CHAPTER 74

"Dude! Dude! Dude! Dude! Dude!"

George's head shot up to see Miguel bursting into his house. It was the following morning and George hadn't heard from his friend since he left his house the previous afternoon for the showdown with his mom. He hadn't gotten anything from his friend afterwards and all night so he was starting to worry, but his worries were quashed as he saw his friend burst into the room.

"Miguel! You're here!" George remarked, surprised. He had to be honest, he wasn't expecting to hear from Miguel. He was expecting Miguel to be sulking at home after his argument with his mom. But no. Miguel looked cheerful, more excited than George had seen him in a while. "You look happy. Talk with your mom go well?"

Miguel nodded.

"You bet. It started badly. We talked. We argued. She banished me from the house forever. I left. But then…"

George's eyes widened.

"Hey, hey, woah, woah, woah, wait! Slow down! She banished you from your house forever?!" George exclaimed.

Miguel shrugged.

"Yeah, she said that for as long as I don't see a therapist, I can't live in her house."

"Jesus Christ. And you decided to left? Not just, you know, see a therapist?" George stammered. Miguel shook his head.

"I don't need a…"

"Therapist. Yeah, so you've mentioned." George murmured, though he knew that Miguel was definitely incorrect. "You know, maybe it would be a good idea for you to have a…"

"Don't." Miguel stated, cutting George off. "I don't need a therapist. I don't want a therapist. And for as long as that stays the case, no therapist can possibly help me."

"Whatever you say." George mumbled. "Look, if you were kicked from home, why do you look so happy?"

Miguel smiled.

"Come on. I'll show you…"

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"Miguel, where are we going?" Mary asked.

Miguel and George, upon leaving George's house, had driven straight to Mary's to pick her up. And from there, Miguel had begun to drive them out of Encino, and before they knew it, they were driving out of the city and towards the outskirts. They drove for a few more minutes, Miguel telling Goerge and Mary the full story of his showdown with his mom, before they finally arrived in a relatively isolated spot, at the edge of the city, overlooking the entire valley. As the trio stepped out of the car, George and Mary looked around. They had been there many times before as they knew it was one of Miguel's favourite spots in the city - he loved to come here to just sit and admire the whole city before him. It was a quiet, tranquil spot, with not many knowing about it, but while George and Mary recognised the spot, they were confused.

"Um… Miguel… why have you brought us here?" Mary questioned.

"Yeah, did you bring us out here in the middle of nowhere to kill us or something?" George asked, somewhat nervously even though he was joking.

"Shut up." Miguel glared at him and he began to walk, George and Mary following him. "So you remember how I told you guys that my mom kicked me out the house?"

"Yes, we remember. You told us literally ten minutes ago." Mary replied. "Which, by the way, I don't think was the right decision. Wouldn't it be easier to just go see the therapist like your mom wants?"

"No, it wouldn't. Because it'll show her that she still controls my every move. She didn't help me at all during my lowest points in my life: after the school fight, when my yaya died. I got through those times by myself. So why should she dictate what I do now?"

"Sure, but don't all of the complications of being kicked out outweigh the benefits?" George remarked. "I mean where are you going to live? How are you going to eat? How are you going to earn money?"

"I'm going to get a part time job so that'll cover me for basics: food, water, clothes, you know. A couple of years ago, I spent the summer refereeing soccer part time and that job actually paid incredibly well so all I have to do is scrub up on that certification and I'll be good to go. That's me sorted for money and food. Where am I going to live? Well, I was sleeping in the park last night when…"

"You slept in the park last night?" Mary asked, surprised. Miguel nodded.

"Dude! Why didn't you just call one of us? Or even just knocked on our doors. We would've taken you in!" George exclaimed. Miguel laughed and shrugged, spreading his arms wide.

"Come on! Can't beat the view, right?" He commented. Mary and George looked at each other and rolled their eyes, accepting their friend's kooky ways and realising that they wouldn't be able to understand them. "Anyways, I was lying there on the bench when suddenly a brilliant idea came to me. A way for me not have to pay for rent, and pay a hell of a lot less for power and water and stuff."

"Yeah? What's that?" George asked. At that moment, they came to a clearing, where George and Mary saw an RV, parked, staring back at them. Miguel grinned and then turned from the RV to them.

