ENG - My best friend's sister ᵐᶦᵏᵉʸ ˣ ᵒᶜ

17

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Mikey POV
 

Her grip on me slowly loosens and I feel her body lean against my back before she suddenly slips away to the side. I immediately stop at the side of the road and turn backwards to catch her in time before she falls off the bike. Her whole body is glowing, I can feel it even through her clothes, which are still damp from the previous rain. She has a high fever, is extremely pale and her breathing is fast and irregular. It is a miracle that she was able to stand upright at all.
It is not that far to her, I can walk and carry her. I take off her helmet, secure my machine for a short while and give her a piggyback ride. She sleeps, she must be really exhausted, but who is surprised? It would have been only 10 minutes by motorcycle, but on foot it will probably take about 30 minutes. I could, of course, switch places with her to hold her better, while driving, but that's too risky for me, so I'd rather carry her. She's not so heavy that it would exhaust me. I carry her through the empty streets and through the park, which is deserted in the dark. The wind blows cold and wet through the trees, but I hardly feel it because I concentrate on her.

"I'm sorry," she says after a moment of silence.
"What exactly?", I ask and look back over my shoulder. She has opened her eyes slightly and is on the verge of crying again.
"That I'm causing you such trouble and... That thing I said to you in the hospital, that wasn't right," she says softly, and I look forward again.
"Don't worry about it, I told you I'd take you home. I don't understand why the hospital didn't keep you anyway. I mean, you can tell you're sick. You're all pale and hot," I reply.
"You know, Mikey, I've never been able to stand you since the day Kenny first brought you home. Ever since he met you, I feel like I've been losing my brother more and more. It was always, 'Mikey's waiting,' 'Out with Mikey today,' or 'Mikey needs me,' and so on. You were always number one to Kenny, and it made me so jealous. Damn, Mikey, I'm so jealous of you," mid-sentence she starts to cry, I don't see it, but you can clearly hear it from her voice, which is becoming more and more brittle.
"I wish I was as important to Kenny as you are to him," she adds quietly. I can only nod in agreement as I carry her on.
"I didn't realize I was taking up so much of his time. I'm sorry," I say quietly, my gaze fixed on the floor as I do so.
"And that's why it's so hard for me to understand why you seem so lonely. You've had Kenny around all these years, after all, and the more I've watched the two of you, the more I've realized how much you need each other. But you don't just have my brother, you have your other friends. So stop pushing everyone away around you, Mikey! You're not alone," she almost whispers into my shoulder.

This girl scares me. She brings up things that I actually try to hide. Stuff where I think I hide it pretty well. But no sooner does she become more present than she sees right through me like she can read me like an open book, like I've told her everything about how I really feel. I just don't know what to say in response.
"You don't seem to like me very much, do you?", I have to laugh a little as I say it.
"You are an idiot, incredibly pushy, a pervert at that. You annoy me beyond belief and always annoy me. But you're also nice, helpful, and care about your friends. You have a side of you that craves closeness, like in the movie the other night when you clasped my hand. And at the same time, you push everything away from you so no one can get too close to hurt you. You carry around secrets, and that's totally okay. Everyone does," she says, and I just keep looking at the floor, but at the same time my grip tightens around her, which keeps her on my back.
"And all of that is you, Mikey.... And all of that together makes you seem like a small, vulnerable child that needs to be looked out for and not the other way around. You're protective of your friends, but really, you're the one who needs to be protected," she gets quieter and quieter, and the last thing is no longer really understandable. I wince a little at her last sentence. It hits me and it scares me beyond belief. This girl knows exactly what to say to make you think. I look back at her and see that she has closed her eyes again and leaned her head against my shoulder. The grip which hugs me loosens again, and her arms hang down beside me again.
"You're really pissing me off," she suddenly says tiredly, and I have to laugh in response.
"That's nothing new. But what did I do wrong again now? ", I ask her jokingly and look over my shoulder at her again.
"Nothing," she says and I can't help grinning.
"But I kind of like you anyway," she whispers softly behind her and a moment later I hear steady breathing, indicating that she has fallen asleep. I can't help but smile. This girl has a strange way of expressing her feelings.

"I like you too, you strange creature," I say to her softly, even though I know she won't hear it.

I continue on my way while still carrying her weight on my shoulders. It is not far until we arrive at her home and unfortunately it has started raining lightly again on the way there. My thoughts circle around her words and I can't help but think about my life. Yes, I have friends, but am I really that lonely? And am I really so vulnerable that I need to be protected? I shake my head to dispel these thoughts. I don't want to think about it, so instead I focus on the path ahead and look at my surroundings. The ground is littered with puddles, reflecting the rain. The leaves of the trees rustle in the wind and the lights of the city are only faintly visible in the background. The only sounds to be heard are my own footsteps, the crunch of wet grass and the occasional roar of passing cars, and what stands out from all these sounds was their regular breathing next to my ear.

Some time later we arrive at her place and luckily before the rain gets heavier. I set her down as gently as possible and search in her pocket for the key. Finally I find it and open the door. I take her in my arms like a bride and carry her through the door and with my foot I kick the door shut. When we get to her room, I carefully put her in her bed and cover her with the wet clothes, although it would actually be better if she changed. Even though it's not good for her and it will probably only make her sicker. Suddenly she wakes up and sits up way too fast, which she probably regrets because she holds her head.
"I put you down specially for that," I pout a little, but still have to smile.
"Mikey, will you please bring me dry clothes from the closet? Whatever, the main thing is that they are dry. I can't leave the wet ones on," she asks me. Can she read minds? I get up and go to her closet where I bring her the next best top and a pair of sweatpants.
"Thanks. Go on, turn around," she orders, making it even clearer with a wave of her hand, so I turn around. Behind me, I hear her crawl out of bed and take off her clothes. I look toward the window, where I can see a slight reflection that allows me to look at her a bit. But this time I'm not looking at her body, I'm looking at her face. It is unclear and blurry, but nevertheless I look at her. By now it has started raining harder outside, which I can tell by the drops running down the window and of course the rain itself.

How can a girl upset me so much?

"Can you turn back around," she says, and I turn back around just as she is crawling back into her bed, coughing a little. I step closer to her bed and sit on the edge. I put my hand behind her head and gently pull it towards me to rest my forehead against hers and check her temperature. As I pull away from her and look at her, I only now notice her widened eyes and how close we are. We just sit there in silence. It's not an uncomfortable silence, but still we both don't know what to say. Through the moonlight shining through her window, I can see her just well enough to notice that she is nervously playing with her fingers.
Then suddenly she sits up a little and reaches out to cup my face with her hands.
"Thank you, Mikey. Thank you for being there for me today," she whispers, pulling my face down a little towards her and placing her lips on my cheek to give me a kiss. My eyes widen a little as it's completely unexpected.
"Feel free to spend the night here. It's the middle of the night and it's raining. Good night, Mikey," she says after me and lets go of me again. I leave the room without a word and close the door behind me.

I lean against the door for a moment and hold my cheek.
I can feel my heart beating faster.
Fuck.
My face is glowing.
I am red.

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