blue ; gallavich

17

IAN

I wake up early- around 4 A.M.- and even though I have a minor headache I decide to carry on with my morning. The room is pitch black but I don't even have to look to know that the muscular arms wrapped around me are Mickey's. I untangle myself from his comforting embrace and walk into the kitchen, opening the fridge to reveal nothing. I sigh and my stomach growls in hunger but there is nothing I can do to satisfy it.

I would go to Kash 'N Grab but Mickey strictly advised me not to leave the house, and though he was acting very mysterious and secretive at the time, I trust his reasons. Mickey always has a good reason for doing things, wether it's to protect me or his brothers and sister. His intentions are never selfish, and though he hates showing his caring and more vulnerable side we all know he has one due to his selflessness.

I make a pot of coffee and it burns my tongue as I let it slide down my throat. The color makes me think of Mickey, his dark hair and dark personality. Frankly, he just has a dark life. But he's still able to bring the light into someone else's; so to speak: mine. Without Mick I never would have realized that the world isn't based on love and luck, and that not everyone lives a happy and carefree life.

When I met Mickey I saw the pain and anger and sadness that had taken over his life. He didn't have the loving home like I did. The Milkovich household was the polar opposite of the Gallagher home. Calling Mick's rundown mess a 'house' is quite a stretch, though, since a home should be full of love and that is near to impossible to find in that living environment.

Mickey isn't to blame for his skeptical and aggressive behavior, though. A lot of people think he's like that just to be rude or because he's from the South Side, but if they really knew what he's been through then they wouldn't be so quick to judge. Even I've had my slip ups of hating on Mickey for seemingly being a dick, when in reality I was the one lacking in selflessness. And Mickey wasn't selfish enough to leave me. Instead he'd just take it and get mad because that's how he was used to dealing with complicated situations. Then we'd all judge him for being 'heartless' when in reality we were the crude ones. It wasn't Mickey's fault that Terry treated him the worst out of all of his siblings, or that his mother left when he was a kid, or even that his siblings were given more respect from Terry than he ever was. Mickey did nothing to deserve the torture he had to go through for so long and for anyone, even and especially me, to judge him because of his life style was extremely unfair.

I look out the window to see the tips of the sun reach the horizon, and I think about how somewhere among the other side of the world someone is watching the sun fall below the sky. I check the time on my phone that reads 6:07 A.M. and realize that Kash 'N Grab is open, though no one is probably at work. I take a second to decide wether I should stay or go and I find myself pondering different pros and cons.

Mickey told me not to leave the house, which means something important is taking place and he is simply trying to protect me. But, then again, I'll only be gone for a few minutes to get groceries. But I could be attacked, seeing that the store is quite a far distance away. But if I'm careful and discreet then no one will notice me. But if Mickey wakes up and realizes I'm gone he will go into full panic mode and freak the fuck out, which I would never want to do to him. But he's so hungover that there's no way he will even notice I'm missing.

I let my own selfish needs- and rumbling stomach- get the best of me as I open the door and leave the house. Though the sun is rising, it's still black outside and I can't see anything. I walk down the stairs cautiously and set off into the lonely, dark streets of Chicago. I listen intently for any footsteps or triggering noises, and I notice that I'm shaking in fear. Mickey's warning and stern voice replays in my mind as I begin to regret my decision, but I'm too stubborn to turn around.