Written in Anger

~ 15

Then, a little while later, we got a neighbor. Uh, her name was Susanna, and she was something else..."

"Was she bad? I mean, like--"

"No, not at all," he said.

"Then what happened?"

"Um, I think Michael should tell you. It's not really my place," he says.

Michael's Pov

Every single fucking problem we have is my fault. Every time something bad happens, it's my fault. Everybody likes to blame shit on me, but I don't understand how in the hell that's fair. We're all in this together whether they like it or not, and if they don't want things to go wrong, like they do all the time, then they need to pitch in and help me like real fucking brothers and sisters are supposed to do.

I've been pacing back and forth across my room for a few minutes now, and I feel like maybe we should talk this out now. They're not going to go on being mad at me like I'm the one that made the chandelier fall. They're not going to keep acting like Celeste is strong enough to take me down singlehandedly when she doesn't have James or Joe anymore. She's nothing without them, and my plan to relocate is probably better than whatever they were thinking. They can't keep thinking that we can't handle her. We've dealt with worse.

On my way to the basement, I hear whispers coming from the living room. At first, I think I'm crazy, but the whispers get louder along with laughter. I try to quietly walk into the room, but Marlon looks up at me before I even enter. Kyela turns to look at me, and she smiles sweetly at me.

"What are you two doing?" I ask curiously.

"We were just talking," Kyela says before she gets up from her spot on the couch. She walks over to me and wraps her arms around me, and I feel my cheeks get hot once again.

"I'm going to go downstairs to see what they're talking about," Marlon excuses himself.

"Are you okay?" she asks me.

"Yea, I'm fine," I say without much enthusiasm.

"You don't sound fine," she mumbles while releasing me from her embrace. There's something about the loss of physical contact that makes me want her even more.

I pull her back, gently, by her arm, and her head lays on my chest in a loving manner.

"Don't do that," she says. She has this edge in her voice that's making me feel uneasy.

"Do what?"

"Shut me out," she said, "If I'm going to be your girlfriend, you can't hide your feelings from me."

That word, girlfriend, sounds so foreign to me. I haven't heard it in a while.

I sigh, "I'm not shutting you out."

"Okay. Well, what made you decide to come out?"

"We obviously have things to discuss, and I can't avoid it now," I sigh.

"Oh... Their probably waiting on you. Maybe we should go down there," she suggests, but I don't like the thought of her joining in on a family discussion, not this time.

"You're right," I say while kissing her, "But you should stay up here for now."

"What?"

"I just think that you should be up here. I wouldn't want to see you upset anymore than you already are."

Her face twists in confusion, and I realize just how stupid I must sound to her.

"Michael, seriously? Besides, if anything, I should be apart of this. I was the one that he kidnapped in the first place," she says while pointing to herself.