Epilogue
+ Epilogue +

Enjoy! :)


A thin orange glow hovered over the city, reflecting the light of the buildings and light traffic into the vast dome of darkness that had been creeping over the skies for a good few hours now. Minute orbs began twinkling through the milky shadow, indicating that the warm summer evening was now upon the hills. Through the trees, indented in each hill, were giant houses with large extending yards in a peacefully secluded area away from the noise and traffic of the city.

Quietly, the breeze took off through the hills and came to rest around the small get together of one family and their friends, filling the night with laughter and soft conversations which seemed to echo off of the surrounding hills. A light splashing of water and a child’s giggle was heard through the large window of the kitchen where Anna stood, placing cases upon cases of soda and beer onto the centre island.

It was evident that this was to be a long evening, especially since Chester had started the barbeque only thirty minutes ago, filling the air with the delicious scent of steak and various sorts of ribs. Of course knowing him, there’d be barbeque sauce squirted everywhere and Anna knew she’d be the one cleaning up after everyone left.

The past six months had been extremely peaceful and not to mention wonderful as the days continued to pass. The family had seemed to have grown stronger and more connected with each other…well except when Xander and Laura were fighting and smacking each other over who gets the remote control. And then there was Mike who never really ended the argument but instead joined in and caused an even greater stress over which show they were going to watch. Anna smiled and shook her head at the memory, knowing full well that there were times where Mike was mature and a very good man, becoming instantly protective and caring over his family.

And of course, there were the days when he would become completely immature and helpless, leaving clothes all over the house along with dirty dishes, soda cans and pizza boxes. Anna never quite understood why he could never pick anything up after making the mess…but assumed it was probably just some male inability to get off the sofa to help with daily chores…especially when there was a very ‘important’ football game on. Anna picked up one very large and very heavy case of beer and nearly dropped it before two strong hands came out of nowhere and grabbed the case, resting it on the centre island.

“ You should be relaxing outside with the others…” Mike stated warmly with a sideways smile, eyeing his wife intently.

Anna rolled her eyes and grabbed for the case once more, but stopped as Mike grabbed her hands in a loving grasp.

“ Michael, I am fully capable of carrying a case of beer out into the yard.” She explained lightly, hiding her smile.

“ You’re supposed to be taking it easy Anna. I’ll bring the beer and soda while you go out there and sit down.” He replied with his usual protective tone.

“ And I’ve already told you, I’m fine. I can handle this.” She chuckled, shaking her head at his stubbornness.

Of course it was normal for him to be stubborn and overly protective during this time…so he usually ended up getting the final word in and persuading her to listen.

“ I know YOU can handle this…” he muttered, placing his hand gently against her bulging belly.

“ But can my little baby girl handle her mother running around, carrying heavy objects?”

“ You know, I have done this before…” she chuckled lightly, sensing Mike’s worries.

During the past six months…he had been nothing BUT worried although it was to be expected since he already showed a deep caring for this child.

“ I know you’ve done this before…so have I and every time you run around like this, doing everything for everyone…it drives me insane. Just sit down and relax before you send me into a big ball of anxiety.” He explained softly, stroking through her hair.

“ Mike, I think you’re the one who needs to relax.” She replied, watching his dark eyes soften at her words.

“ Okay I’m sorry…I’m pestering you, aren’t I?”

“ Not anymore than usual. Besides, it’s a good thing you’re so worried. That just means you’re a great father…and an even better husband.” She explained quietly, kissing him softly on the cheek.

He gave a weak smile and grabbed the beer and soda, motioning for her to walk towards the sliding glass doors which lead out into the spacious yard.

“God, I just feel so useless right now.”

“ Well you are useless Anna.” He laughed, receiving a small frown from his wife.

“ Well, not entirely useless. You ARE carrying my child.” He added, following her out onto the stone walkway which led to the deck and pool.

“ That’s what you think…” she muttered under her breath, giving him a mischievous smile.

“ Ha, ha, very funny. Chester take this beer and soda before I drop it all into the pool.” Mike replied, shooting Anna a dirty look.

Chester grabbed the cases and dropped them onto the stone deck beside the barbeque and laughed as Rob did a cannonball right into the pool, dousing the surrounding ground with chlorinated pool water. Xander squealed with excitement and clapped his hands, jumping into Rob’s arms while splashing him lightly from the fall.

“ AGAIN!” he shouted.

“ Again? I just jumped in five times.” He chuckled, lowering his eyes with fatigue.

“ I wasn’t watching that time.” Xander replied, splashing the water around with his feet.

“ You were so!”

“ Was not!”

“ Well if you weren’t watching, then how did you know I did a cannonball?” he asked with an arched brow.

Xander placed his finger to his lips in thought and frowned a little, thinking about the sense of Rob’s words.

“ Uh…”

“ Exactly! You’re such a little liar.” Rob growled and ruffled his soaked little spikes roughly, causing him to erupt in a fit of giggles.

“ Nah, he’s not a liar. He’s just manipulative…just like his Dad, right Mike?” Brad asked, titling his head up from the lawn chair.

Mike sat down beside Anna and stuck out his tongue while Joe jumped into the pool, splashing Brad who had once been comfortably dry.

“ Hey Hahn! I’m trying to relax over here!” he shouted with a small frown. Joe emerged from the blanket of water and shook his hair out, splashing Brad even more, just to annoy him of course.

“ Well then maybe you should go sit on the other side of the yard if you wanna be so dry!’ he shouted back with a laugh.

“ I can’t now! You washed all the bug repellent off of me and if I go over there, I’ll be eaten alive.” He growled with dark eyes.

Joe looked up at Dave who was walking slowly past Brad and they both winked at each other in acknowledgement. Suddenly, Dave pushed Brad into the pool and everyone burst out laughing at the sight. Xander doggy paddled his way over towards a very angry looking Brad and jumped onto his back like he was riding a whale.

“ Now the bugs ain’t gonna getcha cuz you’re all wet!”

Everyone smiled at Xander and even Brad’s eyes had softened to the small voice that instantly broke the tension.

“ Well I guess you’re right Xander…” he replied with a small smile.

“ Yup I am!” he agreed, which caused everyone to basically just laugh at how adorable he was.

“ Hey guys, food’s almost done! Gather ‘round the fire!” Chester shouted happily, clicking his tongs and holding them up high in the air.

“ You mean the table right?” Joe asked, eyeing the barbeque thoughtfully at the mouth watering meat.

“ Or…in modern speak, the TABLE.” Chester smirked, grabbing a cooking sheet to place the meat on.

“ Good, ‘cause I was looking around for a fire and I didn’t see o-.”

“ –Joe, just shut up and eat.” Dave muttered, giving him a friendly smack on the back.

“ Right…” he replied as everyone gathered around the table and sat down.

Mike glanced around for a short moment and then pulled out Anna’s chair, allowing her space to sit down. “ Be right back.” He muttered softly.

“ Where are you off to?” she asked as Chester placed a plate down in front of her.

“ I’m gonna go tell Laura’s dinner’s ready.” He replied, receiving a nod from Anna. Slowly, he left the table and walked off the stone deck onto the plush green grass. The walk through the yard was peaceful as a small breeze began ruffling his spiked hair.

He dug his hands into his pockets and smiled to himself when he spotted the young girl sitting by herself, surrounded by grass and various wildflowers…the wildflower garden to be exact. This had become her new favorite spot to be in when she wanted to be alone with her thoughts or just basically relax.

Mike inhaled the wild burning scent of flowers and stopped beside her, staring out at the view of hills below.

“ Hey…” he said softly, careful not to disturb her thoughts.

“ Hi.” She replied lightly, staring up at him.

“ Mind if I sit down?”

“ Be my guest.” She breathed.

Mike bent down and flopped into the grass, rubbing his hands against his pants in an attempt to dry them off from the damp grass. A short moment of silence fell between them as Mike watched her every move…every muscle in her angelic face twitch. It was clear that there was something on her mind.

“ Dinner’s ready. I think Chester made enough meat to serve the entire city.” He muttered with a sideways smile.

“ Yeah…I’ll be there in a minute.” She replied quietly, staring down at each individual blade of trembling grass. Mike frowned slightly, watching her eyes scanning the lawn in thought. It took a few more minutes of silence before she finally lifted her head to stare at her father, whom she would have expected to be back at the table.

“ What?”

“ Wanna talk?” he asked quietly, watching her eyes lower slowly.

“ Yeah, you go to prison for nine months and you don’t even get a tattoo? What’s wrong with you?” she demanded.

Mike chuckled to himself and lowered his head, plucking at the grass in thought. “ I wasn’t really keen on having a burned piece of metal dug into my flesh.”

“ Don’t you ever do anything spontaneous?” she asked with an arched brow.

“ Yeah, getting your mother pregnant with you was spontaneous.” He replied casually, leaning forward with interest.

“ Four years ago you said it was a mistake.”

“ Four years ago I was young and stupid.”

“ Young, stupid AND drunk.” She added with a small smile.

Mike nodded slightly and ran a hand through his hair, feeling the breeze dying down.

“ You know, I think your little sister is the only child who wasn’t planned after the alcohol was consumed.” He muttered with a frown.

“ That’s because you don’t drink anymore right?”

“ Right.”

“ So you won’t try to hurt us again?”

Mike turned his head slowly towards her and stared into her shimmering brown eyes, reflecting the moon’s light. So that’s what she had been thinking about this whole time. It seemed sort of strange that she’d be asking this now since all of the abuse was over with. Mike hadn’t even thought about it for the longest time…until now.

“ Laura…you know I’d never hurt you again…” he whispered, lowering his eyes with concern.

“ You say that now…”

“ No, I’m saying it forever. I’m done with this bullshit. I almost lost you guys…it nearly killed me.” He explained.

Laura gave a heavy sigh and poked the ground, feeling the dirt bubble around her finger. She believed him…she really did. Perhaps the only reason why she was thinking about all of this was because she still felt abandoned by his actions…and maybe she needed closure for what had happened.

“ You know, I try to forget…to forget what you did to us. Sometimes it seems like some distant memory that doesn’t even belong in my mind anymore and sometimes its like a nightmare, constantly playing in my head. I do believe that you are deeply sorry for what you have done…and I still love you even though you caused us harm. But the one thing I just can’t let go of is the fact that I still feel abandoned by what you did. I feel that you’re not all ‘there’ anymore. You know, you’re still my Dad…but some things about you have changed and its like we don’t have that bond anymore…like we used to.” She explained shakily, tearing her eyes away from him.

Mike watched her shiver slightly through the chilly breeze and he wrapped his arms around her protectively, feeling her leaning her head down against him. Slowly and with ease, the sound of his melodic voice faded into the breeze, creating a warm barrier around her.

You said you’d be there
And though I haven’t seen you
Are you still there…

I cried out with no reply
And I can’t feel you
By my side

So I’ll hold tight
To what I know
You’re here…
And I’m never alone…

That song…he had sung that same song to her four years ago as a promise that he’d never leave her. In that moment, the promise still held true and he was here. Perhaps he was always leaving for brief periods of time, such as tours and album recordings as well as prison…but he had always come back. That was the one promise he had always kept, even when he had lost himself within the alcohol and stress. And it was in this moment, that she felt the most close to him as she had ever felt.

“ I love you Laura…that’s NEVER going to change…even if I do.” He whispered, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.

Laura instantly gave a sigh of relief and comfort, replying with the only thing left she had to say.

“ I love you to…”

Mike smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her up.

“ Shall we eat?” he asked cheerfully, smiling with that famous grin.

“ Bet your ass…” she muttered casually, feeling the hunger pains growing within her stomach. Mike chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, dragging her towards the deck where the rest of the family had already begun eating.

“ Guy’s finally decided to join us?” Chester nearly shouted while cramming steak into his mouth.

“ Yeah, I can see you didn’t exactly wait for us to get here…” Mike chuckled, shaking his head and sitting down beside Anna. Laura sat down and grabbed a rib, digging into it hungrily as the other joked around and tossed sodas at each other. Mike sat back and watched his friends, the same band members who always stuck by him when the going got tough.

He watched as they joked around and laughed with each other casually, and began having sword fights with the steak knives. He then turned his vision towards Xander who was munching on a corner of a small steak, his face absolutely covered in barbeque sauce. He then watched as Laura attacked him with a napkin and listened distantly as he whined with annoyance, attempting to swat her away despite her growing giggles.

He turned his head and watched Anna laughing at Joe who had accidentally poked himself in the eye with the end of his fork and was now calling off the sword fight with Brad. His eyes slowly trailed down to Anna’s growing belly where his unborn little girl was located. He watched Anna’s hand rubbing her belly gently as she ate and laughed, still not able to get over the sight of Joe holding his eye and whining in pain.

She turned her head and glanced at Mike who had not yet touched his food and had a distant look upon his face.

“ Mike?” she asked softly, poking his shoulder.

He blinked quickly and stared at her, watching her smile fading.

“ You okay?’ she asked, choking down the last of her laughs. He gave a small, warm smile and nodded, looking around the table once more at his family and friends then put his arm around her shoulder, feeling comfortable and at ease.

“ Yeah…I’m fine…”

{Song: NEVER ALONE} *cough*
{Artist: Barlow Girl}

AUTHOR'S NOTE
**************************************************

Woot, the epilogue is finished...and so is the story!
Wow, THANK YOU ALL SOOO MUCH FOR READING AND REVIEWING! Your kind words have inspired my greatly and I don't think I would have been able to continue this had it not been for all the support. WOOTNESS!

On another note, I was asked a question by Linkinpark_fan about why Chester was driving through Mike's old neighborhood. Well, its simple: He was actually in a different neighborhood driving around and Mike spotted the smoke coming from the house so they ended up driving in that direction. I hope that cleared it up a bit.

On another, nother note lol, I was asked about a Never Alone 4...okay...well, *sighs* Gosh, I don't know about that just yet...maybe in the future. Right now I want to focus away from this fic and move into something different and hopefully just as entertaining or even more entertaining lol.

As for You Found Me 4..not gonna happen lol...

Thank you all so very much *cries and hugz you all in a dramatic fashion*

See ya! :)

Blazing Tears
~~ Omg...kay, here's the oober long chapter to explain the rest of that cliff hanger. Lets hope i can update without accidentally x-ing out again lol Enjoy! :)~~


“ Mike, where the hell are we going in such a hurry?” Chester demanded with panic, watching the fear rise within his best friend’s dark eyes.

Mike stared out the window and gripped onto the dashboard for dear life, feeling a numbing sensation of fear pumping through his blood.

“ Are you fucking blind? Do you not see that house up in flames up there?” he nearly screamed, feeling the sweat dotting his tanned brow. Chester squinted through the darkness and frowned a little…then his eyes slowly became wide at the sight he saw at the top of the hill.

The image of the house was all too familiar in his mind as he stared at it with intense anxiety, all the while pressing harder on the gas pedal.

“ Oh my fucking God…” Mike muttered with a small whimper, watching the flames growing larger and larger as they approached. Chester stopped the truck on the other side of the street with a jolt and stared up at the black smoke, billowing up into the murky skies. Why someone hadn’t phoned the fire department was beyond him.

“ Holy Christ…” he breathed in disbelief, as one of the upper windows crashed out and exploded in flames.

The whole scene in front of them looked absolutely horrific and chaotic. Flames ate and twisted at the wood around the house, causing the block to light up with a hazy orange glow. The grass on the front lawn was already being singed as the flames became hotter and more intense with each passing second. Looking at the hellish image before him, Chester could only think: How did this happen? Why did this happen? When did this happen? And then the true horror of the situation hit him like the intense heat of the blaze.

Anna, Laura and Xander were still in there, hence the vehicle still in the driveway. Before he even had a chance to react, he saw Mike already running towards the burning building like a bat out of hell. Chester instantly realized the danger they were in and slammed himself out of the vehicle, running towards Mike as fast as he could to stop him. With a firm hand, Chester grabbed Mike by the jacket and whirled him around away from the house.

“ Mike, stop! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Mike stared at him with such burning fear, he felt like his heart was on fire, just like the house.

“ Chester why hasn’t anyone phone the fire department? Why are they burning in there?” he demanded.

“ I’ll phone, you stay here-.”

“ –And what? Watch? No fucking way, I’m going in there!” He shouted irrationally and turned towards the house, only to be stopped by Chester once again.

“ Mike listen to yourself! You’re acting like a lunatic! Stay here and I’ll phone 911!” Chester shouted at him with a hot face, watching the scowl on Mike’s brow deepen with anger and impatience.

Somehow he knew Mike wasn’t going to listen to him and that this night would be a total disaster filled with crying, screaming and burning flesh. Of course Mike wasn’t thinking about all of that because he was only set on one thing…the one thing his maternal instinct was driving him to accomplish. He needed to go in there and get them out…and Chester knew he’d do it even though it was clearly a death wish. For all they knew, Anna and the kids were already burnt flesh in their beds with no hope for survival.

“ No, how about this Chester. You phone, I go in…” The Asian man stated through his teeth with warning, indicating that he’d do anything to get to his family.

“ Mike you stay fucking here, you got it? Besides, there’s a restraining order against you and even if you do happen to save them, you’ll go to jail!” Chester shouted and pulled out his phone, beginning to dial the number.

“ Fuck the restraining order, its better than watching them burn to death!”

“ Mike you can’t do this! You’ll kill yourself, and for what? A burned and lifeless ex-wife…a pile of ash in the basement and a bloodied up mound of twisted flesh in the upstairs bedroom? They’re dead Mike…look at those flames! Don’t stand here and scream at me that you can save them because you CAN’T! You are not that strong, no one is that strong! I want you to sit here and wait for the firemen to come so that at least the houses around this one can be saved!”

Mike stared at him silently as the flames continued to crackle and growl behind him, devouring the house with impeccable speed. He could save them…he knew he could. They were still alive…they had to be. This couldn’t be the end of everything they’d been going through. This couldn’t be the end of everything he had.

“ Let me save them-.”

“ –There’s nothing to fucking save!” Chester screamed, pointing towards the house as he held the phone to his ear.

“ 911, what’s your emergency?”

Mike grabbed Chester’s cell phone and pressed it against his ear, feeling the bubbling heat of anger and frustration burning his cheeks.

“ WHAT’S MY FUCKING EMERGENCY? I’LL TELL YOU LADY! MY FUCKING FAMILY IS BURNING IN THEIR HOUSE AND NO ONE HAS BOTHERED TO FUCKING MOVE THEIR LAZY ASSES OUT OF THE FUCKING FIRESTATION TO HELP THEM! YOU CAN FUCKING SEE THE FIRE FROM THE FUCKING HILL FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!” He screamed at the top of his lungs, feeling the tears burning his eyes.

“ Sir, I need you to calm down-.”

“ –FUCK YOU LADY!”

“ Sir, we are lacking the necessary busses in your area. You need to wait for one to become avail-.”

“ –GET ME A FUCKING FIRE TRUCK OUT HERE BEFORE I FUCKING SUE YOUR ASSES OFF!” Chester looked around as a swarm of people began emerging from their houses, gasping suddenly at the sight before them.

“ Sir, please calm down and wait for a bus to become available-.”

“ –I’M NOT FUCKING WAITING!”

With that, Mike threw the phone back at Chester and began running towards the house, with all eyes on him. Chester dropped the phone and ran after him and grabbed his jacket with such force it nearly catapulted Mike onto the ground.

“ Mike, you can’t go in there! There’s nothing you can do!”

“ THAT’S MY FUCKING FAMILY IN THERE!” He cried out suddenly, lashing out at Chester with everything he had in an attempt to make his way towards the house.

“ Mike stop, they’re gone…” Chester stated, holding Mike back with all his strength.

“ No…no…NO!” He cried, gripping Chester’s shirt tightly, soaking it with tears. The entire block watched in silent shock at the grieving father who was trying to reach his family before the house collapsed in on itself.

“ They’re still alive…I know they are…p-please…” he sobbed, gripping onto his best friend for dear life as the flames began to heat up his neck.

“ I’m sorry…” Chester whispered, staring up at the house, completely engulfed in a large orange blaze. As he stared into the inferno, something moving briefly caught his eye. He blinked quickly, listening to Mike’s weeping and stared up at the window where he had seen the movement. Perhaps the fire was playing tricks on him…but as he continued to watch the window, his eyes slowly widened as a pink form slammed against it, vibrating the glass.

It was a hand, desperately trying to escape the flames…even if it meant jumping through the window.

“ Oh shit…Christ…”

Mike looked at Chester suddenly, seeing his shocked and horrified expression and turned his vision towards the upstairs bedroom, watching the same thing Chester was with wide eyes.

“ M-Mike…do you see what I see?” he asked with trembling lips.

Mike blinked the heat away from his eyes and watched in absolute terror as the hand continued to bang on the window helplessly.

“ ANNA!” He screamed suddenly and pulled away from Chester, who was still in shock and therefore couldn’t do anything to stop him. Mike jumped up the concrete steps towards the front door and grabbed the hot doorknob, burning his hand slightly. Luckily, pain was not the first thing on his mind and he ignored it, bashing the door open with such force he could swear he popped his shoulder out of place.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the house was not the smoke but the superheated air, quickly burning his lungs. He couldn’t even open his eyes, due to the heat and stumbled around the front hallway, coughing through the billowing blackness. Thankfully, he knew his way around the house and began feeling his way towards the staircase, stumbling occasionally over pieces of debris and dirt.

Finally, he gripped something that seemed sturdy, but quickly realized that it was crumbling within his grip. The banister to the stairs had long ago been eaten up by the fire and was now cracking and crumbling to the steps that were now filled with small flames, leading upstairs. Mike opened his eyes briefly and looked up, seeing the blaze eating the ceiling with a blanket of flames. He felt like he was in the middle of Hell. Slowly, he tested the first step with his foot, pressing down on it carefully to make sure it wouldn’t break away beneath him.

When he was certain it was sturdy enough to hold his weight, he lifted himself up onto the second step, and then the third until finally he was moving rather quickly up the staircase towards the upstairs hallway. Mike coughed hard, feeling his lungs burning through the smoke and he waved his hand in front of his face in an attempt to give himself some air.

As he clumsily stepped towards the master bedroom, he could feel the intense heat of the fire burning his cheeks to an unwanted level of discomfort. If he wasn’t quick enough, he’d burn his face off before he could save anyone. Suddenly, he banged into something hard…the door…and his confidence began swelling as he gripped the knob. With a hiss, he let go of it and shook his hand through the burning pain. This was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated.

Quickly, he pulled his sleeve down over his hand and created a leather glove from it and grabbed the doorknob once again, not feeling as much of the intense heat from before. With a steady push, he knocked the door open and was met with a large heated breeze and immediately sunk back into the hall to cover his face from the flames that escaped the room. He cursed under his wheezing breath and opened his eyes to see the flames from the room bending upwards to meet those on the ceiling.

Not once in his life had he ever been so terrified…not just for the lives of his family…but for his own life as well. Chester had been right…he was not strong enough and this was definitely going to be an act of suicide if he continued. Just as his fears began to consume him, he heard a loud thud near the door, causing him to looked down at the twitching form.

“ A-Anna…” he coughed, quickly losing his voice through the haze of smoke. It was evident that after trying to bang through the window, she had suddenly realized that her son and daughter were probably still asleep in the house, thus causing her to attempt to crawl into the hallway. Mike rushed over to her and bent down, feeling her neck for a pulse.

He gave a small sigh of relief to find that it was still as strong as ever.

“ Anna…c-come on sweetie…get up…” he wheezed with a whisper, grabbing her arms. Her ears instantly perked as she heard the familiar deep voice ringing through the fog.

“ M-Michael…” he muttered, giving a heavy, labored cough.

“ Up Anna.” He ordered sternly, getting a good grip on her waist. Quickly, he helped her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her towards the stairs.

“ Xander…L-Laura-.”

“ –I’ll get them…hold on tight.” He replied through heavy wheezing and began dragging her down the stairs. Then a loud crack entered their ears and they sunk down a few inches. Mike’s eyes widened in horror as he realized that the house was slowly caving in on itself. They stood there completely still for a long moment, breathing erratically through the thick smoke and waited for the house to stop moaning and groaning.

“ M-Mike…” She coughed with warning.

He nodded and pulled her closer in response and continued their journey down the rest of the steps until finally they reached the bottom. As they marched towards the front door, Anna gave a sharp scream as one of the rafters from the roof came tumbling down, crashing against the floor only a few inches away from them. Mike stared down at the long piece of wood enveloped in flames and watched as the floor around it began collapsing.

“ Okay out…” he muttered, grabbing Anna away from the rising flames. Chester waited outside with impatience as Mike finally emerged with a very frightened and shocked looking Anna; their faces both blackened with soot and ashes. Chester reached out for her arm, but frowned when she didn’t loosen her grip on Mike’s jacket.

“ A-Anna…let Chester sit you down away from the house…” Mike coughed, with a soft voice.

“ L-Laura…Xander…They’re s-still in there-.”

“ –I know…I’m gonna go get them.” Mike replied.

Anna stared up into Mike’s eyes for a short moment and he clearly saw the doubt etched across her brow.

“ Trust me…” he whispered.

And it was in that moment that Anna had never trusted him so much in her entire life. Reluctantly, she let go of him and allowed Chester to pull her onto the neighbor’s lawn away from the flames and smoke. She watched with a new burning sense of hope as Mike disappeared back into the flames and smoke to retrieve his children. It was that one selfless act…that one instinct to protect his children, the one act that could perhaps end his own life, which gave her a newfound respect for him.

Respect she never thought she’d ever have.



Fire, intense heat, gushing wind, blinding smoke…all of that clouded around Mike until he became dizzy with confusion and pain. All of this seemed hopeless because he could already feel the floors vibrating as the walls began cracking and splitting. He knew deep down inside that this house was not going to remain standing for much longer, which only increased his fears. He winced as the wall beside him erupted in flames and began burning his cheeks and neck until he could no longer near the heat.

With a short cry, he leaped away from the wall and stumbled to the ground, feeling the heat now soaking his back. The smoke filled his lungs as he heaved for breath from the fall and he couldn’t help but cough violently in response. He continued to lay there, watching the flames eating the ceiling above him and feeling the wood crumbling on top of his chest. This was it…this was how he was going to die. He couldn’t reach his children and he couldn’t get up because of the searing pain in his lungs.

“ And how exactly am I supposed to cope with all of this? How am I supposed to get through this pain?”

“ You’ve never given up…”

Mike stared blankly into the smoke as he remembered the conversation he and Chester had had four years ago concerning Laura’s death. Mike had been a complete wreck and didn’t think he’d be able to get through the difficulty of losing a child. But what Chester had said to him had given him a new sense of strength knowing that even his best friend had the absolute knowledge that he never gave up when the going got tough. Mike frowned and wheezed heavily through the hot smoke, sitting up slowly and attempted to get the burning air out of his lungs. Why give up now? He’d rather die saving his children than die with them in a heap of wood and fire.

Carefully, he stood up and got his bearings before proceeding towards the basement door where Laura’s room was located. He shook his head out of the fog and gripped the door handle and to his amazement, it was cool…not like Anna’s had been. This only meant one thing…the fire had not reached downstairs yet. Mike turned the handle with his bare hand and pushed the door open, receiving a gush of smoke in his face.

Okay, no fire…but enough smoke to kill you with one breath…which didn’t make the situation all that much better. Mike coughed heavily and closed his eyes, pulling himself down the stairs and into the smoke filled bedroom. He cupped his sleeve covered hand over his mouth and nose, staring around the dark room. He coughed slightly and stared down at the bed to see Laura huddled beneath the blankets, breathing heavily and raggedly. Obviously she was having trouble breathing. Mike bent down and ripped her covers off of her and shook her furiously.

“ L-Laura…” he coughed.

“ Get up.”

With a jolt, she opened her eyes and pulled away from him in fear. Imagine waking up to a dark figure looming over you through smoke…creepy ain’t it?

“ Its okay, its me…” he wheezed, reaching out his hand slowly. She stared up at him with confusion…and began coughing violently, finally realizing how badly she needed fresh air…or at leased any air at all.

Mike frowned and suddenly pulled her out of bed, not having time for her sudden shock of the situation, and lifted her up into his arms where she continued to heave and cough. He cupped his hand around her nose and mouth, protecting her from the smoke and quickly carried her upstairs. She gripped onto him so tightly she thought she was causing him pain but the reality was, he couldn’t feel anything but adrenaline pumping through his veins. Right now, the adrenaline was the only thing keeping him from freaking out and cowering in a corner to let the fire do it’s job.

Laura dug her face into his chest and could actually feel his heart pounding against her as he held her, plotting his way out of the house without burning them. Mike’s dark Asian eyes scanned the room which was up in flames…and he couldn’t help but wonder how the hell he was going to get out of there. The front door was nearly blocked with burning debris and getting through it would take a lot of mental and physical strength.

“ M-Mike…” Laura called out in fear as the room began feeling like an overheated oven. Mike stroked her damp hair gently and stared at the semi blocked front door.

“ Its okay baby…hold on…” he muttered calmly, stepping forward. Suddenly he stopped and felt his heart beating with relief as the sounds of sirens began echoing through the walls of the house. Finally…its about time.

“ Okay here we go…don’t let go…” he coughed, feeling her gripping him even tighter than before. Mike closed his eyes and gathered his strength, deciding to run through the small flames as fast as possible in hopes of only receiving a few first degree burns. He hugged Laura tightly and covered her face with his arm, running through the debris and out onto the front steps, feeling a few burns against his legs.

He then heard people shouting and water spraying, knowing that the firemen were now readying their hoses. He glanced down at his burning legs to make sure they weren’t on fire. With a small sigh of relief and a few coughs, he carried Laura over towards where Chester and Anna were sitting and placed her down onto the damp grass. Anna grabbed Laura quickly away from Mike and hugged her closely, watching her eyes become full of tears. Mike panted heavily and coughed a few more times before feeling his heart freeze. The spraying of water had stopped…and the firemen were now pulling away from the burning building.

Mike turned around and stared at them in disbelief as they just stood there and watched the house crumble and growl. As Mike listened to Laura’s sobbing and Anna’s cries, he stood up slowly with a glare and began slowly walking towards the firemen. Chester stood up quickly, realizing what Mike was going to do and followed him.

“ Mike, stop…”

“ They’re not fucking doing anything. Xander’s still in there…” he warned with a shaky voice with was beginning to crack with the stress and sorrow of the pending danger.

“ Mike, there’s nothing left they can do. It’s too late…the house is going to collapse!” Chester shouted, attempting to pull Mike away from the firemen.

“ What the hell do you people think you’re doing? Don’t just stand there, do something!” Mike yelled, seeing the sad faces of the firemen.

“ I’m sorry sir, but you’re going to have to back away from the scene and let the fire do it’s job…” one of them, obviously the captain, explained.

“ Let the fire do it’s job? No…you can’t let that happen-.”

“ –Sir, I insist…back off and stay with the people on the grass-.”

“ –No you don’t understand, my son is still in there!” He shouted with a deep glare.

“ I’m sorry but there’s nothing more we can do.”

Mike stared at them all in disbelief with pleading eyes of anger. How could they just stand there and let this happen? How could they just let an innocent four year old burn to death?

“ No…NO MY FUCKING SON IS STILL IN THERE! YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! PLEASE…P-PLEASE DO SOMETHING!” He screamed, feeling Chester pulling him back. Laura and Anna watched the scene unfold with sorrowful eyes.

They had never seen Mike so upset or stuck on something in their entire lives.

“ Sir, I’m sorry for your loss-.”

“ –DON’T YOU FUCKING TALK TO ME LIKE HE’S DEAD! HE’S STILL ALIVE UP THERE DAMMIT!” The captain stared at Mike for a long moment, watching the tears rimming his Asian eyes to the point of flooding.

“ I’m sorry…” he whispered.

Mike shook his head and took a few steps back against Chester, ripping his arms away from him.

“ Mike…don’t do something stupid…” He warned quietly.

“ Fucking pricks…leaving my son up there to die…” he panted through his tears, continuing to back up.

“ Mike there’s nothing they can do…” Chester whispered, attempting to calm him down which of course wasn’t going to work anytime soon. Suddenly, a loud band and crash echoed throughout the block and caused everyone to turn their heads towards the house which was now beginning to crack and collapse with the flames. Mike stared up at the crumbling chimney and watched as the bricks fell to the ground, each with their own loud thud against the grass. He couldn’t let Xander die up there…he just couldn’t.

“ Xander…” he whispered and began moving slowly towards the house.

“ Xander…” he said a little louder as his pace quickened, throwing Chester away from him.

“ Someone stop him!” One of the female firefighters yelled. The captain of the squad ran up in front of Mike before he could reach the house and pulled him away with intense force. Mike cried out and screamed at him to let him go, but failed as he was slowly being ripped away from the burning building.

“ MY SON IS STILL UP THERE! I NEED TO GET TO HIM. PLEASE LET ME GET HIM!”

“ Sir, stand back.”

“ NO…NO DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN! HE’S FOUR YEARS OLD FOR CHRIST’S SAKE! HE DOESN’T DESERVE TO DIE…PLEASE LET ME GET HIM! HE NEEDS ME…HE NEEDS ME!”

Anna watched Mike completely break down in hysterics as he gripped onto the firefighter for dear life, continuing to stare at the burning house.

“ Mike come on…let him go…” Chester stated calmly, and helped the captain pull Mike back away from the house.

“ NO…NO…NO DON’T DO THIS TO ME. DON’T KEEP ME AWAY FROM HIM! PLEASE…I KNOW HE’S STILL ALIVE. PLEASE, I’M BEGGING YOU, LET ME IN THERE! I CAN SAVE HIM!”

“ Sir…I’m sorry…” The captain whispered as Mike finally stopped trying to struggle. He just stood there in complete disbelief and shock as the building continued to crumble down in heaps of wood and brick. Anna felt the tears running down her cheeks as she held Laura tightly, listening to Mike cry and scream with word NO over and over again.

“ Mike, come on…sit down with Anna and Laura…” Chester whispered calmly.

“ No…no…no…h-he’s still in there…I-I can hear him crying…” he mumbled through the steady stream of tears which were staining his blackened face.

“ Mike…there’s nothing there but the sounds of the fire. You just want to hear him because you’re panicking…” Chester explained quietly.

“ NO…I CAN HEAR HIM…HE NEEDS ME. PLEASE LET ME GET TO HIM!”

Chester glanced back at Anna helplessly. There was no way in calming Mike down unless he was sedated and everyone knew that. He was going to continue screaming and crying until he got over the fact that Xander was dead.

“ I CAN HEAR HIM CRYING…”

“ Mike…he’s not crying. Your mind is making you think he’s still alive but he’s not. Its your instincts that are causing you to hear that.” Chester stated shakily, wanting so desperately for Mike to calm down before he passed out from stress. Chester suddenly froze in realization. Maybe it was the exact opposite of that. Perhaps his instincts were heightening his hearing, allowing him to hear the crying child.

After all, parents could do amazing things to save the life of their child.

“ I can hear him crying…” Mike sobbed desperately, lowering his head. Suddenly, the entire block became silent, aside from the burning house, still moaning and groaning through the flames.

Mike lifted his head slowly and stared at the building, sniffing and coughing violently.

“ H-he needs me…”

And that’s when they heard it.

A long wail, barely audible to one’s ears…yet perfectly human. It was the sound of a child’s scream.

“ Oh Christ…he’s still alive…” Chester breathed, staring at Mike with amazement, not able to believe he had actually heard his son through the sirens and voices.

“ XANDER!” Mike screamed suddenly, lunging forward but was stopped by the captain yet again.

“ Someone go up there and get that kid!’ he shouted to his team, watching them instantly dodge towards the crumbling building without another thought. They knew it was dangerous…but they couldn’t just let the four year old boy burn to death.

“ HE NEEDS ME…LET ME UP THERE!” Mike screamed desperately, feeling Chester tugging him back once again.

“ Mike, they’re gonna go get him…calm down…” he whispered, holding his best friend back.

“ C-Chester…he’s still up there…” he cried, leaning his head into his best friend’s chest.

“ I know Mike…they’re going to get him and bring him down. Then he’ll be safe…okay?” Chester asked softly.

“ N-no…no its not okay. He could be h-hurt…” he sobbed, soaking Chester’s shirt with his tears.

“ Shh…Mike, everything’s going to be alright…” he whispered soothingly and rubbed his back. After what seemed like a fricken eternity, applause and cheers began erupting from the crowd of people around the block as a female firefighter came out holding the small, shaking boy in her arms wrapped in a blanket. Mike lifted his head and looked in her direction with intense relief but flinched as a loud boom followed by a few more crashes echoed through the night. Everyone watched silently as the house caved in on itself…and basically imploded into a giant hill of blazing debris. Anna and Laura stood up as the firemen ushered them towards the paramedics where they were forced to wear masks to begin treating their smoke inhalation.


Xander was immediately taken to the hospital, along with Laura where they would be treated for severe smoke inhalation and perhaps first degree and second degree burns for Xander. One of the paramedics sat Mike down on a gurney and snapped a mask around his face, pressing it against his nose and mouth.

“ I don’t need this fucking thing, I’m fine.” He growled with a glare and struggled to take it off.

“ Sir, your lungs are burned and you have severe smoke inhalation. If I don’t start treating you now, you’ll suffocate.” She explained.

“ Then let me suffocate. I want to drive to the hospital in my own vehicle to see my son, whom you people wouldn’t let me save.” He snarled back.

“ Michael, stop being so fucking stubborn and let her treat you.”

Mike turned his head as Anna walked up to him with a stern look of anger and annoyance plastered across her face.

“ I would have thought you’d be at the hospital with your children.” He muttered, giving a dirty glance to the paramedic who was still trying to attach the mask around his face.

Anna crossed her arms in the chilly night and frowned a little, shaking her head. “ Chester’s with them. Besides, I’m here to help the paramedics sedate you if necessary.” She replied, receiving a small smile from the paramedic who had completely given up on Mike.

“ What about the restraining order?” he asked as the paramedic jumped into the back of the ambulance to give them some space. Anna jumped up onto the gurney beside him and grabbed his mask, holding it tightly within her grasp.

“ What about it?”

“ I’m going to go to fucking jail now that I saved all your lives. I find that a bit ironic, don’t you?” he muttered with a heavy wheeze.

She gave a weak smile and nodded a little, examining the small holes inside the plastic mask.

“ Well at leased you’ll be in the minimum secure unit…”

“ You know what Anna? Fuck you! I can’t take this shit anymore! I do one good thing…one AMAZINGLY good thing and I get crapped on and told I have to go back to pr-.”

He stopped suddenly as her lips pressed against his softly, pulling him into a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around him slowly and stroked through his soft black hair as the kiss deepened. After a few more heated moments, Anna pulled away slowly, allowing Mike air to breathe. He opened his eyes a little and stared at her silently, becoming instantly confused in the hazy moment. Did she just kiss him? Then the flooding questions of why, how and what began coursing through his mind.

Anna gave a small smile as his black cheeks turned a bright crimson and she grabbed his hand gently with one hand and softly stroked through his hair with the other.

“ You okay baby?” she asked with a small giggle.

“ I’m going to Hell…” he whined and lowered his head pathetically.

“ Michael, you’re not going to Hell…” she laughed.

“ Yes I am. We just kissed…I’m sure that violates some kind of condition in that restraining order.” He whimpered helplessly, feeling even more in trouble than before.

“ Ah hell, fuck the restraining order…” she muttered casually in thought.

He lifted his head suddenly and frowned, watching her blue eyes sparkle compassionately.

“ Fuck the what now?” he demanded with a furrowed brow, not entirely sure if he had heard her correctly.

“ Fuck…The…Restraining…Order…” she replied slowly, putting heavy emphasis on each word. He stared at her silently for a long moment, taking in her words until suddenly he erupted in violent coughs. Anna watched him squeeze his tiny little eyes shut as he continued to have a cough attack. She then snapped the mask on around his mouth and nose, putting her arm around him comfortingly so she could gently smack his back in an effort to ease his coughing.

“ Take deep breaths…” she said soothingly while rubbing his back. He lowered his head and wheezed heavily into the mask, still trying to comprehend what she had just told him. After about ten minutes, he slowly calmed down and the coughing ceased, allowing him time to breathe.

He hadn’t actually realized how badly burned his lungs were until he tried breathing in after the cough attacks. Now his body was the one telling him to take it easy instead of the paramedics.

“ You okay now?” she asked with concern, staring into his red, irritated eyes. He gave a small nod and gave a final, shallow cough, taking off the mask.

“ What about the divorce?” he breathed, swallowing hard. Anna glanced at the rubble that used to be her home and watched as the firefighters began putting out the rest of the flames.

“ I haven’t had it finalized yet.”

“ Why not?” he demanded with a frown.

“ Because I didn’t send in the papers…”

“ Why…not?” he asked suspiciously with an arched brow.

“ Because…I haven’t…uh…signed them…yet…” she replied cautiously with a sheepish looking grin.

Mike stared at her for what seemed like the longest time until finally responding.

“ You didn’t sign the papers? Anna, you’ve had two weeks to sign the papers.”

“ I know…I know. I guess I just haven’t had the time and now they’re all burned up…” she explained quietly, staring at her knees.

Mike frowned a little and eyed her left hand…staring at the shining object on her ring finger.

“ Anna?”

“ Yeah?”

“ You’re wearing the ring…”

“ So?” she asked with an arched brow, but didn’t have the strength to look at him.

“ So…I told you to sell it…”

“ But I don’t wanna sell it…” she replied quietly.

Mike stared at her as she attempted to hide her nerves from him. Obviously whatever she was hiding was either bad or shameful.

“ Why the hell not?”

“ Because I love you and I want you to come home and I was the one who burned the divorce papers and threw them into the fireplace but I didn’t wait until the fire went out before I went to bed so the fire got out of control and burnt down the house…”

Silence fell between them and Anna closed her eyes, wincing slightly.

“ Please be gentle…” she whispered, knowing that she had just burnt down her house because of the divorce papers.

Suddenly, to her surprise, Mike burst out laughing and couldn’t stop, therefore aggravating his lungs even further. Anna looked up from her legs and eyed him curiously as he wiped the tears from his eyes and nearly fell off the gurney.

“ Y-you burned down the house b-because…” he stopped as the laughter and giggled overcame him again before continuing.

“ Because you d-didn’t want to g-get divorced?”

Anna lowered her eyes as he continued to laugh and cough at the same time, shaking his head in disbelief.

“ Oh God, this is too good…” he giggled, wiping his red eyes again.

“ I’m glad you find this so amusing. Your children almost got killed.” She stated, quickly ending his laughter.

They stared at each other for a long moment and Mike slowly frowned, looking away from her.

“ Okay…I’m stupid…”

“ Yeah well so am I. I guess we make a perfect couple of retards huh?” she asked, gripping his hand and leaning her head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and gave a weak smile, kissing her gently on the forehead for comfort.

“ Its okay Anna. It wasn’t your fault the house burnt down. It’s the divorce’s fault.” He muttered, eliciting a small smile from her.

“ Actually…I filed for a divorce because I hated you and you were a danger to our children. So in reality…this is YOUR fault.” She explained.

Mike lowered his eyes and listened to Anna break out into giggles.

“ Aw Mikey, I love you…”

He looked down at her and couldn’t help but smile as he watched the love grow within her sparkling eyes.

“ Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that?”

“ Long enough…” she replied and kissed him again…hard.



~~ *dies from exhaustion*...Okay, please review or i'm not finishing this fic...because honestly Im losing my inspiration..-_-...anywhoo, hope you enjoyed it...LOL JUST KIDDING ABOUT THE WHOLE...REVIEWS OR IM NOT FINISHING THING LOL..HAHA..APRIL FOOLS..HAH..not funny.. *cough* anyways, let me know what you thougth about this chapter, and more to come soon..THEN THE END HA. Hehe thankees for reading lol :)~~
Promise Of A Lifetime
~~ YAY THIS IS THE END!!..*tear*... But before you read, I just wanna say thanks to all who reviewed and read...even if I don't know your name, i am eternally grateful for your interest in this story. So Thanks go out to: Robbourdon/mike, driftingawaylp, shin0daluver, Jackster, Vixenla, Reiku, Silent, Ash, Irisraine, DisturbedAngel, RaeRae, Linkinpark_fan, Alyson, Misha, 007 openstar, Sara, Manda_Panda, Bennington_lp, dontxforgetxme and Principessa. Okay so if I forgot any of you, VERY SORRY..and if I spelled ur name wrong..SUPER SORRY!. And now for the end...ps: its kinda short... ENJOY! :)~~




“ You know, you’re lucky you’re alive. Going in there like that might have seriously burned your lungs beyond usage.” Chester explained as he watched Mike washing his face from the soot over a hospital sink.

He glanced at his best friend through the mirror and patted his face with a few pieces of toilet paper and frowned.

“ Did you know you’re the fifth person to say that to me in the past four hours?” he replied with annoyance.

“ Well someone should say that to you because it was idiotic. You could have been killed.” Chester stated with a furrowed brow.

“ Why do you care? You wanted to throw me out of your house.”

“ I care because you’re my best friend. Why the hell does everyone in your family have to almost die before I become completely fed up with it?” he demanded.

“ You’re fed up about caring about me?” Mike asked with a fake whimper and big eyes. Chester lowered his eyes with irritation as Mike turned around and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a big kiss on the cheek.

“ How could you be fed up with being my friend? We’re buddies!” he shouted with a smile.

Chester sighed loudly and pushed Mike off, wiping his cheek vigorously while eyeing him with annoyance.

“ Could you please stop being an ass?”

“ Sorry, it’s my most endearing quality.” Mike chuckled, drying off the rest of his face.

“ Why the hell are you so happy? You almost died…your family almost died. I was worried beyond belief!” Chester explained with confusion.

Mike gave a crooked smile and stared into the mirror while ruffling his messy hair into neat spikes.

“ I’m happy because I get to come home…well…a new home I guess since the last one was destroyed.” He muttered.

“ Anna took you back…” Chester stated in disbelief with a frown of doubt.

“ Yup…” Mike replied, eyeing his hair adoringly.

“ Are you kidding me? After all you’ve done?”

“ Well…I almost killed them…then I saved their lives. I think it kind of equals out don’t you?” Mike answered, turning around to face him.

They suddenly heard a knock at the door, and glanced at it to see Anna peeking her head into the washroom with a small smile.

“ You boys finished up in here?”

“ Why, you need to use the toilet?” Chester asked with an arched brow.

She lowered her eyes with a small chuckle and shook her head. “ No…there’s a little boy in exam room three who wishes to see his father.”

“ Who?” Chester asked with visible confusion.

“ I’ll give you two guess, but you’re only going to need one.” Anna breathed with a frown.

“ That’s me DUMBASS.” Mike stated and threw the wad of toilet paper at Chester’s head.

“ Well excuse me but I’ve been kind of stressed today. I can’t keep track of all these events…” he whined.

“ We forgive you Chester. Come on Mike…” Anna giggled, and grabbed Mike’s hand tightly, pulling him out of the bathroom. The walk down the corridor seemed to have been taking forever and Mike’s anxiousness of seeing his son was growing with each step.

Slowly, they rounded the corner, passing a few patients who were walking around hooked up to their machines and finally made their way into exam room three where they were greeted by a wide smiled little boy.

“ DADDY!” He nearly screamed and reached out his hands, gripping the air expectantly for a hug. Mike’s eyes lit up, along with his dimpled smile and he bent down to pulled his son into a tight bear hug.

“ Hey Xander, what’s up buddy?” he chuckled, feeling his son’s finger nails digging into his shirt. Xander pulled away slightly with a smile and held up the small oxygen mask that was taken off only moments ago.

“ I gotta mask!”

“ Wow…looks cool!” Mike exclaimed, sitting down beside him on the bed.

“ Did you get a mask too?” he asked, poking at the plastic.

Mike nodded a little and glanced at Anna who was standing by the door, watching with a smile.

“ Yeah I did. Except, mine was a lot bigger.” He explained.

“ That’s cuz you’re big.” Xander muttered happily, poking his face with a giggle. Mike chuckled and ruffled his soft black hair between his fingers, almost feeling his heart bursting with joy now that he could actually physically be close to his son who he hadn’t seen in what felt like ages. Before he even knew what was going on, Xander pulled away from his hand and pounced on him, wrapping his arms around his neck in a tight hug, causing Mike to joke out a small laugh.

“ Miss me much?” he asked, sensing Anna’s muffled laughter in the corner.

“ I missed you a lot!” he shouted, right in his ear as Mike winced from the volume.

“ I can tell…” he chuckled in response.

Slowly, Xander slid away from his neck and came to rest on the bed, gripping Mike’s arm tightly in a sort of hugging grasp. Mike smiled down at him, feeling his cheeks growing hot from an overwhelming sense of love.

“ I missed you so much Xander…” he stated quietly, running his hand through the boy’s hair.

“ I love you Daddy…” he mumbled into his arm.

Mike nearly erupted into tears when he heard this because it seemed like so long since he had heard his son say those four simple words. He literally thought he wouldn’t be able to reply back since the lump in his throat had grown to a painful size. But somehow, he had managed to choke out his response with a soft voice.

