That's What You Get

Chapter Seven: The Name on the Screen

Mikey wasn't expecting anyone. So when he opened the door and saw her standing there, he froze.

"Hi, Mikey," she said, her voice soft. Almost uncertain.

He stared at her. She looked older than he remembered, lines around her eyes, her hair streaked with more gray than brown, but she was unmistakably his mother.

"...Mom?" he finally said, his voice cracking a little.

Donna's eyes filled with tears. She gave a trembling smile. "Yeah, baby. It's me."

He didn't move for a second. Then suddenly he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Tight.

She hugged him back, just as hard, pressing her face into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I should've come sooner."

Mikey didn't say anything at first. He held her like he was afraid she'd disappear again.

When he finally pulled back, there were tears in his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you. To say I'm sorry. For how I reacted back then. I was scared, and I didn't know how to handle it, but that doesn't excuse how I treated you."

He nodded slowly, wiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. "I shouldn't have cut you off like that either... But back then, I just... I didn't know what else to do."

Donna reached up and cupped his cheek. "I understand. I just want to make things right."

Mikey stepped aside to let her in. "Come in, Mom."

She looked around the house as she entered, modest, clean, quiet. She sat down on the couch while Mikey grabbed some tissues and handed her one, then dropped beside her.

For a moment, they just sat there, the silence between them filled with all the words they hadn't said for years.

"Want to watch something?" he asked, half to fill the quiet, half because he didn't know what else to say.

She smiled faintly. "Sure. What's on the news?"

"You're such a mom," he teased gently, glad the tension was starting to ease.

She gave him a look. "What, I like to know what's going on in the world."

He rolled his eyes playfully and picked up the remote, flipping through a few channels.

"Not that one," she said. "Too much noise."

He clicked again.

"No, that one's even worse."

Finally, he landed on a calmer, more straightforward station. She gave a nod. "That one's fine."

They sat back, watching in comfortable silence. Then Mikey's phone buzzed on the arm of the couch.

A text from Dani.

Mikey, I'm so sorry.

He stared at the message, confused. No context. No follow-up.

And then, on the TV, the anchor's voice caught his attention.

"-breaking news in the case of Peter Wentz, who was convicted four years ago on multiple counts of domestic abuse. Due to a procedural error in the handling of key evidence, Wentz is now scheduled for early release as soon as next week..."

Mikey's whole body went still.

Donna turned to look at him, brows knitting in concern. "Mikey? What is it?"

He didn't answer right away. He couldn't.

His stomach dropped. His hands felt cold. The sound of his own name and Pete's kept playing over in his head like a loop.

"He's getting out," he said quietly. "Pete's getting out."

Donna reached for his hand, gripping it tightly. "We'll figure it out. You're not alone, okay? Not this time."

But Mikey didn't speak. He just kept staring at the screen, trying to make sense of it.

The man he'd fought so hard to escape, the man who'd nearly broken him, was walking free.

And nothing felt safe anymore.

Mikey didn't move for a long time after the news aired.

The TV was still on, but the voices blurred into background static. His mind was spinning, trying to ground itself, but nothing stuck. It was like the floor had dropped out from beneath him.

Donna was still holding his hand, her thumb brushing across his knuckles in a rhythm meant to calm, but it couldn't reach him. Not fully.

He stood up abruptly. "I need some air."

"Mikey-" she started, but he was already grabbing his hoodie from the hook by the door.

"I'll be right outside," he said, voice flat.

The front steps of his porch were cool against his legs as he sat down. The air was heavy with the kind of stillness that came just before rain. He stared out at the street, watching the few cars drive by. None of it seemed real. None of it felt far enough away from him.

He pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

The buzzing in his phone was distant, but he finally checked it. Dani had sent another message.

He wasn't supposed to get out. I swear, Mikey. I'm trying to get answers.

He stared at her words, then typed back slowly:

I know. It's not your fault.

He wanted to believe that.

Wanted to believe that no one could've seen this coming. But a small, bitter part of him whispered otherwise. This was always how it worked, right? The system gave just enough to give you hope, and then pulled the rug out from under you.

Footsteps behind him. Donna.

She sat beside him without a word for a few seconds.

"I never knew how bad it really was," she finally said.

Mikey didn't look at her.

"You never wanted to talk about him," she continued, voice low. "And I... I never pushed. I told myself that if you were surviving, that was enough. I should've asked. I should've been there."

He swallowed hard, forcing the words out past the knot in his throat. "He made sure I didn't have anyone."

Donna turned to look at him. "You have me now. I'm not going anywhere."

A lump rose in his chest, and he hated how much that meant to him. How much he wanted to believe it.

"I'm scared," he admitted.

It came out raw, like he hadn't meant to say it out loud.

Donna leaned over and pulled him into a side hug. "You don't have to be brave all the time. You just have to keep going."

He didn't cry. Not then. But he felt something shift in his chest, like a weight he didn't even know was there had cracked down the middle.

"I thought I'd finally started to move on," he said quietly. "I was okay with not being okay. But now he's coming back, and all of it's right here again."

She nodded slowly. "Then we face it. Together."

They sat in silence again, and Mikey closed his eyes, just breathing.

He didn't know what would happen next. He didn't know how he'd feel when he saw Pete's face again, if he did. But for the first time in a long time, he wasn't completely alone.

And maybe that would be enough, for now.