Chapter3

#Chapter3

July 4 explosions or something like that

Mack

Today was the 4th. That meant a family gathering of sorts with chaos in the mix. You have fireworks and festivities. The only thing missing was Nik. I miss him so much, as did Austin. But now, he was better off where he was. I hope things are better with him.

Nik

/"Are you trying to kill me?/" I asked Leo, letting the weight drop to the ground with a loud clang.

/"No, but you know what they say?/" Leo asked with a look.

/"That you like to torture people,/" I said, wiping the sweat from my face with a towel.

/"No, not that,/" he said, rolling his eyes at me. /"No pain, no gain./" He let a cheesy grin form on his lips.

Leo is a trip. As we joked around and laughed, we heard someone say something as they walked up to us. /"Kind of picking them young, aren’t you, Leo?/"

We both turned to see Kyle, Leo’s ex, walk up to us.

/"Shouldn’t you be picking out your next victim?/" Leo asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

/"Don’t tell me you’re still butthurt over our breakup,/" Kyle smirked.

Leo walked up to him, looking him square in the face. /"Nah, I’m over it, and you. Go crawl back under the rock you slid out from, Kyle./"

They faced off in the gym, and I walked over to look at Kyle.

/"What are you looking at, pansy?/" He filled his tone with disdain.

/"I’m wondering what Leo ever saw in you. From the looks of it, he finally upgraded,/" I said, letting a smile form on my lips.

That pissed Kyle off as he blustered, /"I’ll kick your ass so far that you need a bus to get back!/"

/"Go ahead. A Frazier isn’t afraid of anything,/" I warned.

With those words, Kyle’s face contorted in fear. /"Did you say, Frazier?/"

/"Did I stutter?/" I questioned.

/"No,/" Kyle answered.

/"Good, now if you excuse us, we have places to be and people to do,/" I said, causing Leo to snicker. Kyle turned and stormed off.

/"I can’t believe you dated that idiot,/" I mentioned to Leo.

/"Yeah, tell me about it,/" Leo sighed. /"I forgot his hotness covered up his stupidity. He isn’t the brightest bulb in the pack./" I laughed at that as we grabbed our stuff and went back to the house.

Standing under the hot cascading water felt good on my sore muscles. Leo had been working me hard at the gym, but I needed it. I needed to let out the aggression I held since Mike’s death. The anger and animosity I felt towards the person who did it. The only problem is I was lashing out at everyone except at the person who did it.

Death is a tricky thing. It can strengthen you to keep on living for the person who left you. It can destroy you and tear you apart. With Leo and his brothers' help, I learned how to deal with loss, pain, and anger. The senseless violence an innocent person endured. They were helping me make sense of it all, even when I still couldn’t understand myself.

The wonderful thing is Leo, and his brothers knew how Mike died, so I didn’t need to explain it to them, which was better. I didn’t have to cover it up either, as my family did with his parents. I still felt guilty, knowing they lied to them about how he died, but I also understood why they did. A drunk driver, you have a clear-cut picture. With a sadistic killer, you don’t. It was all too much to think about it.

I lost myself in thought that I didn’t realize someone climbed into the shower with me. I also didn’t even know I had been crying. I felt so overwhelmed by all of it. All the emotions I buried finally reared their ugly heads at me and say nope. I felt two muscular arms wrap around me from behind as I let it all out. Leo held me, not saying a word, but let me cry.

Later, after my shower, I threw on some jeans and a tee-shirt. I stood at the bedroom window, lost in thought when my phone rang. I held it out to see Mack calling. /"Hey, sis,/" I answered.

Nik? How are you?

/"I’m managing./" My tone was even.

We miss you, Nik, especially Austin and me.

/"I know. I miss everyone, too,/" I replied.

Please tell me things are getting better.

/"They are. Little by little, things are,/" I answered.

Mom, Dad, and Junior worry about you.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, /"I know./"

Nik, please call Dad. Talk to him. I know things weren’t right the last time you both spoke, but he needs to know that you’re okay.

I said nothing as Mack continued.

Please, for me, Nik.

/"Fine, but not now, Mack. Let them know I’m okay, and I’ll call when I’m ready,/" I told Mack.

I could hear her breathing as she finally added.

I understand. I love you, baby brother.

/"I love you, too, big sis./" I ended the call and stood there. The last time I spoke to my dad was a few weeks ago, right after I arrived. Things got said that I shouldn’t have, but only because I let my anger get the best of me. My dad is one of the most easygoing guys out there and loves to kid, but ever since what happened, we’ve clashed. It wasn’t because we didn’t get along; I didn’t know how to deal with my grief, and he didn’t know how to help.

As I stood there, lost in thought, I felt someone touch my shoulder. I turned to see Leo with a massive grin on his face. God only knows what he planned for me now.

I stood there in an accessible area with other people and the brothers as Leo set up blankets. I wasn’t in the mood for fireworks or anything tonight. July 4 was Mike’s favorite holiday. We even talked about the things we would do this summer. It included going to the fireworks and which ones were his absolute favorite. Unfortunately, none of that would ever happen.

Leo grabbed my hand and dragged me over to a blanket, patting it for me to sit next to him. His brothers took their spot, and I sighed, taking a seat next to him. A few minutes later, the booms sounded, lighting up the sky in vibrant blue, red, and golds with white.

I looked at Leo as he went ooh and ahh, smiling and enjoying the show. Then I turned to see someone familiar. It couldn’t be. He turned and smiled at me. Mike? I had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I got up, leaving Leo and the brothers confused as I made my way over to Mike.

I touched his shoulder, and he turned, looking at me, confused. It wasn’t Mike. It was a figment of my imagination.

/"Can I help you with something?/" The guy asked, confused.

/"Sorry, I thought you were someone else,/" I blurted, retreating my hand from his shoulder. Then a youthful girl walked up to him and handed him a snow-cone. She looked at me, and I put my hand up as a sorry, then walked away.

I had to get out of there. I needed to get out of there, so I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. I found myself at the creek.

/"Nik!/" I caught my breath, putting my hands to my head as Leo and his brothers caught up with me.

/"Sorry,/" was all I could say.

/"No, I’m sorry. I forgot what today is for you,/" Leo said, trying to apologize.

/"That should be Mike and me here, watching the sky light up. He should be here to enjoy it. He should be here to share it with me!/" I screamed as I dropped to my knees. I couldn’t stop the tears even if I wanted to.

Leo knelt in front of me and pulled me into his arms as I gripped his shirt and cried.

/"But Mike is here with you,/" Leo said.

I looked up at Leo through glassy eyes. /"What?/"

/"Nik, Mike is always here with you. He’s everywhere. When you see the sun shining, the birds chirping, or people laughing, he’s here. His love is like the wind. You can’t see it, but you can feel it,/" Leo said to me, looking me in the eye. At that moment, I felt something cold upon my cheek, and a breeze picked up. I looked around to see the leaves wrestle a bit; then calmness took over me.

At that moment, I felt Mike saying goodbye and never forget him or how much he loved me. It was at that moment that I finally felt peace.