“ I love you too Xander…”

“ Daddy…can you come home NOW?” he demanded with that small adorable frown that just made Mike’s heart melt.

He looked up at Anna who could barely keep a straight face. “ Please Mommy, can I come home?” Mike pouted, watching her nearly burst into laughs. Slowly, she walked over to him and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, stroking through his hair.

“ YUCKY!” Xander squealed, hiding his head inside Mike’s arm.

They both chuckled at his reaction and stared at each other…and Mike was still waiting for his answer.

“ Hmmm, let me think about it…” she muttered in thought.

“ You’ve had four hours to think about it.” He warned quietly with a smile as Xander stared at them with interest.

“ Well…let’s ask the expert. Xander…should Daddy come home?”

“ NO.”

All three of them looked towards the door as Laura walked in with crossed arms and a small glare.

“ Is your name Xander?” Mike demanded.

“ Don’t you have a ride back to Chester’s house?” she answered back bitterly.

“ Don’t you have a mouth to shut?” he asked back.

“ DADDY’S COMING HOME.” Xander stated loudly with an impatient grunt, making sure everyone in the room heard him.

“ Three against one Laura and it looks like the odds are against you.” Mike explained with a frown.

She stared at him for a long moment, watching his dark eyes scanning hers intently. God she missed him-wait, what? She couldn’t possibly have been consciously thinking that…could she?

“ I don’t care who’s against me. You are NOT coming home.” She stated with finality.

Mike gave a sideways smile and stood up, walking towards her.

“ Yes I am. Besides, you want me to come home.”

“ No I don’t.”

“ Yes you do.”

“ No I DON’T.”

“ Yes you DO.” They both argued back and forth.

Anna rolled her eyes and sat down beside Xander and he sighed out loudly, wanting the argument to be over just as much as she did. The arguments between the father and daughter in this family were often loud and irritating…but usually ended quickly. Both Anna and Xander were grateful for that fact.

“ You want me to come home so badly you can’t even stand it anymore.” Mike muttered with a growing smile, watching her lower her head so she didn’t have to stare at that contagious grin.

“ Fuck you Mike.”

“ Mhm…you don’t mean that. I can tell…you wanna know why?” he asked with a chuckle.

“ Not really.” She hissed back, avoiding all eye contact with him because she knew that if she didn’t, she’d be breaking in no time.

“ Well I’m going to tell you anyway. You don’t mean that because I can already see that smile coming. I know you can feel it…we all know it’s there so just give it up.” He explained softly, lowering his head to get a better view of her face.

She lowered her head even further out of his eyesight and growled into her chest, backing up a little. “ Go away Mike.”

“ Nuhuh, that smile is coming! I can see it! There it is, right in the corner there!” he exclaimed, pointing to her trembling lips. She tightened her lips together firmly and swallowed hard, clenching her jaw with annoyance.

He was good…damn good.

“ Stop it…” she whispered stressfully.

“ Oh, here it comes! Right there!” he shouted, wrapping his arms around her. She lowered her head onto his chest and growled loudly, hiding her…you guess it, SMILE.

“ Damn you Mike!” she screeched, the sound muffling into his shirt. He chuckled and squeezed her into a tight hug, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

“ There, see! I knew you had it in you!” He exclaimed happily.

“ It was forced.” She muttered, lifting her head so he could see her dark brown eyes.

“ Sure it was…” he laughed.

“ It WAS!” she shouted with a frown.

“ Nuhuh it wasn’t forced! You’re so happy to see me, you little shit.” He stated with a large smile.

“ Says you…” she replied through her teeth with an irritated frown.

“ Aw, MY LITTLE BABY GIRL IS HAPPY TO SEE ME!” He shouted, hugging her again.

“ Christ, don’t start with this Mike…” she breathed.

“ AW I LOVE YOU SO MUCH LAURA AND I’M SO GLAD I GET TO COME HOME AND SPEND TIME WITH MY ADORABLE LITTLE DAUGHTER!” He shouted while kissing her on the forehead and cheeks, causing her to groan with discomfort.

“ No, STOP!” She mumbled loudly, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as he continued to attack her with kisses and hugs.

“ NO I AIN’T STOPPING CUZ YOU’RE TOO DAMN CUTE!” He smiled, hearing her growl angrily with annoyance.

“ Dad knock it off!” She shouted finally, stopping the attacks of hugs and kisses.

He stared down at her with the biggest smile she had ever seen on anyone and stroked through her hair lovingly.

“ You called me Dad.” He stated.

Laura stared at him nervously and swallowed hard, not believing she had actually said that. “ Nuhuh…”

“ Yahuh…”

“ NUHUH!”

“ YAHUH!”

“ It slipped!”

“ Did not!”

“ Did too!”

“ DID NOT!”

"DID TOO!”

“ SHUT UP!” Xander shouted, covering his ears. Laura and Mike stared at each other for a long moment in silence, catching their breath from the loud and obnoxious argument, which had probably been heard throughout the entire wing of the hospital.

Suddenly, Laura’s eyes narrowed as Mike’s smile grew once more…and she instantly knew what was coming next.

“ Don’t say it.” She warned.

“ Laura…” he sang, gripping her hands gently.

“ I’m warning you…”

“ I love you…” he stated softly, stroking her cheek with so much gentleness, it was causing her to blush. In reality, how could she hate the fact that he loved her? He had saved her life four hours ago without even the briefest consideration of his own life. Perhaps that was the one thing that made it all the more easier for her to reply.

“ I love you too Dad…” she answered quietly, burying her head in his chest again with her arms wrapped around him.

He smiled as he held her tightly, never wanting to let her out of his sight ever again. If he had learned one thing during all these events…it was to never take the things and people you love the most for granted because you may never see them again, which had almost happened to him. He almost felt a deeper connection and love towards his family that he had never felt before and couldn’t wait to return home…their new home…to start over again.

“ Is the fighting done yet?” Xander asked quietly, pulling his hands down from his ears. Anna smiled and picked him up into her arms and walked towards Mike and Laura.

“ Yeah…they’re done now.”

“ Good! My head started hurting…” he muttered, eliciting a small laugh from Laura.

“ Alright…well, let’s go home…” Anna glanced at Mike and gave a weak smile.

“ All of us…”

“ About time…” Laura muttered with irritation, gripping her father tightly on the arm.

“ I thought you didn’t want me to come home.” He stated with an arched brow of confusion.

“ I changed my mind.” She replied quickly with a smile.

“ So…what kind of house are we getting anyway?” Anna asked.

“ OH! Can we get a pool?” Laura gasped, tugging at Mike’s sleeve expectantly.

“ Uh-.”

“ –I wanna pool!” Xander interrupted with an excited squeal.

“ But-.”

“ –We need a bigger space…bigger yard. While we’re at it, we might as well make everything big.” Anna added.

“ Does this mean we can finally get that Hummer?” Laura asked with a smile.

Mike stared at them as the dizzying array of questions began bombarding around him. Pools, better furniture, big screen TV’s, stereos, massive kitchen, massive bedrooms, massive everything! Did they think he was made out of money? Finally he raised his hand and stopped the flow of demands, causing silence to deafen the room. He stared at each and every one of their faces, examined the colors in their eyes and the pink in their cheeks.

Finally…he was home…and it warmed his heart beyond belief.

Finally, with a heavy sigh of relief…he replied.

“ God, I missed this!”

Laura, Xander and Anna watched in silence as he left the room and began walking down the hall. All three of them exchanged confused frowns and ran out into the hall after him, catching up with him.

“ Do you always walk out of a room when you’re being spoken to?” Anna asked.

“ You guys weren’t speaking. You were demanding and begging.” Mike replied, continuing to walk down the hall with them.

“ Well we need to plan this. We lost our house…all of our belongings…how much money do you have left in your account?” she asked with interest, putting Xander back down on the floor and handing the car keys to Laura.

“ Enough…” he answered with a smile as Laura ran outside, followed closely by Xander.

“ That’s not an answer Mike. Come on, seriously, how much?” Anna demanded with a frown of interest.

Mike wrapped his arms around her and leaned his forehead against hers, smiling softly. “ Well, I was thinking about buying that house on the hill in Regency Heights.” He muttered.

“ You mean the mansion with the swimming pool overlooking the hills?” she asked with excited eyes as Laura and Xander began arguing about something inside the vehicle.

“ Yup…what do you think?” he asked with interest.

“ Mm, I love it.” She smiled and kissed him.

“ DAD, XANDER’S PUNCHING ME!”

“ WAS NOT!”

“ WAS TOO!”

“ NUHUH!”

“ YAHUH!”

“ GO AWAY LAURA!”

“ PISS OFF BRAT!”

Mike lifted his head and growled with annoyance as Anna chuckled, staring out at the vehicle where the two children were practically killing each other in the backseat.

“ The demons are calling…” she stated.

“ Okay…why did I come back?” Mike asked, then coughed out a small laugh as Anna jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

“ Oh right…that whole love thing…” he muttered with a sideways smile, then entered the driver’s side while Anna hopped into the passenger side. Mike looked into the rear view mirror and frowned as he watched Laura and Xander swatting and smacking at each other.

“ HEY!” He yelled, causing them both to freeze in their seats.

“ If you two don’t knock it off, I’m going to make you both move in with Chester. Understand?” he demanded.

Laura and Xander stared at him with wide eyes, nodding slowly.

“ Yup…”

“ We’ll be good…”

“ Good…” Mike smiled and started the engine. Anna shook her head with a small smile and stared out the window.

“ Michael, was that really necessary?”

“ Oh it was. One night at Chester’s house with the beer and loud nature documentaries, and you’d go insane.” He muttered.

Anna looked into the backseat at the silent brother and sister…then raised her eyes, amazed how that actually worked.

“ Wow, they’re quiet. I’m impressed.”

Mike chuckled and nodded. “ Yeah well it’s about to get a whole lot louder…” Xander and Laura smiled as Mike turned the volume on the radio up all the way. Finally…the family was back together…


I have fallen to my knees
As I sing a lullaby of pain
I'm feeling broken in my melody
As I sing to help the tears go away
Then I remember the pledge you made to me

I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to
The promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

Will you help me fall apart
Pick me up, take me in your arms
Find my way back from the storm
And you show me how to grow through the change
I still remember the pledge you made to me

I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to
The promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

I am holding on to the hope I have inside
With you I will stay through every day
Putting my understanding aside
I am comforted

To know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to
The promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to
The promise of a lifetime
Looking back at me
I know that you can see my heart is holding to
The promise of a lifetime

{Song: Promise Of A Lifetime}
{Artist: Kutless}

~~ GASP THATS THE END! So...I wasn't really thinking about writing an epilogue...but...if a few ppl were to complain for one than maybe i'll write one because I don't really feel like I ended this the way I wanted to. Plus it was kinda short. Anyways, there you have it! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING AND REVIEWING..*cough* which might not be such a bad thing to do at the moment *cough*...HEHE..*waves* BYE BYE! :)~~

Ringing Sensation
~~ YAY 21st chapter! What did she want to give to him?? Enjoy! :)~~



“ Come out Michael…” Anna stated with a soft, angelic voice in an attempt to reassure him that everything would be fine and that he wouldn’t get into trouble. His dark eyes never moved as she scanned him carefully, taking in his shadowed image.

The joy she had once seen in his eyes was now replaced with deep sorrow and guilt that would probably never go away. She couldn’t even begin to fathom what he had gone through in prison between the inmates and the guards, but assumed it was not very amusing. Prison had sufficiently broken his spirit and now he was even too afraid to come near his ex-wife to be. Slowly, she reached out her soft pink hand and held it there for a moment in front of him, signaling to him for a final time to come out.

It was now or never as they stared at each other silently for countless seconds. Finally, Mike lifted his arm slowly and cautiously, feeling his hand shaking with anticipation and anxiety as he touched her hand gently, feeling the warmth circulating through the flesh. Anna gripped him gently and pulled him out of the black abyss of the laundry room and out into the hall. Slowly, she reached into her purse and grabbed a small circular object, then opened Mike’s hand, revealing the tanned palm. She never took her eyes away from his as she placed the surprisingly heavy object into his hand and closed his fingers around it. He stared down at his own hand, blinking slowly with a heavily beating heart.

“ Michael…I want you to have this ring. Its yours, you paid for it.”

He looked up from his hand and stared into her steel blue eyes, fully aware of the wedding band in his palm.

“ Anna…I gave this to you not just as a sign of marriage, but as a sign of love. Why are you giving this back to me?” he whispered, furrowing his brow with each word.

Anna swallowed hard and shook her head, pulling her hand away from his and leaving the ring within it. “ I can’t keep it Mike. I would only be holding onto a memory I don’t want.”

“ You don’t want to remember how much you loved me?” he asked, lowering his eyes.

“ I don’t want to remember how you destroyed that love. I hope you can understand that.” She explained blankly.

Mike nodded a little and lowered his head, opening his fist to reveal the tiny shining object; the light reflecting off of it, creating crystal like designs on his skin.

“ You don’t want to remember me…” he breathed in realization, sensing her nodding her head as he continued to stare at the ring.

“ Although I won’t be able to completely forget you Mike.”

He looked up slowly, watching a weak smile spreading across her crimson lips.

“ When I hear Laura swearing…or see that deep scowl she always gives when she’s annoyed or pissed…it will remind me of you. When I see Xander’s eyes brighten up with joy and happiness as he becomes excited…it will remind me of you. When I hear your music…” She trailed off as the tears began to well up within Mike’s reddening eyes.

“ I won’t forget you Mike…and neither will your children. If there’s one thing about you that makes you a great person, it’s your will to survive and the strength you use to stay there. You ARE the strongest person I’ve ever known…and not just physically but emotionally as well. I know you’ll survive this and I know you’ll get through this. It’s just going to take some time okay? Besides, before you know it, you’ll be starting a whole new family and-.”

“ –I don’t want a new family…I want MY family.” He interrupted with a broken voice.

Another ‘great quality’ Mike had was impatience and being totally uncooperative when he was upset, which in turn made it even more difficult to emotionally disengage himself from the people he loved. Sometimes, Anna believed he was even more stubborn than Laura.

“ Michael…your family doesn’t want you.” She replied softly, watching his heart breaking in two just by staring into those dark watery eyes.

Then my heart did time in Siberia
Was waiting for the lie to come true
'Cause it's all so dark and mysterious
When the one you want doesn't want you too

I was drifted in between
Like I was on the outside looking in, yeah yeah
In my dreams you are still here
Like you've always been

Oh yeah, my heart did time in Siberia
Was waiting for the lie to come true
'Cause it's all so dark and mysterious
When the one you want doesn't want you too

I gave myself away completely
But you just couldn't see me
Though I was sleeping in your bed
'Cause someone else was on your mind
In your head

When I came back she wasn't there
Just a note left on the stairs
If you want to talk give me a call

My heart did time in Siberia
Was waiting for the lie to come true
'Cause it's all so dark and mysterious
When the one you want doesn't want you too
When the one that you want doesn't want you

My heart did time in Siberia
Was waiting for the lie to come true
'Cause it's all so dark and mysterious
When the one you want doesn't want you too

Siberia, Siberia
When the one you want doesn't want you too


Anna reached up and wiped the small tear that was now trickling down Mike’s cheek and lowered her eyes sadly, hearing him give a small sniff. He pulled away from her touch and grabbed her hand with a glare, shoving the wedding ring back into her palm.

“ You need this more than me…” he stated with a stuffed voice from the lump growing in his throat.

Anna stared at him with confusion and shook her head at his words, not knowing exactly what he was talking about. “ I don’t want it-.”

“ –Don’t fucking argue with me Anna. I don’t care if you don’t want it…you NEED it.”

“ I-I don’t understand…” she muttered with a growing frown.

He gave a heavy sigh and blinked away his tears, knowing what he had to do to get her to help her family survive…even if it meant losing a part of her.

“ Sell the ring and get the two million dollars back that I used to pay for it with. It should pay off all the debts from my drinking and all the late bills. You’ll even have enough money left to buy yourselves some new clothes and all the food you could ever want and then some.” He explained sadly.

Anna stared at him in shock, not believing that he had just sacrificed the wedding ring, the sign of their love, to feed and clothe his family. Perhaps the ring really did signify the love he had for them.

“ I can’t do that…” she whispered, still feeling the shock of his comment.

“ Yes Anna…you can. If you’re not going to do it for me then at leased do it for our…YOUR children…” he replied quietly.

After a brief moment of silence, Anna finally nodded and gripped onto the ring as tightly as ever, almost feeling the safety in which it represented.

“ Okay…” she whispered.

With that, Mike closed his eyes with relief and nodded…but froze suddenly when he felt Anna’s arms wrap around him and her warm lips touch his cheek lightly. For what felt like an eternity, he couldn’t move…couldn’t even think. Surely this was violating some sort of condition in the restraining order. Slowly, she pulled away from him and stroked his warm cheek gently, feeling him shiver under her touch. His eyes were filled with confusion and anxiety as she brushed her fingers through his neatly spiked hair, grazing his ear ever so often and causing goose bumps to dance across his skin.

For endless minutes, they just stood there in each other’s arms, not saying a word…which left Chester confused. He began to wonder if Anna was ever going to let go of him…or if Mike was ever going to let go of her. Anna bit her bottom lip nervously as she attempted to resist the urge to kiss him over and over again…wanting to completely forget about the restraining order and the divorce papers which were going to be sent out in a few days.

She just couldn’t explain it. There was something in his eyes that made her want to stay in his arms…something almost hypnotic. For the first time in a very long time, she felt extremely safe and comfortable with him, something she had not expected to feel in a million years.

“ Um…guys?”

The sound of Chester’s voice seemed to have released them from the hypnotic stare, making them both sigh out shakily. What had just happened between them was inexplicable…and downright confusing.

“ Mike…I have to go…” Anna stated quietly, pulling herself away from him. Just as she did this, Mike grabbed her and kept his arms wrapped around her tightly…but not so tightly as to squeeze her to an uncomfortable level.

“ M-Mike…you have to let go of me now…” she explained shakily.

“ No…I c-can’t…” he replied with a trembling voice; his eyes filling with tears once again.

“ Mike please…” she answered, feeling the frown deepening on her brow.

“ I don’t wanna let you go Anna…” he sniffed as the tears began trailing down his cheeks, creating clear streams. Anna sighed heavily and glanced at Chester, pleading to him for help.

Somehow she knew this was going to happen. Chester walked around behind Mike and gently placed his hands on his shoulders, easing him away from Anna.

“ Come on man…let her go…” he whispered softly.

Reluctantly, Mike released his grip from her waist and stumbled backwards a little, stopping short before he knocked into Chester. Anna swallowed hard and lowered her eyes as the tears still streamed down his cheeks. God, how many more painful good byes was this man going to have to go through?

“ I’m sorry Mike…” she whispered, watching his eyes glisten under the harsh lights of the hall.

This was the one moment where she REALLY felt sorry for him…because in all honesty she had approached him first. It was only natural for him to want to cling to her because of this action.

“ Chester…take care of him…” she stated quietly, seeing him nod while trying his best to comfort his best friend by rubbing his shoulder lightly. Without another word, Anna adjusted her purse to her shoulder and left the house, closing the door lightly behind her.

Before Chester had a chance to ask if Mike was going to be alright, he left his friend standing there in the hall by himself and threw himself down onto the couch, leaning his elbow against the armrest.

As Chester stared at his shadowed face, he knew he was not going to be moving away from that couch for a very long time…

{Song: Siberia}
{Artist: Backstreet Boys}

~~ AWWWW NOO POOR MIKEY!!...hehe...stay tuned for more...im estimating about 7 more chapters lmao..God.. -_-...ugh...okay so tell me what you thought about this chapter and thanks so much for the reviews and so much for reading! :)~~
Lonely Fire
~~ YAY chapter 22!!...Okay just to let everyone know...this chapter is pretty random and pointless until the end...and i dont know what the hell is wrong with me today because somehow...I almost did something I shouldn't have done. Its hard to explain but thankfully i deleted that paragraph LOL. OMG THIS CHAPTERS SUCKS LOL...oh yeah, and this chapter makes no sense whatsoever...lol...Anywhoo..enjoy...the end is nearing!! OH NO! lol.. :)~~




Empty reasons for my past
Excuses do not hold
I'm struck with my affliction
An inner perfect storm
Why didn't someone warn me
To save me from myself
The pain is self inflicted
The decisions were my own
Now listen to history

There's so much I could say
There's so much that I've learned
Don't make my mistake
There's no time to delay
Take my hand and learn from my heartache

Take a look into the past
See all the things I've learned
Looking for a truth inside
But only finding pain
See these deep and painful scars
Cutting to the bone
Do you want to look like me?
With a broken empty life
Now listen to history

There's so much I could say
There's so much that I've learned
Don't make my mistake
There's no time to delay
Take my hand and learn from my heartache

Some things you may never understand
But knowledge from lessons not your own
Can save you from the unknown which may stop your fall

There's so much I could say
There's so much that I've learned
Don't make my mistake
There's no time to delay
Take my hand and learn from my heartache



Chester came down the stairs slowly, rubbing his eyes which were still stinging from the shampoo he had used only moments ago. As he marched into the kitchen, he attempted to ignore the huddled up black figure sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the television screen. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t ignore his best friend, especially now that he was extra worried about him.

For two weeks, Mike had not moved from that couch, well aside from the usual bathroom break. Chester had to literally throw him food from the kitchen because he had refused to leave the safety of the sofa. Chester had tried on many occasions to motivate Mike to at leased go outside for some fresh air, but the man just blinked at him with disinterest and returned to watching a mindlessly boring program on TV about penguins. The worst thing was Mike hadn’t even shaved for two weeks…even after taking the two showers he so desperately needed, according to Chester.

The light stubble that had once taken over his lips and jaw was now darker and heavier, making him seem scruffy and unclean. Chester shook his head at his best friend silently, wishing there was something he could do to lift his spirits. That would be very difficult however, because Chester had threatened on many occasions to kick Mike out of the house unless he found his own place…or at leased tried. He wasn’t going to allow him to become a living vegetable, mooching food and using his bathrooms.

With a sigh, Chester decided he had had enough of this silence and marched towards Mike, turning off the TV. Mike stared at him silently for a moment with a shaded face and a barely visible glare.

“ I was watching that you ass.” He stated quietly with a scratchy voice…the same voice he hadn’t used in over a week.

Chester crossed his arms and stared down at him like a father scolding his five year old.

“ That’s it Mike…I’ve had enough of this sitting around like a lazy old fart.”

Mike casually sat back and rubbed his messy hair, still staring at Chester with those menacingly black Asian eyes.

“ Is this going to be another one of those ‘ be a responsible adult’ conversations? Because if it is, you can save yourself the air and just leave me the hell alone.” He muttered.

Chester glared down at him and gave a low growl of anger. “ Yeah Mike this is going to be one of those conversations because quite frankly, I’ve had enough of this shit! I’ve had enough of you sitting around, staring at the TV and eating all my food. If you want food, go buy your own. If you want to mope in a corner, go buy your own house and do it. I don’t have time for you and your sissy crying!”

“ I’m not crying Chester, I’m sulking…big difference.” Mike snarled back.

“ Don’t be a smartass with me! I’m serious this time. If you’re going to continue doing this then you’re going to have to leave.” Chester explained, confident that he would actually go through with it this time.

The other times, he had always felt sorry for Mike as soon as he saw those teary eyes and trembling lips…but now he was going to be strong and he wouldn’t give into Mike’s sorrowful pleas for mercy.

“ So what, you’re going to ‘kick me out’ just like the other five times? This is getting very old Chester.” He replied.

“ Don’t believe me?”

“ Not really.”

“ Fine…believe this.”

With that, Chester grabbed Mike’s bag and began throwing all of his clothes into it, followed by his unused razor and other necessities. He then zipped up the bag and grabbed Mike by the shirt, pulling him up roughly. Mike was surprised by his strength and stumbled up, feeling his best friend dragging him towards the front door. Chester grabbed the door knob and flung the door open, causing it to hit the wall with a loud thud.

“ Out!”

Mike stared at him silently and blinked in disbelief that his best friend was actually kicking him out. This was becoming quite serious and he briefly felt guilty for taking advantage of Chester, eating all his food and mooching off of him for everything else. But that guilt was quickly replaced with helplessness…and loneliness.

He was alone without a family…what else was he supposed to do?

Leave the comfort of Chester’s home?

No.

“ C-Chester-.”

“ –No Mike…I’m not going to give into your crying this time. Leave NOW.” Chester watched as Mike stared at him with this pathetic looking scowl of helplessness.

A long moment of silence passed between them, each minute increasing the tension. Mike quickly became worried because Chester looked so defiant and confident about all of this. Was he actually going to follow through with it this time?

“ Chaz, come on…I have no where to go…” he whimpered quietly, hoping that would soften his heart a little.

“ That’s not my problem…out.”

“ Chester you can’t-.”

“ –Get the fuck out of my house!” He yelled, causing Mike to jump with a start. He hadn’t meant to scare him…but frankly he was sick of him stuck to that sofa like bacteria.

It wasn’t healthy and it certainly wasn’t very attractive. The only way he was going to be able to help him was to kick him out of his comfort zone and force him to take responsibility of his life.

“ I’m sorry Mike…but this is the way it has to be. I can’t keep coming to your rescue. Like you said after you came out of that prison two weeks ago, you’re a big boy and you can handle yourself. I think you’ve just gotten used to the fact that I’ve been sheltering you and doing everything for you. Well guess what Mike? Its over. Yes you lost your family and yes you are grieving but you can’t let that control you. It’s time to start moving on from them…and its time for you to start moving forward because if you don’t, you’ll be stuck in this same place for the rest of your life.”

In reality, he made a really good point. But Mike didn’t totally agree with him…well frankly because he was stubborn and didn’t realise that sulking around like this was making him ill.

“ I love them Chester…and they completely abandoned me-.”

“ –Well gee I wonder why! Did you think they’d welcome you back with open arms after you became an alcoholic and beat the shit out of them every night? Anna did the right thing and you know it. Stop acting like you’re the victim here because you’re NOT. You have no right to be crying about losing them!”

Chester’s shouts echoed throughout the vaulted ceiling of his house and slowly dissipated with each second.

Mike lowered his head with shame and sorrow, staring at the hardwood floor beneath him. He hated the fact that Chester was right. He hated the fact that he himself had been trying to make himself the victim. He knew that Chester wasn’t being hard on him because he hated him. He was being hard on him because he had to be…he had to get him going and he had to motivate him, even if that meant screaming at him and smacking him.

In all honesty, what Chester was doing now was the best possible solution to Mike’s problem. He had to get him angry. When Mike was angry, he was passionate, he was stubborn…and he was strong. He needed that strength if he was going to survive.

“ What, now you’re going to cry?” Chester asked as he watched the tears threatening to roll down his cheeks. Mike remained silent as Chester snorted in disbelief.

“ What the hell kind of ex-con are you anyway? You know what you are Mike? You’re a baby. You’re a filthy, lying, faggot baby!”

Mike lifted his eyes slightly at the comment and felt his cheeks reddening…not with embarrassment, but with sudden anger. Chester gave a crooked smile, feeling pride in his growing accomplishment of angering him.

“ You sit around here like a lazy ass tart and cry…that’s all you do! Jesus Christ, you are the weakest person I have ever known! Even right now, you’re not even stopping me for what I’m saying! Come on, hit me at least!”

Mike stared at him and blinked slowly, not sure what he was trying to accomplish by getting him angry.

“ Either hit me or continue crying…it’s your choice.” He muttered, watching Mike’s jaw tightening.

Perfect…it was working. Now for the icing on the cake…and BOY was this going to be sweet.

“ Alright fine, cry! Cry all you want…just let it all out! Because at the end of the day, all you’re going to be is a no good fucking Ja-.”

His words caught in his throat suddenly as Mike gripped him around the neck and smashed him up against the wall, peering into his soul through malevolent eyes. Chester shivered as Mike breathed heavily with burning anger and adrenaline.

“ Finish that fucking sentence and I swear to God I’ll rip every organ out of your body…” he stated in a low, gravely voice.

Chester stared at him silently as Mike’s grip became tighter and tighter, squeezing the air from his lungs. Okay…perhaps getting him angry was not the best idea since he was still a lot stronger than him. But, knowing Chester…he didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.

“ F-fucking Ja-.”

Slam.

Mike’s fist made contact with the side of Chester’s face, bruising the bone and causing him to cry out and cough with pain.

“ Keep it up Chaz…keep it up…” Mike whispered into his ear. Alright, things were starting to become a little dangerous for Chester but of course, he had to get in one last word.

“ Ja-.”

Mike growled and punched him hard…three times in the face, sending his head crashing into the wall. Mike breathed heavily, feeling his chest rising and falling in time with his rapid heartbeats. He couldn’t believe Chester was going to say that word right to his face.

How could he do that? How could he even think about calling his best friend that? Mike swallowed hard, watching Chester blinking himself out of the daze he had been thrown into and immediately felt guilty for punching him.

Then it hit him.

Chester was attempting to get him to relieve his anger and frustration in a safe environment. Mike hadn’t realized how much anger and overwhelming emotions he had kept bottled up inside from being abandoned but soon felt the rush of adrenaline fading into a relatively peaceful sigh. As Chester finally found his bearings, he suddenly felt Mike’s head on his shoulder and his heated breathing against his chest. Perhaps he had finally put his pain into perspective…and realized he could overcome it at any time.

Chester had entrusted within him the realization of his strength, not just physically but emotionally as well. He had also found a unique way of calming him down. Having Mike bottle up his emotions like that was dangerous…but if he released them slowly and not all at once, he would be able to calm down much faster than usual.

“ I’m sorry…” he managed to whisper, feeling his best friend’s arm wrap around him.

“ Its okay Mike…you got all that anger out of your system. Are you finished moping and sulking now?” he asked quietly.

“ That depends…are you still kicking me out?”

“ I don’t know…do you feel better now that you’re not angry at the entire world and the fact that your family was taken away from you?” he replied.

“ And what if I do feel better?” Mike asked cautiously.

“ Then that means you can put your anger aside and concentrate on more important things…like getting your own place. As long as you’re trying to find one…you’re welcome to stay here.” Chester explained.

“ Okay…I’m feeling better…” he admitted quietly, digging his head into his shoulder. Chester chuckled a little and shook his head as he rubbed his friend’s back comfortingly.

“ You do know that you’re not supposed to bottle up your emotions right? Then you become this depressed, self-destructing robot. What the hell did they teach you in anger management?” he demanded.

“ They said I was hopeless and gave me drugs…” Mike replied with a small giggle. Chester’s smile slowly faded after a long moment of realizing the position he and Mike were now in. They were holding each other like fucking school girls with nothing left but each other.

“ Hey Mike?” he asked softly.

“ Yeah?” he breathed, closing his eyes as he took in his best friend’s warmth.

“ Uh…you’re not on those drugs right now are you?” he asked nervously.

Mike frowned a little and gave a heavy sigh of comfort, shaking his head.

“ Nope…why?”

Chester stared down at him and raised a brow of interest, observing the peaceful look upon his face. He didn’t want to ruin the comfortable moment…but somehow this felt strange to him.

“ Because I feel like we both just came out of the closet and are celebrating it together…” he muttered in response.

Mike gave a small smile and chuckled lightly. “ What the hell are you talking about?”

“ Are you kidding me? Does this not feel gay to you?” he demanded.

“ Not really…it’s just a friendly hug…” Mike stated casually.

Chester coughed out a small laugh and shook his head. Mike was acting very odd…almost like he was ‘too happy’ to be in his best friend’s arms.

“ Um…Mike…this is not a hug. We are ‘holding’ each other. Pretty soon, we will be gazing into each other’s eyes and making sweet love in the upstairs guest bedroom…”

Mike’s eyes snapped open, and he released himself from Chester’s grip with a beat red face. Chester couldn’t help but smirk at Mike’s twitching lips and wide eyes.

“ Oh…crap…” he mumbled, running a hand through his ruffled spikes.

“ Mike its okay. You’ve been away from Anna for a long time now. Its only natural you would want to seek affection in one of your best friends. Golly, I never knew you were attracted to me!”

Mike stared at him silently, feeling his cheeks burning even harder than before. This all seemed to have been happening way too fast for his liking.

“ You know what…I think I’ll move out now…” he muttered.

“ Because you’re attracted to me?” Chester asked with an arched brow of confusion.

Mike glared and felt his jaw tightening with irritation and nerves.

“ I’m NOT attracted to you!”

“ Gee thanks Mike. Words hurt you know…” Chester pouted and crossed his arms. Mike gave a distraught laugh of stress and shook his head, feeling slightly dizzy from all of this.

“ I’m not attracted to you and I am certainly NOT gay. What the hell ever happened to needing a hug once and a while?” he demanded.

“ Mike, relax…I was joking.” Chester replied, then burst out laughing when Mike lowered his eyes in realization.

“ Oh my God…you should see the look on your face right now!” He shouted through his fit of giggles. Mike bit his bottom lip and sighed inwardly at his friend’s stupidity.

He was in a moment of grief and he was being made fun of. Well, on the bright side, he had completely forgotten about how depressed he was about losing his family because he was concentrating so much on how…strange…that hug really was. At least he could appreciate the fact that he no longer felt sad or lonely. Just very…very…pissed at his dumbass best friend at the moment. Without saying another word, he marched out onto the front steps and disappeared outside.

Chester finally stopped laughing and wheezed with a frown, seeing Mike no where in sight. Quickly, he walked outside and saw Mike hopping into his truck…then stared at him with expectation.

“ Mike, what the hell are you doing in my truck?” he shouted, then jumped into the driver’s seat, slamming his door beside him.

“ I need some fresh air. Are you going to drive or what?” Mike replied and sat back comfortably.

Chester raised a brow and cocked his head as he pulled the keys out of his pocket and stuck them into the ignition.

“ Guess so…where are we going?”

“ Wherever man…I just want to feel the wind in my air and hear the silence of the night…” He replied and closed his eyes, already feeling the breeze ruffling his hair from the open window.

Chester nodded a little and pulled out of the driveway, respecting his friend’s wishes for silence. As they drove along the long meandering Californian roads, Chester couldn’t help but glance over to see Mike in a peaceful and serene state.

He had always loved the night air and somehow it calmed him. He could still see the pain of loss, visible in the small frown lines upon his brow. Chester knew that Mike was thinking about them…about Laura, tucking herself in for bed. About Anna tucking Xander in for bed. Right now, his heart was with them, even if he wasn’t physically. About an hour passed and they continued to travel East down the long quiet neighbourhoods. Mike suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, looking around at all the houses and trees. Chester frowned a little and glanced at him, before looking back at the road.

“ Something wrong?” he muttered quietly.

Mike glared and stared out the window towards the back of the neighbourhood where the last rows of houses were. Something about the air in this neighbourhood didn’t sit right and he felt this rising anxiety throughout his body.

“ I don’t know…keep driving…” he ordered softly.

Chester complied willingly and slowed a bit, allowing Mike time to observe his surroundings. He had no idea what was going on right now but he figured Mike knew something…although he had no idea what that something was. All of a sudden, Mike felt a sinking feeling within his heart as he realized what neighbourhood they were in.

Although, this neighbourhood usually had some sort of party going on, or loud dogs barking into the wee hours of the morning…tonight was different. There was an eerie silence hanging over the darkness of the block and as he stared out towards the larger houses in the back…the anxiety in his heart bubbled to the surface, causing him to cry out.

“ Stop the truck!”

Chester glanced at him with confusion and frowned.

“ What?”

“ Stop the fucking truck!” Mike shouted with impatience.

Chester pounded his foot against the breaks, causing the truck to stop violently with a forward thrust. Mike jolted out of the vehicle and stared into the darkness…into the eerie silence.

Yet one sound, one very distinct sound itched through his ears, almost perking them up for a better listen. He could hear soft crackling and what sounded like great gusts of wind. And then he saw it…the reflection of the blaze lighting up his dark eyes.

It was in that moment that his maternal instincts kicked in…causing him to shout at Chester to get back in the truck and drive…

{Song: Mistakes}
{Artist: Kutless..they fricken rock!}



~~ Shucks..a cliffhanger...ugh...man i am sooo not feeling like myself today..i dunno whats going on..something doesnt feel right... Anyways, what does Mike see?? WHY THE MATERNAL INSTINCT?? HUH???...man maybe I had too much Pepsi..or maybe...it was the bagel...Ugh...I feel like crap for some reason..actually not like crap...just...kind of mental..i dunno, its weird..WHOA i forgot what i was doing...omg be afraid for me, im losing my mind..ok..maybe im high on something...lol...Anyways, tell me what you thought of this chapter and more to come soon hopefully..thanks for reading and thanks for putting up with this incredibly long authors note because for some reason i feel mental today...Oh man i really dont feel good...*passes out*~~

Good Bye
~~ Okay, here's the next chapter with the whole good bye scene. First of all, I just wanted to dedicate this chapter to one of my best friends who just a few days ago lost her father to suicide. :(
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter but it might not be very good on account of my grandpa just died today...great month eh?~~


“ Stay close…”

Xander grabbed his sister’s hand tightly as they were escorted down a long corridor leading to a large metal door at the end of the hall. He didn’t know quite what to make of this large cement building but had a feeling that there weren’t many kids who traveled these halls…at the least, none at all. It seemed more like a grown up place, filled with scary looking bars on the windows, blocking out most of the natural light from outside. Xander couldn’t help but watch the baton on the guard’s belt sway lightly by his side as he walked.

As they stopped at the large metal door, his mind slowly began to drift into the explanation of what that baton might be used for. Laura nudged him out of his daydream and walked with him into a large room filled with tables and small windows overlooking the prison parking lot.

They were instructed to remain behind the bullet proof glass and to not go beyond the skinny metal door at the other end of the room, for that was where the prisoners were located. Laura shuddered slightly at the coolness of the room and watched as the guard took his place at the door behind her, motioning with his eyes for her to take a seat at the table.

With her usual grace, she took a seat at the white table and stared into the other half of the closed off room, noticing that it was identical to her side of the room. The only difference was the padlocked metal door on the other side of the room. Xander stared up at his big sister and frowned, feeling her pulling him up into her lap and turning him around to face the glass. He leaned back against her chest and gave a heavy sigh, not knowing exactly what was going to happen next.

Laura swallowed nervously and blinked with jittering eyelids, feeling her anxiety thumping in her chest. Two months without seeing Mike felt like an eternity and she wasn’t sure of what to expect from him. Would he just stare at her without saying a word?

Would he swear and bad mouth her for no reason? Would he become violent and try to break through the glass? Unlikely, but Mike was capable of almost anything when he was angry.

Suddenly, a loud bang interrupted her frightful thoughts and caused her heart to jump in her throat. She heard the jingling of keys and cuffs, creating an orchestra from down the hall, getting closer and closer. It felt like an eternity as the sounds neared, but really it had only been a few seconds until the cuffed man was pulled towards the table, stopping slowly so that he could comfortably seat himself on the hard plastic chair.

Laura swallowed back a growing lump in her throat and wrapped her arms around Xander protectively, closing her hands around his belly. Mike looked up from the floor slowly, attempting to calm himself for the visit. When he had found out that his children were coming to visit him, he felt nothing but anxiety because there really was no way to tell how they would feel…or even how he’d feel under their intense gaze.

Gathering his strength, he lifted his soft dark eyes and blinked slowly at the two children sitting before him, behind the glass. Each silent moment that passed between them caused overwhelming emotions from both sides. Emotions of hate, love, worry, fear and sorrow circled around the room, seemingly causing the air to become thick.

Mike felt his throat closing around the lump that he was attempting to force down. Controlling his emotions would be a lot harder than he thought. Even holding back his tears was a difficult task. They both looked so…weary and stressed. Somehow, he figured it was not because of the visitation. Mike lifted his cuffed wrists and grabbed the receiver of the phone and dropped it onto the table, watching Laura’s dark brown eyes searching his. She had to talk to him? It was hard enough finding enough courage coming here in the first place and now she had to actually speak to this monster.

Mike gave a heavy sigh when she remained still and lowered his head, peering around the room with darkening eyes. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Xander didn’t move a muscle during all of this. At the moment, he was just trying to understand why his father had on metal bracelets and was sitting behind an invisible barrier, unable to escape. Laura reluctantly reached out with a shaky hand and grabbed the receiver, bringing it up slowly to her ear. Mike watched her carefully, making sure she wouldn’t just drop it and run out of the room. When he was certain, he brought his receiver up to his ear and clutched it tightly with both hands.

“ Hey Mike…”

He blinked slowly at her words and sighed inwardly. So this was how it was going to be.

“ First name basis huh?” He asked softly.

Laura was surprised at his gentle words because she had expected him to be speaking harshly with anger directed at her.

“ That shock you?” she asked quietly.

He shook his head a little and lowered his eyes. “ No…the way I see it, we’re back to square one.” He explained gently.

“ Square one?” she replied with slight confusion.

“ When we first met. You called me Mike…even after you found out I was your father.”

“ I didn’t respect you back then…and I certainly don’t respect you now.” She answered with a harsher tone. He nodded with acknowledgment and gave a small grin, lowering his head. Somehow he had expected that answer.

“ Thanks for coming…even though you were probably forced by your mom-.”

“ –I came willingly.”

He lifted his head slowly and gave a small frown, watching her eyes glistening beneath the harsh fluorescent lighting of the prison.

“ You…came willingly…I find that very hard to believe.” He stated.

“ Why do you find that so hard to believe?”

“ Because you hate me.” He replied with a furrowed brow.

Laura glanced down at Xander who was watching his father’s mouth moving with awe as each word was spoken.

“ So…I came to tell you I hate you. Just thought you should know before you’re completely abandoned by everyone who used to love you.” She explained quickly.

Mike lowered his eyes at her bitter tone and leaned forward against the table with interest. “ Is that the real reason?”

“ Not entirely. Xander wanted to see you.” She replied.

The little boy looked up at the mention of his name and frowned at his older sister, grabbing for the receiver selfishly.

“ Me! Gimme!” he whined.

“ Xander, keep still…” she hissed with a glare.

“ I wanna talk to Daddy!” He whined even louder, swatting at her face and causing her to sigh out with irritation.

Mike hid a smile despite the annoyed look upon his daughter’s face. He really missed moments like this, where his children would fight and argue with each other about the littlest things.

“ Laura gimme!”

“ You can wait.”

“ Nuhuh! Gimme! Please? Please? Please!” he shouted.

With a growl and a roll of the eyes, she finally gave in and handed her little brother the phone, watching his hands clutching it clumsily and awkwardly. He pressed it against his ear and leaned forward against the table, staring into his father’s eyes. Mike gave a small smile as he listened to Xander’s breathing. He really missed his little boy.

He missed the nights where Xander would fall asleep on his chest while they were watching TV late at night. He missed cleaning off his face when he missed his mouth while eating ice cream. He even missed bringing him to the studio where Chester would stick super huge earphones on his head, making Mike chuckle at the adorable toddler nearly falling out of the chair because of the weight of the earphones. Even now, the memories caused a substantial amount of tears to begin burning his eyes.

“ Hey Xander…”

“ Hi Daddy…” he replied quietly with a little bit of caution. After all, he had never forgotten the day his father dropped him on the floor after nearly cracking all of his ribs. Mike’s breath hitched in his throat at the sound of his little boy’s voice.

He had been waiting to hear that little voice since the first day he was confined. It was as if the heavens opened up above him, allowing communication with this small, innocent angel. He made a silent prayer of thanks and swallowed hard, finding his voice among the tears.

“ Have…have you been good?” he asked softly, trying not to scare the nervous child. Xander sighed heavily into the receiver and frowned defiantly.

“ Yeah…always good…” he explained. Really, how could his own father even bother asking that question when everyone knew that Xander was a good kid. Mike nodded a little and rested his elbows against the frigid table.

“ Have you been watching out for Mommy?”

“ Mhm…but she won’t let me have ice cream for breakfast…” he muttered with annoyance in that adorable little voice, followed by a pout that made Mike’s heart melt. He gave a small chuckle and shook his head, watching his son’s big eyes brighten at the sound of his laughter.

“ Well you tell Mommy that I said you could, okay?” he asked, feeling the tears blurring his vision despite the laughter.

“ Kay!” Xander smiled, causing the dimples in his cheeks to deepen. Mike blinked lightly, allowing a single tear to crawl down his cheek. Oh how he missed ice cream mornings.

“ Okay…give the phone back to your sister…”

“ No.” he whined, leaning forward for a better look at his father.

“ Xander…I have to let you go now okay?”

“ No…”

“ Xander plea-.”

“ –Daddy I want you to come home…” He whimpered desperately, stopping his voice from escaping his throat.

Mike lowered his eyes sorrowfully and sighed into the receiver. Saying good bye to him was not going to be easy.

“ I know…I want to come home too but I can’t.”

“ Why not?” The little boy asked, feeling the tears beginning to bubble up.

“ Daddy’s in trouble. I’m being punished…just like I’d punish you if you did something bad.”

“ B-but…you not bad…” he whined.

Mike watched his lips beginning to tremble and didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to hold it together without completely breaking down in sobs. This was all too heartbreaking. Laura watched in silence as the sorrow in her father’s eyes became more evident and Xander’s voice became more desperate and broken with tears.

“ I’m sorry Xander…but I’m going to have to say good bye okay?” Mike asked, biting his bottom lip in an attempt to keep his overwhelming emotions at bay. Xander shook his head feverishly and blinked out a few tears. Mike watched them glisten down his crimson cheeks, then come to a rest at the bottom of his chin.

“ No…no good bye…” Xander muttered, coughing out a sob. Mike let a few more tears fall and lowered his head while staring into his son’s watery eyes which were soon closing with tears.

“ Xander…p-please. Don’t cry…” he whispered into the receiver, wanting so bad to stroke his hair and hold him in his arms. Xander began shaking terribly with each sob, feeling his sister rubbing his back comfortingly.

“ Daddy…come home…”

“ I c-can’t Xander. I wish I could…” Mike replied brokenly.

“ I miss you…”

“ I miss you too…but you’re going to have to be strong now okay?” Mike asked, sniffed back his tears.

“ C-can’t…” the little boy sobbed into the receiver.

Mike blinked quickly and felt the tears running freely down his cheeks now, flooding them immensely. “ Yes you can Xander. You have to okay? I can’t be there anymore. I know you can be strong…you just need to try. Can you try for me? Please?”

Xander continued to cry quietly for a short moment before finally nodding.

“ Okay…thank you. I love you Xander…” Mike stated quietly.

“ Love you too D-Daddy…” he wept, lowering his head weakly. What happened next, caused Mike’s heart to nearly explode with sorrow and the tears to literally choke him. Xander dropped the receiver and held out his hands, touching the glass in front of him in an attempt to reach his father. Of course it was of no use.

Mike stared at the image before him…at the shaking child desperately attempting to get to his father. Laura held back her tears and watched as Mike lowered the receiver to the table and reached out with both cuffed hands together, then spread them onto the thick glass against his son’s tiny shaking hands. The image of them separated even caused the guards to become a little teary eyed as they watched everything from a distance. Mike lowered his head as Laura slowly pulled the shaking child away from the glass and held him against her chest, stroking his hair softly while watching Mike with gentle eyes.

He really had changed and that much was evident. All his movements and the way he spoke was so gentle, as if he were trying not to scare the air around him. As Laura watched him wipe away his tears and peer into his sorrowful eyes, she knew deep down in her heart that he was no longer a danger. He was simply a fragile man who was emotionally broken and had made a giant mistake which in turn ended up ruining his life and the life of everyone else around him.

Laura reached for the receiver and pressed it against her ear, staring at Mike with expectation. He swallowed hard and sniffed away his tears, feeling them drying against his hot skin. Slowly and shakily, he picked up the receiver and pressed it against his ear, blinking slowly with deep sorrow and guilt.

“ Christ…” he breathed, shaking his head in disbelief at the situation. This was the last chance he had to see his children…and it was breaking his heart.

“ You okay?” Laura asked quietly while Xander continued to weep against her shirt, soaking it with his tears.

“ Jesus…uh…God no…” Mike replied with a trembling voice, staring into her dark eyes full of concern.

“ Here you’re telling Xander to be strong and you can barely hold it together yourself…” she explained with a furrowed brow.

Mike glared in disbelief and choked out a small cry. “ Laura, do you have any idea what I’m going through right now? I’m never going to fucking see you two ever again! Its hurting me…and you know what, I can’t always be strong.” He explained.

“ You should be hurting Mike. This was all your fault.” Laura replied.

He stared at her for a long moment and blinked out more tears, feeling his heavy heart pounding against his rib cage because he knew that at the end of this visit he wasn’t even going to see Laura again.

“ I’m sorry…” he whispered faintly, feeling instantly week.

He didn’t even know if he was going to be able to walk out of there when this was all finished. Laura nodded slowly and lowered her eyes, sensing his grief. It was hard not to be affected by his dark eyes so full of tears and his voice broken and strained with each word. It made Laura tremble terribly to see him so broken and weak.

“ I know Mike…I know…” she answered softly with a sincere tone, indicating that she understood his guilt.

“ There’s just nothing left to say except I’m sorry.” He explained with a quiet tone.

