I decided to upload chapters 3 and 4 on the same day because this chapter is rather short. Sorry about that.
Gabriel knocked on the door frantically. He felt like he was about to explode, adrenaline coursing through him, and he had no clue what to do right now, but he knew that Mike would know what to do please know what to do Mike I need help please-
His knocking grew more desperate, almost turning into banging on Mike's door. If his heart worked it would be hammering too hard. If his lungs worked he would be taking quick, uneven breaths. He probably would have passed out by now due to hyperventilating.
Finally, the door opened. Mike stood in the doorway, a worried look on his face. He immediately took Gabriel's arms and gently led him inside the room, setting him on the bed before going back to close the door and sitting beside the young boy.
"What's wrong?" Mike asked. Gabriel could feel himself shaking. He wrapped his arms around himself and broke down in tears, pressing his forehead against the bed. His body continued to shake uncontrollably, made worse by the sobs wracking his tiny body.
Mike just sat there with one hand on his back, waiting silently and patiently for Gabriel to calm down. Eventually, his sobbing stopped, but he was gasping for breath that his lungs didn't need. The action calmed him down, tricked his body into thinking it was alive again.
Finally, the dry sobbing and gasping stopped, leaving Gabriel sitting there with Mike's hand on his back and his forehead touching the soft fabric of Mike's blanket. He was panting now, not that he needed to be. It calmed him down.
Mike didn't move his hand.
"Everything alright now?" he asked. Gabriel nodded once, then shrugged his shoulders the best he could.
"I can't do it anymore," he said. His voice was shaky and rough. He shook his head a little bit. "I'm not… I'm not able to."
"What can't you do?" Mike asked gently. Gabriel felt another wave of panic enter his system. His voice was somehow shakier, closer to breaking when he answered.
"I don't know how to take care of them," he admitted. He let out a shaky breath, his body feeling as uneven and cold as his voice. "I've tried so hard but I can't… I don't know how to help them… I don't know how to care for them… I don't know what I'm doing…"
He began panting again, his mouth moving faster than his brain. Mike gently pulled him up and scooped him into his arms, rocking back and forth to calm him down. It worked a little bit.
"It's alright, Gabe… everything will be alright," Mike told him. "You're so young… you shouldn't have that much pressure put on your shoulders. You don't have to do this alone."
He continued saying stuff like that. At first, it sounded like mindless garble, meaningless words meant to calm him down. But the soothing tone that Mike was using… the rocking motions and, eventually, the words themselves… they sunk in. The shaking stopped. Gabriel's breathing returned to normal.
"Try a deep breath for me?"
Gabriel nodded and slowly sucked in a deep breath, releasing it just as slowly. He felt a lot of the pressure release from his chest, his mind clearing up a little bit. He tried it again. It worked more.
"Did that help?"
Gabriel nodded again, continuing to breathe deeply. He managed to relax in Mike's embrace, focusing on his breathing and on the rocking motions.
"...I don't know how to make them happy."
Mike rested his head on top of Gabriel's head, hugging him a little tighter.
"I think they know you're trying," he said. "And that's making them happy."
"I want to be able to help them."
"They know they can rely on you- you've been there for them so many times in the past."
"I wanna go home…"
Mike didn't immediately respond to this one.
"...I know, Gabe… I'm sorry."
Gabriel snuggled into Mike's embrace. For a second, that answer made him want to cry again, but then he realized that it was the only answer he could accept. For years, he'd tried to avoid telling his friends that they could go back to their old lives- go home, go to school- he didn't want to lie to them, and they understood that. It was an unspoken agreement between them that they wouldn't tell each other things like that.
To have the blatant truth from Mike here… the solidity that he wouldn't go home. That he didn't want to hear Mike say he'd try to get them home, that they'd see their families again. It hurt- it felt like dying all over again, it felt like being locked away in the pizzeria again. But it also made him feel grounded. It hit him in the right spot, hit him where he needed to be hit.
No, he couldn't go home. But he couldn't dwell on that. He had his friends, a new home… not like his old home had been very good. This home, somehow, was better than that place. He only wished he knew what became of his brother- the one who always protected him and his sister, no matter how much he got hurt in the process.
He felt… lighter. Somehow, more free. He took one more deep breath and relaxed entirely in Mike's arms.
"...you promise I don't have to be alone?" he asked. Mike nodded and began rubbing his back.
"That, I can promise wholeheartedly."
That was a promise that Gabriel was willing to accept.
