That night I sat in my room alone. I thought about how I only had one more year and I'd be free, that is directly. As for my kid brother, he had the rest of high school. If one of us was trapped, so was the other. I decided I may have to throw away everything, but I could do it for Mikey. I loved my brother so dearly that I would die for him to live just another day. This plan was brutal and insane. I didn't know if it was because I hadn't slept in three days, or if I was crazy. Honestly, I can never tell myself. I looked over at the clock. The sting of the red numbers burned my eyes. 3:00 am, great.
"Oh he'll survive," I whispered to myself as a dialed my friend Ray.
He picked up half asleep and kind of pissed, "Can I help you?"
"Ray, Mikey's going through a lot of shit right now and I think we need to do something about it."
He sighed. "I'm listening."
"Pack up a bag of all your clothes, some cash, and anything else you think you'll need. Call Frank and tell him the same. Things are going to change."
I hung up and pulled a suitcase out from under my bed. I threw in a bunch of clothes and art supplies, followed by my sketch pad and a photo of my parents. I zipped it up and threw it in the corner of my room. I creaked open my door so no one could hear and crept into Mikey's room. I threw together a couple of his favorite things and some clothes. He rolled over.
"h-hu.. Gerard, wha-?" he mumbled.
I shushed him, "Go back to sleep Mike."
I snuck back into my room and put his bag with mine, sat back down and waiting 'til morning.