“ Then I’ll take it. I won’t forgive you but I’ll accept your apology…only because you’ve learned your lesson and the fact that you’ll never see us again and I don’t exactly want to leave this place on bad terms with you. Who knows, when you get out you might hunt us down and murder us for putting you in prison.” She explained with a small smirk.

Mike shook his head and breathed out heavily at her sarcasm. Leave it to Laura to say something to make him feel miserable and comforted at the same time.

“ When do you get out anyway?” she asked after a short while of silence. Mike looked up from the table and glanced out the window, watching the birds flying by.

“ The judge reduced my sentence to nine months based on my psychological disorders and I’ll probably get out at five months based on good behaviour.”

“ Five months huh…sounds like a long time.”

“ Better than a year I guess…” He replied, slowly regaining his strength. Laura nodded and gave a heavy sigh in thought, then slowly decided to end the visit just because she didn’t know how long until she would begin crying. She may have seemed tough on the outside but deep down inside she missed him…missed him so much even after what he did.

“ Well…I should be getting home. Mom will have dinner ready.” She explained, then cleared her throat of the tears. Mike nodded a little and swallowed the lump in his throat once again, watching her eyes rimming with tears.

“ Just to let you know, I suck at big good byes.” He explained with a low tone.

Laura gave a sideways smile and placed Xander on the floor, watching him rubbing his teary eyes.

“ Then let’s make it a short one.” She replied casually.

Mike nodded with a smirk and bit his bottom lip, observing every shade of brown in her eyes for he would never see them again.

“ See ya brat…” he stated shakily.

“ Bye Mike…”

And with that, the visit ended as Laura hung up the receiver and stood up. She picked up Xander and felt his arms tightening around her neck as he rested his head against her shoulder. Mike watched with a heavy heart as Laura turned around once again, looking back at him one last time.

She stared at him as he mouthed the words ‘I love you’.

With a nod, she turned around and began walking towards the door. Xander lifted his hand and waved slowly as he was pulled away from his father. Mike waved back and lowered his eyes with deep sorrow as they finally disappeared behind the door with a slam.

It was over.

They were gone.

Mike slowly lowered his head to the table and began sobbing quietly, feeling guard’s watchful gaze upon him, never moving. They watched this frail prisoner as his world became shattered…

Nothing compares to
Life I have in You
Nothing of this world satisfies
So, I want to let go
I want to let You know
All that I have to give is Yours

Here I am
As gold to the fire
I will surrender to Your hand
To this place
Lord, I have come ready for Your touch

It's all for You
It's all for You
I'm letting go
I'm letting go

What is it in me
That hangs on for so long
Why do I fight the tears that come?
I work so hard to
Keep in control when
All that I want is to let go

I'll take this life
And lay it down
I'm letting go
I'm letting go
My hopes and dreams
Here at Your feet
I'm letting go
I'm letting go

And I am ready for Your life
And I am ready for You now

{Song: All For You}
{Artist: Starfield}

~~ More to come soon...let me know what you thought and thanks for reading ~~
Leaving Hell
~~ Okay...wow...I didn't expect the kind of reaction I saw from the last chapter. I didn't mean to make it so sad...lol...but anyways, you all seemed to have enjoyed it. So here is another chapter, might be kind of short depending...so anywhoo, ENJOY! :)~~



5 months later…

The sun glowed gently against his bronze cheeks as he squinted through the small window, looking out into the desert field below. This was the perfect place for a men’s prison…secluded from all the towns and cities and as far away from every type of civilization as possible.

Mike pulled his black tee shirt over his head and pulled it down over his muscular abs. Of course being in prison had its advantages because anyone could really get a good work out. Mike ran his hand through his still damp hair from the shower he had recently taken and picked up his watch, rolling it around his wrist and adjusting it to the appropriate tightness. He was thankful that he didn’t have to wear those horrible metal cuffs anymore because frankly he was sick of watching his skin become cracked and dry from the irritation.

Quickly and with ease, he grabbed his shoes from the small plastic bag he was given and sat down on the hard plastic chair. He slipped on his shoes and tied them tightly, then stood up and blinked down at the rest of his personal belongings, not that he had that many mind you. Cautiously, he picked up his metal chain and placed it around his neck, locking the ends together skillfully, confident that it would not come undone.

He then stared down at his earrings and gave a small frown, not entirely sure if he’d be able to get them back in or not. With a heavy sigh, he picked up one of them and grabbed his ear, pressing the edge against the hole which was now scabbed over from lack of usage. To his surprise and amazement, the earring slipped right in which in turn allowed him to snap it in place. With more confidence, he grabbed the other one and slipped it easily into his other ear and snapped it in place just as he had done with the other.He stared down at the last belonging he owned…filled with happy and sorrowful memories. The wedding band caught the sun’s light and began glistening brightly, causing each diamond to glow and sparkle.

He lowered his eyes slightly and eyed each diamond, watching them shimmer like the love he and his wife once shared. Suddenly without warning, all the flashbacks began swarming through his head like lightening, causing him to squint terribly with each painful memory.

Screaming, whipping, and crying.

He could still see the blood spattering against the kitchen walls as he continued whipping his screaming wife. He could still hear the crack of the bone in her cheek as he threw the phone at her. He watched through his own eyes, unable to stop himself as he continued punching, kicking and slashing at her at a damaging speed. He watched his own muscular hands wrapped around her neck, squeezing the life from her eyes.

Smack…she hit the floor.

Heavy sobbing filled his ears as well as choking and coughing.

The crying of a small child increased in volume over Anna’s as well as the panicked whispering of a young girl, attempting to comfort the child. Mike blinked quickly through the sounds and horrible sights and was suddenly taken back to the sunny room where he was preparing himself for departure. His heart banged against his chest as he looked around slowly, swallowing hard at the flashes of memories. It had taken a short while for him to realize that his hands were now shaking. After having nightmares of these images every night, you’d think he’d be used to them by now.

Of course he wasn’t…and he was probably never going to get used to them. Slowly, he reached down for the wedding band and gripped it tightly, placing it into the palm of his hand so he could feel the heavy gold. For a short moment, he began considering whether or not he should wear it or just put it into his pocket until he found a good place for it.

Mike gave a light sigh and shrugged, slipping it onto his wedding finger on the right hand instead of the left where it would usually go. This signified the emptiness of marriage on the left but the love he still held for her on the right. They were no longer his family but he still cared for them deeply. From this moment on, they would remain a memory of his past, represented by that single ring on his right hand because he wouldn’t allow himself to forget them even if they had forgotten him.

Without another thought, he walked up to the door and opened it, where he was greeted by one guard to make sure he was escorted out of the prison safely. Mike rolled his eyes and frowned as he was escorted down the hall.

Could the walk have been any longer?

Finally, after walking past about a million offices, which was a slight exaggeration, he was led into the front lobby where the front desk was located with all his discharging forms. Mike walked over to the desk as the man behind the glass slid his forms from underneath the slot towards him. He grabbed them gently and grasped a pen, beginning to sign on all the dotted lines. As he flipped through each sheet and signed them, he found himself stopping at one of them for a long moment, just staring at each word.

RESTRAINING ORDER EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.

It then began explaining all the restrictions and conditions he had to obey so he would be able to keep his ass out of jail. Mike’s dark eyes scanned each line carefully; making sure this was all for real. After reassuring himself of the authenticity of the order, he flipped through the rest of the papers and finished signing them. He carefully slid the papers back through the slot towards the primary worker behind the desk and gave a small frown. The one contract he had expected to see wasn’t there.

How the hell am I supposed to sign the divorce papers if they aren’t fucking here? It’s not like I can just walk up to the house and demand to see them…thus resulting in more jail time. Maybe she wants me to stay here forever.

He raised a brow at his own thoughts and turned around, staring right in the face of the guard who was holding a large duffel bag in his hand. Mike frowned a little in question as the guard shoved the duffel bag towards him.

“ This was sent to you by someone who says they know you. There are some clothes and other items in here that I assume you’re going to need.” He explained quietly.

Mike stared at the bag for a long moment, trying to figure out who could have possibly brought this. Finally, he grabbed it and nodded at the guard who buzzed open the large metal door leading outside. Mike stepped into the bright sunshine with squinted eyes, feeling the small breeze ruffling the spikes on his head. His clean shaven skin burned against the sun’s heated rays as he quickly made his way towards the parking lot. Suddenly he stopped and opened the duffel bag and sighed with relief, seeing the cell phone among all the clothes. He grasped it tightly and flipped it open, stopping suddenly as a large shadow danced over the phone’s screen.

Mike looked up to see a dark blue, almost black GMC Yukon. The side window was automatically rolled down, revealing a familiar person behind the tinted glass.

“ Calling someone?”

Mike stared at the cocky grin and lowered his eyes, creating a dark shadow across his face.

“ Yeah, a cab. What the hell are you doing here?”

“ I thought you might have wanted to see your ole pal Chazzy Chaz! I see you got the bag okay.” Chester explained while pointing to it.

“ Yeah I did…”

“ Did what? Got the bag okay or wanted to see me?” He asked. Mike rolled his eyes and flipped his phone closed, stuffing it back into the bag and zipping it up.

“ Chester go home.” He ordered with a deep, impatient tone. Chester lowered his eyes at his best friend’s attitude and leaned against the steering wheel to get a better view out the window.

“ Do you not appreciate the fact that I came here to maybe give you a ride?” he asked.

Mike walked up to the window and dropped the bag onto the ground, then leaned against the frame of the window, dangling his hands into the vehicle.

“ I don’t need a ride from you. I’m a big boy now, I can take care of myself.” Mike explained quietly with a serious tone, which did not reflect that of Chester’s goofy grin.

“ Come on man, you spend some time in prison and you can’t even crack a smile? He asked with a furrowed brow.

“ Why are you changing the subject?” Mike asked slowly.

“ Because you look really…depressed…” Chester replied cautiously, careful not to upset him.

“ I’m fine.” Mike stated shortly.

“ You don’t look fine.”

“ Chester, would you let me call a cab?” He demanded with a frown.

“ Who’s changing the subject now?”

Mike sighed heavily, trying so hard not to become annoyed with him but unfortunately Chester could see ANNOYANCE plastered all over his face.

“ Look man, I know how hard it is to get back onto your feet after being away for a while. At leased let me give you a place to stay while you find your own place.” Chester offered gently, watching Mike’s dark eyes scanning his.

“ Why?” He asked after a while, catching Chester off guard.

With a deep frown, he stared at Mike speechlessly for several seconds before replying.

“ What do you mean why? I’m your best friend. Best friends watch out for each other.”

“ I tried to kill you.” Mike stated quietly.

Chester sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. “ Michael, when will you learn? That happened nine months ago…it’s in the past. Besides, it wasn’t really you…it was the stress and depression and alcohol-.”

“ –Did you just call me Michael?” he demanded in disbelief.

Chester stared at him with an arched brow and nodded slowly.

“ Yeah, so what?”

“ Don’t…”

“ It’s your name…” He replied with a light chuckle.

Mike bit his bottom lip and nodded a little before replying. “ I’ve been called Michael every fucking day since I arrived here. I don’t need to hear it again from you. Just for the sake of normality, call me Mike…”

“ Alright, fair enough…Mikey-.”

“ –Don’t push it.” He interrupted with a warning glare.

Chester chuckled loudly and shook his head at his friend who was now sporting a small smile, despite the current homelessness and loneliness.

“ Come on Mike, get in. I’m not going to make you pay for a cab when there’s a free ride waiting for you here.” Chester explained, coughing down his laughter.

Reluctantly, Mike gave a sigh of thanks and picked up his bag, throwing it into the backseat from the open window. He then opened the passenger side door and jumped into the truck, slamming the door.

“ How does it feel to be free?” Chester asked, turning up the air conditioning.

“ I don’t know…the same as always…”

“ Well, are you happy?” He asked, watching Mike turn on the radio…then the volume all the way, causing the windows to vibrate.

Mike gave a wide smile and gave a small laugh. “ YES! ROCK! I LOVE YOU!”

“ I’ll take that as a yes…” Chester laughed, then pulled out of the prison lot, shaking his head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


“ Alright…so, the couch is all yours. Have whatever you want from the fridge and pantries. Other than that, make yourself at home…BUT not under ANY circumstances are you to have any midnight snacks. Those belong to ME!”

Mike nodded slowly with an arched brow and threw his bag onto the couch.

“ I’ll try to contain myself Chester…”

“ Good…so any plans for today?” he asked casually and opened the fridge.

“ Dude, I JUST got out of prison today…give me some time to settle in…” Mike explained as he walked into the kitchen.

“ Oh…right…sorry.” He replied, then reached into the fridge for something cold to drink.

“ Hey Mike, want a beer?” he asked, giving a huge smile. Mike lowered his eyes and shook his head.

“ Not funny.”

“ Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.” He laughed back and threw him a soda.

“ Yeah, typical…” He muttered under his breath as Chester closed the fridge. Seconds later, the doorbell rang throughout the house, causing Chester to grumble out heavily with irritation.

“ Probably Joe, or Rob or someone wanting to use my computer…” He muttered as he opened the door, then swallowed his words and widened his eyes at the person before him.

“ Anna!”

Mike snapped his head up towards Chester and gave him a worried look, hearing Anna’s voice behind the door.

“ Chester…why did you just yell my name?”

“ Happy to see you?” he replied nervously with a cheesy grin. Anna raised a brow and moved towards the inside of the house, when she was suddenly stopped by the door.

“ What brings you here?” Chester asked shakily.

“ I was wondering if you had any stamps. I was going to mail Mike the divorce papers-.”

“ –You can’t mail them.” Chester interrupted suddenly, causing her to stop cold with confusion.

“ I can’t?”

“ No.”

“ Why the hell not?”

“ Fresh outta stamps…” He breathed, then mentally kicked himself because right on top of the coffee table, in plain sight of Anna were the new stamps he had received in the mail yesterday.

“ Shit…” he whispered to himself.

“ Chester, why won’t you let me mail him the divorce papers?” She asked with a small frown.

“ Uh…because he’s not at his usual mailing address…” he replied.

“ But he’s still in pr…wait…what day is it?” she asked quickly.

“ The day Mike gets out of jail and is now standing in my kitchen.” Chester answered with a small frown.

Anna’s eyes widened slightly as she looked past him into his house, but couldn’t see into the kitchen from that angle. Mike looked down as he listened to the whole conversation, feeling sort of out of place. Besides, if he came anywhere near her, he’d be back in jail…even standing in the kitchen with her outside was enough to get him arrested.

Anna’s eyes slowly darkened and she glanced back at Chester who was giving her a worried look. None of them wanted Mike to go back to prison…especially since he had already served his time. Suddenly, Anna did the unthinkable, pushing the door open wider before Chester could stop her.

“ Michael.” She called, as Chester blocked her from entering the house. Mike stared at Chester silently with a dark gaze, not knowing exactly what to do…so he just stood there frozen.

“ Michael, come here.” She ordered softly.

Chester looked back at Mike who was pleading at him with his eyes to get her to go away…or maybe he was silently asking him what to do.

“ Anna, he can’t do that.” Chester stated with a trembling voice.

“ Then let me in.”

“ Anna, if he comes anywhere near you, he’ll go back to jail.”

“ He’s not coming near me, I’m coming near him.” She explained impatiently.

“ Anna, don-.”

Before he could stop her, she pushed past him with amazing strength and walked into the house. Suddenly, their worlds collided…and they were back in the same room without a barrier to separate them. Mike backed away slowly out of the kitchen, watching every step she took towards him.

“ Mike, stop.” She ordered quietly, staring into his fearful eyes.

He shook his head without saying a word and backed up down the hall, banging his back into the closed laundry room door. It took quick thinking but Mike finally reached down towards the door knob and pulled himself into the laundry room, slamming the door shut before Anna could stop him.

“ Michael open the door.” She ordered, leaning against it lightly.

“ Anna what the hell are you doing?” Chester demanded as he ran up behind her.

“ I need to give him something.”

“ Then let me give it to him-.”

“ –It’s personal.” She stated, quickly ending that argument.

Chester closed his mouth and remained silent as she tried to get Mike to open the door once again.

“ Michael, I need to give this to you.”

Silence echoed throughout the house as she stood there staring at the door.

“ Mike…please open the door.”

“ I don’t want to go back to jail…” he replied softly, with the quietest voice she had ever heard out of him. Anna lowered her eyes sadly and swallowed hard, realizing how afraid he really was.

“ This is between us. No one is going to know I was here talking to you.” She explained softly.

“ Anna…y-you can’t…you can’t just come here and see me when you were the one who issued the retraining order.” He explained hastily, wanting her to go away so badly he wanted to cry.

“ I know Mike…but I had to give this to you personally. Besides, it will give us all some closure.” She explained.

“ I’m not coming out.” He stated clearly.

“ Michael, please…”

“ No!”

“ I’ll use a fucking screwdriver and take off that door if I have to.” She warned.

“ Hey…HEY! No way, that’s my fucking laundry room door. Mike get out of there before Anna destroys my house!” Chester yelled with a glare.

Mike remained silent for several moments before finally replying.

“ I won’t get into trouble?” he asked.

“ No.” Anna replied quietly with reassurance.

“ Promise?” he asked with a small voice that much reminded her of Xander when he was uncertain of something.

“ I promise Mike.” She replied gently.

Anna stood there frozen, as the laundry room door slowly opened, revealing a very timid looking Mike with a shaded face of darkness.

“ Come on out…” she whispered encouragingly.

Mike stared at her with those dark Asian eyes, peering into her soul. Was this all just a trick to get him back into prison or did she really have something to give him? And if she did have something to give him…what was it?

He had two decisions to make right now.

Come out and trust her not to report him for disobeying the restraining order or close the door and lock himself in so that he’d be safe.

It was a very tough decision and by the look on his face, he didn’t look too reassured about his freedom at the moment…



~~ AAAAAAAH NUTS!..Cliffhanger...lol..SORRY but my writing was starting to go down the shitter and I had to stop for a while. Might as well post now though, right???? LOL anyways, if you wanna know what she gives him then come back for another chapter and let me know what you thought about this one! Thanks for reading so far!! :)~~

Calling Voices
~~ Okay so here is the next chapter. Wow it's been a while! And again I want to say that all your reviews are truly inspirational and I am soo thankful for all of them! Okay so I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)~~




“ You want me to release him from prison?”

Doctor Richardson eyed the Warden cautiously, watching him rocking back and forth in his leather chair behind that great mahogany desk.

“ Not entirely. I was hoping he could be transferred to a psychiatric institution so he can be closely monitored by the doctors there. Prison is not the place for him right now.” He explained with a clear voice, hoping it would get his serious point across.

The Warden shook his head slowly and clasped his hands together in thought. “ Doctor, this man is a criminal. He nearly killed his family and you’re asking me to send him to some psycho hospital for a few weeks.”

“ With all due respect sir, that hospital is responsible for the rehabilitation of hundreds of mentally ill patients. Michael is definitely one of them, I can assure you.”

The Warden gave out a small laugh of disbelief and leaned forward against his desk, staring into the doctor’s eyes. “ Are you aware of the percentage of inmates who can easily fake a mental illness?”

“ Yes sir but this man had a mental and physical reaction to the photos of his family. He vomited all over the floor, now you tell me someone can just fake that. You tell me that someone can burst into tears in a matter of seconds after seeing their loved ones covered in bruises and lacerations. You tell me that someone can have a look of guilt so deep it makes you want to kill yourself.” He explained with a soft voice.

The room remained silent for several seconds as the Warden thought about all the evidence presented to him. With a sigh, he opened Mike’s file and grabbed a pen, glancing into the doctor’s hopeful eyes.

“ Doctor, the best I can do for him is transferring him to the minimum security unit. I am also ordering him to continue his sessions with you. If everything goes as planned, he can make a plead to the judge and hopefully reduce his sentence to nine months.”

“ Thank you sir.”

“ There is paperwork to be done. Have him taken down to blue unit while his new cell is being readied.” The Warden ordered.

Doctor Richardson nodded and began towards the door, but then stopped and turned around. “ Sir…Michael has made a request…”

“ And that is…”

The doctor swallowed hard and gave a small sigh, hoping the Warden would be compassionate enough to grant this wish.

“ He would like to speak with his wife…preferably over the phone if he could.”

“ That’s his right…granted.” The Warden sighed, writing a few things down in Mike’s file.

“ Thank you.” The doctor breathed once again and left the room, leaving the Warden to organize everything for Mike.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


“ Make it quick…”

Mike glanced behind him at the guard who was standing there impatiently with a bored look upon his face.

Yeah like five minutes is enough to speak to my wife who I haven’t said a word to in practically a month.

As Mike reached up to grab the receiver of the phone, he tried to ignore the cuffs around his wrists which were a constant reminder of all the horrible things he had done. He had been very thankful to have been transferred to minimum security because now when someone hassled him, it wasn’t because of racism. All they wanted was a cigarette or possibly the rest of his sandwich during lunch.

The other thing he noticed was how much more laid back the guards were in this unit. They weren’t always trying to pick a fight with the inmates or smacking the bars before lights out, thus scaring the hell out of Mike who only wanted to be alone with his quiet thoughts. These guards were much more friendly and compassionate towards the inmates and would sometimes ask if they were alright if they looked a little pale or even sad.

Mike of course was the one inmate the guards in the minimum security unit became easily concerned with. Not because he was dangerous or frightening but because he always had this forlorn look upon his face and there always seemed to have been tears in his eyes filled with heavy guilt. No matter how hard they tried, the guards and other inmates couldn’t get Mike to even crack a smile. He was often pale and shaky as well as constantly silent and no one, not even the doctor could break him out of it.

Mike was a very mysterious inmate and no one even knew what crime he had committed…that was until a news report on television (actually MTV) had received an update from one Chester Bennington about his colleague’s prison time. Rumors soon circulated around the minimum secure unit and eventually everyone knew what Mike had done to his family. They had all been shocked, not shocked based on the crime but shocked because they couldn’t believe that this shy, gentle person had done such a thing.

Mike ignored the guard and rolled his eyes at him. After all, it was nearing lunch time and it wasn’t uncommon for even the nicer guards to become impatient and grumpy. He dialed slowly while hearing the guard’s impatient groans and then pushed the receiver onto his ear, breathing shakily into it. What the hell was he going to say to her?

How would she react when she picked up the phone? Would she pick up the phone? If she did, would she say anything?

A few rings later, Mike’s mind began buzzing with nervous thoughts and pessimistic feelings towards this phone call. She probably hated him with all her heart and never wanted to see or hear him again. His heart stopped as a click was heard on the other end, causing him to swallow hard.

This was it.

“ Hello?”

Mike blinked quickly, realizing that he probably should have said something because the voice on the other end sounded very impatient.

“ Hello!” The voice this time was more forceful, almost ordering a response out of him. Then it hit him…it was Laura…and he REALLY did not want to talk to her. Talking to her would have been like talking to an angry bull, which in turn would have ruined his entire day…as if it weren’t ruined enough by being in prison. Besides, she’d probably just tell him how much of a bastard he was and how much she hated him.

It’s not like he didn’t already know that.

“ Jesus…” he muttered under his breath.

“ Who the hell is this?” she demanded.

“ No one, good bye…” he stated grumpily.

“ Wait…”

He listened as she breathed quietly, attempting to place the familiar voice somewhere within her mind. “ If you’re the tax guys I’ve already told you. The bills are on their way! Jesus Christ you people have no patience!” she almost shouted into Mike’s ear, causing him to lower his eyes.

“ Tax people-.”

“ –I’ve told you a million times to stop phoning. My mom is paying them as soon as she can but you know, money doesn’t grow on trees!”

Mike frowned at her ranting and looked down in thought. Tax people? Late bills? Were they having financial difficulties?

“ I swear to God, one of these days you people are going to get what’s coming to yo-.”

“ –Are you finished yet because I’m on a time limit here.” Mike interrupted with impatience.

Laura froze at the sound of his voice and nearly stopped breathing. It couldn’t be…could it?

“ Say again?” she asked shakily, not believing her own ears.

“ I asked if you were finished. I have a five minute phone call here and I really don’t want to waste it on you AND DON’T YOU DARE HANG UP!” He shouted the last part, knowing exactly what she was planning on doing.

“ I don’t want to talk to you Michael.” She growled.

“ Yeah well I wasn’t exactly keen on talking to you either. Is your mom there?” he demanded with a frown.

“ No, she went out with Xander and Chester to the park. I have to go…bye.”

“ No, Laura! I need you to tell-.” His words caught in his throat as he heard a click on the other end. With a loud growl, he slammed the receiver back onto the phone and ran his cuffed hands through his hair.

“ Fucking bitch…” he snarled and turned around, receiving a very stunned look from the guard who had never heard him speak at all.

“ I’m done, let’s go.” Mike breathed with angry eyes.

The guard nodded and took him by the arm, back to his cell and locked him in. Mike sat down on his small bed and leaned back against the white wall, feeling the cold shivering up his back. A few of the other inmates watched him closely, perplexed by his sudden outburst of anger while he was on the phone. The enigma that was Mike was slowly starting to be pieced together.

“ Hey man…you okay?”

Mike turned his head out into the hall and eyed the inmate in the cell across from him.

“ Yeah…” he muttered quietly, regaining his shyness and becoming silent once again.

“ Who were you talking to?”

Mike blinked slowly at the inmate across from him and slowly became aware of all the other inmates watching him as well. It was clear that Mike had become quite the popular interest in this cell block…basically because he was so silent and mysterious. They knew nothing about him, except what crimes he had committed. He didn’t blame them for being so curious…after all there wasn’t much entertainment or excitement within these walls.

“ My daughter…”

This peaked the interest of most of the inmates on the cell block and they all shuffled towards the bars to get a closer peek and a better listen. Mike felt like the famous story teller around the campfire…or perhaps the popular kid in high school.

“ You have a daughter?” The inmate across from his asked with wide eyes of amazement.

“ Yeah…and she annoys the hell out of me.” He explained quietly.

A few whispers were heard throughout the block, obviously of inmates informing other inmates of the news incase they didn’t quite hear him. Mike couldn’t believe that they were so interested in his life…which kind of reminded him of the fans he used to meet at all his concerts.

“ Y-you sounded angry with her…”

“ She fucking hung up on me…” He replied with a frown.

“ Which doesn’t surprise me because, you know I tried to kill her…” he continued casually.

The inmates stared at him in awe and interest as he gave a small smile, something of which he hadn’t done since he arrived in prison.

“ She hasn’t changed a bit…”

They watched him as he retracted deeper into his cell, out of eyesight from the other inmates. It was clear he didn’t want to be interrogated by inmates any further and out of respect, they returned to their daily routines of reading or watching TV…sometimes listening to the radio. Mike brought his knees back up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

Maybe he wasn’t as angry as he thought he was. After all, he DID get to speak with his daughter…although subconsciously he knew she’d hate him and hang up on him. None of that really mattered though because he had heard her voice. The one thing that was still a little unsettling about the phone call was that they were obviously being hassled by tax agencies.

With Mike in prison and Anna having to stay home most of the time with Xander while Laura was at school…there was no money coming into the household. Of course it would have been easy for Chester to just lend them a thousand bucks a month…but Anna didn’t want to be taking money from him. She hated the fact that perhaps they were broke and it was all because of Mike.

She still had her dignity to retain mind you, and accepting money would make her feel extremely vulnerable and dependant, those of which she never believed herself to be. Mike lowered his eyes with worry and concern, sighing uneasily at the fact that his family could be out on the street or living in the car soon.

Hopefully Chester wouldn’t allow that to happen…but convincing Anna to stay with him would take some fighting and it would be a very long battle. Mike closed his eyes and leaned his head down to his knees, feeling completely helpless in this situation. He just wished there was some way he could help…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Anna stared at the pile of bills silently as she sat at the centre island in the kitchen. For weeks they had been piling up and she still didn’t have enough money to pay off the first one let alone all the rest for the weeks she missed. This whole situation was beginning to become unbearable. Chester had finally given up on giving her money because he knew it was completely pointless to offer on account of Anna always denied it.

She was going to take care of her family her way…and by herself if necessary. Besides, Mike did this to them…and she was going to fix it. Laura came up the stairs from her room and watched her mother staring at the bills emotionlessly as if she were numb to the worry.

Since Mike’s prison stay, Laura had noticed that her mother’s mood had deteriorated substantially. She no longer smiled, nor made witty jokes when Chester came over. She was just an emotionless piece of flesh, living like a ghost among her family. Laura didn’t know if it was the money problem that had her so depressed…but figured it probably had something more to do with Mike. She knew she missed him…but couldn’t understand why.

He had tried to kill them and now she was mourning because he was in prison? That’s not right! She should be jumping with joy that he wasn’t around. Perhaps the love a wife has for a husband was something different…almost precious and maybe destroying it takes more than attempted murder. Laura rolled her eyes at this thought.

There’s no way she should still love him…after all, Laura had stopped loving him the moment he laid a hand on her.

“ Mom?”

Anna looked up at the soft voice of her daughter and blinked away a few tears. After all, she had to look strong in front of her children…right?

“ Oh hey…we came back early. Xander got tired…so did Chester…they’re both upstairs. Xander wanted Chester to read him a story…” she explained lightly with a small smile of confidence, feeling that she had to explain to her daughter why they came home so early from the park.

The truth was, Anna was the one feeling tired…physically and mentally over all this financial and emotional stress. Laura nodded a little and sat down across from her at the island.

“ Some more bills came this afternoon…I just thought you should know…” she explained uneasily.

Anna nodded a little and kept her smile…although it was twitching dangerously into tears. “ I’d expected as much.” She chuckled softly then shook her head in defeat.

Who was she kidding? She couldn’t keep smiling about this…it was ridiculous. Even Laura knew that the little money they had left would be gone by tomorrow.

“ Mom…are we going to be okay?” she asked quietly, while hearing Xander’s giggles from upstairs. Obviously Chester had made a funny face…or a funny voice while reading him a story.

Anna lowered her eyes and leaned against the island, avoiding all eye contact with the pile of bills. “ Yeah…sure we are. I just need to work some overtime-.”

“ –Mom…you have to stop this.”

Anna stared at her daughter with dark eyes, knowing exactly what she had meant by that. She had to stop downsizing the problem because in reality it was a massive problem…something they probably wouldn’t be able to get through. Even all the overtime in the world wouldn’t pay for an entire month of bills.

“ We’ll be fine Laura…I promise…” she whispered, even doubting her own words. Laura shook her head and glared at the massive stack of bills, piled in the corner.

“ No we’re not and you know that. Look, just take the money Chester is offering y-.”

“ –No. I don’t need his money. We are going to get through this on our own…” Anna stated clearly, trying to stop the wavering tears in her voice filled with frustration.

“ Mom we don’t have any food. Our electricity is going to be cut off in a few days and soon we won’t even have water. We are going to lose this house.” Laura whispered harshly, watching her mother flinch at her words. Sometimes the truth hurts worse than a lie.

Anna stared into Laura’s eyes and frowned suddenly, cocking her head. “ Don’t give me that look…your father invented it.” She stated with annoyance.

“ All I’m saying is that sometimes people need help from other people. You can’t always be independent mom-.”

“ –You don’t control my life Laura. Stop acting like you’re going to save this family.” She replied bitterly.

Laura sat back and glared, then crossed her arms. It was obvious her mother had no use for her…even though she was just trying to help.

“ Yeah well I’m not the one destroying it.”

Anna’s heart dropped at her daughter’s words. How could she say such a thing? Was she blaming her for losing all the money?

“ How dare you…”

“ How dare I? Listen to yourself mom! You think you’re going to fucking save this family but you’re not! You are not accepting any help and you are blaming everyone else for the money problem! Well I have news for you…asking Chester for help is in your family’s best interest and if you don’t do it you will be condemning us to death.”

Anna sat there in complete speechless silence for several moments. She hated this…she hated the fact that Laura’s words were true. She was killing her own family…and she felt like she was no better than Mike.

“ Laura…you don’t understand. I can’t accept money from Chester…it would be wrong. I can’t ask him to make that sacrifice. It’s not fair.”

“ Neither is starvation.” She replied with a deep glare.

“ Laura if you think we need help, then go out there and find a fucking job!” Anna nearly shouted, then stood up to pace around the kitchen in a fit of anger and frustration.

“ I’m sorry to say this mom but working part-time at some fast food joint is not going to pay these bills.” Laura explained quietly.

“ No but it will help.” She replied.

“ You know what? I’m done arguing about this. I’m going to bed…and by the way, Mike phoned this afternoon.”

Anna’s eyes widened as Laura began walking towards her room. “ Wait! Come here.”

Laura sighed uneasily and turned around, back into the kitchen.

“ He phoned?”

“ Yes.”

“ What did he want?”

Laura frowned and looked around the room in thought. “ He said he wanted to talk to you.”

“ About what?”

“ I don’t know, I hung up on the bastard.” Laura replied quickly.

“ Why?” Anna demanded in disbelief.

“ Um…I don’t know…maybe its because he’s a convict in a federal prison.”

“ Laura, I can’t believe you hung up on your father.” Anna stated with lowered eyes.

“ He’s not my father…” she muttered as the room became silent again. Anna stared at her for several minutes in silence, realizing that Laura had completely abandoned him as a father.

Well, she couldn’t really blame her after what he had done to them. Without another word, Laura proceeded back into her room and closed the door, signaling the end of the conversation. Anna frowned in thought as she wondered what Mike had possibly wanted to talk to her about.

Curiosity soon took over and it wasn’t long before she was considering phoning him. No…she couldn’t do that…she was still extremely pissed at him.

But there was something else she could do…



~~ So what does she plan to do??? OONESS come back for another chapter and you'll find out!! Reviews are highly appreciated and Thank you all soooo much for reading! It puts a smile on my face every day :)~~
I Don't Feel So Insecure
~~ Woot..thanks to the four people who reviewed on the last chapter...MANY THANKS...anyways, so here is the next one. It might be a little short...but there have been shorter lol. Anywhoo, enjoy! ps: I don't own any of the medications mentioned in this chapter :)~~



Anna checked her purse for her keys and made a face when they were no where to be found. She had been meaning to get rid of Mike’s escalade for a while now, even putting up a for sale sign in the window. Unfortunately the more she stared at that vehicle, the more it reminded her of Mike. Even the evergreen scent inside was enough to make her eyes well with tears.

It was a horrible and heart wrenching feeling every time she entered the truck and before she knew it, she was taking down the for sale sign. Laura had yelled at her for this, telling her that she wasn’t moving on like everyone else. Anna had merely dismissed the comment and walked away, leaving her daughter standing there with an open mouth. She just didn’t understand how her mother felt about getting rid of Mike’s truck. As the weeks flew by, the thought of her imprisoned husband managed to dissipate what with Xander’s birthday and the band coming over to celebrate.

Everyone seemed to have noticed how much more lively Anna had become. Perhaps missing Mike was the one thing holding her back, causing her to become irrational and depressed especially considering their current financial problems. It had taken some time but finally, Anna had detached herself emotionally from her husband…even becoming angry at his memory, choosing to suppress it within herself to make room for her family and friends.

There was only one thing left to do though, and she wasn’t very happy about it. Of course…it had to be done. Anna opened the closet, hoping that maybe her keys had fallen into a shoe or onto the floor but did not happen to find it there either.

“ Looking for these?”

Anna turned with a start, eyeing Laura twirling the silver keys around and around her index finger, while giving her mother a very suspicious look.

“ What are you doing with those?” She demanded with a deep frown of confusion.

“ You look like you’re going somewhere.”

“ I am.”

“ And where might that be?”

“ None of your business. Give me my keys.” Anna ordered sternly.

Laura crossed her arms and sighed heavily while shaking her head. “ You’re going to see him aren’t you?”

“ See whom?”

“ You know who I’m talking about.” Laura replied lightly.

Anna glared and snatched the keys from her hand, then adjusted her purse against her shoulder. “ I don’t know who you’re talking about and quite frankly I’m running late. Take care of your brother please and if anything happens, call Chester.”

“ Cell phones not aloud in prison?” Laura demanded.

Anna gave a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes, opening the door. “ I’m not discussing this.”

“ You’re making a major mistake Mom. Don’t go see hi-.”

“ –Be good.”

And with that, the conversation ended with the slamming of the door. Laura stood there in silence and glared at the closed door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


“ 556 you have a visitor!”

Mike sat up in his bed and eyed the guard curiously, feeling his heart stop for a brief moment. Did he just hear what he thought he heard?

“ Let’s go man, I don’t have all day.” The guard stated and banged the bars loudly, causing a few of the other inmates to flinch. Mike rubbed his eyes and walked towards the opening barred door.

He instinctively held out his wrists and felt the familiar tightening sensation from the cuffs. Who could have possibly wanted to visit him? With a short tug, two guards led him down the dimly lit hall and out into the large foyer, past a few potted plants for decoration and through another long corridor filled with cells.

The walk was long and every step he took made him shake and tremble at the thought of someone actually wanting to visit him. The last connection he had had with anyone was over the phone with Laura and she didn’t exactly sound too happy. Perhaps whoever came to visit him today would be angry as well…maybe even there to tell him that he wasn’t to come back into anyone’s lives. The guard before Mike opened a large metal door and held it open while the other guard pulled him in.

Mike squinted through the bright sunshine, coming in from the windows and reflecting off of the hard surface of the tables. Between each table was a thick bullet proof barrier, extending up towards the ceiling and cutting off the other side of the room. One side was for the visitor and the other, for the prisoner. Each table had its own receiver, allowing visitors and inmates to speak to each other. Mike blinked quickly as he was taken to the last table…then his heart stopped.

Anna looked up at him with dark eyes, watching his reaction to her presence. She half expected him to turn around and walked back through the door after what she had done to him. After all, he had to have been quite pissed to have been put in prison by his own wife. The only reaction she saw in him, was how shaky he was becoming.

The cuffs jingled lightly against his wrists as the guard pushed him down into the chair and walked back a few meters by the door, watching the couple staring at each other silently. Anna sighed inwardly at his presence and suppressed the urge to run away down the hall, back to the truck. She was scared…damn scared. The last time she had looked into his eyes was when he was tying her up on the floor. Right now, he didn’t really seem like the same person who nearly sliced her head off.

His dark eyes were soft and full of endless sorrow…sorrow she had never seen before. His face was visibly pale and his legs began to tremble violently beneath the table. As Anna watched his eyes shifting nervously from side to side, she found herself marveling at how different he looked without the earrings and usual dimpled grin. The once angry and malevolent person was now a shaking, fragile man who was trapped among violent predators and murderers in an endless game of who not to look directly in the eyes.

Mike cautiously grabbed the receiver with both hands and shakily pressed it against his ear, pleading to Anna with his eyes to pick up hers. Reluctantly, she gave a sigh and picked up the receiver and breathed heavily into it, not knowing if this was such a good idea.

“ No offense but…you look like Hell.”

Mike gave a weak smile and lowered his eyes at her comment. In essence, he literally felt like Hell. It didn’t help that he was practically convulsing with nerves in his chair.

“ Hi…” he replied shakily, finally using the voice he wasn’t aware he had. Anna leaned forward a little and swallowed hard. It was difficult to imagine that they hadn’t spoken to each other in almost over two months. Mike couldn’t help but feel extremely shy as he tried to come up with something to say to her. Well what could he say?

They weren’t exactly on good terms at the moment and he wasn’t about to screw that up even more. He had to choose his words carefully.

“ You l-look good…” he muttered into the small speaker of the phone. Anna nodded slightly, feeling her hair coming down around her eyes at the sudden movement.

“ The bruises have healed nicely…”

Mike sighed sadly at her response and lowered his head, giving his eyes a shaded look. Once again, he was left speechless. He could apologize, yes, but it didn’t seem very appropriate at the moment. After all, would it have mattered? He knew just by looking into her eyes that she didn’t trust him one bit…and probably didn’t trust a single thing he said.

“ How are you doing, Mike?”

The question surprised him greatly, for he wasn’t expecting her to actually take concern in how he was. Why did she care anyway?

“ Well…I’m in prison. If that doesn’t answer your question, I don’t know what does.” He muttered quietly.

“ Fair enough…” she replied lightly, feeling her courage beginning to bubble up once more. This wasn’t as hard as she thought it would have been. He wasn’t yelling or swearing at her, nor was he blaming her for anything. It was obvious he was aware of his mistakes and was paying for it.

“ I see you’ve been moved down to minimum security. How’d you pull that off?” she asked with an arched brow.

Mike looked up from the table and blinked slowly in thought. He wasn’t quite sure himself but…he was thankful he wasn’t among the rapists.

“ My psychiatrist…he thinks I’m mentally unstable, not dangerous.”

“ Well, no argument here.” She sighed.

Mike nodded a little and leaned against the table with both elbows while still clutching the receiver. “ What kind of help have you been receiving?” she asked after a long moment of thoughtful silence.

He swallowed hard and glanced at the guards behind him before replying. “ I’ve been having daily sessions with my psychiatrist to manage my anger problems. He’s also helping me deal with what happened to Laura four years ago. On top of that, I’ve been prescribed Valium and Zoloft…and other depression medications which also happen to manage my post traumatic stress disorder.”

“ What about your alcoholism?” she asked quietly.

Mike sighed heavily and stared down at the table in thought. “ Meetings, programs, you name it…I went. Plus since I’m on all this medication, I’m too high to even care about the alcohol. It won’t be a problem anymore.” He explained slowly, making sure she heard him quite clearly.

Anna nodded with acknowledgement and watched as he lifted his head with a keen interest in the next question he was about to ask.

“ How are the kids?”

Anna swallowed hard and lowered her eyes sadly and Mike didn’t exactly see this as a good sign. “ Well…they’re fine, for the most part. Xander had his fourth birthday last month…we had everyone over and I believe he had a good time. He was all smiles and giggles at the end of the day.”

Mike gave a weak smile and blinked hard, attempting to hide the coming tears.

“ He started kindergarten last week…”

“ Yeah? How’d it go?” he asked lightly with a breaking voice.

“ Well he was a little scared at first and wouldn’t let go of my hand. But then he met the teacher and a few of the other kids and it wasn’t long before he was in the playground playing with them. He even kept boasting about how his daddy’s a rock star.”

Mike gave a small chuckle and lowered his head with amusement, still fighting with tears. “ Sounds like he had a good time.”

“ He did…” Anna replied with a small smile.

“ What about Laura?” Mike asked shakily, subconsciously knowing this wasn’t going to be happy news. Anna sighed heavily and shook her head in thought, still remembering Laura’s angry eyes when she found out she was going to the prison to visit Mike.

“ Suffice it to say she hates you. Every time someone mentions you, she becomes angry and defensive…but I guess that’s just a sign of love. She may seem hard and cold-hearted towards you but I believe she really misses you.”

“ Believing and knowing are two different things.” Mike stated flatly, knowing that Anna was just trying to make him feel better. She stared at him with pity and worry because really, he didn’t need that kind of news considering his already low self-esteem and guilt.

“ What about you?” He asked quietly, already sensing her discomfort towards the question.

“ I’m fine.”

“ Then what’s with the money problems?”

She stared at him with wide eyes of shock, feeling her hands beginning to shake. “ How did yo-.”

“ –When I phoned the house, Laura picked up and thought I was a tax guy. She kept going on about late bills. Are you going to tell me what’s going on or am I going to have to figure it out myself?”

Anna lowered her eyes into a frown and sat back a little, not wanting to venture into this conversation. “ I told you…we’re fine.”

“ You don’t sound fine. Laura sounded worried and stressed about it.”

“ Michael don’t try to fix this. Besides, it’s none of your business.” She snapped, looking around the room nervously.

He raised his eyes in disbelief and breathed out heavily. “ Excuse me, last time I checked I was still part of this family.” He stated with a furrowed brow.

“ Not for long…” She muttered with dark eyes.

Mike’s furrowed brow soon twisted into a deep glare of confusion at her words. “ I beg your pardon? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“ It means you are no longer part of this family.” She replied coldly.

Mike sat there in silenced shock for a few moments before the realization began to enter into his mind. “ What the hell are you saying?”

“ I’m saying I want a divorce-.”

“ –Jesus Anna, don’t do this…” he whimpered desperately with lowered eyes.

“ Not only that, I have issued a restraining order against you effective immediately when you get out. 2000 meters Mike…even though I don’t think that’s quite enough.” She explained.

“ Anna you can’t do this…” he stated shakily through his teeth.

“ Its my family…they’re my children and I will do what I think is best for them…even if that means keeping their father away from them forever.”

“ Anna d-don’t…don’t take them out of my life…” he pleaded quietly through the receiver.

“ It’s over Mike. You screwed up and now you’re going to pay for it.”

“ They’re my children Anna. They’re the only thing I have!” He cried.

She watched the crystal tears streaking down his cheeks and briefly re-considered what she was about to do. But then, she remembered her children’s teary eyes and bruises…and quickly regained her strength.

“ I’m taking them out of your life…so you can’t hurt them.” She explained calmly.

Mike lowered his head and blinked out a few more tears, then cried out in his final attempt to make her hear him.

“ Anna…I love them…even though it may not seem that way. I’ll admit what I did to them was disgusting and wrong but if you take them out of my life…I won’t be able to survive…” he stated with trembling lips.

She leaned forward slightly and stared into his wet, dark eyes with a heavy heart. She didn’t like what she was doing to him but it had to be done.

“ Michael…you had your chance and you ruined it. I cannot allow you to be a part of their lives. You’re on your own from now on…”

He stared at her desperately as she began to stand up, slamming the receiver onto the wall. Mike swallowed hard and frowned with pleading eyes, then banged on the window lightly.

“ Anna, wait…wait!”

She turned around slowly and watched as he began pointing to the receiver, signaling to her that he had something else to say. Reluctantly, she sat back down and stared at him silently, unmoving.

“ P-please…” he cried, pointing to the phone again. Anna slowly picked it up and held it to her ear, then gave a heavy sigh.

“ What now?”

“ Anna please just listen to me for a second.”

“ I’m listening Michael.” She replied quietly.

He swallowed his tears and cleared his throat, readying himself for his last desperate chance to see his children.

“ C-could you at least…could I see them? P-please…I just want to see them one last time before you completely rip them out of my life…”

“ I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” she replied uneasily.

Mike lowered his eyes and felt the hot tears running down his crimson cheeks. “ Anna…I’m begging you. I just want to tell them I’m sorry. I know it won’t make up for all that torture but…I just want them to hear me…” he explained brokenly.

She stared at him silently, watching the guilt of his crimes soaking his face.

“ I-I just…I want to say goodbye…” he whimpered quietly into the receiver. Anna gave a heavy sigh and stared at him in thought, watching his dark eyes scanning her desperately for a response. Finally, her heart gave in…as it always did when he cried.

“ Alright…I’ll talk to them about it but I’m not guaranteeing anything. They might not want to see you…and you have to remember that…” she explained uneasily.

He nodded a little and swallowed hard, sighing out with relief. “ I know…thank you…”

“ Take care Mike…” She stated quietly, then slowly hung up the receiver once again and stood up. Mike watched her leave the room through the door and walk down the hallway towards the main entrance.

It wasn’t long before the guards pulled him out of the chair and hauled him back to his cell. The rest of the afternoon, he took comfort in knowing that at least he might get the chance to see his children…one last time…

Everybody's got their problems
Everybody says the same things to you
It's just a matter how you solve them
And knowing how to change the things you've been through

I feel I've come to realize
How fast life can be compromised
Step back to see what's going on
I can't beleive this happened to you
This happened to you

It's just a problem that I'm faced with am I
Not the only one who hates to stand by
Complications that are first in this line
With all these pictures running through my mind

Knowing endless consequences
I feel so useless in this
Get back, step back, and as for me,
i can't believe.

Part of me, won't agree
Cause I don't know if it's for sure
Suddenly, suddenly
I don't feel so insecure

Part of me, won't agree
Cause I don't know if it's for sure
Suddenly, suddenly
I don't feel so insecure
Anymore

Everybody's got their problems
Everybody says the same things to you
It's just a matter how you solve them
But what else are we supposed to do

Part of me, won't agree
Cause I don't know if it's for sure
Suddenly, suddenly
I don't feel so insecure

Part of me, won't agree
Cause I don't know if it's for sure
Suddenly, suddenly
I don't feel so insecure
Anymore

Why do things that matter the most
Never end up being what we chose
Now that I find no way so bad
I don't think I knew what I had

Why do things that matter the most
Never end up being what we chose
Now that I find no way so bad
I don't think I knew what I had

{Song: Hell Song}
{Artist: Sum 41}

~~ Okay so i hope you enjoyed this chappie and there is more to come soon. Yes...this fics seems to be taking forever but don't worry, it will end sometime lol. Thank you all so much for reading and don't forget to let me know what you thought on your way out! :)~~
Confidence, Hope And Decisions
~~ Whoa!! Welcome back!!! I just want to say: OMG! WOW!! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WHO REVIEWED SO FAR!! You guys seriously rock like no one's ever rocked before! *gets all teary eyed* Millions of Thanks to you all...your encouraging words mean so much to me. Enjoy! :)~~




“ Absolutely fucking not.”

Anna lowered her eyes and glanced uneasily towards Chester whose shaded face shared the same expression. This was hopeless…she was never going to agree.

