Mickey’s POV:

I left before Alex could wake up. No, it wasn’t like we had another one night stand. It was nothing like that. I didn’t even sleep in his room, let alone his bed. His mom was nice enough to give me the guest bedroom. Once again, I managed to sleep like a baby. Only, this time I didn’t wake up when I naturally did along with a hangover to remind me of my mistakes. I actually woke up super early for once.

I had already told Mrs. Gaskarth that I wanted to leave early the next morning, so she was up around the same time I also woke up. This time she didn’t make me her amazing English breakfast, which I truly understood. Number one, it was a school day. Number two, it was super early. And number three, I wasn’t drunk. But having a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice was already more than what I got on many days. Usually, I didn’t even have time for breakfast in the morning.

So, let me tell you why I was leaving so early if it wasn’t because Alex and I had a one night stand. Well, it all had to do with the day before… the night a little included. I didn’t really have anywhere to go when I left through my bedroom window, so I drove around a little bit trying to find a solution. The only solution I could think of after a lot of consideration was driving to school and sleep in my car there. It worked out all fine, but it meant I entered the school as soon as the doors opened. To say the teachers were surprised to see me was an understatement. I just told them I had a project to work on and needed the library. So that’s where I spent all my time until class started. The only problem was that to make my lie believable, I needed to come early again today. I just used the same excuse on Mrs. Gaskarth. It worked out all fine.

Since I didn’t stay in the school parking lot this time, I actually had the space and time to put on my makeup. It was more than awkward doing that in the school bathroom. Reapplying was easy to do, but not starting from scratch. Of course, I didn’t have all the stuff I needed at Alex’s house, so the only thing I could do was replace my usual liquid eyeliner with a small line of eyeliner pencil that would have brought me back to my short emo phase if done too thick. It didn’t look half that bad and was better than nothing. I could just feel all the stares the day before, and they weren’t because people were intimidated.

Despite my broken arm, I managed to drive to school, to Alex’s house, and now back to school again. It was only quite dangerous when I tried to switch gears, but I had driven in worse conditions before. Apparently screaming ‘Jesus take the wheel’ and putting your hands up when you’re drunk out of your mind is dangerous. I don’t really see it. I mean, I didn’t crash, so that said something.

When it was a more reasonable time for students to show up at school, I removed myself from the library and went over to my locker as if I had just walked in like the rest of them. Nobody really raised their head and noticed that I had been there for way longer. Alex, however, was quick to find me.

“The fuck?” He glared at me and crossed his arms over his chest. “I came downstairs to find out that you already left! At first I was mad because I thought you left without me, but then I find out you left before I even woke up?! The fuck!”

“Calm down,” I rolled my eyes a little, thinking it was a little funny how he was overreacting. “It’s not like I sneaked out of your room after we had sex.”

“I know, but I was so confused that I couldn’t find you anywhere. I thought I dreamed about everything that happened last evening.”

“Oh, come on, Alex. At least me being there did cause your mom to make both of us lunch,” I reasoned, trying to find something positive for him to look at.

“And I appreciate that, but I really thought I had had some kind of dream.” He still tried to convince me of whatever he was feeling. “I was actually kind of disappointed until my mom told me you already left, that was when I started feeling betrayed.”

“What, did you wake up before the kiss?” I smirked, amused with what was happening.

“Well, if I recall correctly, there never even was--”

I firmly pressed my lips against his in a chaste kiss to give him what was taken away from us before. It was quite a big step for me to show affection like this in public, especially since it was in school. That was why it didn’t last any longer than one second. Even with that short amount of time, I already felt like the entire student body had seen it.

“Anyway, my next class is on the other side of the building, so I’m going to start making my way there,” I told him and left to let him think about what I had just so randomly done.

