Lianna forgot to ask Mikey about his work and everything again, for once she put it off, it totally slipped her mind. Until one day when she came back and noticed Mikey was already back from work. As got closer she could tell he had been crying and she asked "Mikey, what's wrong?" "Nothing." He mumbled, as he wiped his tears away. "Come on Michelangelo, this is me you're talking to. Did something happen at work?" she asked gently, causing Mikey to glare at her and say "I said nothing is wrong, just leave me alone."
She was slightly taken back at his tone, but she still said "Mikey, you can trust me. What's the matter?" "What's the matter is you won't leave me alone!" Mikey exclaimed before standing up and rushing to his room where he slammed the door, leaving Lianna sitting on the couch in shock. She tried to follow him after a moment, but he had locked the door. "Please Mikey, let me in, don't shut me out." She begged him, but not a sound was heard from the other side of the door except for soft sobs.
Lianna paced in worry, and was still pacing when the other brothers got back home. Leo was the first to notice and asked her "What's the matter Lianna?" Lianna stopped and looked at him before saying "I wish I knew, Mikey won't talk to me about it." "Is that all? Mikey is Mikey, he'll be back to himself in no time, probably had a rough day at work." Raph said, trying to put her at ease, but it had the opposite effect. Lianna's eyes snapped with rage as she said in a soft, yet angry tone "Do not down play this Raphael. Something is wrong with Mikey and it isn't just going to magically disappear." Then she stomped to her room, though her door closing was much quieter than Mikey's had been.
The three boys shared a look before Donnie asked "Um what just happened?" "I don't know, but I bet Mattie would. Let's see if we can catch her on the way home." Raph said, not wanting Lianna to overhear them talking about her. They were in luck and caught Mattie just as she was exiting the pizza place where she and her cousin worked. "Hey guys, what's up? You know I can walk myself home." She teased, before she noticed their expressions and sighed "What is it this time?"
They told her about what Lianna had told them about Mikey, about Raph's comment and about Lianna's reaction. Mattie sighed and said "You guys all know Lianna, she is very sensitive to others and their emotions, etc. Before we moved here, Lianna had a good friend. She seemed to have it all and was the bubbliest person you could ever know. Lianna thought she had been acting strange and asked her how she was doing. The girl had said she was fine and talked about things that were coming up that she was looking forward to. The next week, Lianna came into school and heard that she had killed herself over the weekend."
The boys gasped and Donnie asked "Why?" "The girl's mom was really strict, always pushing her daughter to have all As, at school she was popular and was expected to act a certain way and date certain boys because of this. Her boyfriend was a jerk, but she knew if she broke up with him it wouldn't be good for her image and there were so many other things going on in her life. Yet she so perfectly put on the 'I'm happy' mask that nobody noticed her depression, until it was too late. Lianna has always thought that if only she had pressed further that she could have either helped her herself or gotten her help."
"And my idiot mouth had to say it was basically no big deal." Raph muttered. Mattie put a hand on his arm and said "It's not your fault Raph, it just probably brought up all that pain of her friend's death. Knowing Lianna, she'll probably apologize for her reaction to you by the time we get to the lair. She just really cares for Mikey." The four friends finished the walk back in silence, each lost in their own thought about Lianna and if she had due cause to worry about Mikey.
Wow this story is just a few days older than a year old… it doesn't feel like I have been dragging my feet on this one this long, but I have. My deepest apologies there. On the other hand, the title of the story is finally coming into play. I am still working on the Star Wars story I mentioned in my last chapter so I can't say when I will get another chapter to you, but I just had to let you guys know I am still going to finish this, it just might take a bit longer still.