Sunshine (Norman Reedus)

9. Collapsing World

          **TRIGGER WARNING**

"Norman? I didn't expect you." I say to Norman. "You mind if I come in?" Norman asks me. I nod my head and let him in. Norman walks in and I look back at him before shutting the door. I turn to look back him and notice he is already looking back at me. 

           Norman and I just standing there looking at each other. The silence was killing me and the air in the room was thick. "Mingus is still asleep. I would have woken him up if I had known you would have been showing up." I say to Norman. Trying to make the room less uncomfortable. Norman just shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. Let him sleep. Should have called last night." Norman says, putting his hands in his pant pockets.

           "How have you been?" I ask him. I was uncomfortable, but I was curious. "I've been okay. Missed you." Norman says to me. I look up at him and my eyes are wide. I point at him. "You... You miss me? Are you fucking kidding me?" I say to Norman. Trying not to be too loud, not wanting to wake up Mingus.

          "It's been months since I've last saw you. You just up and left me. So don't you be telling me that you miss me." I said to Norman. I walked past him and went over to my couch and sat down.
I heard him slowly walk behind me. I saw from the corner of my eyes that he had came over and sat down on my chair across from me. My heart was actually hurting. My best friend just quit talking to me and made me feel like I was nothing. Maybe to some people, it wouldn't hurt their feelings, but it hurt mine.

          "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have just pushed you out. It's just... Charlotte doesn't like you and I promised her I wouldn't continue to be friends with you." Norman said to me. I felt tears threaten to spill. My best friend chose a girl over a friend. "You chose her over me... Wow..." I said to Norman. I heard Norman shift around in his chair. "I know it's horrible, but I feel like she's the one, you know? I love her and she makes me happy. I'm happier than I've been in a long time." Norman says to me. I looked over at him and want to cry. "Happier than you've been in a long time?" I say to Norman.

          I put my head in my hands. I'm trying to stop the tears, but every second is making it harder and harder. "I see a future with her, Pipes. I see a home with her, I see her and I creating a family together." Norman says to me. That's when I remember that I am pregnant with his child. A child that will never know it's father. A child that is better off without its father. I wrap my arms around my stomach. "I know this is hard. Hell it was hard for me at first, but she's my girl, Piper." Norman says to me. I sit up from my couch and walk into my kitchen and grab a bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet.

          I don't even bother getting a glass. I unscrew the lid and let the warm liquid go down my throat. It burnt a little, but who cares by this point. I assume Norman was still in my living room, so I just kept drinking and drinking the whiskey. I put the glass back down and see Mingus rushing over to me. "What are you doing?" Mingus asks me. Taking the bottle of whiskey off the counter and pouring it down the sink. "Woah, Mingus, what the hell are you doing?" I ask him, trying to grab the bottle out of his hand.

          I watch the last drop fall down the drain and hear Norman rushing into the kitchen. "What's going on?" Norman asks both Mingus and I. I look back at Norman and then to Mingus. I point at Mingus. "Ask him. He just took my bottle of whiskey and poured it down the drain. The fuck Mingus?" I ask Mingus. He looks at me with a look of disappointment. "You can't be drinking, Piper. You know that." Mingus said to me. I looked at him confused. "What are you talking about? I'm allowed to drink." I say to Mingus.

         "She's right, Mingus. You had no right to pour her alcohol down the drain." I hear Norman say behind me. Mingus turns around and looks at his dad. "Dad... she can't drink. It's not safe." Mingus says to his father. I hear Norman chuckle behind me. I turn around and look at him. "This is funny to you? How would you react to him pouring down a bottle of whiskey?" I ask Norman. He just looks at me and stops smiling and puts his hands up. Mingus grabs my hand and looks me in the eyes. "Piper... You can't drink." Mingus says to me.