“ Laura, he’s your father-.”

“ –No he’s not. He lost that right the moment he smacked me in the face and pushed me to the floor. I’ve had it with him and I hope he rots in that prison!”

“ Couldn’t you at leased consider-.”

“ –Hell no! You are not going to force me to think about this. I’m finished with this conversation!”

Anna sighed heavily as Laura marched towards her room and slammed the door so hard it made the walls around the kitchen vibrate and shake. Anna sunk into a chair near the kitchen table and lowered her eyes with fatigue. Chester sat down beside her and raised his eyes in thought, nodding slightly.

“ That went well…”

“ You should have been here when I told her Mike was her father. The scream probably reached a whole new decibel of sound.” She replied with a raspy voice of weariness, then began rubbing her temples in an attempt to ease her coming headache.

Chester made a small smirk and wrapped his arm around her, allowing her to rest her head against his shoulder. In moments like this, she was glad he was here because she didn’t think she’d be able to cope without someone to lean on.

“ Do you think she’ll ever be convinced to see him? Because when you went to see him, you told me he’s changed right? Maybe she’ll realize that and maybe forgive him…”

“ Chester I haven’t even forgiven him yet, what makes you think she will?” she demanded with a furrowed brow.

“ I don’t know…the father/daughter bond tends to be quite strong.”

“ Maybe not strong enough…” she breathed in response before closing her eyes in thought. She sighed heavily at her own memories of when they first met…all those fights and swearing mixed with name calling and smacking upside the head. She would give anything to go back to those moments and relive them because frankly, she was tired of all this hating and distance. Even though they were always fighting, it was out of love.

“ I remember when Laura had cut herself on a butcher knife while I was away at work…” Chester stared down at Anna as she opened her eyes in recollection.

“ I didn’t know about until I came home…and when I saw the blood all over the counters, I wondered if Mike had chopped her up into little bitty pieces…”

Chester smiled a little and sighed inwardly at the comment.

“ It wasn’t until after freaking out that I realized Mike had taken care of everything…even bandaged her and gave her some medication to deal with the pain. I believe that was the first parental instinct he had ever had…you know, sensing that his daughter was in danger. He was scared…scared that she was hurt even though it was a minor cut.”

“ Sounds like he did the right thing…” Chester replied softly, watching Anna nod with agreement.

“ He did…and I’ll never forget the look in his eyes the moment he realized he was her father. It was almost like an awakening knowing that this child was his flesh and blood…and she almost got herself seriously injured.”

“ Do you think he still cares about her like that?” Chester asked with a slight frown, silently filling in the answer himself.

“ I think he does. It’s just that…when I was at the prison talking to him, I just couldn’t help but feel his guilt, you know? It was as if it was so heavy within him…that I saw it in his eyes and heard it in his voice. I believe he is truly sorry for what he has done and he knows he can’t get away from what he did. The guilt of what he did is going to follow him to his grave…”

“ Mommy, where’s Laura?”

Anna looked up from the floor and gave a weak smile, pointing to her room.

“ She’s in her room sweetie…”

“ Kay…” Xander stated lightly and grabbed the doorknob tightly, opening the large white door. He padded down the carpeted stairs clumsily and jumped onto the bottom from the third step, knowing full well that his mother always scolded him for jumping off from that high.

But of course, he didn’t care…it was just fun. Besides, his Dad used to do it all the time.

“ Laura!” He squeaked, entering the room in a small jog. The teen lifted her head from her pillow slightly and frowned at him, then rolled her eyes and stuffed her face back into the pillow once again.

“ Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura-.”

“ –What! What the hell do you want!” She yelled, stopping his train of ‘Laura’s’.

Xander jumped onto her bed and crawled over beside her, leaning down near her face. “ You susposed to help me read.” He stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

“ Go watch TV.” She ordered; her voice muffled within the fabric of the pillow.

“ No! Help me read!’ He shouted into her ear, causing her to growl with a few muttered obscenities.

“ Dammit, why can’t you watch TV like all the other kids. Jesus Christ, you’re going to turn into a nerd by the time you’re twelve.” She explained, then rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

“ Nah, he’ll just be a workaholic like his Dad.”

Laura turned her vision towards the other side of the bed and watched as Chester slowly walked towards her. “ What do you want Chester?”

“ I wanted to talk to you.”

“ I’m not visiting that pig.” She snarled up at him.

“ What makes you think that’s what I wanted to talk to you about?” he asked with a small frown, sitting down on the side of her bed.

“ Because it’s always about HIM. Why can’t we talk about someone else for a while?” she demanded.

Chester smiled as Xander jumped into his lap and grabbed his arms, then began playing with his spiked bracelets. “ Okay…let’s talk about you then.” He replied softly.

“ Why me?”

“ Because the world revolves around you.” He muttered sarcastically, receiving a pillow in his face. Laura frowned and sat up as Chester blinked away the force of the pillow hitting his face and shook his head lightly, hearing a giggle from Xander.

“ That was so unnecessary.” He stated quietly with lowered eyes. Laura growled under her breath and stared down at her comforter, poking at the black fabric.

“ I don’t want to talk about me either.”

“ That’s too bad because I really wanted to find out why you don’t want anyone talking about your Dad.”

“ Because I hate him.”

“ That’s a really bad answer Laura. You can’t just avoid talking about him because you ‘hate’ him.” He explained with an arched brow of interest. She grumbled lightly and listened to the jingling of Chester’s bracelets as Xander continued to play with them.

“ Okay fine, you wanna know the truth? I don’t want people talking about him because it just makes me remember that he’s not here. And when I realize he’s not here, I start to remember why…and when that happens I start hurting because I can’t believe that someone who supposedly loves me, could threaten to kill me.” She explained, feeling her voice breaking from within.

“ Is that why you don’t want to see him?” He asked softly as Xander struggled to find a more comfortable positing in his lap.

Laura looked up slowly and sniffed a little, then shook her head. The answer was so simple yet she felt stupid that it wasn’t deeper than that. Why was this the only reason? Perhaps this reason was deeper than she thought…perhaps the feeling was much darker than she had anticipated. With each moment of silence between her and Chester, she felt the feeling beginning to grow and rise within her blood, causing a cold chill to run up her spine.

“ I’m afraid.”

Chester lowered his eyes sympathetically and sighed. “ Laura, its okay to be scared. What Mike did would frighten any of u-.”

“ –That’s not why I’m scared.” She interrupted softly, her eyes deep in thought.

“ W-well…well then why are you so scared to visit him?” he asked quietly with confusion. Laura swallowed hard and tried to suppress the coming tears that she felt burning her dark eyes.

“ I’m not afraid of what he did to us. I’m afraid of what he has become. He is this weak, fragile man who used to be stronger than anyone I’ve ever known. My father is in prison…and we have no money. I hate saying it but without him we’re going to starve to death. He is our last hope at survival and it disgusts me because he tried to kill us. Not only that…I’m frightened because I feel guilty about hating him so much. I’m frightened because if I look into his eyes, I won’t know whether I’m going to desperately cry out to him for help…or scream at him to leave us the hell alone.”

Chester sat there silently for several moments, just thinking about what she had said. He slowly began to understand the fear she had and why she did not want to visit her father in prison. Going or not, it would hurt her immensely and he knew she didn’t want to choose between seeing him for the last time or never seeing him again.

“ You still love him?” he asked.

Laura gave a short laugh and shook her head at his question. How anyone could have possibly asked that was beyond her. Wasn’t it pretty obvious how she felt about him?

“ Ask me that in about twenty years…then maybe I’ll have the answer.” She replied softly, watching her brother’s deep brown eyes scanning hers slowly. She knew that look…her father always had that quizzical look when there was something he didn’t understand or something he needed to ask.

“ Laura?”

Here it comes.

“ What?” she replied and cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the lump forming.

“ We gonna see Daddy?”

Chester stared at Laura while she began considering what she could do. Two options…see him or not. Pretty simple right? Wrong. Those were the two biggest decisions she’d ever be making and to tell the truth it was pretty damn hard trying to figure out if she wanted to see her abusive father or completely rip him out of her life for good without even a single good bye or something said that would make him understand how much he hurt her.

It all came down to this. To go or not to go. With a heavy sigh of thought, she raised her eyes from the comforter and stared into her brother’s dark eyes once again, watching the vitreous fluid glisten beneath the warm lights of the room.

“ Yeah…we’re going to go see Daddy…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



His cell was dark as it usually was this time of night. Most of the inmates on the cell block would have their little black and white televisions on low and their lamps dimmed. Mike however chose not to watch a single thing on TV and not to turn on any lights.

Night time was HIS time…his time to reflect on all the horrible things he had ever done to anyone in his life. It was as if the night time hours cloaked his unemotional barrier from the day and allowed him time for remorse. He hadn’t always been the one to completely break down in sobs when the going got tough in prison but tonight was different.

He was hoping and praying that somehow his children would want to at least come see him…they didn’t have to talk to him or anything. All they really had to do was listen…listen to their father’s shaking voice, telling them how horrible he felt and that he doesn’t deserve to live. He kept going through the thought of seeing his children for the last time and going through all the possible scenarios in his mind.

They’ll hate me for sure. Xander probably won’t even look at me…and Laura…Laura will just be so blinded by her anger that she won’t see how guilty I really am for all of this.

I can just see it now…she’s staring at me with those dark eyes so full of rage and it’s all I can see. She won’t speak…she will remain silent with those judging eyes until I break out in a fit of sobs. I’ll try to explain to them how sorry I really am but they won’t listen. They hate me…they want me locked up…they want me dead. Then it will all be over…without even a single good bye or a take care. They’ll just walk out of my life and leave me alone forever.

The mental images flashed through his brain like a thunderstorm over a hanging cliff. All his love and all his strength seemed to have been mingling as one…fading into the pouring rain and dripping off the cliff into the darkness.

The only thing he had left was his guilt and an overwhelming sense of sorrow…that no one could break him out of. His children, the light of his life…they were fading into the darkness as well and casting a deep shadow over his heart, causing him to sob out in sorrowful agony. He pressed his face into his stiff pillow and let the warm tears rise through his lashes and fall onto the already moist material. His deep gut wrenching cries were muffled within the material of his pillow, for he dared not let his pain echo and bound off the black walls of his cage.

Gripping the pillow with all his might, he let his nails dig into his palms, creating deep indentation ready to be bursting with blood at any moment. The shaking and convulsing of his body only added to the obvious pain this man was going through during the cool spring night. Silver stars glistened through the black globe above his tiny window, casting long shadows across the cement of his cell, catching each shudder his body was making and causing them to dance wildly against the grey floor.

All throughout the night, even as the static televisions disappeared and the dim lights faded, he continued to weep into his pillow silently, choking on all his tears and swallowing his remorse. It was in that moment that he finally understood the real meaning of prison…not the actual building itself, but the barrier inside his own heart causing his emotions to rattle and bang against the proverbial cage. All his sadness and sorrows were fighting to escape in a mad hurricane of emotions, smacking into guilt and jumbling up the heavy love he carried for his family.

As the silent night dragged on, his confidence and courage became locked up so tightly that he believed them never to be released again. He felt like his whole world was ending, that his life was over. He felt depressingly lonely in his small six by nine cell, continuing to cry out for anyone to help him escape his emotional torment.

Then it was over…with one small breeze whispering through the skies.

The choking stopped.

The shaking stopped.

The sobbing stopped.

Complete silence dominated his mind as he stared into the pitch black cell. His heart throbbed, neither for sorrow nor guilt…but for the one thing he still held true to himself, the one thing he still believed in.

Hope.

The hope that his family would survive.

The hope that his band mates would carry on without disgusted humiliation, eating at their hearts.

The hope that he would be able to see his precious children’s faces one last time before he was pulled into the depths of his own emotional prison, holding onto their image to keep his sorrowful heart from failing…

Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide
voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time
the night is my companion, and solitude my guide
would I spend forever here and not be satisfied?
and I would be the one
to hold you down
kiss you so hard
I'll take your breath away
and after, I'd wipe away the tears
just close your eyes dear
Through this world I've stumbled
so many times betrayed

trying to find an honest word to find
the truth enslaved
oh you speak to me in riddles
and you speak to me in rhymes
my body aches to breathe your breath
your words keep me alive
And I would be the one
to hold you down
kiss you so hard

I'll take your breath away
and after, I'd wipe away the tears
just close your eyes dear
Into this night I wander
it's morning that I dread
another day of knowing of
the path I fear to tread
oh into the sea of waking dreams
I follow without pride

nothing stands between us here
and I won't be denied
and I would be the one
to hold you down
kiss you so hard

I'll take your breath away
and after, I'd wipe away the tears
just close your eyes...


{Song: Possession}
{Artist: Sarah McLachlan}

~~ Hope you enjoyed this chapter and more to come soon! Muhaha...kay anyways, I am so very conflicted with this plot right now because I have 2 possible ways to end this fic and i'm not sure which one to choose...hmm..i'll give it some more thought. Anywhoo, tell me what you thought of this chapter and Thank you all soooo much for reading! :)~~

Prison Gates
~~ Okay, here's the next chapter. Sorry if it's a little short but MAN its hard to write alot. Anyways, hope you all enjoy! ps: Remember that this is fiction and the court stuff came to me just because i watch alot of procedural crime dramas because i have no life...so if it's innacurate then i am very sorry...most of it should be pretty accurate anyways :)~~



“ Bring in the next case.”

The massive courtroom was oval in shape and was filled with many voices which included those of lawyers, clients and spectators all chatting as one and creating a massive headache for the judge.

Judge Collins, as she was referred to, hated court hearings the most because there was no jury which left only her, the bailiff and many people swarming the room, waiting for their turn in line. She looked up from the file as the cuffed man walked down the isle slowly beside his lawyer and was instructed to stand at the defence podium while the prosecution waited on the other side, eyeing him curiously.

Collins took off her small glasses and stared the man up and down, lowering her eyes in thought at the file she had just read about him. He didn’t look very harmful…all in all he looked quite friendly, aside from the small frown and pale face. But being on the job as long as she had, she knew that looks were deceiving and that this softly spoken Asian man was indeed a very dangerous person.

“ Counsellor, make your case.” She instructed lightly with a motion of her hand. Mike’s lawyer glanced at him and nodded a little, gripping his brief case.

“ Your Honour, we would like a deal which allows my client to be put on probation as soon as possible.”

“ Counsellor, are you aware of the severity of the crimes in which he has been charged?” she asked with an arched brow.

“ Yes Your Honour I am, but I see no use in sending him to prison. My client is sick-.”

“ –Sick enough to almost kill his entire family? Your Honour, this man is a danger to society and should be locked up.” The prosecution argued loudly from the other side of the room.

Judge Collins nodded a little with agreement and sat forward in her chair, eyeing each lawyer as they made their argument. Mike’s lawyer glared at the prosecution and shook his head feverishly.

“ This man has never even received a parking ticket in his entire life. This is his first violation of any law and that fact should be considering during this hearing.”

“ Have you not noticed that his ‘first’ violation was ATTEMPTED MURDER?” Your Honour, you can’t just let him leave the court on probation and not expect him to do something like this again. His family fears for their lives!” Replied the prosecution.

Collins glanced at Mike and watched him dip his head submissively with what…guilt? Not only did he look extremely guilty, but he also looked like a lost dog, begging to be placed somewhere, ANYWHERE other than in between home and prison.

“ Do you have an argument for that Counsellor?” she asked with a crooked smile. He lowered his eyes nervously and sighed in defeat.

“ Well to be honest Your Honour, they’re right…he is a danger but he is not a criminal. As I have already said, he’s sick.”

“ You’re pleading insanity? Are you kidding me?” The prosecution lawyer demanded in disbelief.

“ Enough!” Collins shouted at the prosecution, then rubbed her temple wearily. All these arguments piled upon more arguments were enough to make her go insane. Mike lowered his eyes and silently sighed, feeling the cuffs scratching his skin. He couldn’t believe that his future was in the hands of one person…and she could either make him or break him.

At this point he really didn’t care because waiting in a holding cell for two weeks was enough to make him want the extra cell space at a federal prison. Judge Collins turned her vision towards Mike and flipped through his file once more before nodding.

“ Michael, I have looked over your file and for the past week I have been trying to comprehend how someone such as yourself could do something like this. You have a wife, two children and a house…not to mention potential millions in profits with your band. You are a very successful person and yet you destroyed all of that within a few months. Why?”

Mike slowly lifted his eyes and stared at her sheepishly with a heavy heart.

“ Your Honour, my client cannot answer that question.”

“ And why is that?” she demanded with a frown.

“ Because he does not even know why he acted like that. That is why I am making a request that he be put in an institution for mental illness and not in a federal prison.” His lawyer explained.

“ And you believe he will be rehabilitated?”

“ Yes Your Honour.”

“ Objection, there has been no psychiatric evaluation on the suspect therefore he cannot be forced into a mental institution. There is no proof he is mentally ill at all!”

Collins glanced at the prosecution and sat back in her chair, going over all the information and evidence of this case in her head. The prosecution had a point…there had been no psychiatric evaluation at all, therefore no proof that he committed the crime involuntarily due to mental illness. This made for a shaky case and so far it was not looking good for Mike.

“ Alright, due to the fact that there is a possibility there might be mental illness involved, Michael will not be charged with attempted murder.”

“ Thank you Your Honour…” The lawyer sighed with relief.

“ Objection Your Honour, this is ridiculous! That man almost killed the people he loved and showed no compassion for them at all!”

“ Sustained. The officers involved in the case informed me that he had complied willingly to drop the weapon. It could be defeat or it could be compassion…either way he will NOT be charged with attempted murder.” She explained with a deep burning gaze into the prosecution.

She then turned back to the defence and the prosecutors remained silent. It was clear that Judge Collins had made her decision.

“ Michael Shinoda, you have been charged with domestic abuse, the utterance of death threats and assault with a deadly weapon. How do you plead?”

Mike stared at her for a long moment before slowly opening his mouth to speak. It all came down to this…he could take the blame or lie about it all and spend several weeks in a mental institution. Either way, he was not going to be a free man for a while.

“ Guilty, Your Honour.”

Mike’s lawyer turned to him suddenly with a frown and gasped out in disbelief. “ Excuse me? I thought we went over this? You were to plead not guilty and be institutionalized in a mental facility.”

“ Counsellor is there a problem?” Collins asked with an arched brow.

“ Your Honour, may we have five minutes?”

“ No Counsellor you may not. Your client has already pled guilty to his crimes.”

“ B-but Your Honour-.”

“ –The end Counsellor.” She then turned to Mike once more and stared into his dark gaze which had once been filled with light and joy…only to be purged of emotion and replaced with violent thoughts and anger.

“ Michael Shinoda, I sentence you to one year in the maximum institution for men with no possibility for parole. There, you will undergo extensive psychiatric evaluation and will be forced to attend programs to deal with your alcoholism. Do you understand your convictions?”

Mike blinked slowly and gave a small nod, then replied with a shaky ‘yes’.

“ Very well…court is adjourned.”

Mike’s fate became sealed the moment the sound of the gavel echoed throughout the oval room. Judge Collins rose from her seat and proceeded into her chambers as the bailiff came and grabbed Mike’s arm, pulling him towards the side room where he would be booked and taken to the maximum prison for men. One year? Was that enough to punish him for his crimes?

The sentence seemed a little odd to Mike as he was led down a long corridor and into a small room where he was released and forced to wear an orange jumpsuit. When he was finished getting dressed, two officers cuffed his wrists together once more, and then preceded to cuffs his ankles as well. As he was led to the white unmarked van, he suddenly realized how effective this sentence would be.

With all the chains and cuffs around him, he knew that one year would punish him enough…especially one year in a maximum institution with all the murders and rapists for company. There was no way to tell how dangerous it would be to live in a cell next to all these hard timers…some even on death row. He could be ambushed in the shower…stabbed in the halls and even injured during lunch break. As he watched the city limits disappearing behind him, he instantly trembled at the thought of this prison, this hell hole that would now become his home for the next year.

Danger had a new face within the cement walls of his new home and he swallowed hard at the thought. He was scared…damn scared. Just being alone in a cell, staring out into the hall filled with cells with fifteen plus other guys staring at him and watching him was enough to make his skin crawl.

Did he really belong there?

Probably.

Was he a dangerous murderer and rapist?

Possibly.

Did he accept this fact and guiltily live with it?

Absolutely.

The long drive to the prison was excruciating to Mike because he knew what was going to happen to him when he arrived and he wasn’t exactly keen on experiencing any of it. He definitely deserved this punishment and the fear of it pounded his heart against his chest so hard that he could hear it in his ears.

Finally, the white van stopped and the two officers jumped out into the scorching Californian heat then opened the van door, pulling Mike out with a firm grip. He squinted through the brightness of the afternoon and walked clumsily through the cement lined outdoor hallway, forcing the sun to pound against his cheeks, cooking his skin to the boiling point.

The officers pulled him through the metal doors, which buzzed as they entered then slammed shut behind them. He was then led through a darker hallway which led to a small room with a desk and bullet proof window. The person behind the desk stared at the guards as they took the sheet from under the slot and began signing things off and booking the Asian into the prison records.

Finally, after all the preliminary signing, he was taken to a small cement room with a table and a chair for him to sit on. He was left alone in this room as the guards slammed the door shut, probably meeting the Warden and singing more papers, instructing them to which cell he was to be brought to and which routines and rotations he would be a part of.

Mike stared at the white wall in front of him and shifted uncomfortably in the hard plastic chair, jingling the bracelets loudly. Through the door, he could hear three men speaking and someone mention a psychiatrist. Mike blinked slowly at their words, blushing slightly as they continued to talk about him and book him into the prison.

After about a half an hour, the door opened and two guards grabbed him from the chair and pulled him out into the hall then leading him down another long corridor until finally they came to a hall filled with dark cells. Mike swallowed nervously as the chatter from the inmates filled his ears.

“ We got a fresh one guys.”

“ Harmless fruit…what the hell is he doing here?"

“ Probably killed someone with some hardcore Kung Fu moves…”

Chuckles and cackles echoed throughout the hall as Mike tried to avoid eye contact with them. The guards stopped him in front of an empty cell with one bed and a toilet as well as a sink and the only illumination was from a small barred window.

The door was unlocked and slid open with a clang, then Mike felt himself being pushed inside and the cuffs were taken off, leaving him feeling slightly naked after so many hours with them on. He rubbed his wrists and watched the guards silently close the cell door and lock it, finalizing his fate. The chuckles of the other inmates continued to echo off the walls as Mike stared around his cell, eyeing each cement brick with disinterest.

Slowly, he sat down on the firm cot and leaned back against the wall, glancing up at the barred window with sad eyes. This was it…he was here…and now his punishment would begin. For hours, he just sat there, not knowing exactly what was going on or what to do. Jingling and clanging would echo down the hall, indicating that the guards were walking around opening doors and talking to inmates. Voices bounced off the walls as mindless conversations ensued and Mike knew he was being talked about.

The closest prisoners to his cell had been referring to him as the Asian Kid for several hours and soon Mike became tired of the talk and raised his knees to his chest, lowering his head and covering his ears with his arms. Hours upon hours passed until the afternoon shine slowly became an evening glow and the sky turned dark blue with only a few stars peeking through the clouds. For the first time in weeks, perhaps even months, Mike began to feel a terrible sting in his heart and a sickness within his stomach.

It didn’t take him long to realize that these feelings were of longing…longing for friendship…for his family and everything familiar in his life. He knew they couldn’t forgive him for what he had done…hell he couldn’t even forgive himself but as he stared into the darkening sky, all he wanted to do was crawl under the covers of his hard cot and cry.

His cell became dark and gloomy and the prisoner’s voices died down to mere snoring, allowing Mike time to finally relax. Only one thought was coursing through his mind as he continued to watch the sky above blacken and feel a small tear trickle its way down his cheek to come to rest at the base of his chin. He blinked slowly and gave a small sniff, gripping his knees tightly and rocking back and forth like a lost child.

I want to go home…

Prison gates won't open up for me
On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'
Oh, I reach for you
Well I'm terrified of these four walls
These iron bars can't hold my soul in
All I need is you
Come please I'm callin'
And oh I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
Say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me

Heaven's gates won't open up for me
With these broken wings I'm fallin'
And all I see is you
These city walls ain't got no love for me
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story
And oh I scream for you
Come please I'm callin'
And all I need from you
Hurry I'm fallin'


Hurry I'm fallin'


{Song: Savin' Me}
{Artist: Nickelback}

~~ Okay, so there it is...he's in prison. Does anyone visit him? And if they do...whom????? Oonnesss lotsa drama coming soon so watch out for that. Reviews as always are HIGHLY appreciated cuz you guys are just so incredibly awesome!! Thankees and don't forget to come back for more! :)~~
Courtyard Cries
~~ Okay this chapter is a little pointless and possibly boring but i just lack creativity and imagination today so bear with me. Anywhoo, hope y'all enjoy!!!!!!! :)~~




“ One year…”

Anna stared down at the newspaper after hearing her daughter’s voice of disgust, and frowned with concern.

“ Why are you reading that?” she asked softly and grabbed for the paper, only to be stopped by Laura’s hands.

“ That bastard nearly killed us and all he gets is one year? Are you fucking kidding me?” she demanded with deep burning anger.

Anna lowered her cool blue eyes and gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head. “ It was up to the judge Laura, you can’t change that.”

“ Three years at leased Mom…he should have gotten three years.” She snapped back and closed the paper, smashing it against the kitchen table. Anna glanced down at the crumpled newspaper and turned around to see her daughter opening the fridge for a soda. She was obviously taking this harder than everyone else in the house.

Even Mike’s band mates weren’t as angry as her. Sure, they were concerned for his family and were utterly disgusted when they found out what had happened but to completely shun him from their lives? It wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Laura however was taking this extremely hard and there wasn’t a day that went by she didn’t make some nasty remark about her so-called father. As the weeks passed, Anna truly believed that her daughter had started to hate him and some days she wouldn’t even acknowledge the fact that she was related to him. The hardest part yet was when Xander would run around the house calling out for his father, expecting to get a hug in the morning and a kiss goodnight in the evening.

Anna had to sit him down and explain to him that daddy wasn’t coming back for a very, very long time…possibly never. Anna remembered that day well, as if Xander’s sad brown eyes were burned into her mind, constantly reminding her of the missing parent. The three year old still did not understand why his father had to leave and why he wasn’t coming back.

Even though Anna had explained all of this to him, he still continued to search the house for his father, sometimes even steal a shirt from his dresser to cuddle up with on the couch while watching TV. A heartbroken child searching for their parent was extremely upsetting and nearly had Anna on the verge of tears everyday. Hopefully one day Xander would get used to the single parent and would continue to live normally without even a thought of his imprisoned father.

If only Anna could forget Mike’s sad eyes and trembling lips as he was taken away in handcuffs. The image still haunted her in her sleep and left her cheeks stained with tears in the morning.

“ Mommy!”

Anna blinked the image from her mind and looked around the room to see Xander running towards her with a distraught look upon his face.

“ Yes Xander, what is it?” she asked quietly, staring down at the tiny child.

“ Radio!” he shouted, holding up the small portable radio with the antenna extending upward.

“ What about it?” Laura muttered, sipping on the cola and walking towards them.

“ Daddy on the radio…” he explained slowly, extending the machine towards his mother who stared at it with dark eyes, listening to the static sound of electric guitars, drums and voices…Mike and Chester’s voices to be exact. Anna bent down on her knees in front of her son and grabbed the radio gently, turning it off.

“ Xander, you’re supposed to be putting your toys away.”

“ But Mommy-.”

“ –No Xander…go pick up your toys.” She ordered with a soft voice.

The child stared down at the silent radio and blinked slowly, feeling the tears burning his eyes and swelling his cheeks with a light crimson. It was evident that he missed his father’s voice…especially when he sang to him to get him to fall asleep. Laura remained silent as Xander started to whimper sadly with trembling lips.

“ But…that Daddy…” he whined sadly, allowing the large tears to crawl down his cheeks. Anna sighed heavily and wiped away her son’s overflowing tears with a heavy heart.

“ I know sweetie…but I’ve already explained this to you. That’s not your dad…that’s just a recording of his voi-.”

“ –I miss daddy…” Xander interrupted with a small sob and leaned into his mother’s shoulder, soaking her shirt with his tears. She wrapped her arms around him and stroked his black hair with care, allowing him to weep his little heart out. Laura grabbed the radio and turned it back on while receiving a disapproving glance from her mother.

“ Turn that off…” she whispered, not wanting Xander to become attached to his father’s voice. This would only cause more sadness to fall within his eyes and the longing for his father’s arms around him in a comforting hug.

“ Mom…just…just let him listen to it.” She whispered back with a small frown. Anna sighed uneasily, then finally nodded in defeat, allowing Laura to hand her little brother the radio.

He grabbed it tightly and pressed it against his chest, listening to the comforting voice of his father ringing through the small speakers.

“ Tireda bein whatchoo want me to be…” he sang along quietly, swallowing his tears and blinked heavily to rid the wetness from his eyes.

“ Laura, why don’t you help your brother clean the toys up from his room?” Anna suggested.

“ Yeah sure…come on Xander.” Laura replied and grabbed her little brother’s hand, leading him towards the stairs. Anna watched them thump upstairs and eyed the radio still glued to Xander’s chest as they disappeared into the upstairs hallway.

It was hard to think about but…they couldn’t live with Mike…and they couldn’t live without him.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



The sound of a basket ball bouncing against the hard pavement echoed throughout the cement courtyard as well as loud shouts and laughter. Mike’s dark Asian eyes scanned the ridiculously bright day which seemed to contrast against his shadowed mood. All the inmates from his cell block were brought outside to exercise in the small courtyard filled with a basketball court, various exercise equipment and skipping ropes.

Mike however, had no interest in participating in such activities and decided to isolate himself on top of the long wooden bleachers, overlooking the yard. He was thankful that the other inmates decided to ignore him this time because the last time he was out here, he had been pushed down to the pavement, burning his cheek against the heated cement.

Mike could never really quite understand why he had been attacked that day but assumed it probably had something to do with his Oriental blood. Some of these guys were pretty racist and he wasn’t exactly keen on joining them while they were building their muscles. Of course, if another inmate were to come up to him again to attack him, there was no hope in hell he’d be rescued since the guards were either up in their lookout towers or back inside the building on a coffee break, glancing out into the courtyard every once and a while to see if everyone was still alive.

So much for maximum security.

The ping from a bouncing basketball awakened him from his thoughts and he looked down to see the orange ball rolling towards him, only to come to a halt at his feet. Great…this just put the attention of twelve inmates on him.

“ Hey Chinese dude! Little help!”

Mike looked up from the ball and eyed that inmate cautiously, watching him flailing his arms stupidly like a bird.

Chinese…never Asian, never Japanese, never American…always Chinese.

Why?

“ Hey did you hear me? You dumb or something?”

“ He probably can’t speak English!” Another inmate shouted, causing the others to laugh. Somehow this reminded Mike of junior high.

The intelligence level was about the same.

Mike shivered slightly as four inmates began walking towards him with amused glares and balled fists. Something told him this wasn’t going to end well.

“ Hey Chopsticks, you deaf?” This guy was pretty big…many tattoos and God knows how many piercings. He didn’t exactly seem like the conversation type but more of the fists in your face type. Mike stared at him silently with a deep glare, kicking the ball lightly towards him.

The big guy stared down at the ball and then burst out laughing as another inmate picked it up. “ Look at this dude! Not even a word…how rude…” The big guy explained and then shook his head with disapproval.

“ Relax man, he don’t know English!” Another one stated, then everyone around Mike began laughing. Mike rolled his eyes and gave a heavy sigh, instantly regretting his decision.

“ Hey you guys see that? The little asshole rolled his eyes at me. Why don’t we say we roll up our sleeves and give him something to sigh about?” Mike swallowed hard but tried not to let them see his nerves as they began advancing on him.

What does it take to get a little fresh air around here?

Just before the big guy advanced his fist towards his face, he was stopped by a stern voice, loud enough to echo throughout the courtyard yet soft enough to be considered an inside voice.

“ Come on man, leave him be. He’s new…besides he’s probably got more balls to keep his mouth shut than you do.”

Mike looked past the crowd at the voice and watched as an average sized Hispanic man walked through them and came at a stop near Mike.

“ You protecting Chopsticks here?” the big guy demanded with a glare of disbelief. The Hispanic inmate crossed his arms, somehow dangerously flexing his tattooed muscles all at the same time.

“ No I’m not protecting anyone. I’m just explaining to you that once you send one fist into this guy’s face, the guards are going to come out and beat the shit out of you. Take a look at those watch towers.”

All the inmates in the yard looked up into the bright sun and stared into the bullet proof, tinted windows of the watch towers where two guards stood with rifles in hand.

“ You see? They’re always watching guys. So why don’t all of you go back to your little basketball game and leave this guy alone huh?”

The big guy with all the earrings glared down at the Hispanic man and clenched his fists tightly. “ What, are you gonna kindly ASK us? Who the hell do you think you are?”

“ First of all, I’m not asking…I’m telling. Second of all, I’m just trying to keep the peace here alright? Prison’s hard enough as it is. You wanna rough me up, do it during lunch break…just leave this guy out of it.” He explained calmly.

Mike watched silently as the two inmates stared each other up and down for several moments…that is until the big guy made a dangerous move, sending his fist flying through the air towards the Hispanic. Before his fist could even hit him, the Hispanic inmate grabbed his knuckles and squeezed them as hard as he could, dropping the big guy to his knees.

All the other inmates stood around in a state of confusion, watching this tough guy suddenly wincing and begging for mercy.

“ You take one of us out…you take all of us out…understand?”

The big idiot nodded and blinked away his tears, sighing as the Hispanic released him from his grip.

“ If I see you near him again I will personally see to it that you’re bunking with the rapists…” he hissed quietly.

Mike hid a smile as the big guy stood up trembling and rubbed his hand, shaking out the pain and without another word, turned around and walked back into the basketball court along with all the other curious inmates. A few of them even chuckled under their breath and gave the Hispanic looks of approval and gratification.

It seems that big guy had been a nuisance for a long time. When the crowd around Mike had died down, the Hispanic male turned around and stared at him for a short moment, watching his Asian eyes carefully. Was he judging him? Nah, this didn’t seem like the kind of guy who judge seeing as though he just saved Mike a lot of pain.

“ Mind if I join you?” he asked calmly, receiving a shy look from Mike.

The Hispanic raised a brow and sat down beside him anyway, giving a large smile.

“ You’re not much of a talker are you?”

Mike almost laughed at that remark considering he had been an Emcee for several years and talking was basically his pay check.

“ The name’s Carlos…Carlos Rodriguez…”

Mike nodded a little and swallowed hard, not knowing exactly what this guy’s motives were. Either way, he wasn’t about to turn down a friendly face.

“ Nice to meet you…” He mumbled quietly, staring down at the pavement.

“ So…you DO speak English…what’s your name man?”

“ Michael…”

“ American name, American accent…I don’t see why these guys have a problem with you.” Carlos stated with confusion.

“ I guess it’s the eyes…” Mike replied quietly.

Carlos nodded and stared out into the bright sun. “ Yeah I had the same problem when I first came here. They didn’t really like the fact that a Hispanic guy was treading on their ‘white man’ territory. Anyway, I set them straight a few years ago and now they leave me alone for the most part.” He explained.

Perhaps that was why he had saved Mike from becoming an Asian pancake. Racism was obviously a problem in this prison…well probably a problem in most prisons.

“ So what are you in for?” Mike asked casually, feeling relieved that someone wasn’t trying to beat the shit out of him.

“ I knocked off a few banks in my younger years…killed a few people for profit, that sort of thing. I should be out in five years…”

Mike nodded with acknowledgement and stared at him, knowing exactly the question this Carlos was going to ask him. “ So why are you-.”

“ –I beat the shit out of my wife and tried to kill my family.” He stated simply without a hint of emotion.

Carlos raised a brow in disbelief and gave a crooked smile. “ You? You can’t even stand up for yourself in a fight.”

“ I never said I couldn’t. I just haven’t had the chance…” Mike replied softly and then stopped as he heard the familiar voice of the guard.

“ Hey 556! Let’s go!”

Mike stood up reluctantly and frowned, instantly knowing where he was being taken to.

“ Hey man, where are you going?” Carlos asked.

“Psychiatrist. Apparently I’m insane, or maybe it was mentally ill…one of those. Anyway, thanks for covering my ass…it wouldn’t exactly look good to the Doc if I showed up with a bruised face and broken bones. I’m trying to get off on good behavior you know?” Mike explained and then walked off slowly towards the guards who were waiting for him with cuffs.

Carlos watched Mike disappear inside the walls of the prison and he frowned with intrigue. Not only was this guy shy and quiet but he was also extremely witty and intelligent…not to mention sarcastic. But the one thing that interested him…or perhaps disturbed him the most was that Mike was unlike any of the other prisoners.

He wasn’t tattooed or scarred or mutilated in any way. Somehow, he figured that this gentle Asian man didn’t really fit in at a maximum security institution. Actually, fit in is the wrong way to explain it…it was more like he didn’t belong among these criminals.

He shook off these thoughts and walked back into the court towards some exercise equipment. With that kind of personality, that Asian boy was liable to get himself killed. Sarcasm wasn’t exactly a great tool to save your life.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The walk down the corridor was long and tiring as Mike shuffled his feet along the hard surface of the floor. Each step he took felt like bricks dragging behind him…well actually the cuffs around his ankles were probably the reason for that.

This was it…his mental help.

Did he believe he was insane?

Maybe.

But the more time he spent in prison, the more he began to feel that this had nothing to do with the alcohol or the stress at all. Perhaps he was born like this…perhaps he had always been a threat to the people he loved.

The guards stopped him in front of the door which read: Mental Health, Dr. Richardson PHD. Well, the only way he’d find out if he was crazy or not was to talk to this doctor…which he wasn’t exactly keen on doing. Cooperation wasn’t exactly a priority for him at the moment and making this guy’s job a living hell would definitely make him feel better for the rest of the day.

I can’t believe I actually want to make someone’s life a living hell just to please myself. Well…maybe I am crazy. Oh well, time to have a little fun.

Mike stared at the door with dark eyes and gave a small menacing grin…

~~ Yeah Mike...he's kinda crazy right now lol...anywhoo...k, all the names i used I made up okay so dont try to sue me if ur name is carlos rodriguez..there's probably a million out there anyway...SOOOOOOOOO if Mike mentally ill or just need help??? Stay tuned to find out! Reviews HIGHLY appreciated and THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING THIS! OH YEAH, and the song Xander was singing along to was Numb by Linkin Park...incase you didn't know lol :)~~
Psycho-analysis
~~ WHOA...Thanks for ALL the reviews so far! Wow! You guys are GREAT!...and just to let everyone know...i've never actually seen Prison Break...but i'm sure it's a good show. LOL..anways, ENJOY! :)~~


“ Doctor Richardson, there’s an inmate here to see you.”

The good doctor looked up from his desk and dropped his pen that he was using to write down paper work with and frowned slightly. “ Does he have an appointment?”

“ Yes sir, he’s your two o’clock…” The guard replied with a slight bit of impatience. After all, standing in front of the psychiatrist’s office wasn’t exactly exciting. Doctor Richardson opened his file cabinet and flipped through his appointments, then pulled out the file under 2:00.

“ Send him in.” he called out and turned around to see the door opening and a tall Asian man being hauled into the room by two guards. His eyes instantly darkened as he remembered this man’s file…the damage done to his wife and the terror he had inflicted among his family and friends.

The guards pushed Mike down into a soft cushioned chair across from Richardson’s desk and cuffed his ankles to the legs of the chair. Mike never even blinked as the guards pulled away from him and exited the room, returning to their daily routines of attempting to maintain the prison’s security. Richardson sat forward and leaned his arms against his desk, eyeing Mike’s file curiously, then looked back up to face the prisoner right in his eyes. The look he was receiving from Mike wasn’t exactly what he was hoping for at the moment because he could always tell that by the look they were giving or how they were acting, it would be an indication of where and how far this session was going to go.

So far, this prisoner didn’t look to be in the ‘help me I’m sick’ kind of mood. With his dark Asian eyes penetrating the doctor and a small smile twitching out of the corner of his mouth, he seemed to have been mocking the doctor in a sort of way that told him: Go for it…see if you can cure me…see if I care. Not only that, he could almost feel Mike’s dark gaze staring into his soul, looking for some kind of weakness in an attempt to get himself the hell out of there as soon as possible.

The doctor had much experience with patients like that and scaring him was not going to be as easy as Mike thought. He was going to receive help whether he liked it or not and somehow Mike was starting to sense this as the doctor smiled a little.

“ Good afternoon Michael…how are you doing?”

That friendly voice sickened him to the very depths of his heart.

How do you think I’m fucking doing? I’m in prison you ass wipe! Jesus Christ, can’t these doctors take a hint.

The Asian remained silent, just watching and staring into Richardson’s steely blue eyes and counting down the minutes until he would be able to return to his cell and sulk in the corner. Richardson nodded a little and knocked his knuckle against the desk lightly, signaling to Mike that he understood very well how he was doing.

“ I see…” he replied and sat back comfortably against the soft leather chair.

“ You’re shy…I understand that. Prison is a very frightening place…especially for a young man such as yourself…”

Fucking prick…talking down to me like I’m some sort of lost child.

Mike never moved a muscle or blinked at this man and remained silent with a heavy glare, still keeping those dark chocolate eyes on him…watching him.

“ How have the other prisoners been treating you?” Richardson asked with a small frown, noticing the fading bruise on Mike’s left cheek. Finally, after a short moment of silence, Mike blinked and shifted his body into a more comfortable position, resting his cuffed wrists in his lap. Richardson smiled briefly at Mike’s now conscious movements…a few jingles from the chains attached to the cuffs on his ankles, a few more blinks, and a hard swallow…obviously the last question asked made him slightly uncomfortable and so the doctor decided to use that against him, provoking, hopefully a verbal response.

“ I see you have that nasty bruise on your cheek. Did you become rough with a few of the men in the courtyard-.”

“ –I did nothing.”

Richardson shivered slightly at the tone of Mike’s voice. How dark and whispered it was…as if he were trying to conceal some held back anger…perhaps even a few violent words that might get him more time in prison.

“ Really? Because after looking at your file, I can see the danger you constantly put yourself in. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone accidentally brushed past you in the corridors and you stabbed them…”

Mike’s jaw tightened at his words because deep down inside he knew that this doctor was just trying to get a response out of him. In reality, he wasn’t really like that. Besides, he liked to use his fists more often than a weapon.

“ You fucking psychiatrists think you’re so fucking superior to everyone. You people think you know everything but the truth is you have no fucking idea what is going on inside my head right now.” Mike explained with a deep, raspy voice…indicating that he was no longer going to play this little psycho-analysis game.

Richardson blinked slowly and rocked slightly in his chair, eyeing Mike curiously. “ Then tell me Michael. Tell me what’s going through your mind right now.”

“ I thought it was your job to figure all that out.”

“ I thought you said I didn’t know what was going through your mind…how about you enlighten me.” Richardson replied, feeling much more interested in this particular prisoner already.

He seemed extremely intelligent and witty…which was perfect. The dumb ones were always such a bore…this man was a challenge and that much was obvious. He seemed secretive and shy yet also very outspoken and charismatic. In essence, they were both playing with each other’s minds and rather cleverly at that. The doctor was attempting to trick Mike into revealing the source behind all his anger and Mike was attempting to confuse this doctor so that he’d never find out.

It was a difficult game but also extremely fun to play.

“ How about you stick a metal rod up your ass and leave me the fuck alone.” Mike stated quickly and sat back with ease, watching a smile stretching along the doctor’s lips.

“ Because first of all, that would hurt a lot and second of all I am trying to help you.”

“ Help me why?”

“ Because you need it.”

“ Yeah and why’s that?” Mike demanded with a deep frown.

“ Well besides the obvious, the judge ordered it and I can already see how mentally disturbed you really are.”

“ Mentally disturbed huh? What exactly makes me so mentally disturbed?”

Richardson opened Mike’s file and began pulling photos out of the pocket of the folder and displaying them out onto the desk in front of Mike one by one.

“ Take a look at these and tell me a normal, healthy human being would be able to cause this much damage.” He stated in a low voice.

Mike continued to stare at him and didn’t even look down at the photos of his bruised, bloodied up wife and pictures of his children with ligature marks from the ropes he used to bind them.

“ You’re not looking.” Richardson warned softly.

“ Why should I have to? I caused the bruises remember? I think I’m fully aware of what I did.” Mike explained calmly.

“ Actually I think you’d be surprised Michael because the camera really does bring out the full effect of the pain.” The doctor explained casually with a furrowed brow.

In reality, the film in the camera would have been able to penetrate the skin to bring out the sub dermal bruising that the naked eye isn’t able to see, therefore illuminating ALL the bruises while creating a nasty picture that would make anyone’s stomach churn with fright and disgust. Mike swallowed hard in discomfort and avoided all eye contact with the photos.

“ If you’re so obsessed with these images then why don’t YOU look at them?”

“ You’re avoiding them Michael. You did this and now you’re feeling guilty. That’s what’s not allowing you to look at them…and I know that what you did makes you feel sick everyday you wake up in this prison. I know that by the look in your eyes right now, you are not a bad person…you’ve just made some mistakes in your life and turning to alcohol was one of them. That’s what brought this anger on and that’s what made you hurt your family. Yes…you are sick…but you CAN be cured.”

Mike blinked quickly at his words and sighed shakily, trying not to let him see his nerves. “ N-no…”

“ Look at the photos.”

“ NO.”

“ Look at them Michael!”

He snapped his head down at the sound of the doctor’s voice and stared down at his feet, not wanting to look at the desk.

“ Look at the PHOTOS Michael. It’s the only way you will be able to accept what you did…and the only way you’ll be able to get over this guilt and anger.” Richardson explained calmly.

“ Fuck you, you fucking prick! What the hell kind of sick psychiatrist are you?” Mike demanded, feeling his voice breaking with each word.

For days, those images had haunted his dreams and caused him to feel sick to his stomach. He was not about to look at the whole picture of the damage he had caused. Besides, trying to rid himself of those thoughts was the only thing keeping him strong. But…the more he continued to think about them, the weaker he felt himself becoming and knew that eventually he would snap emotionally…even with one glance at the photos on the desk.

“ I’m the person who’s trying to get you out of here as soon as possible. I agree with your lawyer…you are NOT as dangerous as this file depicts. You simply need help…you are SICK.” Richardson explained in a soft tone, watching Mike beginning to tremble.

“ Define SICK.” Mike mumbled, breathing shakily into his lap.

“ I believe you are severely depressed. I also think you have post traumatic stress disorder and a wide range of anger management issues, not to mention being an alcoholic.”

“ What makes you say that?” He demanded quietly, slowly considering looking at the photos. Maybe if he did take a peek, he would realize the kind of monster he had become and try to change that in an attempt to return to the person he was before.

Doctor Richardson watched Mike’s eyes scanning the floor slowly and could even see the wheels beginning to turn in his mind. He was thinking…good…he wanted him to start thinking. “ Four years ago-.”

“ –N-no…please…” Mike whispered desperately.

Why did he have to bring that up? Bring up anything but that!

“ Four years ago,” He continued.

“ Your daughter came down with a serious case of Vasculitis and nearly died. That event hit you hard and caused your post traumatic stress disorder. During her illness, you became severely depressed and tried to end her pain by ending her life…which didn’t happen because you realized that you would just be ending it sooner and not giving yourself a chance to appreciate her while she was still living. Thankfully she didn’t die but you still felt saddened and frightened by those events, having nightmares…”

He stopped and watched as Mike’s jaw tightened and loosened, then tightened again. Obviously he was trying to ignore the memory and stop his tears from welling up in his eyes.

“ And then your son was born, which increased your stress because you were still afraid that something bad was going to happen to your children even though they were both safe and healthy. Of course your band touring began and you were forced away from your family for weeks, even months at a time and to keep your depression at bay you would drink. Probably started as two a night, then increased to about four until finally you couldn’t get the beer out of your hand. All of this snowballed into one massive problem for you and pretty soon you couldn’t handle the depression and stress.

Instead of talking with someone about it, you turned your problems into anger…anger in which you inflicted upon your family and friends until you were basically out of control. You almost killed them Michael…and not because you were angry or dangerous or even violent. You just couldn’t control what was happening to you and before you knew it, you were staring at nine police officers with their guns pointed at you…and a knife in your hand.”

Mike remained silent…almost frozen in place as the doctor’s words echoed throughout his brain. How could this be? How could this man figure all of this out in one session? Was he really that good or was Mike just a guy with obvious problems? Perhaps this doctor had dealt with inmates with this same problem many times…or maybe he had put so much interest in this case, he believed he could actually rehabilitate him.

Could he?

“ Its time to stop running from this problem Michael. Its time to look at those pictures…and to start putting things into perspective…” Doctor Richardson explained quietly.

Mike swallowed his tears and blinked quickly, attempting to find the courage somewhere to look up. After several moments of taking deep breaths and closing his eyes, he slowly lifted his head and opened his dark orbs, scanning the pictures slowly.

