CHAPTER 17

Mike wasn't stupid, he knew what kind of danger he had been in and he could understand Harvey's reaction but calling Trevor a bad influence and trying to forbid him from seeing his best friend made him angry.
Harvey might be his father but he had just entered his life and he had no right to tell him that he couldn't hang out with his best, and only, friend.
Mike walked away from the conversation, yelled that he hated Harvey and then slammed the door, three thing he knew would have pissed his dad, James, off and he held his breath, listening for any footsteps approaching his room but there was none.
His dad would have rushed after him and forced him to apologize and finish the conversation but luckily Harvey didn't do that.
Mike threw himself on the bed and got his phone out of his pocket and saw that he had a text from Trevor.

"You ok dude? Hope you don't tell anyone, my bro could get in trouble."

The text made him feel guilty, partly because he had thought that Trevor wasn't a good friend since he hadn't asked him if he was okay before and partly because he had told Harvey was had happened and if the man decided to tell someone else then Trevor's brother could get in serious trouble.

"I'm okay. I promise, I won't tell anyone."
He texted back, hoping that Harvey would keep his mouth shut.

The next morning Mike gave Harvey the silent treatment, perhaps it was a little childish but every time he looked at the man he heard his voice in his head telling him that Trevor wasn't his friend, that he was nothing but an anchor dragging him down.
So Mike stayed angry, partly because he really wanted Harvey to know how angry he still was but also because he was afraid that if he tried to talk, his anger would take over and he would say things that would only make things worse.
Unsurprisingly Harvey decided to ground him again but this time he spent the afternoon at his grammy, since Harvey didn't trust him to be home alone with no one to make sure that he stayed put and since he refused to spend more time with Harvey than necessary.
Mike talked to his grammy, even if she made it clear that she was on Harvey's side in this.
It was the illness that kept him from giving her the silent treatment too, just the thought of her dying while he was ignoring her killed him.

The week went by and the silent treatment continued and it was starting to get uncomfortable to be at the apartment.
Mike was close to caving several times but he managed to persist.
He didn't really know what his goal was anymore, was he waiting for an apology or was he just trying to prove something?
He really didn't know.
Friday came along and as the last class of the day ended, Trevor showed up by his side.

"Me and my brother are going to the cinema and you're coming with us."
"Trevor, I can't I'm still grounded."
"So what?"

Trevor looked at him and his gaze somehow made Mike feel small.

"Harvey wouldn't be happy."
"Who cares?"

Trevor said while shaking his head in disbelief.
When Mike remained silent, Trevor grabbed his shoulders.

"Who's more important to you? Me or Harvey?"

The question made Mike feel bad because how could he ask something like that?
Sure Trevor was his best friend and they had known each other for years but Harvey was the only parent, and together with his grammy the only family, that he had left.

"Is he more important to you than me?"

Trevor pressured when he didn't receive an answer.
Mike slowly shook his head and Trevor lit up.

"Good. Come on, he should be here any minute now."

Trevor walked towards the exit and Mike followed while Harvey's words echoed in his head:
"He is an anchor dragging you down."
This time the words didn't make him angry, it made him think that maybe Harvey hadn't been that far off after all.
They stood outside the school waiting for Trevor's brother for what felt like an eternity.
Trevor was slowly losing his patience, whispering swear words and kicking at some small stones on the ground, while Mike tried to tell him that he didn't want to come, but every time Trevor looked at him it was like an invisible hand showed up and pressed the words back.
Trevor's phone started to buzz in his pocket.

"Hope he has a good explanation."

Trevor muttered as he got his phone out, sighing when he read the name on the display.

"Hi mom."

Trevor greeted before he listened to what his mother had to say, his face getting paler and paler for every second.
By the time he hung up, his face resembled a sheet of paper, his hand shook like crazy and he looked like he was going to throw up.

"Trevor, what's wrong?"
"My brother is in the hospital."

He said, wiping away a tear from his cheek.

"He was driving drunk and crashed into another car. He's badly injured, he's in a coma and the other driver...she..."

Trevor trailed off, unable to finish the sentence but Mike understood that the other driver hadn't made it and he felt sick.
If his brother hadn't been in that accident, he would have been driving drunk with them again and in another universe they could've been in that car, they could've been in a coma too or worse they could have been dead.
Mike could have risked his life a second time because he let Trevor pressure him into things and because he lacked the courage to say no.
The thought of what could have happened hit him like a ton of bricks and he got a sudden urge to apologize to Harvey.
Trevor was his best friend and he loved him but Trevor also pressured him into risking his life.
Mike stayed with Trevor until his dad showed up, just because Trevor was a bad friend didn't mean that he had to be one as well.
As soon as the shocked Trevor got into his dad's car, Mike hurried to his bike and set off to his destination.