"George, Mary, welcome to my new home!"

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George and Mary's jaws hit the floor in surprise. Their eyes were wide as saucers as they looked at Miguel, a massive, slightly crazy looking grin on his face as he stood beside his 'new home'. There was a long silence where you could hear a pin drop in the quiet outskirts, but it was soon broken by Mary and George.

"You have got to be kidding." Mary remarked.

"Yeah, Miguel, look, you're more than welcome to stay with me for as long as it takes you to find a place." George commented. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Um… this is a place." Miguel stated. George shook his head.

"You know what I mean. An actual place." George added.

"What? You mean you don't like the RV?" Miguel asked.

"No! This is a horrible idea, Miguel!" George exclaimed. "This thing is an oversized tin can on wheels! You can't possibly expect to be able to live here!"

"Come on, what does your house have that the RV doesn't?" Miguel commented. George raised an eyebrow.

"Well… let's see… a shower?" George said. Miguel shook his head.

"Got a shower. And a toilet too. Just gotta drive it to a rest stop every so often to fill the water tank up."

"Okay, what about a kitchen?" Mary asked.

"Got a fridge, electric stove, small counter. Everything a man could ask for."

"A bed?" George asked. Miguel shrugged.

"Well… kinda. Because the RV is pretty small, she isn't big enough to fit a bed. But all good, I've got a couch. I can just sleep on that!"

"Miguel, this is such a bad idea." Mary murmured.

"Yeah, dude, come on. Just stay with one of us. It's so much better. Hot water. Fresh food. A comfy bed. Not in this shitbox."

"Aw come on, guys. I'll be okay. I don't need nearly as much as you guys to live. I've got all my stuff here. Got my bike to get places. I'm not going to school or Miyagi-Do anymore so I don't need to worry about those. I've got everything covered. And besides… can't beat this view, right?" Miguel remarked, spreading his arms wide and pointing at the gorgeous meadow around him. "Guys… don't worry about me. I'll be alright…"

But that wasn't the case. Miguel wasn't alright, and it showed. Him and Emily, on opposite ends on the city, were both going through their depressions. There were a scary amount of similarities between their actions. While Emily stayed in her room 24/7, Miguel locked himself in his tin can RV he called a home. Neither wanted to talk to the outside world, and both often spent days without talking to a single human being. They both spent all of their time lying down, trying to shield themselves from the massive pain inside them, and both failing miserably. In addition, given the fact that both had faded from their old lives completely, they seemed to be talked about even more by their concerned friends. George and Mary wanted nothing more than for their friends to be pulled out of their misery, but they knew that the only people who could pull them out of their depressions were each other. It was sad as it was ironic, as neither were in the position to be able to help each other. At least at the start. However, soon after, things changed…

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KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Miguel groaned as his eyes snapped open, light shining through the blinds of his trailer blindingly brightly as his body struggled to awake from the sleep the knocking on his door had snapped him out of. Ignoring the aching pains coursing through his entire body, Miguel found the strength to roll off his couch and stumble to his feet. Immediately, he nearly tripped on an empty bottle of cheap whiskey he had chugged the other night. He had gotten blackout drunk the night before, and the night before that for that matter, and the night before that, and the night before that. Needless to say, Miguel was extremely out of it as he trudged his way towards his caravan door. Peering through the small window, he saw who it was and his eyes widened. Instantly, he dived to the ground, trying to make sure the person outside didn't see him in there. Hopefully if he didn't answer and they didn't see him, they would just leave. But no such luck. The man standing outside spotted the mop of unruly black hair as it hit the ground.

"Miguel! I know you're in there!" The voice called out. Miguel took a deep breath, trying to shake the last of his drunkenness from the night before, and he quickly hurried around the trailer, trying to clean it up as best as he could, not that he could do much. The place was a pig sty, bottles of alcohol scattered all over the room. Fast food wrappers littered all over the floor. His blanket lying in a bundle on the ground. Quickly grabbing it, Miguel threw the small blanket over most of his floor, a pitiful attempt to hide his sorry excuse of a house, before walking back to the entrance of his RV and opening the door.

"Hi…" Miguel murmured quietly, as he looked the man opposite him in the eye.

"Hi, Miguel…" Emily's dad replied…