The shocking content of the images nearly sent him into convulsive vomiting. The ligature marks on his children’s wrists were so deep and so rigid…it was hard to believe they survived that long with the tightening constraints. Images of their teary eyes, pleading to him flashed through his memories and forced a large lump to form in his throat. He glanced at Anna’s picture and felt his cheeks draining of all color.

Her strong blue eyes seemed to stare at him with hatred, darkened by the black bruises around them. She looked sickly pale, almost like a demon with dry, split lips and collapsed cheek bones. Tears began stinging his eyes as he stared at the hundreds of purple lacerations, splitting the skin open on her bony back, overlapped with black and yellow bruises.

Mike sat there with shaking hands, just staring silently at the images before him. After a while, the doctor began thinking that perhaps he was in a state of total shock and wouldn’t ever be able to move again…that was until Mike let out a sudden cry of heavy sobs and lowered his head shakily, closing his eyes to those soft Asian slits.

His whole body rattled violently with each cry while he slowly raised his hands to his forehead and leaned down, weeping into them feverishly. The doctor watched him silently as he continued to sob and struggle for air. It wasn’t long until the effects of the photo’s images in his mind began to cause him to vomit involuntarily all over the floor.

At this sound, two guards came rushing into the room only to be stopped by Doctor Richardson. The last thing Mike needed was two guards hauling him off to the showers where he’d be sprayed and doused with soap…hell he was barely able to breath already.

Slowly, the vomiting stopped and he coughed out heavily, still feeling his stomach churning dangerously with guilt and disbelief. Mike attempted to calm his breathing as the tears continued to stream down his red cheeks, hitting the puddle of vomit on the floor. Mike kept his head low and his hands remained on his forehead, causing his spikes to shake continuously with each sob. After a short while, his sobs became shallow coughs and sniffs and he gave a trembling breath with each thought of his family.

“ J-Jesus Christ…” he whined into his lap.

The guards and doctor watched him with interest and silence as he began to finally battle the violence and anger within himself.

“ A-Anna...” He whispered shakily as the tears warmed his lashes once again.

“ M-my poor babies…” he muttered in a soft tone, with a scratchy voice still trapped in tears. Apparently the consequences of his actions had finally begun to hit him…hit him hard.

How could I have been so stupid? What the hell is the matter with me?

“ W-why…” He whispered with a barely audible volume.

Doctor Richardson glanced at the guards and frowned with concern. “ Inform the Warden I want to have a word with him.”

“ Yes sir.” One of them replied and left the room, leaving the other guard standing there in shock. Never in his career had he seen an inmate so upset with guilt…and it seriously began to make him question this man’s presence in the maximum security unit.

Slowly, Mike raised his head and trailed his soft eyes over the horrid images once again. Doctor Richardson watched as Mike lifted his hands cautiously and touched the pictures gently with care, as if touching them would cause them to shatter into a million pieces.

Mike closed his eyes, not feeling worthy to look at them and whispered a few soft words…words only he and the pictures were able to hear. And with a gentle breath, he set them free like a soft breeze.

“ I’m sorry…”




~~ MHM that's right..anyways, Hope y'all are having fun with this so far and just to let you all know...this fic is gonna be LONG...and im not even exaggerating...okay maybe i am a little lol. Wootness, Reviews are HIGHLY appreciated and Thank you all so much for reading! *hands out cookies* :)~~

Dead Line
~~ Okay I hope this chapter isn't too short...so Enjoy!! :)~~





With a smile, Mike pulled out a package of rope from the closet and shook it around in his hand.

“ Here we go.” He breathed and walked Anna towards Chester and Laura. He sat her down and ripped open the bag, tearing the rope from the plastic and unrolled it. While Mike was busying himself with cutting the rope down to size, Chester turned his head once more in Xander’s direction and swallowed hard. This was it…this could potentially save them…or kill them.

“ Xander…” he whispered, barely audible. The small child stared at him like he was in a trance and blinked slowly with acknowledgement. Before Chester continued, he glanced at Mike and sighed with relief, seeing that he had turned his back on them to grab a sharper knife to cut with. Anna frowned and stared at Chester in question, wondering what he could have possibly needed Xander for.

“ What the hell are you doing?”

“ Getting the fucking phone…care to help?”

“ And get us killed? No thank you.”

“ Suit yourself then.” He sighed and turned his attention back to Xander as Laura and Anna watched with curiosity. Chester pointed to the cell phone once more and motioned for Xander to come out of hiding.

“ Phone…get the phone…” he mouthed with a small whisper. The little boy slowly moved his feet and began carefully taking small steps towards the end of the couch where the phone was located. He wasn’t quite sure why Chester needed the phone…but assumed that perhaps there was some sort of game involved. He raised a brow in question while watching Chester nodding encouragingly.

“ That’s it…pick it up…” he hissed.

Xander bent down quickly and gripped the phone with his tiny little hands and stared at the bright buttons and flat screen. This was one heck of a toy indeed. “ Press one-.”

“ –Ah, having a little chat are we?” Mike demanded as he turned around, holding the cut pieces of rope tightly. Chester swallowed his words and looked away from Xander…then stared into Mike’s dark eyes with guilt.

“ Dammit…”

“ Dammit is right Chaz. You see, while I was cutting the rope, I did a mental head count of the people in this house and discovered one little person was missing. It really is a shame though…your little plan might have actually worked.” He smiled.

“ It still can Mike…Xander’s holding the phone and you’re not.” Anna replied through her teeth.

“ Well we’re just going to have to change that now aren’t we?” he answered and slid the knife into his pants, turning around to face his little boy who was staring at the phone in awe. He placed the pieces of rope on the centre island and slowly began walking towards his son with a warm smile.

“ Xander…” he called softly.

He looked up at his father and backed away slightly.

“ Press one Xander.” Anna stated lightly with pressure.

Laura watched the scene nervously as their safety began to crumble away.

“ No…give daddy the phone.” Mike stated over her voice and held out his hand.

“ Number one Xander…come on, you just learned this.” Laura explained with a glare. The little boy eyed his family with confusion and looked down at the phone, trying to remember which number was ONE.

“ Give me the PHONE.” Mike ordered calmly but with a loud voice, causing the boy to shiver.

“ B-but-.”

“ –Xander…please give daddy the phone. Come on…it’s not a toy.” Mike explained with a softer tone, but it didn’t seem to convince the toddler to listen to him.

“ Xander it’s the first button!” Anna shouted, but before he could do anything Mike swooped the boy into his arms and ripped the phone from his tiny little hands with a glare.

“ Daddy doesn’t have time for this.” He stated angrily through his teeth, receiving a fearful look from his son. And with that, he threw the phone as hard as he could against the wall, smashing it into itty bitty little pieces…just like the hope they had of being rescued.

“ Are we finished playing games now?” Mike demanded loudly, causing tears to fall from Xander’s eyes. He wasn’t just crying because of his father’s anger but because he was holding him far too tightly than he should have and was hurting his ribs.

“ D-daddy-.”

“ –What? What the hell are you crying for?”

“ It hurt…” he whimpered desperately while struggling within his father’s grasp. Mike lowered his eyes sadly and gave a small pout of sympathy.

“ Aww, is daddy hurting Xander?”

“ Yes…” he squeaked with a short cry. Anna frowned desperately and blinked away her tears while watching her son’s face reddening with pain.

“ Michael stop this, he’s just a child!” she shouted with trembling lips.

“ Aww, is he now? Is this hurting you Anna?”

“ Yes…please let him go…” she pleaded mournfully.

“ Well if I remember correctly…you promised not to tell anyone about what I was doing. So…this makes me wonder how Chester knew-.”

“ –I figured it out along time ago Mike. Anna didn’t tell me shit.” Chester interrupted with growing anger.

Mike lowered his dark eyes and adjusted his son at a better angle within his arms, which caused him to shriek out in pain because of the twisting ribs.

“ Michael stop!” Anna screamed along with Xander who was crying out feverishly for help.

“ You told…and now your son is going to pay the price!”

“ He’s your son for Christ’s sake! He didn’t do anything wrong!” Chester shouted at the top of his lungs. Mike winced through his son’s screams and growled under his breath.

“ Fine…I might as well let him go then…” he hissed quietly and loosened his grip on Xander…allowing him to fall to the floor. He hit the floor with a loud thud followed by a mournful wail from his mother who ran towards him as fast as possible and dropped to her knees beside him. Mike stared down at the scene, watching Anna cuddling her screaming son in her arms in an attempt to ease his pain.

“ You sick bastard…” she sobbed as she stroked her son’s soft black hair. Laura stared at her father in disbelief while the tears streamed down her cheeks like waterfalls. Chester’s dark eyes became blank at Mike’s lack of compassion. This was his son…his baby…and he just dropped him on the floor. Thankfully Xander had landed on his bum…but the actions were still horrific. How any parent could just let their child drop to the floor was unimaginable and disgusting.

“ Get up Anna…” Mike ordered with a clenched jaw. She stared up at him and continued to weep desperately. Why was he not showing any compassion for his family?

“ Rot in hell you sick son of a bitch!”

“ You first.” He growled and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her up with a painfully tight grip. Xander continued to cry in his mother’s arms as Mike threw Anna to the floor beside Chester and Laura, then grabbed the pieces of rope. Laura leaned in closer to Chester as Mike bent down in front of Anna and began quickly tying her wrists together in a tight knot, then did the same to her ankles. The family remained silent as Mike tied them all up, all the while receiving dirty looks from all of them.

Laura couldn’t even look at her father and Chester had trouble keeping his anger at bay. Anna continued to cry with her son who was still in her lap sobbing painfully. At leased Mike didn’t tie him up…the first act of compassion he had shown all day. When he was satisfied with this, he stood up and stared at all the swollen red faces full of tears and heavy breathing. He grabbed the duct tape and swirled it around his index finger in thought.

“ Do I really need to use this or will you four be quiet?” he asked. None of them spoke a word and merely stared down at their bound wrists and ankles. There was no getting out of this situation…the vast tidal wave of their fate was coming in fast.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


“ Chester?” Joe knocked heavily against the hard wooden door of Chester’s house and frowned. He had been standing there for seventeen minutes just knocking and calling out to his friend but there came no response from within.

“ Chaz come on, I know it’s late in the afternoon but I really need to use your computer! Mine crashed this morning! I have very important work to do-.”

“ –Joe give it a rest, he’s probably out with Mike doing ‘best friend’ stuff.” Rob interrupted from the window of the car. Joe turned around and put his hands to his hips defiantly.

“ Best friend stuff like what?”

“ Like he said he was going to go visit Anna this morning.” He replied casually.

“ And how many hours does that take?” The Korean asked impatiently.

“ As long as it takes. Besides, you don’t have any real work to do…you just want to play Chester’s new PC games.”

“ Hey, that is work. If I’m going to defend the universe, I’m going to need his computer!’ Joe shouted and received a short chuckle from Rob who stepped out of the vehicle and walked up to the house.

“ Have you tried phoning him?”

“ Yeah, there’s no answer. And I think his cell batteries are shot.”

“ Have you tried Mike’s house?” Rob asked with an amused grin. Joe rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his hair with yet more impatience.

“ Uh hell yes and it said the connection was unavailable.” “ What about his cell?” Joe stared at Rob for several seconds before lowering his eyes in realization and defeat.

“ Mike has a cell phone?”

“ Yeah…how do you think he calls us to get out of bed when he’s at the studio?” Rob laughed and smacked him on the side of the shoulder.

“ Ugh, fine I’ll try his cell…” He muttered and flipped open his cell as Rob gave him the number.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The loud ring of a cell phone echoed throughout the kitchen and Mike lowered his eyes angrily. The last thing he needed was a phone call right now since he was about to slice his family’s heads off. With a short sigh he reached into his pocket and flipped open his cell.

“ Yeah what?”

Chester glanced at Laura and Anna with hope…each of their eyes brightening at the sudden situation. If they screamed for help loud enough, the person on the other end might be able to save them. It was worth a shot…but also extremely dangerous for Mike was still the one in control and could kill in less than three minutes with the right precision of the knife.

“ Hey Mike is Chester still over there? I need his computer.” Joe explained casually.

Mike looked at Chester with a glare and cleared his throat with warning, making it clear that if they made a peep he’d kill them. “ Uh…yeah he is but he’s busy…”

“ Busy doing what? I have three hours to save the universe or I’ll be out of the game! You know this Mike! Just let me talk to him…I need to know where is keys are and what the password to his computer is.”

Mike sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead with irritation. This was ruining his plan. “ I’ll ask him for you.”

“ Nuhuh Mike…the password is secretive. Only me and Chester know what it is.”

“ Then why do you need it?”

“ Because I forgot what it is.” He replied shortly.

Only Joe would forget something like that.

“ Fine but you have five seconds.” He muttered and handed the phone to Chester but before he could reach out and grab it, Mike snatched it away.

“ Don’t do something stupid now Chaz.”

“ I won’t…” he stated quietly with a glare. Mike stared at him for a short moment then nodded, handing him the phone. Success at last…and now there was no need to scream for help.

“ Hey what’s up?” Chester asked trying to remain as casual as possible all the while watching Mike’s black eyes burning into him dangerous and waving the knife around as a warning.

“ Thank God man, I thought you were like dead or something! Jesus charge the batteries in your phone for once, I’m like dying here!”

“ You and me both buddy. What is it you wanted?” he asked.

Joe have a heavy sigh and swallowed hard. “ Where are your keys?”

“ Inside the mailbox…where else?” Chester replied with an arched brow.

“ Good place for em.” Joe stated sarcastically, then instructed Rob to open the door.

“ Alright…so now I need your computer password…sorry man I’m always forgetting.”

“ Don’t worry its pretty hard to remember.” Chester answered shakily while still staring at Mike...his heart pounding furiously against his chest.

“ Alright…now REMEMBER these numbers and letters because I’m only going to tell you one last time. These are VERY important and I want you to calmly put them in.”

“ Calmly? Why, should I be worried or something?” Joe chuckled and turned on Chester’s computer.

“ Well…actually I’m VERY worried right now…because I’m telling you this password again.” He explained shakily.

Mike’s glare deepened as Chester tried so hard to come up with a safe way to say this.

“ Okay…the password is…”

Joe listened intently as Chester gave a trembling sigh, watching Mike approaching closer with the knife.

“ 9-L-1-A-1-P-D.”

“ Okay I got it-.”

Joe frowned.

The line went dead.


~~ OOO THE SUSPENSE..or not..Reviews are highly appreciated as usual and Thankees for reading! :)~~
My Heart Destroys Me
~~ Okay here is 'THE' chapter lmao Gah sorry for the cliffhanger!! Super evilness i know...and i sincerely apologize. *bows down to readers* On a little side note: While writing this chapter, Robbourdon/mike was CONSTANTLY begging me to hurry up and finish LMAO. It made me laugh SOO hard because oh my GOSHNESS writing takes time, especially for me who is a super lazyass and is severly attention defeceit. So anywhoo...just wanna give a shout out to her for being super hilarious while i was writing because frankly, i enjoy the entertainment. SEE I'M MAKING A BIG FUCKING DEAL OUTTA THIS LMAO!! Anyways, enjoy!! :)~~




Rob raised a brow at the sudden frown on Joe’s face and the visible look of confusion.

“ What?”

“ The line’s dead.”

“ What do you mean?”

“ I mean the LINE IS DEAD. Jesus Rob, do I have to explain everything to you?” Joe demanded and began typing in the letter while mumbling about how his friends needed to get new phones.

With a sigh of satisfaction, Joe pressed the ENTER button and waited…then waited some more until finally a small box came up reading: The password you have typed is incorrect. Please use valid upper case and lower case letters then try again.

“ Blasted fucking son of a bitch!” He screeched then slammed his fists against the keyboard.

“ The ONE day I need the fucking thing and the fucking password thingy is broken!”

Rob held back a laugh at his friend and shook his head slowly. Obviously Joe had typed it in wrong.

“ You sure you got the right password?” He asked calmly with a smirk.

“ Uh…Chester told it to me so YEAH I got it.”

“ Type it in again.” Rob instructed, then watched as Joe’s fingers plucked at the keyboard typing every letter and number in. A few seconds later, the same message popped up once again, causing more anger and impatience to flow through Joe’s veins.

“ Why? WHY!”

“ Calm down man…what’s the password?” Rob asked with a smile…still amused by how obsessed Joe was with this game. The Korean lifted his eyes and narrowed them to a fine point, thinning his lips out.

“ It’s a secret…” he whispered.

“ Do you want to get on there or not? You’re probably typing something wrong.”

“ Ugh, fine you do it then. But I’m going to write it down so that if someone happens to be listening from somewhere…they won’t know what it is…” Joe whispered and grabbed a piece of printer paper then began writing down the password carefully, watching the room ever so often to see if someone was hiding behind a wall or couch.

Rob rolled his eyes at his paranoia and sighed. How someone could be so concerned about a measly password was beyond him. Quickly, Joe ripped off the piece he had written on and handed it to Rob with care, watching the younger man’s eyes scanning the sheet. As Rob eyed each letter and number, an obvious frown soon wrinkled itself on his brow and he looked back at Joe with confusion.

“ Chester gave you this?”

“ Yeah…so what?” he replied shortly.

“ Wasn’t his password HYBRID 010?”

Joe’s eyes widened in shock and realization then gasped. “ THAT’S IT! THAT’S THE PASSWORD-wait…how did you know what it was?” he asked with a small voice.

Rob smiled a little and blinked with pride. “ I got it out of him at last year’s Christmas party…he was so drunk he couldn’t even walk. Man he’s got a lot of useful shit on this computer…” he chuckled.

Joe sighed happily and typed in the password, then gasped with relief when the desktop appeared along with all the icons. Of course with all the excitement about the accessed computer, Joe hadn’t realized that Chester had given him a totally different set of numbers and letters…for him to figure out of course so that they could be rescued.

Thankfully Rob noticed this fact and continued to stare at the fake password. “ Hey Joe…if Chester’s password is still HYBRID 010…then why did he give you this?”

Joe cocked his head and shrugged while opening his media file which held all the games Chester had recently downloaded. “ To piss me off…I guess.”

“ Did you even look at these letters and numbers?”

“ Uh no, I just thought I’d completely ignore them.” He muttered sarcastically.

Rob rolled his eyes and shoved the paper back into his face. “ Read this Joe! It says 9-L-1-A-1-P-D!”

“ Your point?” he demanded with an arched brow. Rob blinked slowly at him and resisted the urge to slap him over the head. How could he not understand what those letter and numbers meant?

“ Separate the numbers from the letters. Now once you do that, it should read: 911 LAPD!”

“ So?” Joe squeaked with disinterest and annoyance.

Rob lowered his eyes desperately and breathed out with heavy disbelief. “ Los Angeles Police Department…the POLICE…911…do you understand where I’m going with this?” Rob demanded with a glare.

“ So what? What’s the police got to do wi-wait…do you think they’re in trouble?”

“ I don’t know…Mike sounded kind of shaky on the phone, like he was hiding something and Chester didn’t exactly sound too calm either. I also think I heard crying in the background…it sounded like Xander.” Rob’s eyes lowered in realization and he grabbed the phone.

“ What are you doing?” Joe asked quickly, while watching his friend’s rapid movements.

“ The password Chester gave you was a message for help.”

“ And you know this how?”

“ Just a feeling okay? Trust me on this one…Chester wouldn’t give a fake password unless he was being an ass on purpose or because he was in trouble and didn’t want someone to find out what he was up to.” Rob explained as he dialled 911.

“ You got all that from hearing me talk to him?” Joe demanded.

“ Just shut up…” he breathed as a woman’s voice clicked onto the line.

“ Los Angeles Police Department…”

“ Yeah hi, I got a call from my friend a few minutes ago saying he was in trouble.”

“ What was the nature of his emergency?” the kind woman asked calmly.

“ I’m not sure…he sounded distraught and panicked. I really think he’s in trouble…could you at leased send someone over there to check up on him?” he asked hopefully.

“ Alright, what’s his address?”

“ 31023 Belleview Boulevard.”

“ A car has been dispatched to that location.”

“ Thank you.” Rob breathed and hung up the phone.

“ Was that really necessary?” Joe demanded, obviously doubting his friend’s intuition. Rob lowered his eyes and gave him a dark expression, nodding slowly.

“ Oh…it was…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


“ You fucking son of a bitch…” Mike whispered through his teeth and threw his cell phone to the floor, hearing it crack. Chester lowered his head and fought through the tears of his stupidity.

Mike can spell Chester! You idiot! You just killed us! He screamed at himself.

Anna flinched as Mike swung the knife around in a mad fury and growled with burning anger and frustration.

“ I can’t believe you fucking did that! Now they’ll have the cops on my ass!” He screamed while digging his fingers into his own hair out of panic.

“ Well Mike…sorry to say this but you kind of had it coming…” Chester tried cautiously, only to be kicked hard in the face. He spat out the blood and coughed a little with pain, resting his head back against the counter with a deep frown.

“ Shut your damn mouth before I fucking rip it off!” Mike paced around the kitchen heatedly, feeling his cheeks growing red and his heart quicken. There was basically no way out of this unless he left now, leaving his family tied in the kitchen where they would for sure give him up to the cops. He wouldn’t allow that to happen…he couldn’t go to jail for this.

“ Dammit…fucking hell…” He breathed out heavily, then froze suddenly as a knock boomed against the front door. Mike stared at it, hearing a woman’s voice calling through.

“ Los Angeles Police Department. Is everything alright?”

Mike turned his vision towards his wife, kids and best friend for a moment…watching the tears drying against their tomato cheeks with a clear shine. Anna blinked slowly in desperation, pleading silently for him to end this and end this now.

“ LAPD, open the door!”

The Asian’s breathing hitched in his throat as he slowly dug the knife into his jeans and paced himself towards the front door.

“ I didn’t call for any cops. This m-must be some sort of mistake…” Mike explained loudly, although mentally kicking himself for stammering like a frightened idiot.

“ We got a call that someone at this residence is in trouble. Either you open the door now or I do it with force.” She explained sternly; her voice was slightly muffled through the wood.

“ I’m telling you…this is a mistake lady.” Mike stated with a deep glare while staring through the peep hole.

“ Sir, I’m giving you three seconds to open this door before I call for backup.” She warned with a slight hint of anger…or was it impatience?

Mike gave a heavy sigh, not really wanting to know which and carefully unlocked the door, then opened it a crack. The woman officer peered at him with deep green eyes all the while a strong hand on her holster.

“ Everything’s fine…really…” Mike tried with a small smile, hoping she’d fall for his ‘delicious’ grin. The officer did not even flinch in the slightest at his charm and tightened her grip on the gun holster. Something about his behaviour seemed odd to her…like he was nervous and jittery as well as calm and collected. Through years of experience, this told her that he was definitely hiding something.

“ Open the door.” She ordered once again with that unfazed voice, a voice so cool and so authoritative that it made Mike shiver. There was a silent stand-off between them as Mike’s gaze became dark and angry, causing the officer to unbutton her holster cautiously.

Laura, Chester and Anna all exchanged glances during this silent moment and agreed between all three of them to finally voice their pain and trap Mike right where they wanted him. It almost seemed too perfect.

“ Sir-.”

“ –HELP US! HE’S TRYING TO KILL US!” All three of them shouted simultaneously with panic. The officer stared at Mike with wide eyes and he attempted to slam the door shut, but was stopped when she used her shoulder to bash into the door, opening it wide and sending Mike jolting backwards. She grabbed her weapon from her holster and aimed it directly at Mike who was now holding the long, sharp-edged knife tightly in his right hand.

The officer glanced into the kitchen, seeing the frightened faces of this man’s family and silently cursed to herself. She hated these calls the most because quite often the person who was holding the people hostage would either take his own life or kill someone else in haste. Slowly, she grabbed her radio from her shoulder and pressed down on the button frantically, all the while staring Mike down with the barrel of her gun.

“ 322 requesting backup at 31023 Belleview Boulevard. I’ve got a hostage situation involving a male suspect who is armed and dangerous. I repeat, armed and dangerous.” She explained quickly, then placed her left hand back on the gun.

“ 322, dispatch has been notified. Three units arriving as backup. 10-4.”

“ Drop the knife and put your hands in the air.” She ordered loudly, never turning away from his deadly gaze. Mike began to feel his hands trembling as the perspiration dotted his heated brow. He was trapped in a corner and there was no way out…or was there?

“ DROP THE KNIFE.” She repeated even louder, causing him to flinch.

“ Go to hell bitch…” he hissed, hearing sirens echoing through the streets, becoming louder and louder as they approached.

“ Mike…just end it…” Chester whispered desperately as Xander began to cry again with all the commotion.

“ Shut the fuck up!” he screamed as three more officers entered the house with guns in the air.

“ LAPD DROP THE WEAPON!”

Mike’s eyes searched the room frantically for a way out and tightened his grip on the shaking knife until his knuckles became white. Through the dizzying array of shouts, he could barely focus on one voice and became quickly confused as to what he was trying to do in the first place. He gasped out fearfully and blinked away a few tears as the officers approached him slowly yet cautiously, still ordering him to drop the weapon.

Oh yes…find an escape route…but how? And when? He couldn’t just rush up to them and slice their necks open…they were the ones holding the guns. Four more officers entered the house with weapons drawn until there were nine fully loaded nine mils aimed in his direction.

“ Mike just listen to them…” Anna pleaded shakily with tears on the rim of her eyes which were blurring her vision.

“ I’ll fucking kill them…” he breathed with a trembling voice, backing away towards the sliding glass door.

“ Stop where you are and drop the knife NOW!” One of the male officers yelled. Mike froze in his own steps, so fully consumed with voices and sirens, he could barely think let alone function.

The vast waterfalls of tears began drowning his cheeks as he continued to utter death threats and violence. The female officer from before continued her approach on him and kept a strong finger on the trigger just in case the situation became a threat to the frightened family in the corner of the kitchen, as well as the other eight officers.

“ Come on man…you don’t want to hurt all these people. Just drop the knife and put your hands in the air and this could all be over.” She explained gently but still with that unfazed voice so full of determination.

Mike swallowed hard and coughed though his sobs, shaking his head feverishly. “ It’s a-already too late for that.”

“ No it’s not. I’m giving you a chance to comply…before I shoot you.” She explained.

Mike breathed out stressfully and shook his head once more. “ Then you’re going to have to shoot me because I won’t stop…I won’t s-stop...” he wept with shining chocolate eyes.

“ Listen to me very carefully. There are two ways this could go down. Either way…you’re dropping the knife.”

Mike peered into her brilliant green eyes for what seemed like forever until everything around him became muffled and blurry. The sounds of the muffled sirens soon became nothing but a whisper and the officer’s shouts dimmed to a mere breath. As Mike stood there, he watched the scene before him slowly shift into slow motion, almost unimaginable to his own eyes yet so real in nature. A dizzying fog warmed his head and he blinked slowly, until all the sounds in the room disappeared, leaving only the heavy beating of his heart to thump through his ears.

He could even hear his own breath, so shaky and loud that he thought that for sure he’d run out of air. Slowly yet unsurely, he turned his head towards the four people in the corner of the kitchen, all of them staring at him with incomprehensible fear and anguish, begging him to end this fight. And as Mike stood there staring into his family’s eyes, an old familiar sense flooded throughout his body and came to rest in his heart, filling it with pain and longing. For the first time in what seemed like years, though it had only been a few months, his heart began beating feverishly with panic, but not because he was scared of being shot…but because he feared for four lives…the lives of his family and best friend.

Time stood still as he stared into the hazy brown eyes of his son…eyes so full of fear and confusion illuminated by vast pools of tears and red irritation. His son…his baby boy. The same child who was always so full of joy, always smiling and always giggling. A child so innocent and so pure, it almost made him want to fall to his knees with shame and cut his own throat, thus saving his little boy’s life from an uncontrollable drunk and violent abuser. The whole scene before him just made him feel so sick to his stomach he was sure he would vomit.

Although he was not physically sick…mentally he needed serious help and he had slowly begun to realize this as he watched a single pearl tear trickle its way down Xander’s pink cheek, coming to rest at the base of his trembling chin. That same feeling in his heart throbbed painfully until almost at the edge of combustion…and he knew this feeling well.

In that moment of silence with only the beating of his delicate heart…his eyes lifted and became bright with epiphany. That little boy had entrusted something precious within him…something he should have never taken advantage of. Something very few people had the chance to experience in their lives and Mike had been one of them…and was once again. With every breath he took, he felt the maternal instinct bubbling through his veins, crying out to him to end this pain and protect this child from harm.

His blood was no longer burning with hatred and anger but with emotional pain and sympathy. The heartache that was once throbbing with frustration and violence…was now only filled with extremely painful love. Love for his baby boy…love for his family and best friend.

Just as quickly as the hate had shredded through him, it had disappeared and was now replaced with an instinctual need to protect…and to be the noble trustworthy father he had once been. With a barely visible smile, Mike turned his head and took in a deep breath, hearing the sounds rushing back at him and the sights sharpening in his own light filled eyes.

And for a moment, he felt harmonious peace in his heart as his grip lightened on the knife…feeling the slick handle gliding through his palm and plummeting to the floor below. The clang of the metal blade on the hardwood filled his ears like a gong, signalling to him the end of this fight. The Asian closed his dark eyes slowly and gave out a heavy sigh, only audible to himself, releasing his internal demons into the surrounding brightness.

And through the reflection of the cold blade, was a man…raising his hands slowly into the air…surrendering in defeat…


~~ Okay...just to let y'all know..the adress was fake cuz i needed to come up with one. Anywhoo, more coming soon..*frowns* Robbourdon/mike...u beg me for an update right away and i'll flippin freak out on you!! HAHA just kidding!!!!!!!!!...anyways, hope you all enjoyed it!! Reviews are highly appreciated!! Thankees for reading!! :)~~
Dear Angel
~~ Okay, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for the lovely reviews...as always hehe...okay so here is the next chapter and i just want to say that it might be a little crappy since i'm not really feeling all that good today. Sorry for my lack of creativity or my ability to keep you interested. Enjoy! :)~~



Your weakness is a wound that no one wants to speak of
your cool is just how far we have to fall
I am not immune-I only wanna be loved
but I feel safe behind the fire wall
can I loose my need to impress
if you want the truth, I need to confess

I’m not alright-broken inside, broken inside
and all I go thru-it leads me to you, it leads me to you

burn away the pride, bring me to my weakness
till everything I hide behind is gone
when I’m open wide with nothing left to cling to
only you are there to lead me on
cause honestly, I’m not that strong

I’m not alright-broken inside, broken inside
and all I go thru-it leads me to you, it leads me to you

(and now I’m moved, now I’m moved, now I’m moved)closer to you
(and now I’m moved, now I’m moved, now I’m moved)closer to you
(and now I’m moved, now I’m moved, now I’m moved)closer to you

I’m not alright-I’m broken inside, broken inside
I’m broken inside, broken inside
and all I go thru leads me to you, leads me to you

I’m not alright-I’m not alright-I’m not alright
that’s why I need you


“ Don’t move and keep your hands in the air.”

The female officer’s voice was calm yet authoritative as Mike remained completely still in the middle of the room. Two officers rushed over to the shaken family and began untying them and giving them words of comfort as the female officer approached Mike cautiously while the other officers behind her followed closely. Mike’s dark gaze followed the officer slowly as she walked up behind him and put her gun back into its holster, grabbing the cuffs from her belt.

“ Put your hands behind your back…slowly.” She ordered as his family shuffled towards the end of the kitchen, watching the arrest taking place with silent relief. Mike kept his vision away from his family as he lowered his arms behind his back, feeling the officer’s grip firmly against him, pushing his wrists together.

“ Do not resist…” The officer stated simply, although knew that Mike would not move a muscle at this point.

This was finished.

The click and snap of the cuffs echoed throughout the room with finality and zipped tighter with ease, clamping him tightly with security. Mike blinked slowly with an emotionless face as the officer began with a clear voice.

“ You are under arrest for the hostage taking of four people, uttering death threats and assault with a deadly weapon…” She glanced at Anna, staring at her black eye and sliced lip then gave a heavy sigh and continued.

“ And I have a feeling that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney…if you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to you free of charge. Do you understand your rights?” she asked while keeping a firm grip on his left arm.

Mike swallowed hard and looked briefly to the side, staring at the officer with a dark gaze. “ Fuck you…”

“ I’ll take that as a yes.” She breathed.

Chester wrapped his arm around Laura’s shoulder protectively and Anna held her son gently within her arms…all four of them staring at Mike with absolute relief and anger. This was the end of the torment they had been suffering with for so long. Anna let her tears fall as Mike finally turned his vision in her direction and stared at her with a dead gaze, lacking all emotion and compassion. It was as if he had turned off his feelings and buried everything within himself…perhaps punishing himself for what he had done…or maybe he just had nothing left to feel.

As she stared into those hollow eyes, all she saw was an empty soul of darkness and violence. The words that escaped her throat were weak and scratchy but filled with a sense of urgency.

“ Get him out of my house…”

The female officer listened to the intensity of her words and nodded, understanding the vast emotion within her voice. She was hurting terribly…as well as the entire family. One of the male officers grabbed Mike’s arm, tugging him roughly in the direction of the front door where there were other officers waiting to escort him to the police car.

Mike took one last glance at his family and traced his vision through each of their darkened pain filled eyes and lowered his head submissively before being pulled outside and disappearing into the dimming afternoon. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours as the number of officers slowly diminished, racing down the road towards the station where Mike was to be questioned. Many statements were taken from Anna and Chester as well as Laura concerning the severity of what had happened and what kind of abuse had been taking place over the past month or so.

As evening began to peek its way over the horizon, the female officer finished scratching down the last of the statements from the shaken family and closed her writing pad, signalling the end of the interrogation. Anna rocked a sleeping Xander in her arms and blinked wearily while Laura rested on the couch comfortably. Chester rubbed his face weakly and looked down at his feet, not sure where the next day would bring him or Mike’s family. Anna swallowed hard, feeling her throat becoming dry and decided to ask one final question before the officer left.

“ What will they do to him?” She sighed heavily with thought and raised a brow.

“ He’ll probably be taken to civil court where a hearing will take place and the judge will make the decision of what happens to him. But for now he will be placed in a holding cell back at the station overnight until his lawyer comes tomorrow morning.”

“ So…assuming he’ll go to jail for this…what exactly will his sentence be?” Chester asked quietly with interest.

“ That’s entirely up to the judge. At the most, he could get up to ten years in prison depending if he’s charged with attempted murder or not. Seeing as though he complied with us, he might get his sentence shaved off a few years…also if he’s presented with good behaviour during his time. The leased he could get is one year, then off on probation for a few more but again, this all depends on what he’s charged with.” She explained carefully, making sure they understood.

Anna nodded a little and stroked Xander’s hair gently in thought. The female officer frowned with concern and shook her head a little.

“ You should go to the hospital. The judge will want your physical abuse documented with photos…it will help with the case.”

“ Its not that I’m saying no but…I think I’m going to need a few days…” she replied shakily.

“ I understand…what you’ve gone through has been very difficult and stressful. Besides, allowing the bruises to surface will take a few days anyway and there is a good chance his hearing won’t be for a few weeks yet. The best thing to do now would be to get some rest…alright?” she asked.

Anna nodded slowly and stared down at the floor with acknowledgement.

“ Thank you…”

“ Have a good night.” She officer replied with a sympathetic smile and left the house, closing the door quietly. A sense of uneasiness and relief flooded the house and yet again silence dominated.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


“ Laura, you should get some sleep…” Anna whispered as she sat down on the other couch. Chester hung up the phone as Laura shook her head and blinked wearily, watching her little brother sleeping against the billowing cushions of the loveseat.

“ I’m not really in the sleeping mood.” She muttered quietly while Chester sat down beside her.

“ That was Rob…he wanted to make sure we were alright.” He explained with a soft voice, careful not to wake Xander.

“ Then Joe got your message?” Anna replied.

“ Yeah…although it took them a while to figure it out.” Chester answered while rolling his eyes.

“ You tell them about Mike?”

“ Mhm…they said that they’d do anything to help us get through what happened. We’ve got the band’s support…” Chester explained with heavy eyes.

Laura leaned back against the couch and frowned slowly, trying so hard not to close her eyes with fatigue. As she watched her little brother sleep, she felt a sting in her heart…the same sting she had felt when Mike had to leave for Florida on tour when they had first met. She missed him already…yet felt awful about feeling this way since what he had done to them was completely unforgivable.

The family was incomplete yet again…she had not father…Xander had no father. As Laura sat there in silence, she felt nothing but complete emptiness and loneliness even with three other people sitting there. Without a word, she stood up and left for her room, closing the door gently. Anna lowered her eyes with compassion and worry, eyeing Chester with a dark gaze. He noticed the grave expression on her face and gave a heavy sigh.

“ Someone should talk to her.” He muttered.

“ I think you should.” Anna replied lightly.

Chester frowned a little with surprise and looked around. “ Uh…why me? This has nothing to do with me.”

“ Well, she’s in pain and I can see it. There’s a gap in her life right now and what she really needs is a father figure.” She explained softly.

“ Is there a reason why you won’t talk to her?” He demanded.

“ She won’t open up to me.” She replied simply and stood up, scooping Xander into her arms, making sure he didn’t wake up with the sudden movement.

“ I’ll put this little monster to bed.” She sighed and said her good night to Chester. He nodded slowly and stared at Laura’s door for a long moment before finally having enough courage to go down there. When he reached the bottom step to her stairs, he noticed her lying on her bed with her face in the pillow.

“ Hey…” he whispered gently.

Laura glared into her pillow and swallowed hard while gripping it tightly with her fists. “ Go away…”

“ Sorry, I just thought you might have wanted some company…maybe even someone to talk to.” He explained and approached her bed slowly.

“ I don’t…good bye.” She muttered with a muffled voice.

Chester sighed heavily and sat down on her bed…of course doing the exact opposite of what she wanted. “ I know this is hard…okay I’ve been there alright? I’ve been abused and tortured my entire life. I know exactly what you’re going through and I know that right now you’re crying but trying not to let me know you are.” He stated softly.

Laura lifted her head and sniffed, staring up at him with glassy wet eyes. He lowered his eyes sadly and let out a weary sigh, nodding slowly.

“ Told ya so.”

“ So what? I’m upset! I just saw my father being arrested…you know after he tried to kill all of us.” She replied with a stuffed voice full of tears. He stared at her as she sat up slowly and wiped her cheeks, attempting to rid them of the staining tears.

“ So you want to talk about it?” he asked cautiously.

Laura lowered her head and shook it angrily with annoyance. Why was everyone always forcing her to talk about rough patches in her life? Why must there always be an explanation to pain? Why can’t someone just grieve without an interrogation.

“ Alright that’s fine…” Chester whispered with acknowledgment and relaxed a little as they sat there in silence for several minutes. Suddenly, like a pot of boiling water, Laura’s tears bubbled up around her lid and slid down her face causing sleek wet trails glowing through the reddening blush, crawling down to rest at her trembling chin. Instinctively Chester wrapped his arms around her as she began sobbing hard into his shirt, gripping it as if this was her last moment on Earth.

Just like her father, she would bottle up her emotions until it just came out with a vast explosion of tears and sobs. It wasn’t as if it were a bad quality though…sometimes releasing all those bottled up emotions was good for a person, allowing them to come to terms with what happened and to feel a little relieved with getting all of it out.

“ It’s okay…” Chester whispered softly and stroked her black hair with care.

“ He said I-I’d never be alone…” she cried with heavy breaths.

He lowered his eyes and attempted to comfort her the best he could.

“ N-never alone…” she continued painfully.

“ You’re not alone Laura…believe me when I say that. You’re not alone…” he whispered back, feeling a lump growing in his throat. She sniffed a little and sighed into his chest, feeling her sobbing dying down with those few words of comfort.

Perhaps he was right…then again her whole world could fall apart. Even with Chester continuing his comforting words, she still felt incomplete…and terribly broken…

Dear angel of mine,
Where do I start to express how I feel?
Well, my love's gone blind.
Now all that I feel is what I hear.
Your words rip and tear, and
through my heart so weak and pure.
Now I find myself wanting to die…

I bleed for the second time tonight
holding the love that's in my mind.
If only my love could be with you.
If only this pain, this pain died too
So I break you away, away, away from me.

As I sit here alone
thinking about everything that you said.
You know since I'm alone.
Well, maybe after all, I was better off dead.
Cause without you my life's gone down...
What do I do, when I find myself wanting to die?

I bleed for the second time tonight
holding the love that's in my mind.
If only my love could be with you.
If only this pain, this pain died too
I bleed for the second time tonight
holding the love that's in my mind.
If only my love could be with you.
If only this pain, this pain died too
I break you away, away, away from me.

And I don't know…I'll break you away!
Said, I'll break you away, away, away from me.
And I don't know.

{Song: I'm Not Alright}
{Artist: Sanctus Real}

{Song: Dear Angel}
{Arists: April Sixth}

~~ Okay so yeah it was short...hope you've enjoyed this so far and more to come soon. I'm feeling kinda tired now and will stop typing and let you all relax until I write the next chapter. What will Mike's sentence be? OOOness...anywhoo reviews are highly appreciated and THANK YOU! :)~~

Darkness Consumes
~~ Wootness...hope you enjoy the chappie... And thank you all for the WONDERFULLY KIND REVIEWS!! I wish I could hug each and everyone of you...but that might be a little creepy..heheh... :)~~



“ Michael, don’t you think you should give the beer a rest for tonight?” Anna asked softly while Mike’s dark eyes burned into her like fire as he chugged down the last portion of his third beer.

Laura remained silent while drying the dishes as well as keeping an eye on her little brother who was now sitting in the living room playing with a rolled up magazine on the table.

“ Finish the fucking dishes before I slam that frying pan into your skull.” He hissed malevolently.

Anna lowered her head and concentrated on the plate she was scrubbing, not turning her vision towards her husband, and deciding to ignore his malicious comments. Speaking to him would only cause further conflict between them and more pain for her.

“ You gonna fucking ignore me bitch?” he demanded with an obvious drunken slur. Anna swallowed hard and dropped the plate onto the counter, then moved away from him slowly with her head down, avoiding all eye contact with him. He approached with a crooked smile and shook his head.

“ What a pathetic whore…you can’t even fucking look at me.”

Anna restrained the urge to slap him and clutched her fists tightly together at her side. Laura glanced at her father and sighed uneasily when he noticed that glare forming on her brow.

“ Wipe that glare off your face bitch.”

Laura lowered her head away from him and dropped the dishcloth onto the counter, moving towards her mother’s side cautiously. Mike frowned in disbelief and raised his hands in the air, motioning them towards the sink.

“ Uh, hello…what the hell are you two standing there for? There are still dishes in this fucking sink!” he shouted.

“ S-stop.” Laura managed to whisper in desperation. She could no longer take his abuse like this…for it was like a constant alarm that wouldn’t cease.

“ What the fuck did you just say?” he demanded furiously.

“ She said STOP Mike.” Anna replied for her daughter; her cheeks growing redder with each breath. Mike nodded slowly and sighed out with angry impatience, feeling the throbbing vein in his neck pulsating hard.

“ What are you going to do? Stand up to me? That’s fucking pathetic…besides, the only way this night is going to end is with you screaming for mercy.” He growled at his wife who stood there in motionless shock at his words.

“ Don’t you fucking talk to her like that you sack of shit!” Laura shouted and jolted towards him in fury, only to be held back by her mother.

“ Laura, just…j-just don’t.” she whispered with desperate warning.

Mike stared down at his trembling daughter with curious eyes and a deviant smile. Both women knew not of what he was thinking or what he was possibly planning to do. They both figured it probably had to do with a lot of pain.

“ You want a fight…now you’ve got one.” He whispered in a low tone, sending chills up their spines.

Just the cheer look of malice in his eyes was enough to cause them to shake fearfully. Both of them felt extremely small beneath his black gaze as he approached slowly, clenching his fists tightly.

“ Mike…please don’t hurt her.” Anna pleaded quietly, watching him cautiously with a heightened sense of awareness so that she would be ready for his violent actions against them. He stopped advancing and merely stood before them with that evil glint in his eyes. It was clear he was not going to listen.

“ You can’t protect her Anna.” He warned with a voice that made her sick to her stomach. Anna wrapped her arms around Laura protectively and shook her head.

“ I disagree Mike. I can protect her…more than you’ll ever know. And the sick thing is, YOU should be the one protecting her. I should not have to be protecting her from her own father.” She spat with a heavy breath.

He chuckled lightly at her confidence and shook his head furiously. “ Anna, Anna, Anna, when will you ever learn? I’m the strongest…the toughest…and the most powerful person in this house-.”

“ –What about outside the house?” she interrupted angrily.

The mere question stopped Mike in his tracks and forced him to ponder about it for a short few seconds. “ What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.

“ You may be the almighty strength in this house but once I tell Chester about what you’ve been doing, you’ll be spending the rest of your measly existence in a six by nine cell.” She growled back in response.

The fury seemed to grow within Mike when he had heard Anna mention Chester’s name and more than that…prison. There was no way in hell he was going to prison for this. His glare deepened along with the color in his reddening cheeks as he advanced towards the two with heavy steps, causing them to sink back towards the counters in fear. Anna’s senses soon alerted her to the small feet racing towards them…the feet of a child.

“ Mommy, what happen?”

“ Xander stop!” She shouted desperately, causing him to freeze on spot…staring up at his father with fright. He stared down at the little boy with malicious anger clouding his mind, blinded by alcohol.

“ Tell Chester and I break your little boy’s neck.”

Laura gasped out in horror and Anna shivered with burning fear, grabbing her son up into her arms and holding him tightly against her chest.

“ Michael, don’t you dare touch a hair on his head.” She warned shakily, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. Xander looked around with confusion and when he saw Laura’s eyes full of tears, he couldn’t help but begin to cry himself.

“ Mommy…” he wept in fright, feeling her hand caressing his back comfortingly.

“ Shh, it’s okay.” She whispered gently.

“ Dad please…don’t hurt Xander…” Laura cried with pleading eyes, staring into his uncaring orbs. He blinked slowly and growled under his breath. He had to make them understand…he couldn’t let them tell Chester. If they did…it would surely ruin his life.

“ Don’t fucking tell Chester.” He whispered.

“ Okay fine!” Anna shouted through her tears, causing Mike to stop his advancements. She looked towards Laura and handed her the crying toddler who had managed to get himself caught in a growing danger. Laura gripped her little brother carefully as Anna stepped in front of them, shielding her children from the dangerous man they once referred to as their father.

“ Mike…I won’t tell Chester anything…I would never do anything to put my children’s lives in danger.”

“ No, see now you’re making me seem like this evil fucker!” he yelled back.

“ Well you fucking are! How can you even consider hurting your own children Michael? They’re your babies…” she explained with a broken voice, feeling the hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

Laura tried her best to comfort the crying boy during the loud ordeal between their parents…but his weeping never ceased. Slowly, she began slipping away as her mother distracted Mike, allowing her to quickly run upstairs with Xander and lock herself in his room. She sat down beside him on the bed and cradled him in her arms as he wailed into her chest.

“ Xander, shh…everything’s going to be okay. Please…just trust me…” she whispered soothingly as her own tears began to leak down her cheeks. Her heart pulsated rapidly as she grasped the severity of the danger downstairs. This fight was yet to be one of the worst.


“ They’re your babies…” Anna repeated with a whisper, fighting the lump in her throat. Mike’s jaw clenched tightly with irritation and anger. He hated it when she used that word…it had always struck a deep emotion within him that he couldn’t control.

Right now, he was being torn between his violence and maternal instinct…both colliding with each other, creating a conflict inside him. “ What if I don’t fucking want them to be my babies?”

“ Mike please don’t say that…” she whimpered and backed up against the counters as Mike continued his advancements once more.

“ What if I don’t want you? What if I don’t want this Goddamn life? What if I can’t take it anymore?” he demanded as perspiration beaded down his tanned brow.

“ Mike what the hell are you saying?” she asked with a quivering voice.

“ I’m saying I hate my life! I hate my fucking job! I hate my friends…I hate you…I hate my own children!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Anna flinched at the volume echoing throughout the kitchen and she couldn’t help but choke out a few tears. He hated her? He hated his own children? How the hell could he say that?

“ M-Mike…h-how could you?” she demanded.

“ What the fuck do you mean how could I? Do you not see what all this work and family is fucking doing to me? I can’t even think without downing a fucking drink! Four years Anna…four years I’ve been trying to hold all of my frustration and anger back because I didn’t want to hurt anyone but now I can’t keep it together. Too many things have hurt me and I think about them everyday. How the hell am I even getting through each day knowing what almost happened four years ago?” he demanded.

Anna blinked through her blinding tears with confusion and realization all at the same time. Four years ago…what could have possibly happened four years ago? And that’s when the realization kicked in.

Laura’s sickness.

He had almost killed her.

He had hurt his own family and broken down.

Laura’s near death.

The stress of recovering from that horror.

The stress of a new album.

The stress of a new baby.

The sadness when leaving for tours.

The isolation during the tours.

The alcohol to make him numb.