Mike mumbled a greeting at Donna before he walked into Harvey's office.
He sat down on the couch while collecting himself.
Finally, he managed to find his words and apologized to Harvey and told him what had happened.
He also told him that he wouldn't ditch his best friend but he would start to think for himself.
Mike hugged Harvey, partly to show that he wasn't at all angry anymore and partly because he just really needed a hug.
Harvey somehow seemed to sense that he was still pretty shaken up by the fate of Trevor's brother and the thoughts of what could have happened because he closed the folder on his desk and suggested that he left early so that they could head home.
At first it was slightly tense between them but by the time the pizza arrived they talked to each other as if the week of silence had never happened.
After dinner they easily slipped back into their old habit of watching a classic movie together, this time watching Psycho.

When he returned to school that Monday he immediately noticed that Trevor wasn't there, something that caused him to feel anxious.
He hated when Trevor wasn't in school since that meant that he was forced to spend the day alone, something that made the day feel twice as long and twice as boring.
Today however turned out to be different because when he was sitting in the cafeteria, eating his lunch all alone, he heard someone talk to him.

"Can we sit here?"

He looked up in disbelief since no one apart from Trevor had ever been willing to sit with him.
In front of him stood two students, a boy and a girl, that he vaguely recognized.
They were a year older than him and he had only seen them in the hallway before but had never talked to them.

"Yeah sure."

He answered and the girl smiled as they sat down opposite him.
Mike wanted to say something but he suddenly felt very shy and awkward, something that the girl seemed to sense.

"I'm Rachel and this is Harold."

She said before holding out her hand for a formal handshake and Mike smiled as he took her hand and shook it.

"I'm Mike."

At first their conversation was stiff and awkward but soon they found something to bond over.
Mike discovered that Rachel's father was a lawyer too and Rachel was eager to follow in his footsteps while Harold wanted to be a lawyer too, well he was still deciding between being a lawyer and a zookeeper, which had been the main reason behind Rachel and Harold's friendship.
By the time lunch was over, they were talking like they had known each other all of their lives and Mike was reluctant to separate from them, afraid that after his they wouldn't talk to each other again.

As the school day ended, he found out that he had worried over nothing.
Rachel and Harold were waiting for him by the exit, asking him if he wanted to hang out and he said yes, eager to hang out with people who wouldn't steal video games, smoke or hang out with drunken teenagers.
After a short discussion they decided to visit Harvey, both of his new friends eager to see a new firm since they had only visited Rachel's dad before.
It was a nice feeling to have something to show off and to have them show genuine interest, with Trevor it had always been about him and he had rarely shown interest for things that Mike liked.

"This is Donna, she's just a secretary."

He told them while giving Donna a big grin.

"Just a secretary? I will have you know that I am the foundation of this firm, without me it all falls apart."

Donna answered confidently before she muttered "just a secretary" to herself as if it was the most stupid thing she had ever heard.
Mike continued to grin and as he glanced back at his new friends, he saw that they were wearing amused smiles.
He knocked on the door before entering Harvey's office.

"And here's the lawyer with the biggest ego in New York."

Mike said, feeling the need to be a little cheeky in front of Rachel and Harold, something that caused Harvey to look up at him with a surprised face.

"Hey Mike, what are you doing here?"
"I'm just showing your work to my new friends, that's okay right?"

He asked realizing that he hadn't even bothered to ask if it was okay that he showed up with two other kids in tow.

"It's fine, I'm just glad you're making new friends."

Harvey said and even if he didn't say it Mike heard the addition "new friends that isn't Trevor."

"Well Harvey, this is Rachel and Harold. Rachel's dad is a lawyer too."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, my dad's Robert Zane."
"Ah I see, so you're here to check out the competition?"
"Yes Mr. Specter I am here to steal all the confidential information."

It seemed like Rachel and Harvey immediately hit it off, unlike Harvey and Trevor who hadn't worked at all, and it didn't take long before Rachel, Harold and Harvey was discussing lawyer stuff that even Mike didn't fully understand.
All in all the visit at the firm went great, except for the part when Harold returned after a bathroom break and looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The poor kid had been unlucky enough to run into Louis and the man had managed to completely terrify him.

A whole week went by without Trevor returning to school, something that didn't bother Mike at all.
In fact he was happy about it because he was just getting closer and closer to Harold and Rachel and he had no idea how things were going to be once Trevor returned to the mix.
Trevor would most likely not like his new friends and Mike didn't want to choose between them, so he hoped that Trevor would spend as much time with his brother as possible.
As the school ended on Friday, he said goodbye to his friends before getting on his bike and speeding to his grammy's house.
He had decided to spend the afternoon there since Harold and Rachel both had other plans while Harvey was working late.
He couldn't wait to tell her about his new friends, knowing that she had been eager for him to find other friends than Trevor.

"Grammy, I have something to tell you."

He called out as he entered the house but stopped as he received no answer.
The house was eerily quiet and it smelled like burnt food, something that immediately made him feel that something was off.
With a bad feeling in his stomach he walked into the kitchen where he saw his grandmother lying motionless on the floor while the cookies in the oven looked more like pieces of coal than cookies.