That night, I needed a different place to stay. I didn’t care where it was, as long as I didn’t have to go home. It wasn’t that I was afraid after kissing him, I just couldn’t stay at Alex’s for longer than I was welcomed. One night seemed like something acceptable, but I couldn’t stay there longer. Not only would my lies no longer work, but I would also be imposing. I thought it was pretty rude if I wanted to stay there longer. I know… Mickey Kingsley actually thinks something is rude, what a surprise!

So, instead, I went to the one place I never wanted to go to again.

I parked my car in front of what seemed to be one-story but actually had two ‘half stories’ (one story took up half of the house, the second was only raised a few feet and took up the other half, the two connected by a few steps), and hesitantly got out. Before I locked my car and went up to the front door, I reached into the back and grabbed the bag I had also taken with me when I was still at Alex’s. It was a simple overnight bag, and I had no idea how long I was going to stay here, but I had more than enough stuff in other bags to keep me going for a while.

Once I was at the door, I took a deep breath and wondered if this really was the right option. Before I decided to change my mind and have the problem of not being able to go anywhere, I opened the door, knowing that it was unlocked and I could just walk in. As I stepped inside, it first seemed like nobody was home. However, when I listened carefully, I could hear the TV playing something. I looked to my left, just beyond the three-foot long wall, and into the living room part of the floor. There he was.

“Hey… dad…” I tried putting on a smile, having to force the word out of my mouth. I could barely call him that, everything inside me tried to stop it from coming out. But if I wanted to stay here, I needed to push through the urge to throw up.

He turned around and looked over the backrest of the single recliner in front of the small old TV. “Monica?” He laughed, looking me up and down. “I didn’t think your mother would want you to see me anymore.”

“That isn’t true.” I shook my head and slowly put my bag down to show I wasn’t leaving. “She just doesn’t want me to see you when you’re drunk or high.”

“Well, you’re in luck. I’m neither right now.” He turned back in his seat and stared at the pixelated screen once again.

But I could see the three beer bottles surrounding the ashtray that was holding buds from more than one cigarette. I didn’t know if he had taken any drugs, but there was no way he could have been sober. If I was correct, I knew exactly what was going to happen in the next five minutes. I had most of my life to figure that out.

Before he could even finish his sentence sounding like ‘pass me another--’, I was already stood next to him with another bottle of beer just taken from the fridge, already opened with the opener he had on the filthy table beside him. Just the fact that he used the word ‘another’ told me that those three beers had been consumed recently. I could just sense that he wasn’t going to move his ass from that recliner the entire evening.

Knowing there was no point staying downstairs, I picked up my bag again and went up the stairs. Immediately to the right was the small bathroom, straight ahead was Michael's bedroom, and to the left was my old room. There was only one place for me to stay, and that was the room to my left. So, in I went.

It looked exactly the same as how I had left it seven years before, not counting the night I should have stayed but drunkenly stumbled over to Alex's instead. The poster clippings and other random pink artifacts were still clinging to the walls, trying to hide away the disgusting cream color. My old white dresser was still pushed up against a wall, my pastel pink desk right next to it, only now neither had to hold any belongings. I would have expected Michael to have at least changed the bed so guests could come over, if they ever came over. But, no. It was still my twin-sized bed with a white headboard that I tried to decorate with flowers drawn in different types of pen. I guess you could say that was where my hobby of drawing tattoos started.

Speaking of which, it was exactly what I did the entire time I was up in the room. I only went out once to go see if there was any food I could eat. Unfortunately, everything in the fridge was expired, and the two cabinets were empty except for a few things. It was just a better idea to sneak back up and act like I never came downstairs.

But Michael, who was now surrounded by six bottles, noticed me before I could disappear up the steps and slurred, “hey, Monica! Maybe we could go out for ice cream or something tomorrow.”

“Sure thing, dad… sure thing,” I sighed, knowing that it was just an empty promise. He had gotten my child-aged hopes up so often, only to not be there when I finished school. By now, I knew better than to believe what he told me.

Notes

Reuploaded this because I couldn't edit it anymore :(
Next chapter should be up in under half an hour if anybody is disappointed in me.