The distance he had forced between himself and his friends.

The distance he had forced between himself and his family.

The frustration of being confronted with this problem.

Becoming a violent alcoholic.

It was all too much to bear and comprehend. Anna shook her head slowly and blinked away a few long streams of tears.

“ Mike…it wasn’t your fault.” She whispered.

He ran a shaky hand through his hair and shook his head furiously in disagreement. “ I’m a terrible father…” he cried.

“ You were never a terrible father-.”

“ –Don’t try to fucking console me! I don’t fucking need that right now!” he screamed with high agitation.

Anna swallowed hard and sighed out uneasily. He was becoming increasingly dangerous as the seconds passed and she wasn’t sure how long she would be able to keep him talking before the fists began flying.

“ What are you going to do? Kill your family? That’s not going to make the pain stop!” She screamed back.

“ Shut your fucking face!”

“ Mike STOP!” She cried out with a short scream.

“ I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL THIS FAMILY! AND I’M GOING TO START WITH YOU!” Anna covered her mouth with her hand as Mike ripped off his belt and advanced on her with amazing speed.

“ Mike…please don’t do this…” she cried with closed eyes. She felt his hand tightly gripping her arm and she opened her eyes, staring into his.

“ P-please…”


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Laura closed her eyes and covered Xander’s ears as Anna’s wails and screaming howls echoed throughout the house. She tried to ignore Mike’s screams as well…screams of anger. She lowered her head and rubbed her crying brother’s back as the sound of leather slapped and sliced through skin. Whatever their mother was going through…was terrifyingly painful.

In order to ease away the sounds of frightened screams of pain, Laura began to sing a soft tune to calm her brother and to distract him, as well as herself from the sounds that were coming from downstairs.

To every heart thats growing darker, colder and colder
The heart on the sleave is getting older and older
Harder and harder to beat
To every soul thats burning brighter and brighter
Riding the fire higher and higher
The heart on the sleave is growing darker and darker
Harder and harder to bleed

And it won't be long now
And in time you'll find out
This heart is yours, let it bleed
And it won't be long now
And in time you'll find out
This heart is yours, let it bleed

To every time i keep you waiting, holding and praying
The heart on that sleave is always building and breaking
Making it harder to see
To everything that doesn't matter, pulling you under, taking you over
The heart on the sleave is getting closer and closer
Just cut it open and bleed

And it won't be long now
And in time you'll find out
This heart is yours, let it bleed
And it won't be long now
And in time you'll find out
This heart is yours, let it bleed

Time...
Time takes away
Time gives you chances to come back again

And it won't be long now
And in time you'll find out
This heart is yours, let it bleed
And it won't be long now
And in time you'll find out
This heart is yours, let it bleed


Laura’s breathing hitched in her throat as deafening silence flooded through the house. Xander sniffed back his tears while gripping his older sister’s shirt tightly, looking around the room slowly. He no longer heard his mother’s screams nor his father’s…and everything seemed peaceful.

That was until Laura had come to the sickening realization that perhaps her mother had finally succumbed to the violence and gone down hard…breathing away her own life. Had her father really killed her mother in pure violence and hatred? She blinked out a long tear as she heard heavy footsteps pulling themselves up the stairs.

“ L-Laura-.”

“ –Shh, its okay.” She whispered, sensing his worry that maybe their father would come to get them next. She felt Xander shaking in her arms as the person stopped in front of the door and stood there for quiet some time. Then, as if someone had given a silent order, it disappeared into the next room, slamming the door. Laura sighed out with relief and brushed through her brother’s soft hair slowly, calming him considerably.

“ W-why…why mommy screaming?” Came Xander’s tiny voice, muffled within Laura’s shirt. She swallowed hard, trying to think up a response to allow him some comfort for tonight in hopes that he’d be able to get to sleep tonight.

“ Um…m-mommy was…trying to get daddy to hear her because…uh…he can’t hear very well…” she replied shakily.

“ Why not?” he asked, sitting up a little.

She could already see him calming down and decided to assure him that everything was fine now. “ Daddy’s sick…” she whispered.

“ He gonna get better?”

Laura lowered her eyes and pulled back his blankets, laying him down beneath them then covered him up comfortably. “ I don’t know Xander. You need to sleep now okay?” she asked softly.

“ But-.”

“ –Xander…” she warned gently.

He lowered his eyes and gave a small nod, feeling defeated before he even had the chance to argue. “ Okay…” he mumbled wearily.

She gave him a light kiss on the forehead and brushed through his hair. “ Good night…I love you.” She whispered, stroking his cheek.

“ Night Laura…love you too…” he sighed and closed his eyes peacefully. She gave a sad smile and stood up, exiting the room…and slowly entered the hallway looking around for Mike. When she was sure he was locked away in his room, she proceeded down the stairs to see what kind of massacre he had caused this time.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her mother gripping the centre island tightly until her knuckles turned white. Her face was etched with pain and tears along with blood. Well…at leased she was alive.

“ Mom…” Laura breathed and ran to her side, watching her tremble heavily. Laura noticed where Mike had punched her in the face, causing her bottom lip to gush with blood.

The other thing she noticed was the phone that had been on the wall was now laying in pieces on the floor…and the black eye it had given Anna. She then turned her vision to her mother’s back which was now covered in blood. Slowly, she lifted her mother’s shirt and eyed the darkened bruises covered in lacerations from the makeshift whip that had formally been Mike’s belt.

“ Mom…I-I…”

“ Laura…c-come here…” she whispered weakly.

Laura lowered her mother’s shirt and sat down beside her at the centre island, eyeing her watery bruised eyes. “ Mom-.”

"–Laura…d-don’t tell ANYONE about this…” she stated shakily with the most serious tone she had ever heard.

“ But Mom…he hurt-.”

“ –I know…”

“ We have to tell someone before he kills one of us. Mike is a danger.” Laura whispered harshly.

Anna lowered her eyes at her daughter and gripped her hand tightly; her gaze never faltering. “ Patience Laura…you need patience.”

“ Mom how the hell can you just sit here and tell me to be patient while my own father is on a murderous rampage!”

Anna sighed painfully and swallowed the blood rising in her throat. It was impossible for Laura to fully understand why Anna was holding back on giving Mike up for his violence. They had to wait…wait for the right moment.

“ Wait…” she whispered to her daughter…who finally accepted her mother’s decision to keep this quiet…for now.

Mike was going to get what was coming to him…and Anna lowered her eyes at the thought with silent relief for it was to be very soon.


{Song: Bleed}
{Artist: Further Seems Forever}

~~ Okay so Mike is SOOOO GONNA GET HIS!! Kay so watch out for more Chester in the next chapter and then things start spiralling down from there. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and again, reviews are highly appreciated!! Thankees!! :)~~
Painted Picture
~~ Okay...the update for the next part is coming very soon...here's a little chappie for you to read while you wait...enjoy!! :)~~



“ Mommy!”

Anna turned around from the stove and smiled down at her son who was racing towards her with a large piece of paper. “ What’s that sweetie?” she asked curiously, bending down so he was now looking down at her.

Xander gave a bright smile and blushed through his shyness, gripping the paper tightly with both hands. “ I painteded you a piture.”

Anna gasped a little with surprise and gave a huge smile, watching his cheeks reddening even further. “ You did? Can I see?” she asked happily, feeling her broken lip splitting painfully.

Slowly, Xander turned the paper around and hid his face behind it as his mother inspected his magnificent creation. It was quite colourful indeed and very creative. There was a large outline of the house in red with green windows and a blue door which matched the blue sky.

In front of the house, he had painted a tall looking stick figure with long black hair, another shorter stick figure with medium dark hair and a small stick figure with black hair…all three smiling.

“ Aw, this is so beautiful Xander!” She smiled, but then it faded when she noticed the tall stick figure in the background, painted totally in black as if he were cast into the shadows of the picture.

“ Who’s this?” she asked, pointing to the dark figure.

Xander glanced at his own creation and lowered his eyes a little. “ Daddy…”

“ Why’s Daddy all black? Did you run out of colors?” she asked softly.

Xander shook his head and gave a short sigh, getting ready for his explanation. “ He’s not happy. No color.” He muttered in a small tone.

Anna lowered her eyes sadly and continued her questions. “ Why is he so far away from everyone?” she asked quietly.

“ Cause he wanteded to be alone…”

If there was one thing about children, its that their minds were so complex yet so simple. He had captured his father’s mood perfectly using only black paints and sticking him in the background away from everyone. It almost made Anna want to cry.

“ Well, I do believe Daddy would be proud to know that you are a marvellous painter.” She smiled weakly.

Xander gave a big grin as Anna grabbed the picture gently and gave him a warm hug. Laura walked into the kitchen and raised a brow as she witnessed the first hug in a long time happening right now.

“ Mike throw himself out a window?”

Anna frowned at her and stood up, still holding Xander’s picture. “ No…and stop calling him that.”

“ But that’s his name.” she argued quietly.

“ No…his name is DAD.”

“ No, his name is MIKE.”

“ Laura.” She warned, crossing her arms.

“ You know, I really haven’t seen Dad in a long time. You see, because this monster called Mike has taken over the house. I wonder when I’ll ever see my father again.” She explained slowly.

Anna sighed uneasily and lowered her head at what her daughter was trying to explain. “ Laura where’s Daddy?” Xander asked with confusion, obviously not understanding that Mike and Dad were the same person because of how Laura had explained it. Laura looked down at the innocent child and raised a brow.

“ Daddy went to go get drunk.”

“ Laura.” Anna hissed quickly trying to silence her.

“ I don’t see why though. He could just as easily get drunk here and the result would be exactly the same as coming home from the bar-.”

“ –That’s enough Laura.” Anna stated with an authoritative tone. The young teen closed her mouth and lowered her eyes guiltily, feeling she had crossed the line. Xander, although had distracted himself with thoughts of playing during their little dispute and began to smile to himself.

“ Laura, come play!”

“ Laura is tired.” She replied with a deep sigh.

“ Laura wants to play!” He shouted and grabbed her hand tightly in his.

She couldn’t help but smile at his playful innocence. Everything in his world right now was play, play, play…fun, fun, fun.

“ Play what?” she asked and rolled her eyes with a crooked smile, giving into his pleas.

“ I wanna play wrestle!” And with that, he attached himself to her leg and gripped it tightly, giving a low playful growl. Anna chuckled lightly and shook her head at her son who was always cute no matter what he did.

“ Wrestle? But you always play wrestle with Daddy.” Laura replied with an arched brow.

“ I wanna play with you.” He pouted, pulling off his best depressed look which of course he had acquired from his father.

“ Alright, I’ll play wrestle with you, but lets go outside okay? There’s more room.” She explained.

“ Kay.” He smiled, still gripping onto her leg. Anna kept her grin as she watched Laura hauling her little brother (who was still attached to her leg) towards the sliding glass door connecting to the backyard.

“ Stay where I can see you and please be careful.” She warned.

“ Will do Ma.” Laura replied and disappeared outside with Xander. Anna smiled to herself and watched as Xander tackled Laura to the grass, both laughing together as brother and sister.

She hated to think it but…her children looked happier with their father gone…even she was more at peace in the silence of the house. Just as these thoughts began to comfort her, she jumped with a start as the doorbell rang throughout the house. Anna pulled down the sleeves to her baggy sweater and walked towards the door, feeling anxiety rushing up her stomach.

She just kept getting this feeling that the cops were going to show up at her door one day to tell her that her husband had been found covered in blood and holding a knife over someone’s dead body.

It was a horrible image and a possible fact. When she looked through the peephole, she was relieved to see Chester standing there with his hands in his pockets. She silently hoped that Mike wouldn’t come home and find Chester there…for Mike suspected Chester knew something. Anna opened the door slowly and forced a smile, despite her nasty appearance.

Evidently Chester noticed her black eye and split lip as well as many other bruises on her face. “ A-Anna…what the-.”

“ –Come in.” she offered and opened the door for him to slip through. He frowned a little and walked into the house silently as Anna closed the door behind him…then locked it. Chester stared at her as she walked up in front of him, giving her a look of despair and worry.

“ What the hell happened?” he demanded with a short whisper, obviously shocked at her injuries. Of course in reality, these were mere examples of the horrors her body was scarred with beneath the sweater.

“ Uh…I, um…I was sleepwalking last night and fell down the stairs.” She explained shakily, feeling that lying to him was the best option at the moment. She vaguely remembered Mike’s words of snapping Xander’s neck if she ever told anyone what he was doing to her.

Chester gave her a look of doubt and sighed heavily. She sensed this and lowered her eyes in response.

“ I know it looks sort of strange but I can assure you I have been sleepwalking ever since birth. Even ask Mike, he’ll tell you that sometimes I get hurt-.”

“ –And where was Mike during all of this?” he interrupted sternly.

Anna looked around in thought and lowered her head. “ Well Chester, come on…its not like he follows me when I sleepwalk.”

“ Did he at leased see these bruises?” he demanded.

“ Yeah he did…I told him I was fine, just like I’m telling you know.” She replied quickly.

Chester became silent and shook his head, knowing fully that she was lying to him. Whatever she was hiding, he intended on figuring out. Anna sighed heavily and crossed her arms, motioning him towards the couch.

“ Have a seat…”

“ Thanks…” he muttered and sat down beside her on the couch. Anna leaned forward a bit because she was still sore from what had happened last night.

“ So…what’s up Chaz? What are you doing here?”

“ I came to see if everything here is okay. You know because last night Mike was kind of-.”

“ –Tired….he’s been really exhausted lately and entertaining guest wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do last night. I’m sorry if he seemed a little impatient.”

“ Anna, he was beyond impatient. He was kicking me out of the house and slammed the door.” Chester replied with a furrowed brow.

She looked towards the sliding glass door where Xander and Laura were still playing. She heard a brief scream from Laura as Xander pounced onto her stomach and began tickling her.

“ They playing outside?” Chester asked with a small smile, followed by Anna.

“ Yeah…and I think Xander is excited for Kindergarten.”

“ When’s he going?”

“ A few months. We’re waiting until he turns four.”

“ Of course.” Chester chuckled and glanced down at his hands. There was a peaceful moment of silent between them before Chester decided to pipe up.

“ So where’s Mike?”

Anna turned her vision back to him and he watched as her eyes darkened.

“ Out.”

“ Out where?”

“ Just…out.”

Chester frowned and shook his head, again suspecting that she was hiding something from him. Anna winced slightly as her stomach began throbbing from the pressure she was putting on it with her arms. Slowly, she moved back and carefully rested against the couch…still feeling the stinging sensation in her back from last night.

“ You okay?” Chester asked with a soft tone, seeing the pain in her eyes.

“ Yeah I’m just…sore…from the fall.” She muttered in response.

He rolled his eyes and sighed out heavily, having enough of this game she was playing with him. “ You sure Mike didn’t throw you down the stairs?”

Anna sat up quickly, but then regretted it as pain began shooting up her back and stomach. “ What in God’s name are you talking about? Mike would never-.”

“ –Hurt you? I believe he would.” He interrupted with a cold stare. Anna looked down and shook her head, realizing where he was getting at. If only he knew that his suspicions about Mike had been correct.

“ Mike loves me…and his family.”

“ Mike loves the alcohol more Anna…”

She looked at him with desperate eyes, hoping he would say it before she did. There was no way in hell she was going to tell him what was happening for she feared for her son’s life…for Laura’s and for her own.

“ I can fucking smell it on him every time he comes into the studio. Do you think I’m stupid or something?”

“ No…I don’t think you’re stupid.” She replied with a whisper.

“ Then tell me what’s going on! There must be a reason why you’re wearing a sweater in one hundred degree weather. What the hell are you hiding?”

“ Nothing…” she answered shortly, not wanting to venture further into this subject. Chester glared and shook his head, grabbing her sleeve and lifting it up before she had time to react.

“ No-.” Anna’s voice caught in her throat as she watched Chester’s eyes scanning the black and yellow bruises covering her arm.

“ What the hell are these?” he demanded with wide eyes. Anna tried to hold back the welling of tears in her eyes, but couldn’t and felt the blurriness setting in along with the burning cheeks.

“ I told you…I fell down the stairs…” she stated nervously through her teeth.

“ Anna, these look like hand marks. You can’t get those from falling down the stairs.” He explained, feeling frightened for her.

Things were slowly starting to come together in his mind. Hand marked bruises, alcohol and Mike’s anger…and it was all being forced upon his family. The mere thought of what was probably going on was making him want to throw up.

“ Anna…I need you to tell me the truth…”

“ Chester, there’s really nothing to tell.” She replied, avoiding eye contact with him.

“ That is so bullshit and you know it. Tell me the fucking truth or I’m leaving and whatever is going on, you will have to deal with by yourself.” He stated and stood up.

“ No, wait…” she stated desperately, feeling his gaze upon her.

“ I promised I wouldn’t tell…”

Chester sat down slowly once more and stared into her frightened and shaky blue eyes. “ Promised you wouldn’t tell what?”

Anna lowered her head and blinked away a tear that had begun to fall. “ Chester…I-I…I’m scared…” she breathed, already seeing Mike’s black eyes prodding her like a knife.

“ Anna…please, just tell me the truth…” he whispered.

She looked back at him with worry and swallowed back her tears, feeling them ready to explode along with the lump in her throat.

“ Is Mike beating you up?”

Anna stared into his dark, worried eyes and bit her lip nervously, allowing a few tears to fall down her crimson cheeks.

She began to tremble as her mouth slowly formed the words in response to his question…

~~ *hides from flying tomatoes* Yes i am evil...enjoy the cliffhanger??? lol...I just wanna say THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH FOR THE WICKED REVIEWS!! *throws confetti* Stay tuned for more muahahah. Does she tell him??? ooooo!! :)~~
Cellular
~~ Okay...this chapter is sort of long...but it would have been a hell of alot longer if I hadn't of stopped here lol...ENJOY!! :)~~

“ Yes…”

The mere word made Chester’s skin grow hot and his heart to drop in his chest. He was hoping that none of this was true and that he had just imagined Anna’s words in the back of his own head. But the reality was…she had actually replied with the word ‘yes’ and even after a few moments of silence, he still felt the goose bumps running up and down his arms.

“ Oh my God…” he whispered and looked down in thought, wondering how this could have ever happened.

Anna wiped away a few tears and brushed through her hair, getting the strays out of her paling face. “ H-how long?” he asked, finding his voice once again.

“ I don’t even remember…it seems like it’s been forever…” she replied shakily.

“ What about Laura and Xander? Is he-.”

“ –No…he hit Laura once…and never did it again…I’ve made sure of that. Xander has also been protected…which made it all the more worse for me because I’m the one standing in their way.” She explained.

“ Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why the hell is Mike getting away with this?” he demanding while the anger rose with his voice.

“ Because he said if I told anyone, he’d snap Xander’s neck…and kill the rest of us.”

“ He threatened to kill you guys?” Chester asked in shock. Anna sighed out shakily and nodded, hearing Mike’s threats in the back of her mind.

“ Anna where is he? Right NOW?” he asked in a low tone, not even sure he wanted to know, although he had a sneaking suspicion he already knew.

“ The bar…” Anna replied with a short cry and lowered her head into her hands.

“ It’s fucking nine in the morning…” Chester warned in disbelief.

“ I know…I know…I’ve tried to get him to stop drinking but every time I do, he throws the bottle at me or punches me. Chester, I’m afraid he’s going to lose control and kill someone.” She wept into her hands.

“ Okay…just calm down…may I see what he’s done?” he asked softly.

Anna lifted her head and stared at him for several moments, feeling his hand on her back. She visibly winced from his body heat and nodded slowly, feeling him lifting her sweater slowly to examine the injuries. The sight was so unbearable he almost had to stand up and leave the room. He winced sympathetically for her and swallowed his vomit, scanning his eyes over every blackened bruise and bloody laceration from a belt.

He carefully lowered her sweater and stared into her teary red eyes which were now bursting with tears.

“ Good God…” he breathed quietly and grabbed her hand, gripping it gently feeling her rapid pulse.

“ C-Chester…please don’t tell him I told you.” She pleaded with desperate eyes…eyes so fearful he felt like crying himself. Mike was really hurting them…and scaring them shitless.

For the life of him, he couldn’t understand how someone as happy and gentle as Mike could have done this. “ Anna…he is a danger-.”

“ –He’ll kill someone if he finds out I told you.” She stated with a raised voice.

“ Relax…he’ll never know you told me.” He stated with a calm tone. Just as he had said this, the front door latched and unlocked, swinging open gently and then closed. Anna lowered her head as Chester watched Mike enter the kitchen while flipping through some bills.

He wondered if Mike even knew he was in the house…although the large car parked outside should have been a clear indication. Without even looking up from the bills or acknowledging Chester, he gave a deep frown and breathed out.

“ Anna, why the hell are these bills late?”

She glanced at Chester with silent apology for Mike’s rude behaviour. “ W-we are all out of money…”

Mike stopped flipping through the bills and stared at her through his lashes. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing…and he slowly felt the anger bubbling through his veins.

“ What the fuck do you mean we’re out of money and what the hell is Chester doing here?” he demanded, finally acknowledging his best friend.

“ I came to see if Anna and the kids were alright…you know because last night we didn’t exactly end on a good note.” Chester explained while standing up to meet Mike in the kitchen.

“ What’s your point?” He muttered back.

“ My point is…you looked pretty agitated and pissed. Are you sure you didn’t take out all that anger on your family?” he demanded.

“ What the HELL are you talking about?” he asked quietly with confusion.

“ Did you not see the bruises on your wife’s face?” Chester asked with dark eyes, knowing full well that Mike knew exactly what he was talking about. Mike rolled his eyes and looked at Anna in question.

“ Bills Anna…make with a response.”

Of course he was trying to change the subject…the truth would only incriminate him. “ Michael…I already told you…we have no money left.”

“ How the hell is that possible? I just put a two thousand dollar deposit in the bank-.”

“ –Maybe you spent it all at the bar.” Chester interrupted with annoyance. There was no way Mike was going to get away with changing the subject. He was going to be confronted weather he liked it or not.

Mike turned his vision slowly towards the dark eyed man before him and gave a deep glare, remaining silent. Chester raised a brow and gasped out in disbelief.

“ What, you seem surprised Mike! You think I can’t smell the alcohol on you already? It’s nine in the morning for fuck’s sake. Now whoever is that desperate to get drunk so early in the morning must have some serious issues…” he explained casually.

Mike remained silent as Chester gave a crooked smile and shook his head.

“ But you know, there’s nothing like waking up to a beautiful, black eyed, bruised and cut women in the morning. Am I right?”

“ What the fuck is wrong with you?” Mike whispered shakily, feeling his heart pulsating rapidly against his chest.

“ What do you mean what is wrong with me? How about what is wrong with you? You don’t look the leased bit concerned that your wife is seriously injured. Have you seen the bruises on her back? The deep lacerations?”

Mike swallowed hard and sighed inwardly, feeling the nerves rattling against his ribcage. Did Chester know? Had Anna told him? If so…this was about to be a very ugly morning.

“ S-she fell down in the shower…” Mike replied shakily and cleared his throat. Chester gave a small smile and kept his deep gaze on his best friend.

Busted.

“ Wrong. She told me she fell down the stairs…she also told me she told you she fell down the stairs. Sleepwalking can really be exhausting you know? Right Mike?”

“ I-I don’t remember that conversation…” He replied quietly, backing up slowly towards the kitchen counters as Chester advanced on him.

“ Yeah…it’s probably all for the best anyway since that’s not what really happened to her.” He muttered casually with a furrowed brow.

Mike stopped cold and glanced at Anna who stood up cautiously, pulling down her sleeves and drying her tears. “ Anna…I swear to God-.”

“ –Leave her alone Mike. She’s endured enough pain as it is…and so has the rest of this family.” Chester stated with growing anger and impatience.

Laura stepped into the house, holding Xander’s hand and frowned with confusion as she watched Chester staring Mike down in the kitchen. It looked like a blood match was about to begin.

“ Mom?” she asked in question while walking towards her.

“ Just stay here…don’t move…” she whispered frantically with worry. Xander looked up at his mother with confusion and grabbed her hand gently, sensing the tension throughout the house.

“ Mommy…why Chester here?”

“ He wants to talk to Daddy…stay close…” she whispered back with a soft smile. The last thing she needed was a three year old running up to his very agitated and angry father who looked to be on the point of exploding. Things were about to become dangerous for Chester because he didn’t know how strong Mike could be…even when he was drunk. The only way either of them was going to leave this fight was with a broken nose or a concussion.

“ You might as well give this up Mike…I already know what’s been going on…” Chester whispered with a deep voice.

“ Yeah and what exactly would that be Chester?” he demanded with a confused glare.

“ You’ve been getting drunk every night…and beating the SHIT out of your family…sound familiar?”

“ Not really…” Mike replied shakily.

“ What, you think I’m too stupid to notice that even your own son is too afraid to come near you? You think I didn’t notice how upset and quiet Laura has been lately. You think the guys haven’t seen you sneaking whiskey into your coffee in the morning at the studio? Fucking hell Mike, you’re an abusive alcoholic…and you’re a danger to this family.”

Mike stared at him silently for a few moments and Chester had expected him to totally freak out and start threatening death on everyone. But…for some reason he never even moved a muscle. That is until Chester noticed Mike’s bottom lip beginning to twitch and his cheeks becoming red. What, was he going to cry over this? He had no right to cry over this.

Mike lowered his head and gave a small nod of acknowledgment to Chester’s words, then sniffed a little.

“ God…I-I’m so sorry…” he muttered and lowered his eyes, letting a single tear roll down his cheek. Anna frowned with deep concern…not for Mike but for Chester. The tone in which Mike had said those words was just so…forced and mechanical. Knowing Mike for as long as she had…she knew right away that things were not as they seemed.

Before she had a chance to warn her dear friend, Mike lifted his head with a deep glare, catching Chester off guard and rammed him up against the fridge with his hands wrapped around his neck as tightly as possible.

“ Gosh, I really am sorry Chester…sorry I’m going to be squeezing every inch of breath from your lungs.” He growled devilishly with those murky black eyes, causing Chester to shiver uncontrollably as Mike increased the pressure around his neck.

He could already feel his face growing hot and the veins protruding through his skin, creating thick bulges in his neck and forehead. “ M-Mike…” he coughed and grabbed his arms in an attempt to force his hands away from his neck.

“ No, see Chester you’re going at this all wrong. The more you struggle, the more pressure I’m going to apply to your neck and the less air you are going to receive. Now, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. The easier way being that you voluntarily allow me to kill you before Anna over there reaches for the phone to call the police…or the hard way being I beat the shit out of you for not complying. Either way you’re going to end up a lifeless corpse on the kitchen floor.” He explained breathily while attempting to keep Chester’s legs from hitting him.

Chester stared into his pitch eyes pleadingly, watching his own reflection within the dark orbs. His best friend was trying to kill him…now that’s got to be the low point of anyone’s day.

Anna reached for the phone as Laura stood still frozen in place as Chester’s face began to turn a deep purple. He scratched and punched at Mike’s arms feverishly only to witness a small smile curling around Mike’s lips which only discouraged him further. Anna frowned with fright as the phone beeped and buzzed in her ear telling her that the signal was temporarily out of the service area and that she should try again later.

“ You bastard!” She shouted and dropped the phone to the floor with distress then ran a shaky hand through her hair.

“ Oh, is the phone not working? Damn that’s a shame…I guess I must have accidentally disconnected the signal! How are the police ever going to know what’s going on?” he gasped sarcastically.

Anna lowered her eyes with burning hatred and growled deeply to herself in frustration. “ Mike, just let him go. Killing him is not going to solve your problem.” She warned.

“ And what problem is that exactly?” He asked with fake interest while watching the light fading from Chester’s dark eyes.

“ Your severe depression…not to mention you’re fucking psychotic!”

“ Oh so I’m depressed now? Psychotic you say? Hmm, well maybe I am a little under the weather…”

“ You have got to be kidding me.” Anna breathed.

“ Mike don’t kill him.” Laura pleaded desperately while shielding Xander’s eyes from the kitchen.

“ God, you people never let me have any fun! Why can’t a guy kill a guy without being harassed about it?” he asked with an arched brow.

“ Are actually serious? Michael, not to spoil your fun but…killing is illegal.” Anna explained in disbelief.

“ Yeah and that’s stopping me because…”

“ Because if you don’t, I’m going to make you wish you had.” She growled back.

Mike snorted a laugh and shook his head a little, feeling Chester’s nails digging into his skin, forcing blood to ooze out from beneath. “ What are you going to do? Tackle me to the ground? All one hundred and twenty pounds of you? I’d like to see that happen.” He chuckled.

Anna slowly stepped away from her two children and began her journey towards the closet so she could reach inside her purse and grab her cell phone. She hoped Mike would be too distracted to notice her. Laura glanced at her with warning and shook her head, receiving a reassured look from her mother. Hopefully this would work…if it didn’t…the next person to come into the house would be the coroner with four body bags.

“ You don’t think I could take you?” Anna breathed as she inched ever so closer to the closet. Mike choked out a laugh and pressed Chester up against the fridge even harder than before, forcing his lungs to expel the excess air.

“ Well you could…but that would involve a gun…and you don’t have one so I guess that pretty much disproves your theory of being able to take me down.” He explained as she gripped the knob to the closet tightly, sliding it open with silence.

“ Uhuh…” she muttered and reached down into her purse, grabbing the cell phone. Mike looked at the microwave and watched Anna through the glass door…then gave a heavy sigh and shook his head.

“ You are aware that I can see you right?” he asked casually.

She looked up from her purse and froze as Mike threw Chester down to the floor and twisted around, charging towards her. She barely had time to react as he grabbed her arm and pushed her against the centre island hard, knocking the breath out of her. Chester coughed heavily on the floor and heaved desperately for the air he so desperately needed at the moment while Anna continued to struggle with an overpowering husband.

He grabbed her wrist and began banging her arm against the side of the island, feeling her twisting in pain as her bone clanked against the hard surface. After a few more hits, the phone suddenly flew from her hand and landed on the floor near the couch and Mike threw Anna to the floor, walking towards it. Laura grabbed Xander and placed him behind the toy chest near the fire place and instructed him to stay there and to not move.

He merely complied with a nod, not exactly understanding what was going on as his sister knelt down beside the couch and watched the fight unfold. When Mike picked up the phone and straightened out, he felt something hard bash against the back of his legs and fell to the floor with a loud thud and a cry of pain. Anna glared and crawled on top of him, grabbing his wrist tightly in an attempt to force the phone out of his hand.

“ Get off me bitch…” he groaned painfully as she pressed her knee into his chest. She scratched at his arm and silently cursed herself for being smaller than him for her arm was not as long so she couldn’t reach it.

Finally she gave up and rolled her eyes…then punched him square in the jaw, causing his hand to loosen its grip on the phone…and watched as it slid away. Mike brought his hand up to his face and growled angrily, pushing her off of him and crawling towards the phone. Just as he was finally within hands reach…it was picked up by another hand…Chester’s hand. Mike looked up and glared menacingly at the sight before him.

“ You were supposed to be fucking passed out!” he shouted furiously as Chester flipped open the phone, still catching his breath.

“ Life’s a bitch ain’t it?” He replied with a deep glare and began dialling…but not before Mike pounced onto him and pinned him to the ground…knocking the breath out of him once more.

“ Give me the fucking phone!” He yelled and punched Chester hard in the face, causing him to sigh out painfully.

“ Get…it yourself…” He coughed in response and whacked him right in the eye with the end of the phone. Mike growled with frustration and went to grab the phone from his hand when all of a sudden, he felt something very hard smash against the back of his head and he rolled off of Chester onto the floor with a gasp of pain.

“ Ow…Christ…” He breathed as Chester looked up to see Laura holding a broken chair over her father. Unfortunately, when Mike had rolled off of Chester, he had hit the phone out of his hand and it was now on the other side of the kitchen. Mike raised a hand to the back of his head and rubbed the growing headache carefully, then eyed his fingers.

“ You had better pray to God I’m not fucking bleeding.” He warned at his daughter who dropped the chair and kicked him hard in the back.

“ Shit…” he groaned as Chester began crawling towards the phone.

“ Oh no you don’t!” He yelled and grabbed his leg, pulling him back away from the phone. Mike propped himself up onto Chester and punched him hard on the side of the head, causing him to fall to the side and onto the floor once more…incapacitating him for the moment.

Mike gave a defiant smile and resumed his venture for the phone…but only to be stopped by a hard fist right in his face. He fell against the centre island and spat out the blood from his mouth as Anna grabbed the phone.

“ Damn Mike…you have a hard head.” She sighed and flipped it open.

He lowered his eyes malevolently and got to his knees, then crawled towards Anna as fast as he possibly could and reached out for the phone, swatting at her hand. Anna kicked his arm away and backed up towards the fridge but was surprised when Mike cried out with a painful wail.

She looked up to see none other than Laura gripping his spikes tightly with both hands and pulling his head back by the hair. It seemed to have stopped him…but for only a brief minute because by the time Laura had figured out that he had frozen in spot, he took the opportunity to kick his leg out and pull a roundhouse, sending her to the floor behind him.

Anna glared as Mike shook his hair out and continued his crawling advancements towards her. She waited for him to come a little closer before she kicked her leg up into the air and knocked him right in the face once more, sending him to the floor. Mike glared and gave a loud growl of anger while rubbing his pulsating, bleeding face.

“ Dammit, stop fucking kicking me!”

“ Well then maybe you should stop trying to kill us.” Anna replied with a trembling voice and pressed on the nine and then the one but one to have that hoped physically ripped away from her as she watched the phone go flying onto the floor.

Great, Mike and his fucking long arms…and he just had to swat the phone away from her as she was about to dial the last number. Chester leaned his head up against the oven and watched as Mike grabbed Anna’s arm and pulled her off the floor. He then twisted her around so she was facing away from him and grabbed a knife from the drawer, placing the cold blade up against her neck. She instantly froze against him and began to tremble in fear…for she knew he would slice her open if he had to.

Laura and Chester both sat up slowly and moved away from them…leaning up against the far counters. Mike sniffed away the blood that was now running down his nose and wheezed while catching his breath.

“ Alright…this is how this is all gonna play out…” he began and pressed his foot on top of the cell phone…then kicked it away as hard as he could away from everyone towards the couches.

“ If anyone moves one muscle…Anna here gets gutted like a fish…understand?” he demanded, casting his dark gaze upon the two frightened people below. Chester and Laura both gave consecutive nods and stayed exactly where they were without movement.

“ Now…” Mike breathed in continuation.

“ You do as I say and maybe I won’t stab your eyes out…”

“ What is it you want us to do?” Chester breathed desperately and wrapped his arms around Laura protectively, feeling her bury her head within his chest. Mike looked around quickly and blinked the perspiration from his eyes all the while still gripping Anna tightly with the blade to her neck.

“ I want you to fucking stay where you are…then I’m going to find some rope and some duct tape…and then we’re all going to go for a little ride out to the hills where I’m going to tie you each to your very own little tree and then I’m going to fucking slice your heads off…” he hissed quietly.

Chester swallowed hard and felt Laura’s tears beginning to soak his shirt. With all this commotion and fighting…Mike hadn’t noticed the one family member who was missing from this little get together. Xander peeked over the toy chest and gripped it tightly, watching the metal of the blade glistening against his mother’s neck. With his little mind, he couldn’t quite put together what all of this meant but when he saw his mother’s tears…he began to become very upset.

As Mike continued to hold Anna, he rummaged through drawers and cupboards looking for the duct tape he so desperately needed. Chester turned his head and quickly noticed the phone still laying on the floor beside the end of the couch…the next thing he noticed was Xander’s frightened eyes from behind the toy chest. Chester glanced at Mike for a short moment and when he was sure he was still busy with his task, he slowly yet carefully looked at Xander and pointed to the phone.

The little boy lifted his head a little more and frowned with desperation wanting so much to be near his sister right now and not hiding behind his toy chest. He gave a small whimper but became silent as Chester put a finger to his own mouth, signalling him to be very quiet. Again, he pointed to the phone and nodded with encouragement, watching the little boy glancing at the cellular device with curiosity.

All he needed Xander to do was press the one and the police would be notified…but this could be tricky with Mike’s eyes constantly searching around the room for his supplies. Chester glanced back at Mike who had found a pair of scissors to cut the duct tape with and was now searching the closet for some rope.

Chester then turned his attention back to Xander and bit his lip nervously, readying himself for what was to come next…



~~ Oops another cliffhanger...sorry!!! Hope you enjoyed this and reviews are highly appreciated as usual!! *Hands out fudge* mmm fudge...*cough* Anywhoo more to come soon!! Thankees of reading!! :)~~

Sweet Misery
~~ Yay i updated again!! Enjoy this short chapter!! :)~~





Laura stared up at the ceiling as she lay in her bed comfortably. The past couple of days had been quiet in the household. Mike had this new routine of snapping at everyone in the morning and leaving during the rest of the day and not returning until late the next morning.

The first time he had done this, Anna questioned him about where he had gone and he merely ignored her and went to sleep. After more and more nights of this, she slowly began to realize that he wasn’t going to work but in fact spending all day at the bar.

One night, he had come home totally reeking of alcohol and had passed out in the upstairs hallway. Laura had questioned her mother about this but Anna merely brushed it off, telling her that her father had just had a long night and he went out drinking with a few buddies. Laura somehow figured out that this was not the case at all and that her mother was lying to her…perhaps to protect her from the growing danger rising throughout the family.

During the nights, Anna would instruct Laura to put Xander to bed and lock him in his room using a key instead of the regular doorknob locks where you just twist and push. Anna had made sure to put special locks on Xander’s room in case Mike became a danger. When Mike was drunk, he was nothing BUT dangerous in every aspect of the word. The only problem that disturbed Anna deeply within her heart was why Mike was doing all of this…why he was getting drunk every night. Had he not realized that he was becoming dangerous and even more angry?

During the night, she would briefly glance at her clock and sighed uneasily, watching the time fly by slowly. Each hour her father didn’t return home was worrying her at an unbelievable level. The last time she had looked at her clock was 9:00…it was now one in the morning. Now, she wasn’t stupid…no one goes to work for that long without at leased phoning. She had tried to ignore her mother’s concerned sighs and frowns but it was no use. The tension within the house was building.

Laura froze in place as she heard the front door click and unlock…then it swung open and hit the wall hard creating a loud boom. She then heard shuffling and a slam, followed by a muffled groan and a thud. She raised a brow of interest and sat up in bed, looking up the stairs leading to her door. Laura watched as Mike’s shadow passed her door and disappeared. He must have gone into the living room or kitchen.

Silence buzzed in her ears as she stared at her door, unable to see beyond it. Then, she heard her mother’s voice muffled in the kitchen…it was low and soft, as if she were trying to stay calm and not blow up about something. Laura cocked her head and arched her neck forward a little to hear the conversation better. Mike’s voice rose with each syllable…but his tone was different than usual. He no longer sounded soft and calm but irritated and sort of frustrated. His voice became gravely and thick with a prominent slur. Laura swallowed hard and felt her heart drop.

He was drunk.

Anna eyed her husband cautiously with dark eyes through the dimly lit kitchen. The once soft Asian eyes were now replaced with deep black orbs, full of such intensity that it was turning Anna’ blood cold. She swallowed hard and took a few steps back, not liking the look he was giving her at all.

“ Whaza matter Anna? Y-you look terrimafied…” He chuckled with a heavy drawl.

“ Where the hell have you been all day? And not to mention all night? It’s fucking one in the morning.” She explained quietly.

Mike advanced on her slowly and squinted in order to see her better through the haziness of his own mind.

“ Where do ya think I fuckin’ was huh?”

“ I’m guessing the bar.” She replied nervously.

Mike gave a crooked smile and stumbled towards her, gripping the centre island tightly in an attempt to keep himself balanced. Anna kept her distance from him and stopped near the counters.

“ You gonna do something to piss me off?” he demanded with a forced frown.

“ L-like what?” she breathed in confusion.

“ I dunno…why don’t ya tell me?” he replied with a deepening glare.

Anna looked around the kitchen desperately, hoping that somehow he’d pass out or something so she wouldn’t have to deal with this. When Mike was drunk…he was SCARY. Mike approached her slowly when she didn’t respond…couldn’t respond. The smell of alcohol was overwhelming as he stopped before her, cornering her.

“ Mike…you should get some sleep…you look exhausted…” she whispered carefully, trying not to set him off with the wrong words.

He suddenly lifted his arms and gripped her shoulders tightly, pressing her back against the counters with too much force for her to handle. Anna winced and gave an inward sigh. Here we go again.

“ Michael…you know you’re going to pass out soon…you might as well go upstairs, get into bed and go to sleep before you hurt yourself.” She explained shakily while trying to remain calm.

A sudden surge of pain shot up and down her back as he slammed her up against the counters, eliciting a small yelp from her lips. “ You’re pissin me off Anna…” he warned quietly.

“ I didn’t do anything…” she breathed.

“ You DON’T order me around…ya got that?” he demanded through his teeth.

She bit her lip nervously as his hot alcohol smelling breath hit her cheek. She closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath before responding. “ Yes…”

“ Yes what?” he growled.

“ Yes Mike…” she answered, feeling sick to her stomach.

The last time she hadn’t finished with his name, he squeezed her jaw as tight as he could, soaking her lips with blood. That was three days ago. Now she knew better…which made it all that much sicker.

She didn’t quite remember exactly when Mike had lost most of his respect for her…saying most because he still had a little bit of respect left. Anna suppressed her vomit at the thought. Once a man starts to lose respect for a woman…things become dangerous. The only reason why he wasn’t controlling her completely was because he needed her to take care of his children…the children he had been constantly yelling at for five days…the children who were too scared to even come near him anymore.

Xander would mostly play by himself in his room with the door locked while things became heated downstairs between his parents. Laura would also come into his room and lock herself in when the screaming started. Things were staring to get very bad and already the sickening fear had set in.

She would sit on Xander’s bed and try to distract him from the screaming but when that didn’t work, she’d hold her brother closely and sing to him while trying to block out the noise with her voice. When Mike had finally given up or passed out, the house was in peace again and Anna would check up on her two children, telling Xander that mommy and daddy were just being loud and that everything was fine.

She would then tuck in the little boy, kiss him good night and lock the door, walking Laura to her room. There was a silence between them like never before as they stared at Mike on the kitchen floor passed out with vomit rolling around his lips. The sight was enough to make you scream, cry and throw up all at the same time. This man was supposed to be taking care of his children and loving his wife…not abusing that.

Once Laura was safely in bed, Anna would return to her room and close the door, sit on the bed and hold her knees tightly against her chest, crying softly. Every time she thought about the peaceful moments between herself and Mike, she’d actually believe that she loved him.

Now…when she pictured him on the floor passed out like a drunken idiot, she felt anything but love for him. Tonight fortunately was a quiet night without screaming, crying or begging. Without another word, Mike released Anna from his grip and stumbled upstairs to pass out in his own bed. She sighed heavily with great relief and blinked away a few welling tears, rubbing her arms lightly.

She felt thankful for the silence in which Mike left the room. Perhaps he was just too tired to deal with her. She found herself walking towards the couch and sat down comfortably, sitting back and closing her eyes. She thought back to when Mike was sober…yet she found it difficult to remember that time. The last time he was even a little sober, he was more peaceful and quiet...more like his old self.

She felt herself slipping into an uneasy sleep while thinking about his sober moments…and soon her sleep became peaceful and a sense of longing coursed through her. Laura stared up at her ceiling blankly and sighed heavily with relief through the silence of the early morning.

Deep down inside, she knew this peace wouldn’t last too long…


~~ Anywhoo, the purpose of this chapter was to explain a few things about whats up with Mike. The next few chappies are about to get a little creepier and hopefully frightening hehe *smiles evilly* PLENTY OF ACTION...sooooo review, tell me what u thought and Thankees so much for readin!! :)~~
This Is Emotion
~~ Woot for new updates! Hope y'all enjoy this chappie!! :)~~



Anna stepped down the cushioned stairs lightly while keeping her gaze alert and aware of everything around her. She knew Mike was out of bed already since she had heard the toilet flushing periodically throughout the morning.

Hangovers could be a bitch.

She stepped onto the cold kitchen floor and felt her heart skip a beat as she watched Mike holding the back of his neck with his two hands, reading the newspaper with a lowered head. He looked to be distracted with something that had a very large article and a small picture.

She bit her lip nervously and snuck passed him towards the fridge and stopped cold when he called out to her.

“ Anna…”

She turned around slowly and cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the growing nerves inside her body. Lately when he called out to her, it was to scold her about something.

Sometimes it was: Why aren’t the dishes done? Where are my clean clothes? What the fuck do you think you’re doing watching TV, clean my house…those kinds of things.

“ Yes Mike?” she asked while trying to suppress the shakiness within her voice. He turned his head slightly towards her and blinked with painfully red eyes, glancing at the cupboard.

“ Could you grab me the Aspirin please?” he asked softly.

She remained still for several seconds, trying to comprehend what he had just asked…and the manner he had asked it with. Was he actually going to be decent today? Slowly, she opened the cupboard, careful not to turn her back to him and grabbed the small white bottle, giving it to him.

He took it gently and popped it open quickly, jutting two pills into his mouth and swallowed hard. “ Thanks…” he whispered calmly and returned to his newspaper.

Anna stared at the back of his neck blankly for several moments in shock. A thank you…she had received a thank you…what the hell was going on? Cautiously, she moved towards the other side of the centre island and stared at him as he read silently. She watched his dark eyes scanning the page slowly and then he turned it quickly, eyeing another article.

“ Mike?” she asked quietly, hoping he wouldn’t snap at her like he always did lately.

He lifted his head slowly and glanced at her with hollow eyes. She hadn’t realized it before but now she could see the stubble protruding through the skin on his face, making him look slightly scruffy.

“ You gonna shave sometime today or what?” she asked with an arched brow but quickly regretted her words. Surely he would become angry at the comment and slap her.

He gave a heavy sigh and gave her a dirty look before closing the newspaper and slamming it down against the island. “ I’ll shave when you learn to shut your fucking mouth.”

Anna lowered her eyes and watched him reach for a mug and slowly began pouring the steaming hot liquid of coffee into it. “ Sorry…it’s just not a very good look for you.” She muttered.

Mike eyed her dangerously before taking a long swig of the drink and then placed it down onto the counter. Laura came up from her room slowly and rubbed her eyes wearily, trying to adjust to the light of the house. As she entered the kitchen, she raised her eyes and stopped cold as she looked at her father.

“ Oh my God shave…” she stated bluntly.

Mike glared and ran a hand through his messed hair quickly. “ Laura, get fucking dressed…you have school.” He ordered with angry impatience.

“ Fine.” She breathed with frustration and disappeared into the depths of her room once more. Anna shook her head and swallowed hard. Being around Mike was like walking on eggshells all day. No one knew what was going to set him off in the wrong way.

“ Are you drunk?” she asked quietly.

Mike turned his vision towards her and clenched his jaw tightly with irritation. “ Not yet.”

“ You sure?”

“ Anna mind your own fucking business.” He growled as the doorbell rang.

“ Answer it.” Came the order from his red lips.

Anna rolled her eyes and walked towards the front door and was surprised to see Chester standing there with a cheesy grin. Her heart raced with relief, knowing that with Chester here Mike would be somewhat calm.

“ Hey Chaz, what’s up?” she asked, trying to keep the casualness in her voice.

“ I just came over to see if Mike still has my laptop.”

“ Come on in.” she smiled weakly and led him into the house.

Chester nodded his head, greeting Mike as he entered the kitchen. “ Hey man, you still have my laptop?”

“ Yeah, it’s in the basement…I’ll grab it for you.” He replied softly and opened the door to Laura’s room…then disappeared inside. Anna swallowed hard while trying to keep a smile on her face.

“ Chester…can I ask you something?” He leaned against the counters and sighed comfortably with a sincere grin.

“ Sure.”

“ Have you talked to Mike lately?”

He looked around the room in thought and shook his head. “ Nah, he says he’s been busy at home with Xander…by the way, where is the little guy? I haven’t seen him for months.”

Anna checked her watch and raised a brow. “ Well he’s still sleeping…maybe you could come by later and visit for a while.” She suggested hopefully.

That way, if Chester was here, there was a good chance Mike would resist the urge to hurt her for some unknown reason.

“ Yeah sure, that’d be great-.”

He stopped short as a loud crash and a boom was heard downstairs.

“ What the hell was that?” Chester demanded with an arched brow. Anna’s cheeks paled as she heard muffled whispers from Laura’s room…angry whispers.

“ I don’t know.” She replied shakily.

Soon, Mike appeared from downstairs and gripped the laptop tightly, handing it to Chester. “ Here man.” He muttered with a fading glare.

“ Thanks…what the hell was all that crashing?” he asked with confusion.

Mike shook his head and raised a brow. “ Oh, that was nothing…I accidentally tipped over Laura’s CD rack.”

Anna glared and ran a hand through her hair quickly. “ Would you two excuse me please?” she asked shakily and then disappeared into Laura’s room leaving Mike and Chester alone in the kitchen. When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she saw Laura on the floor with a hand to her cheek…tears welling up in her eyes.

