to turn around and head home before he got into some trouble with a couple of dickheads. Mike awkwardly turned around in the middle of the sidewalk and started heading towards the same way he came. Just before Mike could get further than two feet...he heard it.

Crying. He heard crying. The whimpers sounded as though the victim was in pain. Mike could infer that they were trying to keep their cries quiet. Almost as if they didn't want anyone to hear.

Mike turned around. He could've sworn he heard it coming from one of the alleys further down the path he was going. He started to walk slowly. Trying to keep the victim from hearing him, he almost tiptoed his way down the sidewalk. The crying got louder, closer. Mike knew he was coming up to the alleyway that the struggles were coming from. He slowed his pace. He didn't want to frighten the...man? Yes, it was a man. Mike could tell the closer he got.

Sniffles came from the alley Mike was coming up on. He knew he had found the right spot. The space was dark, so he couldn't see a thing inside. It wasn't until he came completely around the corner did he see the small light that was placed on the walls of the alley. The brick was spray painted with vibrant colors showing off a seriously talented artist's personality.

The whimpers picked up again. Whoever was crying, started to sob. Mike was fully in the alley now, and was making it down the walkway. It was too dark for him to see anything.

"Hello?" Mike whispered.

The cries came to a sudden stop after a frightened gasp escaped the man's lips. Mike could finally make out a small figure in the dark back corner of the alley. His clothes seemed to be ripped and he was curled into a ball. He looked to be a young man. He looked so...frail.

The man started to scoot himself away from Mike and began to jerk his head from left to right trying to find a way to escape him. He was brought to a stop when his body hit the wall. The victim began to shiver.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Mike said as he crouched down and got closer to the man. He slowly but steadily made his way over to the hopeless figure.

By the time Mike had gotten five feet away from the man, the light finally shone on his face. Mike could make out green eyes, pouting lips, and messy hair. His heart stopped. He felt as if he was going to faint as he let out a gasp of air.

Mike heaved in a few relieved but unsure breaths. Finally, the words met his lips.

"Billie Joe?"