I raced into the store and made my purchase, my heart beating in both titillation and anticipation.When we got home Mykel wasn't there yet, not yet done with overseeing the transformation of his shop into his own, private vision."You wanna help me make dinner? Mykel won't be home for a bit, it might distract you enough until he gets home."I nodded following her into the kitchen. For the last several weeks Liz had been teaching me to cook. I had never learned and had survived off of delivery pizzas and whatever I could microwave."Liz?" I asked as I set the butter next to the raw chicken she had just placed in the skillet. I took a deep breath, fortifying my will, my heart pounding in a different kind of titillation and anticipation.
By the time Tuesday night rolled around, Mykel's depression of the following day's anniversary had set firmly.Unlike he had the previous week, or even the previous night, when he came home he was devoid of any smile, any jovial moods, and to say he was laconic that night was to say he was talking too much.We heard him open the front door, Liz and I, engaged as we were in our nightly cooking lesson. We each gave pause, her mid-instruction, myself in mid-application, and we shared a glance at one another.We had earlier discussed our theories on how tonight was going to turn out. Liz had more of a hypothesis than I, being as how she'd been there each of the five years previous.He came into the kitchen, as customary, and grabbed a drink before turning to Liz.
"It's not your fault, Mykel. And from what I gathered, he didn't blame you, either. He blamed himself. I understand his mindset...growing up abused it's all your fault whether it's your fault or not. He just snapped.""But...if I hadn't had left..." He started before hanging his head.The look in his eyes as he looked at me at that moment was an absolute raw pain. Raw pain and buried guilt and those honey-wheat eyes were dark as molasses. The tears that now seemed to be slowly trekking down his face reminded me of sap being pulled from the trees to make syrup. They fell slowly, almost as if they were attempting to defy gravity, and while the battle was a fierce one, gravity still won the war."Can I ask you something?" He nodded and sighed and wiped his eyes."You walk
"About Kaiden?""Yes," I answered, meeting her gaze. "We talked about Kaiden.""What did he say?" She wasn't looking at me, but at the horizon."Liz..." I started. I was going to deny her. Trust was something...it is something...that I hold to the highest regard. I had never been trusted as I had the night before and I was loathed to break that confidence."Mattie, this is my brother. He hasn't acted like that in a long time. In the beginning, he was so angry all the time. I know he's keeping things from me. I'm not stupid, I always knew there was something. I just never knew what." She wiped her face and asked silently for another drink. I complied willingly, handing the cup over to her."Please, Mattie." I could
Mykel shut the back door behind him and made his way slowly across the kitchen. The trepidation he felt the nearer he drew to his sister's bedroom door was paramount and nerve-wracking.He paused outside her door, fist poised to knock, but lowered his hand without a sound. He sighed and finally knocked, pushing forth all his courage to face Liz's wrath. Having more than once been on the receiving side of her anger, it was not something he was particularly looking forward to.She opened the door looking tired and disheveled, her heart broken freshly as one secret came out, and another was on the tip of confession.He could tell from her posture and her curt 'what' that told him he was still on her shit list. Her eyes were dry, but her cheeks were still a bit puffy, indicating that she had stopped crying within the hour.
"Yeah. That's what he said." Mykel's voice was heavy and thick, remembering the words he had read so many times."Well, do you think he lied about that?"He sniffled again. "He never lied to me about anything.""Well then, my love, don't you think that he meant what he said? If he never lied to you, he wouldn't lie to you with his last words, would he?"Mykel croaked out a whispered 'no'."What do you feel for Mattie? Honestly," Liz asked gently, gripping his shoulder, turning him to look at her."I'm falling in love with him. He makes me happy. He makes me smile. He makes me smile like Kaiden used to make me smile."
"Hey, a falling star!" Mykel jumped at my exclamation, making a startled yelp as he jumped backward.I looked behind me grinning, a slow chuckle escaping me at the look on his face. The startled shock slowly morphed into a slow, sleek smile that spread across his face.He had been smiling more the past couple weeks, though only lately had his smiles been reaching his eyes. This smile though was the kind of smile that makes me melt. This smile reserved for me and one I had not seen in weeks."Look," he said.I looked back to the sky in time to see dozens more streak across the night, glowing trails lighting up the sky. I watched mesmerized, enraptured by the beauty of it all.Mykel tightened his hold on me, squeezi
Time for your bath, Mathew.All the oxygen was sucked from my lungs in an instant, as if inside the shower had created a vacuum where air did not, or could not exist. I felt my legs fail to continue to perform their function and as I went down I felt the water go over my head.My chest burned and my veins boiled as complete terror consumed me. My blood felt like a river of fire, as if Pyriphlegethon itself ran through my soul, taking me with it in its sickening current.I could feel their malicious hands, phantom memories brought back in a haze of panic, holding me under the spray.I screamed.It's time for your bath, Mathew.I do not know how lo