“ Laura, what happened?” she whispered and knelt down in front of her.

The young girl shook her head and sniffed back her tears while rubbing her cheek. “ Noth-.”

“ –Did he hit you?” She stared at her mother for a long moment and then merely shook her head.

“ I got in his way…I fell…”

“ Laura…don’t try to protect him.” She warned quietly.

“I FELL.” Laura replied harshly through her teeth.

Anna lowered her eyes with concern and eyed her reddening cheek carefully. “ You ready for school?”

“ Yeah.” She breathed and stood up with the help of her mother. Chester remained silent as Laura and Anna emerged from the bedroom with shaken looks. Mike turned around and shot his daughter and angry glance before giving a heavy sigh.

“ I’m off to take a shower…”

Laura lowered her head and kept her eyes to the floor as Mike brushed past her and disappeared upstairs. When Laura was sure Mike was gone, she lifted her head and stared at Chester with pleading eyes.

“ Chaz, could you give me a lift to school?” she asked quietly.

He nodded slowly and raised his eyes. “ Yeah sure…is something wrong with your dad giving you a ride?”

“ I want to get there early…” she replied quickly and grabbed her bag.

“ Alright, see you later Anna.”

“ Bye Chester.” She smiled and walked them to the front door. She gave her daughter a kiss on the head before finally watching them leave the house and enter Chester’s car. Anna’s heart sank and she swallowed hard, realizing that she was now home alone with Mike.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“ You okay?”

Laura turned her head slowly towards Chester as the trees whipped past the window at high speed. “ I’m fine…why?”

“ You look a little teary eyed…something you wanna talk about?” he asked with a soft voice, glancing at her briefly before turning his vision back towards the road.

She really did appreciate his concern but right now she really wanted to stay quiet about all of this. “ Not really…I’ve just been having a hard time lately…with friends and stuff…” she lied in an attempt to leave it at that.

“ What about the bruised cheek?” he asked blankly while keeping his eye on the road before them.

Laura stared out the window and squinted through the bright sun. “ It’s nothing.”

“ I heard something crash this morning in your room when your dad was down there…what happened?”

“ Nothing.” She stated clearly, trying so hard not to become angry with him.

“ Laura-.”

“ –Look, I whacked it on my closet door this morning when I was pulling out some clothes okay? Just drop it!”

Chester glanced at her with worry and shook his head, turning the car into the school parking lot. “ If something’s going on then maybe you should tell me…or your mom…”

She found it suddenly odd that he hadn’t mention her father…perhaps he was becoming suspicious of something. After all, he hadn’t seen his best friend for weeks and whenever he did, he seemed to have been sort of out of it, like he was drunk.

“ See ya later Chaz.” Laura breathed and slammed the car door shut, walking towards the door of the school. Chester sighed uneasily and watched her as if he were watching over his own child with a protective eye.

Something was definitely wrong at home and he knew that Mike was part of the problem. The crash didn’t sound like someone hitting themselves with a door…it sounded like someone was pushed into something and then fell.

Laura opened the large door of the school slowly and looked back at Chester in his car, silently hoping he’d figure all of this out before someone really got hurt.

I think you know what I'm getting at
I find it so upsetting that
the memories that you select you keep the bad but the good you just forget

and even though I'm angry I can still say
I know my heart will break the day
when you peel out and drive away
I can't believe this happened

And all this time I never thought
that all we had would be all for not

No, I don't hate you
don't want to fight you
know I'll always love you
but right now I just don't like you
No, I don't hate you
don't want to fight you
know I'll always love you
but right now I just don't like you
cause you took this too far

Make your decision and don't you dare think twice
go with your instincts along with some bad advice
this didn't turn out the way I thought it would at all
you blame me but some of this is still your fault

I tried to move you, but you just wouldn't budge
I tried to hold your hand but you'd rather hold your grudge
I think you know what I'm getting at
you said goodbye and I just don't want you regretting that

and wisdom always chooses
these black eyes and these bruises
over the heartache that they say
never completely goes away
(I just can't believe this happened
and one day we'll see this come around)

what happened to us
i heard that it's me we should blame
what happened to us
why didn't you stop me from turning out this way
and know that I don't hate you
and know that I don't want to fight you
and know that I'll always love you
but right now I just don't...


{Song: Which To Bury First: Us Or The Hatchet}
{Artist: Relient.K}

~~ Okay, more coming soon...hope y'all enjoyed and reviews are greatly appreciated. Thankees for reading so far!...Thats all i have to say for now :)~~
Silent Dinner
~~ Thanks for all the kind reviews!! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! :)~~



Anna wiped the tears from her eyes and reached for a dishcloth in an attempt to get some of the dishes finished before Chester came over. Of course Mike was specific about those demands, making it clear that if there was one dish left in the sink he’d make her regret she ever forgot about them. At first, Anna had told Mike to go fuck himself and do the dishes himself if he wanted them done so fast.

That remark didn’t exactly sit well with him and he had become quite angry, forgetting completely to restrain his violence against her and had grabbed both her arms and threw her down to the floor, making her smack her head against the cold floor of the kitchen.

When Anna had tried to sit up to get her bearings, he responded by kicking her hard in the ribs and screaming at her about how pathetic she was. She squinted and winced through the throbbing pain in her stomach as she scrubbed the dishes weakly yet quickly while remembering that afternoon. Mike’s voice was still pounding in her skull as if she were back in that horrific moment where her husband had finally decided to become extremely violent with her.

It didn’t really help much that he was completely drunk out of his mind already. She stared down at her arms and swallowed hard at the black and blue bruises already forming. She couldn’t let Chester see them, so she pulled down her sleeves and looked back down into the sink, letting her tears fall into the stainless steel basin.

She was already pretty sure by the soreness in her abdomen that there was internal bleeding between the tissues of the muscles. When Mike kicked, he kicked HARD. She began to feel sick to her stomach as she placed the soaked plate on the counter and then reached back down into the sink for the other. As she raised the plate to place it on the counter on top of the other, she felt something hot against her neck as if someone were breathing against her.

Suddenly, she dropped the plate with a start hearing it crash against the floor and shatter into millions of little pieces. She felt the familiar tight grip around her arm and she winced as the already sore bruises shot pangs of intense pain up and down her arm.

“You done yet?” he demanded with a sickly quiet tone.

Anna sighed shakily under her breath and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself while feeling the pain coursing through her body.

“ No Michael I’m not.”

“ Why the fuck not?”

“ You’re making it very difficult.” She replied through her teeth.

He glanced down at the floor and eyed each broken shard " Well I'm not the one breaking plates."

“ Well you’re breaking my arm.” She warned.

Mike stared at her silently with a sort of crooked dark smile as if he were encouraging her to go further…just a little further so he could crack the bone. Anna did not give into his little game because quite frankly he had played it many times before…she wasn’t going to let him win this. With a cold glare, she stared him down with a sharp gaze, sharp enough to cut through his heart.

“ Release me before I rip that arm of yours from its socket.” She hissed with a deep tone, even sending chills up her own spine.

With black menacing eyes, his brow lowered into a dangerous glare and he released her arm slowly, allowing the pressure to ease of gently. Anna gave an inward sigh of relief and turned away for just a moment, believing he would finally let her be…but instead she felt a sharp sting against her cheek followed by a loud crack and then a feeling of wet. Before she even realized it, she was on the floor holding her cheek as the blood oozed through her shaking fingers.

Mike dropped the broken half of the plate and let it crash to the floor beside her. She flinched when the shards bounced into her face and hair, causing her to shake them out furiously. Mike stared down at her with a small smile and she could have sworn she heard him laughing that devilish laugh that made her skin crawl.

“ Anna, I picked up your youngin’ from the learning establishment!” Chester shouted as he and Laura stomped into the house and slammed the front door.

Anna looked up slowly at Mike and he clenched his jaw tightly with nerves suddenly realizing the situation he was in. It took quick thinking to come up with an excuse as to why his wife was bleeding on the floor surrounded by broken plates.

“ Jesus Christ…Anna are you alright?” he breathed with concern while bending down to her. She stared at him with confusion and swallowed hard as Chester and Laura stepped into the kitchen slowly. She heard the quiet gasp of horror from Laura and felt Chester’s dark eyes of worry glued to her.

“ Anna, talk to me…” Mike stated softly and put his hand against her shoulder.

“ What the hell happened?” Chester demanded with an arched brow of concern. Mike looked up and tried to ignore his daughter’s shocked glare.

“ I walked into the kitchen…a-and…I don’t know, I guess she passed out…must have knocked her cheek against the side of the counter. Jesus, these things can be sharp.” He explained in a warm tone.

Anna gave her husband a cold glare as he gripped her hand tightly…which was normally supposed to be a sign of comfort but in reality he was only doing it to warn her to play along. Because she knew that if she didn’t…she’d pay for it later tonight.

“ You want some help?” Chester asked.

“ Nah, I got her.” Mike replied quickly and moved his hand to her arm, pulling her up slowly. Laura swallowed her own vomit, instantly knowing that this was all part of the manipulation Mike had gotten into since the attacks were becoming more and more violent with each day.

In order to keep out of trouble, he’d have to lie to his best friend and hope that he didn’t realize what had really happened. In fear for her own safety, Laura kept her mouth shut awarding an approving and calm glance from her father.

“ Is she okay?”

There, that was a safe enough question to ask. Mike gripped Anna tightly within his arms and stared into her clouded eyes with fake concern. “ Sweetie, how’s your head?”

She raised her eyes to meet his, then touched the blood on her cheek, feeling it already drying.

“ Here, I’ll clean that up for you.” Mike breathed and grabbed a damp cloth, sitting her down at the centre island. Anna remained silent as he dabbed the blood from her cheek, keeping her glare signalling to him that she didn’t believe a single compassionate word he said to her. Laura decided to help out and clean up the broken plates, earning a soft thank you from her father.

As she threw the shard into the trash, she almost sighed with relief knowing that the small act of cleaning meant her dad would be more laid back towards her for the rest of the night so she could rest peacefully without yelling and screaming. The bad thing about that was…her mother would receive the brunt of the force tonight when Chester left.

“ Is there anything I can do? I mean…I feel kind of useless right now.” Chester stated nervously with his hands stuck in his pockets.

Mike glanced at him and nodded a little. “ You could get Xander from his room. He’s been up there all day playing.”

“ By himself?”

“ Well does it look like there are other three year olds running around the house?” Mike demanded with annoyance.

Anna pushed the cloth away from her cheek and wiped the tears from her eyes as Mike took a small step back, allowing her space to stand up. “ Anna, you should sit down…you took quite a nasty fall-.”

“ –I’m fine.” She barked back with a shaky voice, then suddenly stopped as she noticed the small form on the stairs. All the others turned in the direction that she was looking, seeing Xander gripping the banister tightly while staring at everyone in the kitchen with a curious eye. Chester gave a small grin at the sight and sighed happily.

“ Look who decided to join us.”

Mike walked towards the stairs and stared up at Xander who eyed his cautiously. “ Come on Xander…” The little toddler blinked at him and bit a quivering nervous lip. Mike swallowed hard, feeling suddenly uncomfortable and stepped onto the first step…but stopped cold when Xander moved back a step, pushing himself further away from his father.

“ Xander, come downstairs.” Mike stated calmly.

The child shook his head slowly, gripping the banister as tightly as possible. Chester’s grin faded and he frowned, wondering why this child was silently distancing himself from his father.

“ Come on Xander…Chester wants to see you.” Mike tried with a soft smile.

The little boy watched his father silently but then cried out in desperation for his mother as Mike stepped a little closer. Anna walked towards the stairs and sighed uneasily under Mike’s intense gaze.

“ Xander its okay sweetie…come downstairs.” She whispered shakily with a hint of a smile. He stared at his mother with watery eyes and slowly let go of the banister. She outstretched her arms and he jumped into them, gripping her shirt tightly in comfort.

Mike ran a hand through his hair uneasily and sighed out with frustration. Great…just what he needed Chester to see…his own son too afraid to come near him.

“ Is he okay?” Chester asked with soft concern.

Laura watched as her mother carried the little boy into the living room and sat down with him on the couch…AWAY from Mike. “ He’s fine…he’s just got this thing where he needs Mom more than Dad lately.” She tried to explain so that it made sense.

Chester nodded with acknowledgment and glanced at Mike. “ Don’t worry man, I’ve been there…”

“ Yeah whatever.” Mike sighed and stepped down off the stairs and into the kitchen. Without another thought, although the oddity of the situation still stuck in the back of his mind, Chester rubbed his hands together and smiled.

“ So…what’s for supper?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The kitchen table was silent as everyone chowed down their food. Chester glanced around the table with an arched brow of curiosity, never seeing a family this quiet in his entire life.

Even Xander was quiet as if there was some command burned into his brain to instruct him to remain silent. Chester began to wonder what Mike had done to his family…because this was just eerie.

“ So…Xander…your Mom tells me you got some new toys.” He stated to relieve the uncomfortable quiet.

The little boy looked up from his plate and glanced at his father who slowly nodded, allowing him to speak. He gripped his fork tightly within his knuckles and swallowed the mashed potatoes hard.

“ I got toy cars.” He replied with a small voice, almost unsure of his own words. Chester smiled a little and nodded.

“ Wow…that’s pretty cool. I remember when I was your age and I got my first set of toy cars. I had this little black one with red flames all up and down the sides. It was awesome!”

“ Don’t you still have that car Chester?” Laura asked, feeling nervous that she had just spoken during the silence of dinner. Mike continued to eat silently, letting his children speak in order to keep the normality going…to keep the illusion alive. Chester lowered his eyes and sighed.

“ Oh please…I’m too old for that.”

“ So…then why were you sitting on the floor in your living room playing with that car…and in your underwear might I add.” She stated.

Anna stared down at her plate and snorted a laugh, causing Chester’s frown to deepen and his cheeks to flush. Xander let out a soft giggle and the tension around the room was slowly lifted.

“ I’ll have you know that every man has an inner child.”

“ Chester, you can’t say that…you’re still a child.” Mike muttered and swallowed his meat.

Laura smiled and shook her head, poking a few peas onto her fork.

“ Well at leased I’m more fun than you Mike. All you do is sit around all day watching TV. It wouldn’t kill you to unleash your inner child once and a while.” He retorted.

“ Watching TV is my inner child. That’s all I did growing up.” He argued back.

“ That and flooding your parent’s car with water.” Anna explained quietly.

“ Everyone kept talking about carpooling…so I decided to make my own car pool.” He smiled.

Chester burst out laughing and dropped his fork, wiping the tears from his eyes. “ Oh God Mike…you made a car POOL? What the hell were you thinking?”

“ I always took everything literally…it’s not my fault I was born like that.” He shrugged.

“ Daddy can we have a car pool?” Xander asked with wide eyes.

Laura laughed out loudly and leaned forward with her hand on her forehead. Xander stared at her with a raised brow and then slowly frowned.

“ Wha?”

She shook her head and choked down her laugh, followed by her mother who had also started laughing. “ Xander you don’t want a carpool.” Laura explained and finally ceased laughing.

“ Why not?”

“ Because water doesn’t belong in the car.” Mike replied, then turned his vision towards Laura.

“ Dishes…now.”

“ But-.”

“ –Laura don’t you fucking argue with me.” He whispered in warning.

Chester frowned at the sudden change in mood and watched everyone’s eyes drop while the silence flooded throughout the house once more. Laura frowned in disappointment over the loss of the happy moment and began collecting the plates and cutlery.

Mike watched her with a keen eye and then looked towards Anna. “ Feel like helping?” he pressured.

She took that as a hint and nodded, standing up. “ Yes Mike.”

Chester’s frown slowly twisted into a glare as he watched both women cleaning up silently as Mike sat back in his chair with a sigh of comfort. Something about this whole dishes situation seemed very wrong. It was almost as if Mike had ordered them forcefully to clean up, without even offering to help. What kind of man does that?

“ Hey Anna, Laura, you guys want some help-.”

“ –No, they’re fine.” Mike interrupted.

Chester stared at him in disbelief and shook his head. “ Mike, don’t you think since Anna cooked the meal and Laura set the table that maybe we should do the dishes?”

Mike shifted uncomfortably in his chair and growled under his breath. “ Ready to leave Chaz?”

Chester stared at him silently for several seconds before gasping out in shock. “ Are you kicking me out or something?”

“ No, I’m asking if you’re ready to go home. It’s getting late.” He replied with a glare…a forceful glare.

“ Well it sounds like you’re kicking me out.”

Mike stood up, followed quickly by Chester as the two women in the kitchen attempted to ignore the coming conflict. “ Chester…it’s late…I’m tired…we’re all tired…go home.” He ordered quietly while backing up towards the front door.

The way that he had said it made Chester shiver in his own skin. It was as if he were ordering yet persuading at the same time…perhaps unconsciously warning him of something that was going to happen when he left.

“ Anna wanted me to stay-.”

“ –Anna’s busy and soon to be very exhausted from all that work. Leave…now.”

Chester stared into Mike’s dark eyes suspiciously and sighed in defeat, opening the door.

“ Fine…tonight’s been fun.” He muttered sarcastically and stepped onto the front steps, only to have the door slammed shut behind him.

As he stared silently at the door in front of him…he could briefly hear Mike’s angry words…then silence.

He wished he could see through walls because if he had…he would probably had seen a very frightened looking family, stuck under the strong gaze of the overpowering man…reaching into the fridge for a beer.


~~Hope you enjoyed that..More to come soon, reviews highly appreciated!! Thankees for reading!! :)~~

Hide And Seek
~~ Oh gee look it's me...*sigh* another sequal..yes I know. Hopefully this one won't be too boring...actually, i'm looking forward to this one lol. Anywhoo, sorry again if the sequels sicken you...as always, I end in three's. PS: The first chapter is kinda long... Enjoy!! :)~~

The upstairs hallway was quiet as he stepped past his bedroom silently. His feet dug into the carpet heavily as he grabbed the banister and trailed his dark eyes around the hall, making sure he wasn’t being followed.
Fully aware of the soft voice coming from his bedroom, he stepped down onto the first step and grabbed the banister with both hands now, pulling himself down the meandering staircase. When he reached the bottom, he eyed the living room, hearing the TV blaring softly and jogged clumsily into the kitchen.

He glanced around quickly and frowned with frustration when he didn’t find what he was looking for. Quickly, he ran into the living room and stopped beside the couch, eyeing the television for several seconds before finally remembering what he came down here to do. As he searched the living room, he could sense the dark eyes from the couch on him, watching his every move cautiously.

The looming figure on the couch blinked down slowly at him and made no facial expression whatsoever. He shivered slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable that this shadowy figure was watching him from above.

“ What are you doing?” he asked in a low and soft tone…a tone he trusted.

He put a finger to his own lips and raised his eyes in fear. “ Shh, I’m hiding.” He whispered with a small voice.

The figure’s eyes softened and he gave a small smile, looking around the room and then nodded. “ Hiding from whom?” he whispered back, giving into the game.

“ The monster…” He breathed, hearing the number three shouted from upstairs.

“ Does this monster have a name?” he asked quietly with a small chuckle.

The child took a short breath and shook his head. “ I can’t say…she’ll get me…”

The figure laughed softly to himself and nodded with acknowledgment. The number 0 was shouted from upstairs and the child gave a short gasp, looking around furiously for a place to hide. Quickly, he dropped to his knees and crawled under the coffee table, staring up at the smiling man above him who was seated on the couch.

Surely, he wouldn’t give away his hiding spot to the monster…would he?

“ Ready or not, here I come!” Laura bounced downstairs and sighed heavily while running a hand through her long dark hair.

Mike continued to stare at the TV while briefly glancing down under the table to see if his three year old son was still there. Of course he was…and with a large smile, confident that his older sister wouldn’t find him.

Laura frowned and opened up closets and cabinets, searching for the little demon she sometimes referred to as Xander. “ Where are you Xander?” she asked softly and opened the laundry room door.

Mike smiled and shook his head as he continued to watch TV. Xander lifted his head from underneath the table and glanced around quickly, making sure ‘the monster’ wasn’t coming. Suddenly, she appeared from the laundry room and he ducked back under the table and froze.

Laura walked into the living room and looked at Mike who couldn’t wipe the smirk from his face. He looked up at her and then glanced at the coffee table, signalling where Xander was hiding. An evil smile spread across Laura’s face and she nodded, not noticing Mike’s finger pointing away from the table, signalling something completely different to the little boy.

“ I’m coming to get you Xander…say your pray-.” She stopped suddenly with confusion as she dropped down to the floor, staring at the empty space under the coffee table.

“ What the-.” She coughed down her words as he suddenly felt two arms wrapped firmly around her neck and a tiny body against her back.

“ GOTCHA!” Xander shouted with excitement and then erupted into a fit of giggles. Laura lowered her eyes and gave an irritated sigh, hearing her father’s chuckles echoing throughout the room.

“ Xander I don’t think you quite understand the concept of this game. You’re supposed to hide and I’m supposed to find you. You’re not supposed to jump out and scare the living sh…inoda out of me…” She muttered, seeing her father’s look of disapproval about the language.

“ But it’s fun!” Xander shouted happily.

“ Well I’m glad for you…hold on.” She sighed and grabbed his legs then hoisted him up while he gripped her tightly, excited about his piggy back ride.

“ Stop kicking your legs.” She growled with annoyance.

“ Daddy look! I’m tall!” He shouted.

“ I see that. Laura, aren’t you a little old to be playing hide and seek with a three year old?” Mike asked as he stood up.

“ 17 is not old…besides, he’s not in school and he has no friends to play with. Who else is going to play with him? Chester? No, because he’s moving into his new house today and I thought you were supposed to be helping.” She explained.

Mike cringed a little as he remembered the lecture Anna had given him about that. “ Yeah well the rest of the guys are there and besides I have to take care of you two.” He replied lightly.

“ What makes you think I can’t take care of him without you?” she demanded.

“ Laura, I’m falling!” Xander warned.

She rolled her eyes and hoisted him up higher and gripped his legs as tightly as she could. “ My point exactly. You almost dropped him.” Mike laughed.

“ Isn’t Chester going to be upset that you didn’t go to his house and help him move?” she asked to change the subject.

“ He won’t care-.”

“ –He’s your best friend.” She interrupted with a frown.

Mike’s ears buzzed as the phone rang loudly. He blinked slowly at his daughter and shook his head, instantly knowing she was right. He should have been out there helping Chester…but instead he was hiding out at home. He just didn’t have the time and patience for all those people lately and knew that the moment someone mentioned how distant he had been lately, he’d snap.

He picked up the receiver and cleared his throat, watching Laura lowering her brother onto the floor. “ Yeah…” he muttered.

"Mike where the hell are you?”

“ Oh hey Rob…” he replied with a monotone.

“ Oh hey Rob? That’s all you have to say? You told everyone you were coming out to help…do you know how fucking hard it is to get a couch through a door?” he demanded.

“ Yeah I can take a guess…look I’m kind of busy right now, can I call you back?”

“ No you can’t because I want to know what the hell is going on. Anna has been apologizing for your disappearance all day. Is there a reason why you can’t just come over and help Chester unpack at leased?” he asked softly.

Mike gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall. “ I told you I’m busy.”

“ Busy with what? Laura’s old enough to take care of Xander by herself.” He argued.

Mike glared as he watched his son performing a balancing act on the top of the couch. “ Xander get down from there now!” he shouted while lowering the phone away from his mouth.

“ But Daddy-.”

“ –No, get down from there! I mean it!”

“ Okay…maybe you are busy…” Rob muttered apologetically.

Mike raised the phone to his mouth once again and watched Xander carefully as he lifted one foot off of the couch and teetered dangerously around the side. “ Yeah…DAMMIT LAURA, GRAB YOUR BROTHER!” He shouted, causing Rob to jolt the phone away from his ear.

When Mike shouted…he REALLY shouted.

Laura came out of her room and widened her eyes at the sight before her. She ran towards Xander and caught him just as he fell off the side of the couch.

“ Sorry Rob…look I have to go…see you around…” Mike muttered stressfully.

“ Yeah, bye.”

He hung up the phone and walked towards his two children with a very unhappy look upon his face. Both stared up at him with guilty expressions and fearful eyes.

“ Laura…why the hell did you just leave him here by himself?” he demanded quietly.

“ He was with you!” She argued back.

“ I was on the fucking phone Laura! Come on, I can’t run over there with a short cord!”

Xander buried his head inside his sister’s neck and clasped his eyes shut tightly. He hated it when his father yelled.

“ Well then next time use the portable phone.” She muttered cautiously.

Mike’s eyes widened angrily and his cheeks became red. “ You want to say that again?” he demanded.

“ Not really…” she replied shakily.

“ Take him to his room.” He ordered.

Xander raised his head and stared at his father helplessly. He was only sent to his room when he was VERY naughty. “ But I didn’t do nothing!” He argued quietly.

Mike stared into those large brown eyes and kept his deep glare. He wasn’t getting out of it this time. “ Xander…we are going to discuss it later. Laura, take him up to his room…NOW.”

“ Dad, he was just being a kid-.”

“ –Yeah and he could have gotten himself killed! Upstairs, NOW!”

Laura shook her head with disapproval and carried her little brother upstairs who was already shaking. She put him down on the floor and he stared at her through the darkness of his room.

“ Laura?”

“ Sorry…” she sighed and closed the door, watching the beam of light from the hall fade from his shaded round face. As she turned to go back down the stairs, she heard his little voice calling out to her and a few small booms against the door.

She decided to ignore it and slowly made her way downstairs where she found Mike with crossed arms and a very deep glare. She had never seen him so angry in her entire life.

“ Come here.” He ordered sternly.

Reluctantly she stepped in front of him and he sighed sharply. “ What the HELL is the matter with you?”

“ So this is all my fault?” she demanded.

“ You were supposed to be watching him!” He shouted in disbelief.

“ Um, who’s his father?” she asked with squinted eyes.

“ Laura, when I’m busy, he’s YOUR responsibility. He almost fell off the couch and cracked his head open!”

Laura sighed angrily and peered into his dark eyes shakily. She hated these kinds of lectures. Usually her mother would be the one to give them but…now Mike was and somehow she found it strange that he was scolding her. Usually he was laid back and fair…defending her when her mother over reacted.

“ Okay fine…I wasn’t watching him, so shoot me.”

“ Yeah well too bad murder’s illegal.” He snapped fiercely.

She raised her eyes in disbelief and gasped out at his behaviour. Somehow she knew this fight wasn’t going to end on a good note.

“ What the fuck is up with you? What’s with all the hostility? People make mistakes!”

“ That is one mistake I will not allow in this house. Your brother almost got himself killed because you weren’t watching him so you know what? Go to your room the rest of the night and don’t come out until I say so.”

“ What? You’ve NEVER sent me to my room!” she argued back.

“ Well I guess there’s a first for everything right?”

Laura just stood there and stared at him for several minutes in shock. This was so unlike him. “ And what if I say no?” she asked and crossed her arms defiantly.

Mike’s eyes lowered giving him a shaded look of pure anger throbbing through the black orbs. “ Get down into that fucking room before I physically force you.” He whispered sharply.

“ That’s called abuse.” She replied with a shaky voice.

She found it odd that her voice was so shaky. Was she really that afraid of him or was she just still in shock about all of this?

“ Yeah and if you don’t go down into that fucking room right now, it will go from abuse to murder…am I making myself perfectly clear?” he demanded.

“ You’re actually threatening to murder me?” she asked quietly.

He approached her slowly and backed her up against the wall near her bedroom door. He stared her down for several moments and then opened the door.

“ Get out of my sight.” He whispered harshly.

Laura swallowed hard, feeling the goose bumps rippling against her arms. He was actually scaring her. Without another word, she walked down the stairs and into her bedroom only to hear the door slam shut above. She silently hoped that her mother would be home early tonight…
~~ Yeah just to let y'all know...Mike is gonna be a little weird in this fic because i just love torturing him lmao...hope this chapter wasn't too long!! More coming soon and thanks for putting up with my fics again lol...review if u want...lol...Thank you! :)~~

Stressed Household
~~ Yay i updated again...hope y'all are happy...AND I SERIOUSLY COULDN'T STOP TYPING...4 PAGES PPL, 4!!...kay, enjoy! :)~~



The room was dark as Mike entered it slowly and cautiously. He knew he had scared Xander that afternoon and it was odd for him to hear his father yelling that much. He was usually a good boy and rarely got into trouble…but for some reason that afternoon he had raised his father’s stress level to a new high. Mike stopped at the edge of his son’s bed and lowered his eyes as he heard a sniff through the darkness.

Mike reached over and turned on the lamp on his small nightstand and lowered himself onto his knees at the side of the bed. Xander raised his head and peered into his father’s eyes with guilt and sadness. Mike sighed uneasily and managed to give a small smile in order to calm his nerves.

“ Xan-.”

He stopped suddenly as Xander glared and turned around, facing his back towards his father. Mike lowered his head and swallowed hard, feeling instantly guilty for frightening the small child.

“ Xander come on, turn around.” He stated softly.

“ No…” he muttered in a small stuffed voice. Obviously he had been crying for quite some time.

“ Please?” Mike asked quietly.

Xander lowered his head and bit his quivering bottom lip, feeling the warm tears escaping his eyes and trailing down his reddening cheeks.

“ N-no…”

Mike heard another sniff and then a small whimper. His heart felt sick as he listened to his son’s quiet cries. “ Xander…I’m sorry I yelled. I didn’t mean to scare you. Please turn around so I can talk to you.” He explained gently.

Reluctantly, the small child turned around slowly and dangled his tiny legs over the edge of the small bed. Mike stared into his red swollen eyes and sighed softly.

“ I want you to pay close attention Xander because I’m only going to explain this once.”

The toddler eyed his father curiously and blinked slowly with acknowledgment, allowing more tears to run down his cheeks. Mike lifted his hand slowly and softly began wiping away his tears while watching his dark eyes search his. And so he began with a soft voice, careful not to frighten the child any further.

“ When you were balancing on top of the couch…it scared me okay? Do you understand Xander?”

The child cocked his head with confusion and frowned. “ Scared?”

“ Yes. I thought you were going to fall and hurt yourself. I couldn’t get to you fast enough…so I yelled for your sister. And Xander, look what happened…you did fall…but thank God someone was there to catch you. Next time you might not be so lucky. I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you. You see, I wasn’t yelling to scare you…I was yelling because I was scared.”

The small boy sniffed back his tears and swallowed them hard, still staring into his father’s eyes. Mike could tell that Xander still wasn’t too sure about all of this. Just trying to understand the concept of a grown up being scared was enough to give him a headache. Grown ups were supposed to be brave…and they were always supposed to know what to do.

“ Do you understand?” Mike asked softly.

Xander scratched his head lightly and gave a deep frown, causing creases to form in his perfect skin. “ Well you will…just know that I’m not angry with you…but if you ever do that again, I will be…got it?” he asked slowly.

Xander nodded slowly and lowered his eyes once again, feeling the tears penetrating his thick lashes. “ I’m sorry daddy…” he mumbled through tears. Mike gave a weak smile and nodded, sighing softly.

“ I know you are. Come on, give me a hug.” He chuckled.

Xander outstretched his arms and gripped his father’s shirt tightly while digging his head into his shoulder, allowing the tears to soak his shirt.

“ I love you daddy…” he muttered weakly as his voice broke with tears.

Mike lowered his eyes and rubbed his son’s back gently. “ I love you too…just don’t scare me like that ever again.”

“ Kay…” Xander sighed and managed to stop his tears. Mike watched as he pulled away and rubbed his eyes wearily, wiping away the drying tears. He brushed through his son’s hair slowly and smiled, glancing at the clock.

“ Nine o’clock, bed time.” He sighed.

“ But I’m not tired…” Xander complained with a deep frown…all the while still rubbing his eyes.

“ Yes you are.” Mike laughed and pulled the covers back, allowing Xander enough room to climb beneath them. When he did, Mike pulled the covers back over him and sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking his cheeks softly in an attempt to calm him into a hypnotic slumber.

“ What about Laura?” he asked with a light tone.

Mike bit his lip nervously and cleared his throat. “ Uh…what about her?”

“ She was yelling…she was very mad…”

“ I know she was. Don’t worry about it Xander, good night.” He smiled.

“ Night daddy.” He sighed softly and closed his eyes. Mike gave him a kiss on the forehead and stroked his soft cheek once more, making sure he was asleep. When he was absolutely sure he was fast asleep, he stood up and turned off the lamp, watching the little angel sleeping peacefully. He smiled to himself and shook his head, wondering how he could have ever created such a beautiful child. With those thoughts in mind, he proceeded down the stairs only to find that Anna had returned home from Chester house looking quite exhausted.

“ Hey Anna-.”

“ –Shut your fucking mouth.” She growled while taking off her coat.

Mike raised his eyes with surprise and stared at her with confusion. “ Uh…okay…what the hell did I do?”

“ What the hell DIDN’T you do? You know, Chester was counting on you to be there and help him but no. You had to stay home and do what? Watch TV? Ugh, you have no idea how pissed I am at you right now.” She explained angrily.

Mike lowered his eyes and looked around the room silently. He figured it was best not to argue with her this late at night. “ Okay I’m sorry…”

“ Not only that…” She began, eliciting a small groan from Mike who instantly knew that this was going to be a long conversation.

“ I had to spend the entire day with five men who didn’t even know how to work a fucking screwdriver! God you rock stars are geniuses! And to make things worse, the only one who knew how to read a fucking direction pamphlet was Chester which is really sad because it was all in French. Then Joe had the most brilliant idea…why not glue everything together with super glue and just completely forget the nuts and bolts all together! Oh God and let me tell you…it was just so much fun trying to get that damn couch through the front door…oh and yes, being crushed has got to be the most exhilarating event…ever.”

Mike tried to suppress his laughter but unfortunately a small smile became etched across his lips, deepening Anna’s glare even further.

“ You seem amused by this Michael…do you find this funny?” she demanded.

He cleared his throat and shook his head quickly, trying so hard to get rid of his smile. “ N-no…not at…all…”

“ Well then why the hell are you smiling? This is not fucking funny!”

“ I’m sorry…” he giggled, lowering his head. Anna stared at him angrily for several seconds before finally giving up. It was clear he was going to be as immature as all his band mates.

“ I’m going to bed…” she sighed.

“ No, Anna, I’m sorry…come here.” He chuckled while gripping her hand gently. She stared into his dark eyes with confusion and frustration. Was he going to laugh some more?

“ I’m sorry you had to be subjected to the male psyche all afternoon. You know I would have come…but then Xander would have fallen off of the couch and cracked his head open…thus resulting in the death of Laura.” He muttered, slowly finding his serious scowl once again.

Anna frowned instantly and let go of his hand. “ Excuse me? What the hell happened?”

“ Well when I was on the phone with Rob, Xander decided to do some balancing on the top of the couch. Laura, of course, wasn’t watching him and he fell-.”

“ –Oh my God, is he okay!” She shouted with panic.

Mike shushed her and lowered his eyes. “ Anna, he’s fine…he’s sleeping. Laura caught him just as he fell. She is now in her room sulking-.”

“ –More like hiding…”

Both parents turned their attention towards their daughter’s bedroom, hearing her voice behind the door. “ Laura, this was your fault.” Mike stated.

“ You fucking threatened to murder me you asshole of a father.” She retorted.

Anna raised a brow and stared at Mike for a moment before responding to that remark. “ You threatened to kill her?”

“ Uh…maybe…you know I was really angry and I don’t really remember what I said…” he stated shakily.

Anna opened the bedroom door and Laura fell onto the floor hard, grumbling at the sudden pain in her face. “ Sorry…” Anna muttered.

Laura sat up and rubbed her cheek while giving her father a cold stare. “ I hope you fall down the stairs again when you wake up tomorrow morning.” She snapped.

Mike lowered his eyes and crossed his arms in a huff. “ Laura, you are so close to being pushed down those stairs right now so shut your damn mouth.”

“ Michael…” Anna warned in disbelief with wide eyes.

“ She has been pissing me off all day Anna. I’m telling you, she’s doing this on purpose.” He explained with a glare.

“ The hell I am! Mom, Mike’s trying to hurt me!”

“ Excuse me, its DAD to you.” He replied.

“ Not if you keep acting like this.” She warned.

“ Okay, everyone stop!” Anna stated with an authoritative tone.

Both of them stared at her silently as she shook her head. She couldn’t believe this…after all these years they were fighting with each other just like when they first met.

“ What the hell is the matter with you two? Can’t you at leased be civilized human beings for once? Jesus Christ my head is about to explode with all these arguments. Whatever you two are angry about, just stop okay? Laura, you are grounded for a month because you didn’t watch your brother. Mike, start acting mature…like I know you can. Is everyone clear on this?” she demanded.

“ Crystal.” They both stated at the same time.

“ Good…I’m going to bed…” Anna sighed wearily and quietly walked upstairs. Laura stared up at her father with a deep glare still etched across her brow.

“ Did I tell you, you could leave your room?” he asked.

“ Bastard…” she whispered under her breath and disappeared into her room. Mike shook his head angrily and proceeded upstairs into his own room and closed the door. Anna slipped on her nightgown and eyed him cautiously, watching him crawl beneath the covers.

“ Mike…we need to talk.” She stated loudly.

He whined into his pillow and pulled the covers over his head, hearing her walking over to the bed and then felt the mattress dip under her body.

“ Mike, come on honey…”

“ Why do we have to talk? Its going to be about me…and its going to make us both upset…can’t we just not talk about it?” he asked desperately with a muffled voice.

“ Well if you’re so certain we’re going to be upset about it then maybe you could tell me what I even want to discuss with you.” She explained.

Mike pulled the covers down slowly and looked up into her dark blue eyes. “ Its about me being distant from everyone and yes I know its not a very good thing since I have a band and a family but I’m telling you Anna…everyone has a time in their life when they need to escape.” He explained quietly.

“ Michael, ignoring your friends isn’t allowing you escape. It’s isolating you.”

“ Please spare me the lecture Anna because I don’t need it. I’ve just been stressed lately alright? All these album promotions, interviews, tours…it’s really exhausting and I don’t know how long I can take it.” He replied with a deep sigh.

“ So you’re going to lock yourself inside the house all day?” She demanded with an arched brow. Mike glared and rolled over, forcing her to stare at his back.

“ Fine, ignore me too.” She growled and turned off her lamp, darkening the room.

Mike stared at the wall in front of him and kept his glare, feeling his cheeks growing hot. He had no idea why he was becoming angry so easily…but somehow the anger was making him feel better about all of this.

At leased he felt alive instead of numb to his own feelings and emotions. Not only was he angry but he was extremely restless…and couldn’t calm himself down. He just felt like punching a wall or…someone…anything to stop this restless feeling of anger.

With these thoughts still present within his mind, he closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep…silently hoping his anger would diminish by morning…


~~ Okay, first of all..THANKS FOR THE INTERESTING IN THIS SEQUEL ONCE AGAIN LMAO...hope you are liking this so far...more to come soon and stuff to explain why Mike is being all...odd...anywhoosies, review please and thankees so much for reading!!! :)~~
Loud Morning

~~ Sorry for the late update! Here's the third chapter and I y'all enjoy!! :)~~




Laura walked up her bedroom stairs carefully and grabbed the cold doorknob. Slowly and cautiously she pushed open the door and glanced around the house searching for the one person she didn’t really want to have a confrontation with this morning.

With a small sigh of success, she tip toed into the kitchen and peered around nervously, silently hoping he wasn’t waiting around the corner or something. She didn’t know if he was still angry and she certainly wasn’t very keen on finding out. Laura opened the fridge and fumbled around inside until finally finding the carton of half empty milk.

She opened it up and swished the white liquid around, watching it coating the sides of the carton with white. She took a small sniff and then frowned recognizing the stench of rotting milk.

“ Are you going to drink it or stare at it?”

Laura jumped with a start and gave a small gasp feeling her heart pounding against her chest. She stared up at Mike with a small frown of guilt and swallowed hard, feeling her nervous breaths becoming obvious. Mike eyed her curiously with dark eyes and noticed her cheeks becoming red.

“ Uh…I-I was just…um…”

He continued to stare at her silently as she fumbled through her own startled words. “ I didn’t know you were awake…I was just thirsty…” she stuttered quietly.

He nodded slowly as his jaw clenched tightly, indicating that he was either agitated or…super pissed. “ I thought I told you last night that you don’t come out of your room unless I say so.”

“ I-I know…I’m sorry…” she replied shakily, not knowing what he was going to do to her. Maybe he would take away all her furniture and force her to sleep on the floor, locked in her room the rest of the day. He stared at her silently for a few more seconds, watching her eyes dart nervously from side to side.

“ Well what the hell are you waiting for? Drink the fucking thing, don’t just stand there.” He stated loudly, causing her to jump again with a start.

Laura sighed uneasily and bit her bottom lip. “ It’s gone bad.” She replied.

Mike’s perfect brow slowly formed into a deep glare and before she even had time to react, he whacked the carton out of her hand and it flipped onto the floor, spilling rotten milk everywhere. Laura stared down at the cold floor, watching milk oozing slowly towards her bare feet.

“ Now that you’re finished with the milk, you can clean up this fucking mess.” He hissed quietly.

She looked up quickly and stared into his black eyes, so full of anger and irritation. Why was he so angry? Surely making a small mistake of leaving the room for a second while her brother teetered above the couch yesterday didn’t deserve this kind of treatment.

“ Why don’t you clean it?” she demanded just as quietly.

Mike’s eyes lowered furiously and he clenched his shaking fists tightly. With extreme rapidity, he grabbed the collar of her shirt and jerked her towards himself and peered into her deep chocolate eyes which were now becoming uneasy.

“ Don’t test my patience.” He whispered with harsh warning.

Laura swallowed hard, almost seeing the fire burning within his eyes and the vein pounding in his neck. “ Understand?” he breathed.

She could do nothing but nod in response and sighed with relief as he let go of her gently.

“ Good morning all.” Anna smiled softly as she padded into the kitchen.

“ Morning.” Mike’s angry face suddenly switched to a happy one as he stared at his wife.

Laura frowned with confusion and suppressed the urge to slap him. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he just act normal and happy after practically soaking her with milk. Xander ran into the kitchen and stopped short when he saw the milk all over the kitchen floor.

“ Mommy, look!” He gasped and pointed to the white creamy substance.

Anna walked over towards him and frowned as Mike shot Laura an angry glance. “ Who did this?” she asked.

“ Laura.” Mike replied quickly.

“ Wha-.”

“ –Better get cleaning.” He stated loudly and walked towards the front hallway and opened the closet, pulling out a black coat. Laura’s face grew red as she dropped onto all fours and stared at the mess before her.

“ Laura…”

She looked up suddenly, seeing her little brother holding a dish cloth out for her. She gave a weak smile and took it from him gently, watching his dark eyes gleaming cheerfully.

“ Thanks Xander…” she muttered and slowly began wiping up the wet mess. Anna raised a brow and picked up the carton, eyeing its expiration date.

“ Michael, I thought you were going to pick up some fresh milk yesterday…this stuff is two weeks old.”

Mike adjusted the cuffs on his coat and slipped on his shoes quickly. “ Must have slipped my mind.”

“ Well how about you make up for it by buying some new milk-.”

“ –Can’t…studio…work…gotta go.” He blurted out and disappeared outside, slamming the front door.

Anna stared at the door with confusion and shock, not believing that he had just interrupted her and left without even an explanation. Laura threw the soaked cloth into the sink and glared while staring at her mother.

“ Do you suppose I’m allowed out of my room now?”

“ Of course you are Laura.” She replied with a deep frown.

Xander ran towards the toy chest beside the fireplace and pulled out a large yellow dump truck but then dropped it suddenly, sending the front wheel rolling away.

“ I’ll get breakfast started I suppose.” Anna sighed and began pulling things out of the fridge in preparation.

Xander’s eyes lowered sadly with frustration as he picked up the wheel. “ Oh no…” he whispered.

Laura jumped with a start…for the third time that morning as Mike suddenly walked back into the house and slammed the door, walking towards the kitchen.

“ I thought you were leaving.” Anna muttered and placed a frying pan on the stove.

“ Where’s my fucking wallet?” he demanded.

“ Where was the last place you put it?”

“ On the centre island…dammit it’s not here!” he shouted.

Anna sighed heavily and shook her head at his organization skills…or lack thereof. “ Michael, you have got to stop losing your wallet-.”

“ –Yeah well I don’t have time for a fucking lecture.” He snapped furiously.

“ Daddy!” Xander shouted and ran towards him while holding out his toy dump truck. Mike glanced down at him and sighed angrily with deep frustration.

“ Just a second Xander-.”

“ –Help!” He whined in his tiny little voice.

“ Not now, I’m busy.” Mike replied through his teeth and ran a hand quickly through his spiked hair. The little boy whimpered impatiently while watching his father searching the kitchen frantically for the missing wallet.

“ Daddy, fix it!”

Mike’s glare deepened as Xander’s tiny little voice echoed through his head.

“ Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”

“ NOT FUCKING NOW!” Mike shouted at the top of his lungs. Anna turned around slowly, followed by Laura, each staring at him in disbelief. Xander stared up at his father with watery eyes and twitching lips. Mike’s breathing slowly calmed and he now ran both of his hands through his hair shakily, not believing his own actions at the moment.

The twitching in Xander’s lips slowly augmented and then as if someone flipped a switch, he let out a short cry followed by a long stream of sobbing. Each tear trickled down his rosy cheeks and dripped onto his little shirt as he closed his eyes tightly through the sobs.

“ Fucking hell…” Mike growled impatiently as Anna scooped her son up in her arms and leaned his head against her shoulder all the while giving Mike an icy glare.

“ What the hell is the matter with you? He’s a child for Christ’s sake.” She whispered sharply as Xander choked and wept against her shirt.

“ You wanna know what the hell my fucking problem is? I CAN’T FIND MY GODDAMN WALLET! AND IF YOU HADN’T OF PLAYED THESE FUCKING LITTLE GAMES WITH ME, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE FUCKING HAPPENED!” He screamed back with a red face. Laura remained silent and stared down at the floor as Anna resisted the urge to fling the frying pan at his head.

She rubbed Xander’s back gently as his sobbing increased against her shoulder. “ Did you check your coat pocket?” she asked quietly with a shaky voice.

Mike stared at her for a long moment before slowly reaching into his coat pocket and gripping the familiar leather material of the wallet. “ Goddammit.” He growled in disbelief.

It had been there the whole time…and he had yelled at his son for nothing.

“ Fucking son of a bitch…” he breathed and turned around sharply, then darted out the door with another loud slam that shook the walls. Xander looked up from his mother’s shoulder and sniffed heavily, choking back his cries while feeling his mother’s comforting touch.

Laura picked up the dump truck from the floor and sighed heavily, grabbed the wheel from her brother’s hand. Carefully, she stuck the wheel back on and twisted it into place, then held it up for her brother to see.

“ There…it’s all fixed…” she stated gently.

Xander stared at his toy and blinked curiously. “ All better?” he asked quietly.

“ Yeah, it’s all better…” Laura replied with a forced smile. Xander sniffed again and grabbed the toy from her hands, eyeing the wheel just to make sure it was staying there.

Anna gave a heavy sigh and smiled for her son’s sake in an attempt to create the illusion that everything was fine. “ Okay, say thank you.”

“ Thank you…” he mumbled, still feeling the affects of his father’s loud voice in his ears.

“ No problemo kid.” Laura smiled and ruffled his hair between her fingers playfully.

“ Xander, why don’t you go play over there by the couch?” Anna stated calmly.

“ Kay…” he answered and felt his mother lower him to the floor where he ran over to the couch and sat down on the hardwood floor, pushing his truck along the shiny surface. Laura and Anna both eyed each other nervously as Xander played. Something about what had happened a few moments ago with Mike felt wrong to them.

He had NEVER blown up at his son before and Anna could have sworn that she had smelled alcohol on his breath. Her eyes darkened at the thought as she returned to the frying pan on the stove, continuing with breakfast. Laura walked over to Xander and sat down across from him…watching him playing silently with his toy dump truck.

Neither of them said a word all morning and the house remained silent for the rest of the day…


~~ Yeah I know, its short...anywhoo, review and let me know what you think so far! Hopefully i will have the next chapter up soon...and then i'll start explaining whats up with Mike..anyways, Thankees for reading!! :)~~

Never Alone {Epilogue}
~~ Oh wow, i finally updated. It's been SUCH a long time. Okay, so here it is folks, the epilogue hopefully you've been waiting for. And omg i have to stop the sequels lmao..ENJOY!! :)~~

***********************EPILOGUE*****************************************


2 Years later…


“ Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!”

Mike looked around the kitchen and frowned as he turned on the stove slowly. He had heard Xander’s tiny voice coming out of somewhere, but couldn’t seem to see him anywhere. Could his voice have been coming from Laura’s room? His room? He couldn’t tell but it was definitely echoed and distant.

“ Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!”

Mike frowned as he suddenly heard tiny footsteps against the hardwood becoming quicker and quicker. His little voice was nearing and his breath was becoming faster and heavy as he ran into the kitchen. Hmm, must have been in the laundry room.

“ Daddy!” He screamed at the top of his lungs, causing Mike to flinch, then look down at the tiny toddler attempting to pull his shirt on.

