the ups and downs of micahs

17

▷ micah barrett ◁

"It's my baby brother!" I've only just pulled up my house after school when I'm caught in a tight, suffocating hug from my sister, Maggie. She rocks me back and forth quickly, and it takes me a while to come to my senses and wrap my arms around her. I'm still significantly shaken up when she pulls away, squeezing on my shoulders. Maggie and I look exactly the same, with the same curly hair, gray eyes, and facial features, skin sprayed with freckles. The only difference is that she's significantly shorter than me, so I can rest my elbow on the very top of her head.

Behind her, the trunk of our dad's car is open, and he's dragging her luggage into the foyer, a slight smile on his face as he watches us interact.

Maggie is 21 and goes to Berkeley, so it's not very often that we see her. Every summer, thanksgiving, and Christmas break is an event with us.

"I've missed you so much! You have to catch me up on everything." Our dad ushers us into the house, and we follow.

"There's not much to catch you up on," I say, grabbing her large suitcase.

"Well, you can explain that tiny portion to me up in my room. Come on." She grabs her two tiny duffle bags and dashes up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom, a significantly empty space that now just houses a bed, bookcase, and dresser. Maggie used to have this room decorated and stuffed to the max, with posters and drawings and books and clothes and random shit everywhere, but she put most of her things away in our garage and took the rest to California with her.

I set her suitcase right next to her bed, throw my own bag on her floor and fall onto her bed with my arms spread out like an angel, letting my back hit her comforter with a soft thud. I feel the mattress sink with weight, and Maggie takes a seat above me, running her hands through my hair like she always does.

"So, what's going on in your world? Still dating that girl?" I roll my eyes. Maggie's definitely not too fond of Sidney, and she's always obvious with it. Anytime she calls, when I mention Sidney, she sighs or gags or her tone changes.

"Yes, I'm still dating Sidney. She's coming here for Thanksgiving dinner."

Maggie rolls her eyes and begins to braid my curls, running her fingers through it to undo it so she can begin the process over and over again.

"Why don't you like her?"

"Sidney Reid is known for being mean. Shit, even when you guys were in middle school, the high schoolers at Farin Valley knew she was mean because she would bully their siblings."

"She didn't seem mean. She was always nice to me."

"Yeah, probably so she could get something from you." I do remember sharing things with Sidney, giving and getting her anything she wanted if she just asked. Pencils, candy, ice cream, even money.

"Fair," I bite at my lip, squinting my eyes as the setting sun spills past Maggie's open blinds. "But there's....someone else."

Maggie sits up straight, eyebrows raised. She gives me a small smile, mischief twinkling in her eye.

"Who is this 'someone else'?"

"Her name is Micah Blue and...I kissed her at this Halloween party drunk off of my ass, but....it felt right. I told her about my feelings too."

"What feelings?"

"That I think about her all the time. When I'm with Sidney, in every kind of instance. I draw her too. It's like...I can't escape her. I feel so bad about feeling this way when I have my wits about me. It makes me feel guilty, so I got drunk so that I didn't feel any of that. It all melted away and was so easy, but I feel like she thinks it wasn't real. I literally can't get her off of my mind. I draw her, and I write little blurbs and poems about her, I watch her like a creep in class...It's just—"