"Tell me more about you and Mike," I said enthusiastically right after the waiter took our orders. "Yesterday, you were about to kill him when he called you honey, but today you were crying your heart out for him," I added.
She smiled shyly before saying, "Me and Mike? There's nothing much to be said."
"Really? I totally believe you. Now, tell me everything!" I demanded.
"Okay, Okay, I'll tell you. I knew Mike through Samantha," she started.
I interrupted. "You don't say?!"
"If you keep mocking me, I won't tell you anything!" she said angrily.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please continue."
"Before I tell you how I met Mike, I should explain how I met Sam herself. Samantha was my older sister's best friend. They always went out together, and I would usually join them. The first time I saw Mike was when Sam invited my sister and I for his sweet sixteen party. It wasn't something fancy. They couldn't afford to pay much at that time, especially that their parents died earlier that year. Mike himself didn't want a party, but Sam wanted to brighten the family's mood. She was always the ribbon that tied the family together even in the hardest times. Did they tell you that Sam had to drop out college and work different jobs including acting?" she rambled.
"I didn't ask about Samantha, did I?! Are you trying to escape my question?! I would love to hear more about her life, but now I'm interested to know more about you and Mike!" I complained.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Where did I stop with Mike? Oh, yeah, our first meeting. The people who were in the party were two of Mike's friends and all of his siblings except Dan who was already in Switzerland. Mike never uttered a word to anyone but his friends. He was very shy and reticent. At that time, I was shy too thus felt a common ground between us. After blowing the candles and eating dinner, Sam suggested that we watch a horror movie she rented. It was such a lovely night, in which the seeds of my crush started sprouting," she said her eyes sparkling.
"What happened after that? Did you meet again?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, we met in several birthdays and events. Being too reserved, we didn't get any chance to talk. Two years later, Mike went to college and met an outgoing jocular girl called Tess. After being friends for a year or more, he got the courage to ask her out. When I knew, I was hurt and decided to forget any feelings I've had towards him. After dating Tess, Mike turned three hundred sixty degrees. He became as outgoing as she is, went to more parties, became more popular, and unfortunately, caused Sam many troubles. Once, he drove Tess's car and almost killed two women passing in the street. When Sam scolded him for driving without knowing how to, he said, "Driving isn't that hard. Besides, Tess was severely drunk and I wouldn't let her drive in that state." Another time he came back home after dawn, and looked like he was on drugs. Samantha fought with him a huge fight causing him to leave the house and sleep at his friend's house. After three days, Samillia went to him, convinced him to return to their home, and solved the problem by making Mike promise Samantha not to take drugs anymore," she said.
"Whoa! That's a huge change! All of this just for a girl?!" I exclaimed.
Natallie laughed. "You didn't hear the worst of it yet. When I saw Mike flipping into another person for a girl, I became insanely jealous, and my heart was burning. I mean he had me! I was only three years younger, and our personalities were a perfect match! From then on, I decided to be more outgoing and make new friends. I did, and by the time I was sixteen, I had a boyfriend, Zack. He was very funny and hyperactive. We became friends when he first asked me for help in mathematics since I was the class's genius. On my sweet sixteen, my best friends and Zack made me a surprise birthday. We danced a lot, and drank more. It was my first time to drink, so I was very nauseous and dizzy. I looked for Zack or any of my friends anywhere, but couldn't find them. When I finally found Zack, he was dancing with another girl, and seemed to enjoy his time well.
I sighed. "Guys, what do you expect?"
"At that point, my stomach couldn't handle it, so I ran to the bathroom and emptied all what was in it in the first toilet I saw. The nausea and dizziness lessened, and I was able to use my phone to call anyone. First I saw mom's number, then I heard her voice ring in my ears saying, "Have fun, but remember don't drink under any condition!" Then I saw my sister's number, but I recalled the million times she warned me about Zack, and decided not to call her. Finally I saw Samantha's number, and thought she was the best person to ask for a ride back home. When I called Samantha, Mike answered instead, and told me that Sam forgot her mobile at home. I didn't know what to do, so I burst out crying on the phone asking Mike for help. Mike told me to wait where I was and that he will come and pick me up. A few minutes later, I saw Mike entering the girl's restroom, risking embarrassing himself to help me. I was sitting on the bathroom's floor with my white dress crumpled and dirty. He gave me his hand, and I took it barely balancing myself physically and emotionally until I reached his car. Mike handed me a tissue box and a bottle of water, then told me to calm down and tell him what happened. I was shy at first to admit that I horribly failed to choose my first boyfriend. Then his words made me feel more relaxed and comfortable. He parked at my house, told me to sleep well, and said that he will call me tomorrow. He rushed to my door, opened it, and helped me until I reached my house's door, then left after ringing the bell. At that moment, I realized that he didn't have a car, neither did Samantha!"
"Oh my god! So he stole a car to help you," I said jokingly.
