"A heart attack?" I whispered in shock. My heart shattered. Mikey gripped my arm tightly. I started shaking my head. "No...no."
"Iris, I'm so sorry," Mikey whispered.
"W-where is she?" I asked. Tears were falling down my face.
"She's in the hospital, Tony went with her," he told me softly. I tried pulling away from his grip, but he held on tightly.
"Mikey, I need to see my mom!" I cried out. "Let me go!"
"You can't go, Iris!" he shouted at me. "She's in the hospital. She'll be fine."
"She had a fucking heart attack, Mikey!"
"And it'll make no difference to going there late at night."
"I'm her daughter; I have to be there."
"Tony is there. You're stressed out, angry, confused, and sad. Not to mention the anxiety you have from seeing your father again. If I let you go, I know you and Tony will end up fighting. I don't want that to happen."
"I can take care of myself, Michael. Let me go see my mom!"
"You stubborn child!" Mikey said angrily. He held me tightly and looked into my eyes. "If you go there, you will be more stressed out. You had a rough day today. I get that. You disappeared for hours on a freezing cold night, you're still shivering. You're not in the right state of mind to go barging in over there and wait to get news of your mom. I know you more than anyone else, Iris. You're going to get angry when you don't get any answers and anger leads you to violence." I pulled away from his grip and turned away. I noticed Gerard had left us alone. Mikey gently placed his arms around me and kissed my cheek. I moved my head away from him and tried to stop crying. "You can't push me away."
"I'm not trying to," I mumbled. There was a knock on the door. I wiped my tears as Mikey and I walked to the front door, just to notice Gerard already opening it.
"Yes?" Gerard said to the person on the other side.
"Is my daughter here? I need to take her home," a deep voice spoke. Mikey grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the door and up the stairs.
"He's here," I said while tears filled my eyes again.
"Iris, don't cry," he whispered helplessly and tucked my hair behind my ear. "He won't take you."
"No, you can't come in here!" Gerard shouted. Mikey shoved me into his room and locked the door. "Dad, there's a man who entered our house!"
"Shh, it'll all be okay," Mikey whispered and wiped my tears. I heard meowing coming from somewhere in the room. "I should probably calm her down, but you need me right now."
"Calm who down?" I said and wiped my face. Muffled arguments were coming from downstairs. "Maybe I should go so that he can leave you and your family alone."
"No, hell no!" Mikey said instantly. "If all comes to worst, we can call the police, but no way in hell am I letting you go." He pulled me into a tight hug. I laid down on his bed and let Mikey comfort me. The yelling downstairs was getting out of control. Mikey kept a tight grip on me, making sure I had no chance of leaving the room.
"I think they need help," I said. "I don't want your family getting hurt."
"I'm not letting go of you."
"Then don't. Come with me. I have to make sure Chris leaves. I can't stand the thought of him still being here." I stood up and pulled him to his feet. I stood on my toes and kissed him lightly. "Please."
