Chasing Mickey; A Novel by A. Wademan (WORK IN PROGRESS)

𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟝

Kenny stayed the night, after texting his mom that Allison was asleep and he'd come home around lunch, if maybe later. I'd forgotten overnight, so when I woke up on the couch, tried to get up to make a coffee and found him lying on the floor under one of my throw blankets, I nearly screamed.

For a second, I thought I'd murdered someone.

"Maya, I need to talk to you."

Keisha sat alone at the kitchen table, the sunlight shining through the door cast a shadow upon her face, obscuring her eyes. She looked demonic.

Mickey.

"Maya."

"God, Keisha. What?" I snapped. She raised her head slightly, but just enough for me to see the fury raging in her eyes, the way they've narrowed and hardened.

"What are we?" Her icy voice stabbed into my gut like a knife, brutal and relentless.

"Don't ask me that, Keisha. Michelle is missing, and for all I know she could be dead somewhere, in a ditch, rotting and forgotten. Hell, even her family hasn't breathed a single word about her being gone," I argue, a storm growing in my head, my fingers curling in on themselves and stabbing four crescents into each palm. As I release my fingers, my hands sting, the raw skin tingling.

The sensation brings back memories of that first morning.

"Then maybe you should go find your girlfriend if you care that much!" She spat back. The words stung like acid and hung heavy in the air.

"Why do you say that like we were a couple?" I asked as I throw my hands into the air.

"Because I thought we were something more than friends! You kissed me!" My jaw dropped, maybe in disbelief. It's hard to tell what I feel without Mickey here.

"You kissed me! You liar!" I screamed, just letting go. Letting go of everything to just scream. It was deep and hoarse, and it made me think back to Mickey.

God, she's probably dead, Maya.

My eyes watered, the salty tears trickling down my face as I continued to scream. Behind me, Kenny stirred, and in front, Keisha stood up, starting to walk towards me, her arms outstretched.

"Get away from me!"

And then, that damn blackout again.

—————

"Maya stop screaming."

I opened my eyes, the setting around me blurry. Yet I could see the brush and brambles and trees around me, thick and lush.

She sat before me, one eye appears to be stitched closed, an 'x' crossed over it, and the skin around it pale and sickly and diseased. It contrasted starkly to her other eye, the skin around it freckled and blushed and plump. Her hair was somewhat matted, but it took nothing away from her beauty. Her shirt, long sleeves, faded red, and oversized. Her jeans, muddied, ripped, but fitting so perfectly in all the right places.

What the hell?

Stop that Maya.

You like boys. It was Keisha's fault that she kissed you. Not the other way around.

You like boys.

Boys.

Boys.

Michelle.

Boys.

She chuckled lightly, soft and honest. I realized my eyes had grown wide and dry, so I blinked twice before looking her straight in the eye.