Bloody Knuckles • Gallavich

Bullets

Mickey wakes to the sound of light tapping on his bedroom door. He hasn't slept much that night and it didn't help that he slept in his soggy pants and socks from the night before because he woke up shivering in his bed.

"What?" He groans.

He rolls over in his bed in time to see Mandy walking in. She had a soft but cautious smile on her lips as she approached her brother. "It's late, Mickey. It's almost one in the afternoon."

"And why the hell should I give a shit?" He mumbles, palming his eyes.

"You should care because it's late. Now get your lazy ass up and do something today," she says. She knew something was going on with Mickey, she just didn't know what. But Mandy wanted to find out. She felt bad for Mickey because he was the one who was always taking the blows from Terry and protecting them. Even though their brothers were older, Mickey took over the role of protector in the house.

"Alright... just get the fuck out," he mumbles against the blankets. Mandy let's out a heavy sigh and reluctantly leaves the room.

Once gone, Mickey gets out of bed. He peels off his frigid clothes and tosses them to the ground. He replaces them with a pair of baggy jeans. A long sleeve t-shirt and a dark flannel to go on top. Then before leaving his room, he heads over to his dresser. He opens up the top drawer and pulls out a gun and a case of bullets. He tucks the gun into the waste of his jeans and the bullets into his pockets.

"I'm heading out," Mickey says as he walks out to the fridge.

"Where are you going?" Mandy asks. She was at the counter, making herself a sandwich.

"Nowhere," he mumbles. He pulls out the half-empty case of beer and closes the fridge. Mickey looks away when he sees Mandy's worried look. "Don't worry. I'll replace dads beer on my way home."

Mandy opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak but decides it's best to say nothing and settles on just nodding. Mickey tugs his boots on and he's out the door.

It was warmer out than it had been in a while. The rest of the snow was now completely washed away by the rain the night before. Mickey walked briskly with his head down until he reached where he wanted to go.

He climbed up the dirtied steps to the abandoned building. Once at the top floors, he sets the case of beer down.

He was desperate to forget. To spend the day forgetting about all of his bullshit feelings and the emotions that seemed to be chocking him.

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The sound of bullets hitting cans seized when Mickey heard the echo of footsteps coming up the steps. He was standing a fair distance back away from the opening in the wall where he had lined up several empty cans. The pack of beers was almost completely gone with only a beer and a half to go. But still, the buzz wasn't enough. Mickey wanted more.

The footsteps got closer and closer until a familiar redhead appeared in the opening. He had on his army green hoodie, dark jeans and sneakers. His hair was a mess and Mickey could easily see the lack of sleep that was evident in his eyes.

Mickey sits down against the wall. He picks up his opened beer and takes a long sip from it. "How'd ya find me?" He mumbles.

Ian stays in his spot in the doorway as if he was afraid of Mickey. He knew he had hurt him, even if he didn't and wouldn't admit it. And Ian knew Mickey had a rage like no other when he was ticked off and upset. "Mandy said you might be here. She's worried about you though. Said you wouldn't tell her where you went."

"Yeah, well Mandy can fuck off. She's not my mom." Mickey crushes the now empty can in his hand and throws it across the room so it skittered on the concrete floor.