"Beep. Beep.beeeeep.beeeeeeeeep.beep.beep."

My hands grip onto my pillow tightly and I dig my face further into it. It's still not enough to muffle the noise. What the fuck. Doesn't anyone know what sleep is??! To say I'm furious would be an understatement. My annoyance is palpable. My eyes stride over to my clock, it's way too early to be up on a Sunday morning. Where is that noise even coming from?!

I can tell everyone upstairs is awake by the footsteps shuffling around the house. Not that anyone could sleep with the ruckus coming from god knows where. I ungracefully trip at the top of the stairs, well hey, I like to make a noticeable entrance.

"That's what you get for running in the house," my mother snickers, "When I decided to have a kids I didn't know I was also signing up for a zoo." She walks off down the hall. Sometimes I wish she didn't think out loud so much. I shrug it off and grab a carton of OJ from the fridge and take a few gulps, then passing it over to Mike who proceeded to do the same before quickly putting it back. We wouldn't want to deal with our mom's lecture about how 'glasses exist for a reason' and 'you spread germs when you drink right out of the carton'.

Just as the fridge door is closed my dad walks in. "Well look who's finally up!" Hmmm wait, let me guess.... Me? . I look at the ceiling for a split second in exasperation. "So kid, what do you say me and you head over to our new neighbors house and offer to help unload their boxes?" I go over to the window and sure enough I see a moving truck parked there. I guess the beeping earlier was caused by it backing up in their driveway.

"Uhhh, quick I gotta come up with something.... I got nothing. Crap, can't he see I'm tired and grouchy? , sure dad!" I raise my voice a bit at the end, trying to sound excited. Well, I can't say I'm not curious at all about who these people are...

We got dressed and headed over right after breakfast, we knocked on their door and waited in anticipation, I don't know what I was expecting but they were not it. An old couple in their mid-sixties I'd say, welcomed us in, I could smell cookies baking in the oven. While my dad made small talk I just looked around their living room. Unlike most old folks, their walls weren't ugly dull colors of blues and greys, they were bright yellow with worn out posters of bands like The Beetles and ACDC. Woah, since when are old people able to be cool?. I saw picture frames on the walls but they hadn't been filled yet, I pile of old vinyls on the floor next to an epic sound system. There's no way this is all theirs.

"Like what you see?" The grey haired man asked me, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

"Yeah! This is great!! I'm surprised at how cool this is considering.... You know... " I didn't know how to word it so it didn't sound rude but luckily I was interrupted.

"Considering we're so old?" He chuckled.

"W-well... Yeah.." I stared at my shoelaces.

"Son, you're only as old as your heart. Remember that!" He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled warmly, I nodded my head,smiling as well. It had been a while since I'd smiled for real, it felt good. "So, how about you and your dad give us a hand unloading that truck now while Margaret finishes preparing tea?" Did I hear that right? Preparing tea? I hadn't payed much attention until now but they definitely had an accent. Hmmm, maybe they're from good old England...

...

They sure did have a lot of boxes, but I didn't mind. We had fun joking around and getting to know each other. Even though it was hard work, there was nothing serious about it. I found out that Robert, who demanded we call him Bob, had just gotten a new job as a car salesman and that that's why they had moved. But what caught my interest was when he started talking about his old job of co-manager of a record label. Why the hell would anyone leave a job like that to sell cars? The money sure isn't the answer to this one! He told me all about the work he did 'back in the old days' as he called it.

"Where exactly are you from?" I asked, trying to satisfy my curiosity.

"Hertford," he sigh, "home sweet home eh? A lovely place that was." He answered sounding almost nostalgic. I wouldn't blame him, I'd been there a few times and it was in fact lovely.

"Do you ever miss it?"

"You know son, good old Hert hasn't gone anywhere so who am I complain about missing it? It should be the other way around!" He laughed loudly, "anyway, home is where your family is,and today, this is where my family is. You see, me and Maggie are just glad to have each other and the sun shinning down on this beautiful day."

I didn't know what to say so I just nodded once more and passed him another box. I could tell I was going to like these people.

The warm afternoon went on quickly, taking short breaks every now and then for some cookies and iced tea which were delicious. Mags was quite the cook! When we were done we said our goodbyes and let them to their unpacking.

"Thanks a lot sir! He said to my father, you've got a great kid there, he's welcome to come over anytime!"
"Were very welcome to have been of some help Robert" my dad answered, purposely using his proper name to sound 'classy' or whatever, more like snobbish if you ask me. Bob rolled his eyes discreetly and winked at me when he saw me notice. "Also you know where we live if ever you need anything," my dad continued.

During the short walk back to our house I thought back to my afternoon. "Thanks for tagging me along dad." He put a strong arm around my shoulders and we continued walking silently.

---

It was later that night and I was sitting real quietly on my bed, procrastinating instead of sleeping right away. I heard a soft knock and knew it could only be one person. "Come in Mike".

He stood in front of me, coat in hand and his back pack slung over his shoulder. "Wha-" I couldn't get the words out, he glanced around my room, avoiding the purpose of his presence. His eyes finally met mine, like sealing fate.

"I'm sorry." Those two words were so soft I almost didn't hear them, but I did. What I didn't do was ask him why, I knew.

"How long?" He'll be back soon, I can stay strong for a while. He won't be gone for long.

As if he were reading my thoughts he shook his head.

"What are you saying?!" A hint of panic had made it's way into my voice. Don't panic, calm down, it'll be okay.

"I'm not coming back."

I shook my head no, my limbs were shaking and I couldn't see straight, still I managed to stand up and be engulfed in his arms. I felt so selfish, begging him to stay somewhere he didn't belong, somewhere he was miserable. I was selfish and at that moment I didn't care. I needed him and he was leaving me. His arms tightened softly before letting go and walking out, stoping at my door without turning back he whispered he was sorry, the last thing I heard him say before the front door slammed shut and his car left our driveway.

I fell to the floor, how original. my back against the wall and cried, gripping at strands of my brown hair. He's gone. It's over.

That night was one of the longest I've ever had to live through, huddled on my wooden floor with a blanket on my shoulders, I did my best to silence my sobs. All I knew was that I'd never felt so alone. Usually I'd have my big brother to run to when I'd feel like this but not this time. I tried calling him, convince him to come back but he never picked up.

He had left and I couldn't accept it.

Notes

So I'm not some super smart kid who knows how to do this sorta thing, it's just for fun :P So if you have any advice then tell me okay! :)