"Of course not you silly!" she said, then added, " When he called me in the morning, I asked him where did he get the car from, and he said he borrowed it from a friend."
"Such a long story indeed, but is he still with Tess?" I said.
Natallie laughed. "No, the excitement isn't done yet. When Mike finished college, Samantha became very famous and rich. She bought the villa she lives in currently and moved in it with her siblings and grandma. Mike threw a party at their new villa, and invited all his friends over. I was very happy when he invited me too. The party was fun and loud when I noticed Mike pace furiously outside the villa. I followed him feeling curious and worried. "Mike, why are you leaving? What's wrong?" I asked him.
"Nothing," he replied riding Samantha's new car. I stood in front of the car and refused to allow him to drive seeing his raging drunk eyes. He yelled for me to Move out of the way, but I refused and insisted that he won't ride in such a state. When he refused to get out of the car, I offered to drive instead and he agreed."
"Where did he want to go?" I asked.
"He wanted me to drive him to Tess's house. He gave me the directions, and I took him there. When we reached our destination, Mike opened the door and insisted I stay in the car. I obeyed watching silently from my seat. Many cars were parked in front of her house, and loud music radiated from it shaking the neighborhood. It looked like there was a party in there. I waited impatiently in the car when the music suddenly stopped and was replaced by screams. I couldn't stay in the car any longer. I went to the door and rang the bell. A young woman opened the door with a dreadful look on her face. She said, "Are you Tess's friend? There's a guy with a gun who's threatening her!" My heart sank in my legs realizing it was Mike. I rushed to the scene to see Mike directing a gun towards a young lady whose hair and dress where such a mess. I assumed she was Tess. I tried controlling the situation by pulling the gun from his hands, but he refused to let go. He struggled to shoot Tess before I snatch the gun from him. When I noticed, I pulled his hand downward aiming the shot towards the floor. When everyone saw my courage in dealing with the situation, some guys tried to help. One of them was a muscular guy who hit Mike's arm causing the gun to fall from his hand. Another two guys caught him ensuring that he doesn't harm Tess, and after a few minutes the police arrived."
"Oh god! Now he's in serious trouble," I said.
"Unfortunately, yes, he did get into serious trouble. After a few questions, Tess, several witnesses, and I were released. I called Samantha telling her what happened. In what felt like hours, Samantha arrived accompanied by Lily, my sister, and Samillia. Finally Mike was released two days later after Sam bailed him out. After a month of court procedures, Mike was sentenced three years of prison for attempted murder and a penalty which caused Samantha lots of debts. "
"I didn't get it, why was Mike trying to kill Tess, and where did he get the gun from?" I asked.
"One of Mike's friends asked if he was coming to Tess's party, which drove Mike crazy because Tess told him that she wouldn't come to his party because she was very sick. When he reached her house, he found her in her room with some guy. Knowing where Tess hid a gun for protection, Mike grabbed the gun from the familiar drawer and tried to kill her. That's when she ran to the living room, and I later on interfered."
"He was lucky to spend only three years in jail," I replied.
"Yeah, it's because he was drunk and didn't really have the intention of shooting Tess in the first place," she answered.
"How was he after all that?" I asked.
She answered saying, "He came out of prison a bit weird. We expected him to go back to his silent self, but he was unusually hyperactive, more like crazy stupid kind of thing. Samantha felt uneasy about his new personality, so she decided to take him to a psychiatrist. According to the doctor, Mike was trying to act as if nothing had happened, and forget his hardships by being a new person. Mike sort of believes now that he can't get into any serious relationship again. Do you know how many girls he dated just these few months after going to prison?"
"Um, three?" I guessed.
"Ten, ten girls in a span of four months!" she exclaimed.
"Oh my god!"
"Exactly! Since then, I promised myself not to think of him ever again. Every time I remember all the memories between us, I wish he'd return to his old self, but I think my luck with love is just so disastrous."
"Wow, I can't believe that Mike went through all that! That's why he was kind of weird with me in the hospital," I said. Natallie nodded. "I wanted to ask you something, though. Isn't it kind of weird that you're so open with me while I'm considered a stranger?"
"Nah, it's fine. I'm always like that with people. Sometimes Sam used to scold me for giving out my secrets just like that, but I guess that's me, and she has to deal with it. Don't even get me started on that time when Sam started hiding things from me so I won't end up telling. I laughed and was about to say something when the waiter placed our food on the table. After he left, we continued chatting for sometime before we decided to go home.
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I know I took ages to post this chapter, but it has a lot of Mike past so I think that's a good appology. I hope you don't hate Mike after reading this ;) Hope you liked it, and please tell me how was it. This chapter is important and will affect the coming events a lot, so please tell me what do you think. Again thanks for being patient, and wish me luck for the coming chapters :) If you like the story, please vote and tell your friends about it.
Have a good day :D