Three Wishes (Michael Clifford a.u.)

10//skipping

I couldn't sleep that night.

Michael still hadn't come back, and I'd realized about half an hour after he left that he didn't even have a phone to text me with. I didn't want to text Ashton or Calum or Luke, and there was no one else I could talk to about anything.

So I spent the whole night staring at the ceiling with silent tears running down my face.

I didn't go to school the next day, either.

"Karina, you're going to be late!" I heard my dad call from upstairs after my long, sleepless night. "Why aren't you up here?"

"I'm not feeling well, Dad!" I called back weakly, exhausted but unable to let my eyes close. "I think I'm going to stay home today. Can you call in for me?"

I could hear him sigh from the top of the stairs, but the quiet beeps from his phone suggested that he was doing as I asked.

I leaned back on my headboard, wishing that sleep would finally consume me, but it did no such thing. I was stuck laying in bed, near delirious, unable to do anything about it.

Now was the time I started to feel really lonely.

I turned on my TV, unable to think of anything else to do.

It didn't help any.

For whatever reason, Green Day was performing live.

It wasn't too recent. It was their performance on Saturday Night Live from 1994, something I'd watched hundreds of times, so I was familiar with it.

It only made me think of Michael.

I groaned, sliding down into my pillows even more.

"Why does the universe hate me?" I asked no one, pulling a pillow over my face. "I didn't mean to do anything, I promise!"

"Kay, I'm leaving for work now," Dad called down. "Patricia will be here at three to check in on you. Love you."

"You too, Dad," I replied, probably too quietly for him to actually hear me.

I rolled over, grabbing my phone and going to my music, pressing shuffle.

"Wake Me Up When September Ends" started playing.

Not a song I needed to hear right now.

I turned it off, along with the TV, before getting up and pacing the floor.

I felt like shit, and I didn't know what I was supposed to do about anything.

I wasn't going to wish everything back to normal and lose Michael and risk hurting my friends.

I wasn't going to go to school and face my mistakes, like I should.

I was going to stay home and mope, like a coward.

I could practically hear Shannon's voice in my ear as I thought this.

"You are a coward, Karina. This is why I left you. God, you're such an idiot. Just take a risk for once in your stupid life."

"I can't take a risk for this," I said out loud. "I can't. I'm not trying to be a coward; I just don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Stop listening to her," a voice said suddenly from my right.

I looked over to see my purple-haired genie standing on my nightstand, right next to his lamp. I nearly screamed before leaping forward to hug him.

"I missed you so much, Michael," I murmured, my mouth close to his ear. "It's been awful."

"I know," he replied quietly. "I'm sorry, Karina. I was just...I was being a jackass. You needed someone with you to help deal with all that shit, and I left. I was a jerk, and I'm really sorry. I never meant to say all the stuff I said yesterday. I'm here to help you; I can't be selfish and talk about my past. It was stupid of me."