Unfortunately it had become stuck around the top of his head and he couldn’t pull it down. “ Daddy, help!” he shouted with panic.

Mike couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of a small three year old boy attempting to pull on his fresh laundry. “ Alright, alright, calm down, I got it.” He laughed and bent down in front of his son, stretching the neck of the shirt around his head, and then pulled it down, sticking his little arms through the arm holes.

Xander shook his head roughly, making his fluffy black hair stand up with static. Mike smiled as his son gave a deep frown and breathed out heavily with rosy cheeks of frustration. He still hadn’t gotten the hang of dressing himself in the morning and that much was obvious.

“ Are you okay now?” Mike asked and suppressed a laugh at the cute sight of a frustrated three year old.

Xander looked up at Mike through his dark lashes and shook his head slowly with a small pout upon his full lips. “ Aw…it’s okay Xander. I understand…getting dressed isn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world, but don’t worry, you’ll get it.” He explained calmly.

The toddler frowned and lowered his head, obviously not believing what his father was telling him. Getting dressed was just too stressful for such a small body. “ What can I do to make it all better?” Mike asked quietly with a sad voice.

Xander lowered his head into his father’s chest and wrapped his tiny arms around him, gripping his shirt tightly. Mike stroked his son’s hair gently, feeling the down like softness and gave a small smile.

He picked him up gently in his arms and frowned a little as he saw Laura coming downstairs from Xander’s room with her hair in a mess and obviously out of breath. She gave a deep glare and stared at her little brother while crossing her arms angrily.

“ That boy is a demon.” She growled.

Mike stared at her in question while feeling Xander’s head burying deeper into his neck. It was evident that he wasn’t just upset about his clothing disaster.

“ Okay, what did you do to him?” he demanded quietly.

“ I didn’t do anything! He wouldn’t keep still when I tried to help him with his shirt!”

“ Well Laura, he’s three years old…he’s hyperactive, of course he won’t be able to keep still.” Mike explained in a low tone.

“ That little monster drove me nuts. I had to chase him around the room for twenty minutes and when I finally got his shirt on, he ripped it off and ran downstairs.” She explained desperately with frustration.

Mike sighed heavily as Xander lifted his head a little and glanced at his older sister, then quickly buried his head back into Mike’s neck. “ Laura, he probably wanted to wear something else. Why didn’t you follow him? He nearly suffocated himself trying to get his shirt on.”

“ That’s not my problem.” She muttered angrily.

“ It is so your problem. Your mom went out this morning to deposit some checks so guess what? You are the one who is responsible for getting him dressed this morning.”

“ What about you?” She demanded in disbelief.

Mike rolled his eyes and growled under his breath. “ Its called making breakfast for everyone. Without me you wouldn’t have anything to eat. Now I don’t know what the hell you did to him, but now he’s upset.” He explained.

Laura sighed out heavily and lowered her eyes with guilt. “ Okay, maybe I was a little impatient with him…maybe I yelled a little…and swore…and threw another shirt at him-.”

“ –You did what?” Mike demanded angrily in disbelief.

Laura stared at him silently for a few moments before finding a way to respond without getting herself into major trouble. “ I was impatient and acted before thinking…I’m sorry.” She muttered slowly.

“ Well don’t apologize to me. Your brother is scared now…you should be apologizing to him.” He explained.

Laura sighed uneasily and turned to her little brother who glanced up briefly from Mike’s neck to look at her, and then hid his face again. She rolled her eyes and frowned before answering. “ Xander.” She called, using her softest voice.

He lifted his head slowly and stared at her through those deep brown eyes, so full of fear and guilt that he had gotten his sister angry. “ I’m sorry I was angry with you. It wasn’t your fault.” She explained gently.

He stared at her silently as he tried to apologize without becoming even more frustrated.

“ You’re a good boy…I’m a bad girl…I’m sorry.” She stated while trying to explain things that were more at his level of comprehension.

“ Me good boy?” he asked quietly with innocence that only a small child could possess.

Laura nodded and gave a small smile. “ You are a good boy…a little irritating maybe-.”

“ –Laura.” Mike warned quietly.

“ Fine…”

“ Laura bad girl…BAD!” Xander squealed with an evil grin and balled his hands into tight fists against Mike’s shoulder.

She frowned and watched Mike’s smile growing with each passing second. “ Yeah, you tell her Xander. She’s a bad girl…she should be punished.” He explained with a fake frown.

“ What? Wait, no dad!”

“ BAD, BAD!” Xander giggled loudly and smacked the air in front of his sister, nearly hitting her in the face with his tiny little fingers.

“ WHY, WHY HIM WHY? Out of all the sperm!” Laura growled.

Mike raised a brow and then lowered Xander onto the kitchen floor where he suddenly darted away from them and ran into the living room, jumping onto the couch and grabbing the remote.

“ Laura, he’s three…try to be more patient.” Mike whispered and then cringed when the volume on the television exceeded 60.

He sighed heavily and gave a deep frown. “ Xander!” He shouted as loud as he could. His little head popped up from behind the couch and he stared at his father with a wide grin.

Mike walked towards him slowly and winced as the sound of the television boomed through his ears. He grabbed the remote gently from his son and lowered the volume, sighing with relief as it returned to the normal volume of 13. Xander giggled ecstatically as he watched his father rubbing his ears with pain.

“ Xander…TV does not get louder than this. Understand?” he demanded in a stern authoritative voice.

The toddler grabbed the remote from Mike’s hands and pointed it at the TV, pressing his little fingers down, flipping between each channel. He suddenly pounded his legs which didn’t reach the end of the couch, up and down quickly with excitement when he found the station he wanted.

“ Daddy!” He cried joyously when he happened to fall on the station for MTV where one of the Linkin Park videos was playing.

Mike gave a small chuckle and shook his head as he watched his son staring at the screen in awe, watching his father walking through a dried up lakebed rapping on the screen. “ Yeah, yeah alright, watch daddy on TV but don’t turn it up okay?” He asked calmly.

Xander nodded with a large grin and sat back against the couch comfortably. “ Oh hey, that was the good video. You guys all got soaked.” Laura explained as she sat down at the centre island.

Mike frowned and turned around staring at her in question. “ Excuse me? You thought that was good?”

“ Well…soaked guys…come on dad, it just screams-.”

“ –Don’t ever finish that sentence please.” He interrupted and returned to his breakfast making.

“ Excuse me if I’m part of the female race.” She muttered as she watched him crack an egg into the frying pan.

Mike side glanced her and growled under his breath. “ Laura…I really hope you’re not suggesting that the band was hot in that video.”

“ Hell yes I am…besides, I’m not including you so be happy.” She explained with a furrowed brow.
“ Thank God…you scared me for a second there.”

“ Well I’m not THAT demented.” She chuckled and shook her head at his stupidity. Mike lowered his eyes and concentrated back on the eggs he was making. He reached into the cupboard and grabbed a plate, setting it down in front of Laura, handing her a fork as well.

“ Eggs?” he asked.

“ Scrambled.” She stated.

“ I love how you specified which kind…” Mike muttered and rolled his eyes.

“ Hey, I have preferences. I wont eat them unless they’re scrambled.” She explained.

“ Picky, picky.” He replied in disbelief and began scrambling the eggs at a moderate and constant pace. After a while of making breakfast and listening to MTV drone on about some band, Mike turned around and placed the frying pan on the centre island with another plate.

“ Xander, breakfast.” Mike announced casually.

“ No!” he shouted back.

“ Yes, now.” Mike ordered and watched as he slowly slid off the couch with reluctance and frowned, crossing his arms.

“ NO!”

Mike glared and ran a hand through his hair with frustration.

“ Careful dad, you wouldn’t want to get impatient now would you?” Laura asked quietly, causing his glare to deepen.

“ Xander…come here, NOW.” He ordered calmly.

“ NO!” He shouted and darted away from the couch towards the stairs. Mike ran after him and caught him in his arms just as he was about to run onto the first step.

“ Gotcha!” Mike yelled and held him tightly, feeling his little legs kicking and thrashing, demanding to be let down.

“ No!”

“ You are coming into the kitchen whether you like it or not.” Mike warned.

“ NO!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Laura laughed under her breath and began to munch on her eggs while watching her father struggle with a disobedient little three year old. Mike sighed with irritation and frustration as he continued to hold the toddler tightly.

“ Come have some eggs.”

“ NO! Yucky!” he shouted, visibly upset.

“ Then what do you want to eat then?” Mike asked.

“ COOKIES!” Xander screamed with excitement and clapped his hands.

“ Cookies?”

“ Yeah!”

Mike frowned and looked at Laura who was snickering into her food. “ Laura, have you been giving him cookies for breakfast again?”

“ It was one cookie…everyday for the past three weeks.”

“ What!”

“ Relax dad, he’ll grow out of his cookie faze…hopefully.” She replied lightly in thought.

“ Okay fine…Xander, I’ll make you a deal. If you eat your eggs, I’ll let you have a cookie. But ONLY after you finish your eggs.” Mike stated slowly so that he could understand more easily.

Xander breathed out heavily in thought and struggled within his father’s arms, signaling that he’d comply.

“ Alright…” Mike nodded and carried him over to one of the chairs at the centre island and sat him down.

Laura plopped two spoonfuls of scrambled eggs onto Xander’s plate and handed him a plastic fork. He grabbed it clumsily and clutched it tightly within his fists and jabbed at the plate hard, obviously still upset that he wasn’t getting his cookie just yet.

“ Xander eat.” Mike ordered with a furrowed brow.

He stared up at his father with a deep glare and stuffed a mouthful of eggs into his mouth. Unfortunately he had stuffed so much in, it was all falling out the sides and onto his shirt. Mike lowered his eyes and grabbed some paper towel, then began cleaning the gooey mess off of his son’s cheek and shirt.

“ Hey dad, he eats just like you.” Laura muttered suddenly with a sideways smile, eyeing the bits of egg on her little brother’s shirt.

Mike looked up from Xander and lowered his eyes at her giving that ‘I resent that’ look.

“ Good morning all…ooo I smell eggs.” Anna announced as she walked into the kitchen and took off her coat.

“ Anna your son is a pig.” Mike stated clearly.

“ I always knew he’d be just like his father.” She replied quickly and smiled down at little Xander with bright eyes, ignoring Mike’s insulted look.

“ Hi baby!” she exclaimed and kissed Xander on his soft little head so full of the down like fluff some people refer to as hair.

“ Mommy, I want cookie.” He muttered in a low tone with sad eyes.

Anna brushed through his black hair softly and raised a brow. “ You want a cookie? But you have eggs right here.”

“ I want COOKIE.” He stated and pounded his little fists against the centre island.

“ Hell, just give him the fucking cookie.” Mike breathed quietly.

“ No Mike, he has to learn to be patient. Xander, finish your breakfast and then you’ll get a cookie.”

“ Anna, I already tried that and it didn’t work.” Mike explained stressfully.

“ Fine…finish your breakfast and you’ll get TWO cookies.” Anna smiled and held up two fingers for Xander to see.

“ Cookie…two cookie…TWO COOKIE!” Xander shouted with excitement.

Anna laughed and placed the fork back into his hand. “ Eat.” She ordered bluntly and so they all watched as he downed an entire plate of eggs in less than a minute, so keen on getting his new prize…TWO cookies. Xander dropped his fork against the plate with a small ping and reached out with both hands, grasping the air, staring beyond towards the cookie jar.

“ COOKIE! COOKIE! COOKIE!”

“ Anna…he is seriously going to be sick the rest of the afternoon.” Mike muttered.

“ He’ll be fine, just give him the damn cookies.”

“ Me wantee!” He shouted with annoyance and grunted as he tried to lean forward towards the cookie jar, which was quite a few feet away on top of the counters. Of course Xander had no sense of depth perception at all…he was only focusing on the cookie jar and not the distance between him and his desired sugar high.

“ Patience my little rock star, your cookies are coming.” Mike chuckled and grabbed two from the jar, handing them to the hyper toddler.

“ So he’s going to be a rock star?” Anna asked quietly as she grabbed a few pieces of egg from Mike’s plate.

“ Hell yes he is. There is no way he is getting past these doors to college without learning how to play the guitar.” He explained with a frown.

“ And what if he turns out to be some science fiction watching, pop music listening pansy?” she asked with an arched brow.

“ Anna that is IMPOSSIBLE. He’s related to me…he’s automatically a heavy metal, head bashing, ear bleeding rocker…isn’t that right little Xander?” he asked with a smile.

He looked up from his cookies, which were crumbling around him and falling out of his mouth. He had managed to somehow stuff both into his mouth at the same time…this just screamed upset stomach later on.

“ Come on, do that hand thing.” Mike whispered with an eager smile.

Xander swallowed his cookies and lifted his fist high into the air, extending his thumb and pinkie out.

“ Michael, why did you teach him that?” Anna demanded with lowered eyes of annoyance.

“ Hey, he got it from TV…I didn’t teach anything to him.”

“ It shows.” She sighed and rolled her eyes.

“ Okay well I gotta go guys, be back later.” Laura announced and hopped off of her chair.

“ Whoa, whoa, whoa, where the hell do you think you’re going?” Mike demanded with a furrowed brow.

Laura turned to him and growled loudly. “ None of your business.”

“ Josh is taking her to a movie this afternoon.” Anna stated casually and cleaned up her son’s plate.

Mike’s eyes widened and he breathed out in disbelief. “ Who the hell is Josh?”

“ No one.” Laura muttered angrily, not wanting her father prying into her personal life.

“ Her boyfriend…really Mike, you should pay more attention.” Anna muttered and threw the rest of the dirty plates into the dishwasher.

“ BOYFRIEND? No, Nuhuh, absolutely not. You’re staying home.” He replied sternly.

“ Dad, I HAVE TO GO!” Laura whined loudly.

“ Not with some guy I didn’t even know about.”

“ The reason why you didn’t know about him is because I don’t really feel I should have to tell you ANYTHING about my personal life.”

“ Then why does your mom know?” he demanded with confusion.

“ Argh, Mom, make him let me go!” Anna shook her head and leaned against the centre island.

“ Mike, it’s a girl thing…just let her go.”

“ But what if this guy is some pot smoking, stuffy headed pimply freak who only wants to get his hands on her?”

“ She’s smart enough to stay away from those kinds of people.” Anna explained calmly.

“ Too bad, she’s staying home.” He replied.

Laura glared and crossed her arms angrily. Why did he have to be such a prick? “ Father, let me go!

” “ No way DAUGHTER.” He replied with a deep frown.

Anna rolled her eyes and glanced at Xander who had suddenly become confused by their anger. “ Don’t you hate it when they fight?” she asked quietly. Xander turned his vision towards his mother and giggled softly.

“ Bad.”

“ Oh yeah, sure is.” She smiled.

Suddenly the door bell rang and Laura’s glare deepened. “ I’m going.”

“ No you’re NOT.”

“ Mike, stop being so fucking protective and let her out of the her cage once and a while.” Anna breathed with frustration.

“ Fine…but I’m meeting this kid.” He muttered.

Laura’s eyes widened as she backed away towards the door, eyeing Mike cautiously. “ You are NOT meeting him.”

“ Am so.” He smiled and opened the door.

He eyed the young boy like he was fresh meat and leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms. This ‘Josh’ was quite tall, tanned skin, dark hair and deep green eyes. He stared at Mike with confusion and glanced at Laura who lowered her head with embarrassment.

“ You have exactly ten seconds to convince me that I should let my daughter go out with you…10…9…”

“ Dad…” Laura hissed angrily.

“ 8…7…”

Josh frowned and stuffed his hands in his pockets, searching for something to say. “ Uh…”

“ 6…5…4…”

“ I uh…I-I…I’m…”

“ 3…2…-.”

“ –I’m in a band.” He stated suddenly.

Mike stopped his countdown and eyed the young teen suspiciously for several seconds. Laura stared at Mike helplessly and growled under her breath.

“ Bring her home before ten.” Mike stated and pushed Laura through the door towards Josh.

“ Will do…” He replied nervously, still confused.

“ Wait…what kind of band?” Mike asked before they started to walk away. Laura lowered her eyes impatiently and gave her father a cold stare.

Josh cleared his throat and eyed Mike nervously. “ Strictly heavy metal.”

Mike reached into his pocket and handed him fifty dollars. “ Get her something nice to eat.” He whispered with a sideways smile. Laura raised her eyes with surprise and glanced at the fifty dollars in shock.

“ Are you serious?” she asked.

“ Hey, he’s a good kid…you two have fun now.” He stated cheerfully and closed the door in front of the two shocked teens.

Anna chuckled lightly and shook her head as Mike entered the kitchen with a large smile. “ Ah kids these days.”

“ Mike, you’re still a kid.” She muttered and rolled her eyes.

“ Am not…I’m almost…uh…”

“ Thirty.” Anna finished for him.

“ Holy shit I’m old.” He breathed in realization.

“ The problem is, you’re not old enough. Don’t you have work today or something?” she asked.

“ Possibly…”

“ What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“ It means I don’t have to if I don’t want to. I’m the head of this band-.”

“ –Uh, Chester is the head of this band.” Anna corrected.

“ Excuse me? How the hell is he the head of the band?”

“ He’s the singer.”

“ So? I sing too…and I rap…I do more than him.” Mike argued.

Anna sighed heavily and sat down beside her son who was eyeing the cookie jar once again. “ Go to work.” She ordered.

“ Hey, I deserve a break.”

“ Michael, you have been putting off this new album for a year. Go to work NOW.” She replied heavily.

“ It’s not my fault I’ve been busy with you and kids and Chester…I have too many responsibilities.” He explained.

“ Well I can easily get rid of you and then you’ll only have one responsibility.”

“ Are you threatening me?” he demanded with a frown.

“ More like warning you. If you don’t finish that album, the fans will murder you.” She answered with a small smile.

“ You know what Anna? Everything you say to me…takes me one step closer to the edge and I’m about to break because in the end it doesn’t even matter.” He stated quickly.

She stared at him blankly for several seconds before finally replying. “ Well good, since you are already in LP mode…go to work and leave me alone so I can relax and watch some TV.”

“ Fine, I’m leaving.” He replied with lowered eyes and walked towards the front hall to retrieve his jacket from the closet. Suddenly, Xander slid off of the chair and ran towards him at high speed and stopped with a jump in front of him.

“ Daddy, I wanna come!”

Mike stared down at him and adjusted the collar on his jacket. “ You wanna come? You’ll be bored sitting in the studio all day. Why don’t you stay here with mommy and watch some TV…play with your toys…”

“ But I wanna come with you!” He whined with a small pout.

Anna walked into the front hall and crossed her arms, giving a smile while watching Mike sigh heavily. “ Come on Mike, let him go with you. He’ll be just as bored here.” She explained quietly.

“ Alright…you can come. Put on your shoes.” He ordered softly.

Xander squealed with excitement and grabbed his shoes from the closet, sitting down and slipping them on clumsily. Mike eyed Anna’s crooked smile and walked towards her slowly.

“ Is there a reason why he can’t stay here?”

“ I want to be alone without a little boy running around the house and God knows Xander’s going to do it too.” She laughed.

“ Gee, thanks, I feel so loved.” He chuckled.

“ Daddy!” He screamed from the floor.

Mike closed his eyes through the sheer pain of the scream and turned around slowly. “ Yes Xander?”

“ I can’t do it!” he whined and pointed to his laces.

Mike kneeled down in front of his son and clutched his laces weakly. “ Pay close attention.” He warned softly.

Xander watched him as he slowly tied the two ends together, then made two loops and tied those together. “ There…think you can do it for the other shoe?” he asked.

Xander eyed his other shoe with interest and grabbed the laces tightly, trying so hard to remember what his father had just taught to him. He tied both ends together tightly and then clumsily made the two loops. A few seconds later, he had managed to tie the shoe all by himself which caused him to gasp out happily with a smile.

“ I did it!’ he cried.

Mike smiled and rubbed his head roughly, causing his hair to stand up all over. “ Good job Xander. Ready to go?”

“ Yeah!”

Mike picked him up quickly and held him in his arms while turning around to face Anna. “ Mommy look, I tied em!” Xander shouted with excitement.

“ Yes I see that, aren’t you a smart boy?” She chuckled and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

She then leaned up and kissed Mike softly on the lips and smiled.

“ Yucky!” Xander shouted with a frown of disgust.

“ Yeah, yeah, I know…yucky now, fun when you’re sixteen.” Mike muttered and rolled his eyes.

“ Bye babies.” Anna laughed softly.

“ Bye.” Mike replied and then looked at Xander.

“ Say bye to mommy.”

“ Bye mommy!”

“ Bye sweetie.” She replied and watched as Mike opened the door.

He carried Xander out towards the Escalade and opened the back door, sticking him in his car seat and strapped him in tightly. He then closed the door and then entered the driver’s side and pulled on his seatbelt. He glanced up through the window and saw Anna standing in the doorway smiling with happy eyes. Mike turned around and looked at Xander with a smile.

“ Now doesn’t mommy look pretty?”

“ Pretty, pretty!” he shouted and clapped.

Mike turned back to the front and shook his head with a large smile, then started the ignition. He then sat back and pulled out of the drive way, then stopped the truck on the road, glancing back through the rear view mirror towards his son who had now found a pair of sunglasses and was wearing them.

“ Alright, let’s do this.” Mike breathed and turned on the radio, filling the truck with loud guitars and booming drums which were vibrating the windows.

He pressed on the gas hard and squinted with a smile through the bright sun ahead.

Today…was a good day.

True love exists yes I know this
My heart was waiting for you
And when we met I felt my chest
pound fast, racing for the chance
to know you, to hold you
To open up and show you
The way it feels when you know...

You are not alone
Know that I would fight the tides to
Be together
When you feel alone
Listen to this song to make your heart
feel better

Two hearts entwined, yes, you are mine
And I'll be your's forever
I've done the math, I'm less than half
We're better off together
And I want you here by my side
As much as you are on my mind
When I'm gone you should know

Rainy Mondays feel like Fridays
When you're smiling at me I can feel
The space
Between us collapsing
Our love is everlasting

Listen to this song
Let it make your heart feel better


{Song: Alone}
{Artist: Sanctus Real}

~~ ITS OVER!! NOOOOO THE END!!!! Aww it was fun writing it...hope y'all enjoyed it!! wootness *throws confetti* *has party* I am SOO sorry for taking forever on this chapter but i had mid-terms at school and such. Anywhoo, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING AND REVIEWING!! YOU GUYS ALWAYS MAKE ME SMILE LIKE CRAZY, ITS AWESOME!!! Will there be more fics to come from me?? Hmm, i dunno...its probable. Kay so its over, finished, finito, fin...and this is a very long good bye so im just gonna stop and say : BYE!!! Peace out!! :)~~ PS: Don't forget to review lmao thankees !! :)~~

Here I Am
~~ WOOOOOOOOOOOOT...k,there were some people that had a few concerns over how fast she became pregnant. Well, i'm trying not to drag this fic on for a million years so i sped some things up. And besides, this is a world of fiction and anything can happen. So anyways, here is the next chapter...kind of short and full of Chester because he's so funny..hehe...enjoy!!:)~~



9 months later…



“ Jesus, I’m so nervous!”

Laura flipped through the magazine casually and glanced up to see Chester pacing around the living room like a mad man. It had been a very long nine months…and probably seemed even longer for Mike because everyday his nerves would grow.

They had kept the gender of the baby a secret…well Anna wanted it a secret. Mike wasn’t exactly too happy about that because he really hated surprises. Of course during the pregnancy, Anna’s hormones would fluctuate, sending pots and pans towards Mike’s head for some unknown reason.

The one thing Laura noticed about Mike during the last nine months was how cautious and uncertain he was about everything. He was very quiet and when asked a question or spoken to, he would just give a small smile and say a few words in response.

It was clear that he was trying to hide his anxiety about this baby…obviously lacking self-confidence about being a father. On many occasions, Laura would have to sit him down and tell him not to worry about it…that he was a great dad, yet looking into those brown eyes, you could see that he didn’t believe a word she said to him. Maybe when the baby was born, he would regain some confidence.

“ Chester, do you want a drink or something?” Laura muttered with an arched brow.

He frowned at her and glanced at the magazine with a cocked head. “ How can you read at a time like this? Your mom is having a baby RIGHT NOW. Aren’t you nervous?”

“ Why are YOU nervous?” she asked back.

Chester sat down on the couch beside her and twitched his hands nervously, causing the bracelets to shake. “ I don’t know…you guys are like family. What if everything goes wrong? What if the baby dies?” he asked with a worried look on his face that only made Laura’s smile grow.

“ Chester…relax. If everything went wrong, I’m sure dad would have phoned by now.” She explained calmly.

“ Do you think it’s born yet?” he asked quickly.

Laura sighed heavily and went back to reading her magazine. “ I don’t know…does it look like I’m there right now?”

“ How long have they been there?” He demanded and glanced at his watch.

“ Since eight this morning…why don’t you go make yourself some lunch…well, late lunch?” she replied with irritation.

“ How long does it take to deliver a baby?”

“ As long as it takes…” Laura sighed and flipped the page.

Chester sat back against the couch and breathed out heavily, annoying Laura even further. The last thing she needed was Chester making her even more anxious than she already was.

Not anxious because of the baby but anxious because she didn’t know how Mike would handle it.

“ What do you think they’ll name it?”

Laura dropped her magazine heavily against her lap and stared at Chester with a cold glare. “ Chester…could you PLEASE shut your mouth for five seconds?” she hissed.

“ What did I do?” he asked with a hand on his chest in disbelief.

“ You won’t fucking shut up. If you want to know what’s going on at the hospital then why don’t you just go down there and find out?”

“ Yeah and wait another seven hours with a frightened Mike and a cranky, pain filled Anna? I don’t think so.” He breathed and shook his head.

“ Then shut up.” She muttered and went back to her magazine, making it clear that she didn’t want to hear another word out of Chester.

The silence lasted a good five minutes…until the phone suddenly rang, causing Chester to nearly jump ten feet in the air. Laura grabbed the receiver and blinked slowly.

“ Yeah…” she muttered.

Chester watched Laura intently as she listened to the person on the other end of the phone. It seemed like the person had been talking forever because Laura suddenly felt Chester tugging at her sleeve.

“ Psst, Laura…who is it?” he whispered loudly.

She glared and him and flicked him away with her hand before replying to the voice on the phone. “ Yeah, that’s Chester…he’s bugging the hell out of me. Can we lock him up in the basement?” she asked.

Chester frowned as he heard a small laugh on the other end of the phone, then more talking. Laura gave a heavy sigh and nodded, not that the person could see anyway.

“ Will do…please come home before Chester starts gnawing my head off.”

Chester rolled his eyes and growled under his breath.

“ Bye…”

He watched as she hung up the phone and returned to her magazine. He stared at her for a long moment and then gave a short gasp in disbelief.

“ Hello!”

“ What is it now?” she asked and looked at him with a frown.

“ Was that Mike?”

Laura rolled her eyes and closed the magazine, knowing that she wasn’t going to get it finished today. “ Yes…are you finished harassing me now?”

“ What did he say?”

“ The baby was born about fifteen minutes ago.” She replied quickly and turned on the TV.

Chester gave a large smile and gasped happily. “ Really?”

“ No, I lied…” she muttered sarcastically.

He lowered his eyes and grabbed the remote from her hand, turning off the television. “ Hey, I was watching that.” She growled angrily.

“ And now you’re finished. Would you please let me in on this info? What else did he say?”

“ He said if you don’t quit harassing me, he’ll kick your ass out of the band.” She replied with a glare.

“ Honestly Laura, this is why you don’t have a boyfriend.”

“ Excuse me?” she demanded.

“ You are very…very…MEAN.” He stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

She growled under her breath and grabbed the remote from him…then threw it at his head. He groaned in pain and rubbed the red spot on his skull while giving her a cold stare.

“ So how did Mike sound on the phone?”

Laura stared up in thought and raised a brow. “ He sounded like Mike…”

“ No, I mean, was he angry? Sad? Disappointed? Scared? What, just tell me!”

She bit her bottom lip and squinted while trying to remember exactly how her father sounded. “ Well…to be honest he sounded a little stuffed…and his voice was kind of scratchy…”

“ Oh my God, was he crying?” Chester demanded.

“ I don’t know…probably. Well, I think he was happy…even though he was crying, he seemed kind of bubbly.” She explained.

“ Bubbly? What the hell does that mean?” he asked with confusion.

“ Never mind…the point is, if you want to get something out of him, now’s the time because he’s in a really good mood.” She explained casually.

“ Then everything must have gone well! When are they coming home?” He asked excitedly.

“ In a few hours…Jesus, calm down, it’s not even your kid.” She muttered.

“ I’m sorry…I’m just excited for you guys. Jeeze, try to show a little bit of compassion.” He replied with a frown.

Laura stood up and proceeded to the kitchen while shaking her head. “ Where are you going?” Chester demanded.

“ Kitchen…food…me eat…me hungry.” She explained and opened the fridge, grabbing a cinnamon bun.

“ Hey are there any more of those?” he asked and jumped off the couch towards her.

“ No, this is the last one. Mooch off of someone else.” She answered lightly.

“ You are EXACTLY like your father, do you know that?” he asked with a hurt expression on his face.

“ Proud of it.” She smiled back.

“ Can I have a piece?” he asked quietly with a pout.

Laura stared at him and rolled her eyes, finally ripping off a small piece and handing it to him. “ That’s all you get.”

“ Gee…a whole piece…thanks…” he muttered with lowered eyes.

“ You asked for a piece…and that’s what you got. Be happy.” She replied.

“ Fine…” he muttered and munched on his tiny morsel. “ So...have they named the baby yet?” he asked after he had swallowed his ‘whole piece’.

Laura shrugged and licked her fingers. “ I don’t know…maybe-.”

“ –Wait, is it a boy or a girl?’ he interrupted.

She blinked slowly at him, deciding weather or not to answer that question since she was so rudely interrupted. “ Stop interrupting me and maybe I’ll answer.”

“ God you are SO your father’s daughter…” he breathed in disbelief.

“ If I tell you, will you get all excited and freak out?” she asked cautiously.

“ No…I promise.” He smiled.

Laura raised a brow, knowing he of course would break that promise, but decided to tell him anyway. “ It’s a…”

She watched his eyes brighten with anticipation as she stalled, causing him further torture. “ An itty bitty, cute little, dark haired, brown eyed-.”

“ –Dammit tell me woman!” he shouted.

“ Baby boy.” She finished with a chuckle of amusement.

Chester’s eyes widened with excitement and he grabbed her, tossing her around in the air in fits of happy. “ C-Chester…let me go…” she breathed as he held her tightly in her arms, shaking the life out of her.

“ I can’t believe it! A little boy! This is so GREAT!” he shouted.

“ Chester, seriously…l-let me go.” She coughed.

“ Oh…sorry…” he muttered and released her from his grip. Laura wiped her dark hair out of her eyes and frowned at him while regaining her breath.

“ Aren’t you happy?” He asked with confusion.

“ Yeah I’m happy but I’m gonna go ballistic over it.” She coughed.

“ Laura…you have a little baby brother. Think about that for a while.”

“ Why?” she asked.

“ Because the little guy’s gonna look up to you. Who do you think is going to teach him how to belch, throw his peas and hide his dirty clothes under the bed and in the closet?”

“ Uh, easy…Mike.” She replied simply.

“ Okay, good point…but what about all the other stuff? Good music, bad music, the dangers of getting a shitty CD and having to return it but forgetting the receipt?” he demanded.

Laura stared at him in thought and then frowned. “ That would be Mike again…”

“ Damn, he’s going to be busy…” Chester muttered.

“ Chester…I’m happy…I’m excited…I just don’t really feel comfortable grabbing you and tossing you in the air…” she explained with a small smile.

“ Ah fine…be like your dad…hide your feelings.”

“ I’m not hiding my feelings…I’m conserving them for when they get home so just sit down and relax.” She laughed.

Chester gave a small nod and then a smile grew on his face once more. “ Aw, you’re gonna be a big sister!”

Laura chuckled softly and shook her head at him. “ Yes I am…and you are going to be the proverbial uncle Chester.”

His eyes widened suddenly to the size of grapefruits and he covered his mouth with a small gasp.

“ Wow…”

Laura lowered her eyes but kept her smile.

That’ll shut him up until they get home…

~~ Okay so, the homecoming will be coming soon for the next chapter so stay tuned for that. That will probably be the last chapter and then there will be an epilogue. Anywhoosies, thankees for the reviews and thankees for reading!!:)~~
Brand New Life
~~ WOOT I FINALLY UPDATED!!! HOPE YOU ENJOY THE FINAL CHAPTER!! *PS...Name of the baby was chosen by robbourdon/mike* THANKEES!! :)~~





A few hours had managed to turn into late evening by the time Mike and Anna had returned to their humble abode. Anna gripped the carrier tightly and stared around the living room with an arched brow.

It seemed that Chester and Laura had left the TV on blaring but no one was in the room. And to make matters worse, it was going to wake up the baby.

“ Michael…where are they?” she demanded quietly and looked into his dark eyes.

“ Just a sec.” he sighed and grabbed his cell phone, then dialed Chester’s number.After a few rings, finally he picked up with a scratchy voice.

“ Yeah what?”

“ Chester…where the hell are you and where is my daughter?” he demanded.

“ Everything’s fine…she’s with me. Hey are you guys home?” he asked with excitement.

“ Uh yeah…and please answer my previous question.”

“ Relax man. We’re in the backyard.”

Mike frowned and looked towards the sliding glass doors, seeing the outside world as pitch black. “ What the hell are you doing in the backyard? Get in here.” He ordered with a hushed tone.

Anna stared at Mike with confusion but then suddenly heard a small gurgle from the baby and placed the carrier down on the floor, bending down to tend to him. Mike shut off his cell phone and stuffed it back into his pocket as Laura and Chester walked into the house, closing the doors behind them.

“ Laura could you please turn off that TV?” Mike whispered.

She raised a brow and gave him an odd look, causing him to frown.

“ What?” he asked.

“ Nothing…you’re just getting all…Dad on me.”

“ TV, off, now.” He ordered and pointed to it with raised eyes.

She lowered her eyes and grabbed the remote, switching off the television. Chester stared down at the little baby with a wide grin and bright eyes. He was so adorable with his eyes shut peacefully in a quiet slumber.

His full red lips puckered a little which caused a small dribble of drool to roll onto his tiny little blue shirt. Of course, his head was filled with jet black hair, straight and fluffy. His tiny little hands balled into fists on his chest and his chest rose and fell gently with each tiny breath.

“ Aw, he’s so itty bitty!” Chester exclaimed softly.

Anna looked up at him and gave a small grin, stroking her son’s hair gently as he slept. “ What did you expect? He’s a baby.”

“ Yeah but I didn’t think he’d be so small and so…cute.” Chester explained with a chuckle.

“ What did you guys name him?” Laura asked eagerly with interest.

Anna sighed lightly and stared at her son’s rosy cheeks. “ Xander.”

“ Xander? Really?” Chester asked with an arched brow.

Mike frowned and stepped towards him slightly with crossed arms. “ Yeah, you got a problem with that?”

“ Uh…to avoid being injured…no…no problem…” he replied shakily.

Laura bent down and sat beside her mother and watched as the baby slept peacefully under the blankets. “ I think his name is wicked. And if he ever has trouble spelling his name…he can just sign all his homework with an X.” she giggled, eliciting a small laugh from Anna.

Chester sighed uneasily and backed away a little as Mike advanced on him with dark eyes. “ Anna…your husband looks very, very angry.” He warned quietly.

Anna looked up and couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the sight before her. “ Don’t worry Chester, its nothing personal. He’s just very protective right now…besides, he’s the dominant male…and you are getting awfully close to his newborn. I’d take a few more steps back if I were you.” She explained calmly.

“ Is he going to kill me?” he asked and swallowed hard, eyeing Mike cautiously.

“ Not yet.” Anna replied with an evil smile.

“ Great, just great. Mike is having the instinct to kill me.”

“ Actually, he has the instinct to protect his baby…followed by an urge to kill.” Anna replied quickly.

“ Well would you please call him off? He’s getting awfully close.” Chester warned uneasily.

Anna stood up slowly and walked towards Mike, grabbing his arm gently. “ Mikey…Chester’s a friend.”

He squinted his eyes slowly and kept a shivering gaze upon Chester. “ Well this ‘friend’ is going to have to back off.” He stated through his teeth.

“ Hey, I didn’t do anything wrong…I’m keeping my distance. And have you forgotten that I have a kid too and I would never do anything to hurt the little guy?” he asked desperately.

“ Careful Chester, you should have seen what he did to my principal when he grabbed my arm.” Laura explained with a laugh.

“ You beat up her principal?” He demanded in shock.

Mike blinked quickly and frowned a little. “ Beat up is such a…strong…two words. I roughed him up a little, that’s all.” He replied with a little more calm to his voice.

“ Man, I wish I had you as a dad when I was younger.” Chester muttered quietly.

“ Alright well I am officially exhausted and require sleep. Mike, take care of him?” Anna asked and kissed him.

“ Who, Xander or Chester?” he asked.

“ Good night.” She laughed and proceeded upstairs slowly.

“ I resent that.” Chester muttered as Mike looked back at him.

“ Don’t worry man, I was just joking. Besides, who’s going to be the baby sitter?” he asked lightly.

“ Laura.” Chester answered with a smile, looking down at her. She stared at him with lowered eyes and growled under her breath

. “ Thanks Chaz.”

“ Okay, look it’s almost ten…everyone who isn’t related to me…get out.” Mike ordered with a small sigh.

“ Gee, I wonder who that must be.” Chester stated sarcastically and walked towards the door, under the keen watch of Mike.

“ Thanks for staying with the brat while we were at the hospital by the way.” Mike added before Chester opened the door.

“ Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome. And Laura, don’t forget…you owe me a cinnamon bun.” Chester stated and shook his index finger at her.

“ Sure man…see ya.” She replied quietly, careful not to wake her sleeping brother. Chester gave a small nod and then disappeared behind the door, closing it gently.

Mike bent down beside Laura and adjusted the blankets around Xander cautiously. Laura stared at her father in awe and gave a short laugh, causing him to raise a brow of interest.

“ What?”

“ I’ve never seen you care so much about something.” She replied with almost a whisper.

“ Hey, I care about you…besides, his feet might be cold.” He stated with a furrowed brow.

Laura continued to smile and looked down at the tiny little life wrapped gently inside the blankets. He murmured softly as he slept, causing her to marvel at how cute he was.

“ So…is he going to be one of these loud, whiny, wake you up at one in the morning babies?” she asked.

Mike shook his head and stroked his son’s cheeks softly. “ Nah…he’s actually pretty quiet. I’ve only actually heard him cry once today and that was when he came out.” He explained.

Suddenly, little Xander frowned and opened his big brown eyes, whining softly while extending his fingers into the air. Mike lowered his eyes and gave a soft sigh.

“ I spoke to soon…”

The baby cried softly and squinted his little eyes shut while grabbing the air aimlessly, searching for something warm. Mike gave a small smile and pushed his hands gently beneath him, lifting him out of the carrier and standing up with him in his arms.

Laura stood up as well and watched Mike hold the baby against his shoulder while hearing his cries muffle within his dark shirt, becoming small murmurs of comfort. Mike frowned and rubbed his back gently while rocking slowly from side to side.

“ Great…he’s GOTTA drool all over my shirt.”

“ Aw, it’s like you know what you’re doing.” Laura giggled with amazement.

“ I DO know what I’m doing…I think…” he muttered quietly with a small frown.

“ I thought you were going to like…freak out or something. You know, leave mom at the hospital and run home then hide under your bed.” She explained.

Mike gave a short laugh and shook his head at her. “ Why did everyone assume I would freak out? It’s just a baby.”

“ It’s also a big responsibility. And seeing how you acted when you found out about me…well lets just say no one really thought you could handle this.” She muttered.

“ Well I can handle you so I guess that’s a pretty good sign.” He replied.

Laura walked around back behind him and stared into those big brown eyes of her little brother, peering at her with curiosity. He blinked slowly with large black lashes and gripped Mike’s shirt tightly with his little pink fingers.

“ He’s a curious little thing ain’t he?” Laura asked with a small smile.

Mike’s eyes lowered happily while feeling Xander sucking on the fabric of his shirt. “ Of course he’s curious. He’s a baby…and since you will be baby sitting him while I’m at the studio and your mother’s asleep…you’d better behave or he’ll pick up something he shouldn’t be learning.” He explained with a hint of warning.

“ Like what?’ she demanded in disbelief.

“ Like bad language and MTV.”

“ Dad, you guys play on MTV all the time…” she muttered with an arched brow.

“ Exactly, keep him away from the TV.” He laughed.

Laura walked around to the front of Mike and shook her head with a small grin. “ Great, you are going to get all fatherly on my ass and then I’ll have to vacuum the house.”

Mike raised a brow and looked around the room in thought. “ Who says I’ll be treating you different than I’ve always treated you?”

“ And how have you always treated me?”

“ Like a fourteen year old annoying brat.” He smiled.

“ Does this mean you’ll still let me slack off?” she asked with hope.

“ I let you slack off? Jesus, I’m a horrible father!” He exclaimed quietly.

“ Nah, you’re perfect.” She giggled.

“ Apparently I’m a good pillow too.” He pointed out and looked towards his son who had managed to fall asleep on his shoulder. He then looked back at Laura and softened his eyes.

“ You want to hold him?” he asked in a hushed tone.

Her eyes instantly widened and she backed away a little, raising her hands in defense. “ No…no way. Me and babies…not a good match.” She warned shakily.

“ Actually, I said the same thing about you when your mom told me about you. Besides, all you have to do is hold him…he’s really not that heavy…seven pounds or so.” He explained calmly.

“ B-but what if he hates me? What if he starts crying or something?” she asked with worry.

Mike gave a soft chuckle and lowered Xander away from his shoulder slowly, then placed his hand under his soft head for support. “ Its okay Laura, he’s asleep.” He whispered and held him out.

Laura sighed uneasily and stepped forward a little as Mike placed the baby into her arms with as much gentleness as possible. “ Lean his head against your arm.” Mike explained softly and adjusted her arms into the right positions.

She stared down at the little form and watched as he involuntarily gripped her shirt as he slept. Mike stepped behind her and smiled as he watched over both of his children with care. Laura’s frown slowly faded as did her discomfort as she felt Xander’s soft breathing against her shirt, warming her skin beneath.

“ See? It’s not so bad.” Mike explained softly with a quiet voice.

Laura stared into her little brother’s soft features and couldn’t help but give a small smile. He looked so peaceful and so comfortable, almost making her feel like she was going to fall asleep.

“ He’s going to be a brat when he’s older isn’t he?” she asked.

Mike chuckled softly under his breath and nodded. “ Well if he’s anything like me, he’ll be annoying as hell.”

Laura lowered her eyes happily and looked up into Mike’s soft brown eyes. “ Well I should head off to bed…take him please…” she muttered quietly.

Mike nodded and grabbed the baby from her arms, resting him gently within his own. “ Good night dad, love you.” She sighed and kissed him on the cheek.

“ Love you too, night.” He replied quietly with a smile. He watched her closely as she disappeared downstairs into her bedroom and then finally decided to go upstairs and put Xander to bed, hoping his night wouldn’t be filled with too much crying.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Anna rolled over and pushed her head comfortably into her pillow, readying herself to fall back asleep into a dreamy land full of peace and quiet. She gave a small frown as she heard the familiar cry of a baby echoing through her ears from the next room. She rubbed her eyes wearily and lifted her head, noticing that the bed beside her was empty.

She raised a brow of curiosity and confusion, wondering where he husband was, and then sat up and pulled on her robe. Anna padded quietly down the hall and into the nursery, flipping on a small lamp and adjusted her eyes to the sight before her. Mike was holding little Xander in his arms, rocking him gently from side to side, hearing his cries fade and become small gurgles of comfort.

Anna smiled weakly and walked towards them slowly while crossing her arms. “ You sure got up fast.” She explained quietly.

Mike nodded and stared down at the little life in his arms, which was staring right back up at him with big brown eyes. “ I figured you could probably use a little rest…well a lot of rest, considering what you had to do this morning.” He explained in a hushed tone.

“ Aw, that’s sweet Mike.” Anna giggled softly while admiring how he held his son gently with grace.

Mike smiled a little as Xander reached up with his tiny little fingers in an attempt to touch his face. “ Is he hungry?” Anna asked as she leaned against the crib.

“ Nah, I fed him that bottled whatever the hell you call it before I put him in his crib.” He explained.

“ Its breast milk.” She stated with clarification, eliciting a disgusted frown from Mike.

“ Okay…I don’t even want to know.” He muttered.

Anna chuckled softly and shook her head at him. It was amazing how he could be such a loving father and be so immature at the same time. “ And he doesn’t need a diaper change?” She asked curiously.

“ Nope, did that too.” He replied casually.

Anna raised her eyes with surprised and breathed out sharply in disbelief. “ Really?”

“ Yes…why do you look so shocked?” he asked with an arched brow.

“ Well…I just didn’t think you’d be all…into all of this. This maternal instinct you have is hitting you faster than I thought…and yes I am shocked.” She explained with a smile.

Mike laughed a little and felt Xander pulling at the chain around his neck. He stared at the small child in thought and then gave a small frown. “ You know…sometimes I wish you would have told me about Laura when she was born.” He explained quietly.

“ Mike…you know I couldn’t do that. It would have ruined your life. You wouldn’t have formed your band…gone on to higher things…and I just couldn’t have forgiven myself if that happened.” She replied.

Mike stared at her with soft eyes and nodded with understanding. “ Maybe…but you could have at leased contacted me when I was a little older…”

“ Yeah I could have…but then you would have been an emotionally wrecked twenty one year old with a new band and a new responsibility.” She explained.

“ I meant when I was twenty eight.” He answered, causing her to laugh a little.

“ Alright…yeah I could have told you then…but I didn’t even know if you had your own family yet.”

“ This is why you watch MTV and catch up on all the websites.” He smiled.

“ That’s called being a stalker.” She giggled.

“ Only if you hide in trees attempting to get a picture of me.”

Anna kept her smile as she approached him even closer and peered down into her comfortable son’s eyes. He turned his vision towards her slowly and a small smile appeared on his face, indenting the dimples on his cheeks.

“ Aw, how’s my little man?” she asked softly with a laugh and poked him gently in the belly, causing him to giggle.

“ Here Mike, I’ll take him off of your hands for a while and let you rest.” She stated.

“ Alright…” he sighed wearily and handed Xander to her gently, watching her cradle him within her arms in a way only a mother could. Mike slowly collapsed into the large rocking chair beside the crib and rubbed his eyes weakly.

“ You should get some sleep.” Anna suggested, eyeing him with concern.

“ I’m fine…I’ll survive.” He replied with exhaustion.

“ The last thing this baby needs is a cranky and very exhausted father. Get some sleep.”

Mike smiled a little and sat further back against the wooden rocking chair, eyeing his wife and son carefully. “ I’m not really that tired.” He sighed.

“ Mike what is with you today?”

“ What do you mean?” he asked with confusion.

“ You almost kicked Chester’s ass and now you are refusing to sleep. Is something wrong?” she asked quietly.

Mike stared at the small child within Anna’s arms and sighed softly to himself, watching him reach up, attempting to tug on his mother’s hair. As he watched the small life wiggling and murmuring softly, he couldn’t help but feel an immense peace flood its way through his body like warm water over his skin.

Just one tiny life…and it meant more to him than anything in the world, more than his band, more than his music, more than his own life. In this moment, he realized how much he loved and appreciated his life.

He loved Anna so much…he loved Laura with all his heart and soul…and he loved this little baby conditionally with no end.

“ I love him…” he replied with distant eyes and a quiet voice.

Anna stared at Mike silently for a few moments, taking in what she had just heard him say. A small smile appeared on her lips as she walked towards him slowly, lowering Xander into his arms. Mike gripped him gently and placed him on his chest, allowing the small child to lie against his soft shirt.

Xander gripped his shirt tightly and gave a soft sigh, causing Mike to smile as he rubbed his back gently.

“ I love him so much…” Mike whispered as he stared down at the baby in awe.

Anna lowered her eyes happily as she watched a small tear roll down Mike’s cheek. She wiped it away gently and kissed him on the head. “ I know you do…we all do…he’s so perfect.” She replied softly.

“ Hey guys?”

They both looked up to see Laura walking slowly into the room while rubbing her eyes wearily. “ Hey Laura…you awake?” Anna asked with an arched brow.

“ Yeah, I heard you guys walking around…”

“ Well, I find it odd that we are all awake yet the baby barely made a sound.” Mike explained wearily.

Laura gave a short chuckle and nodded a little. “ Besides, I couldn’t really sleep anyway.” She explained.

“ Well then come have a seat.” Anna muttered and placed a chair down beside her daughter, then sat down in another one.

Mike watched them intently, slowly feeling his eyes becoming heavy with fatigue. Laura sat back against her chair and turned to her mother who was running a hand through her hair casually.

“ I find this so weird that dad isn’t freaking out.”

“ Same here…I guess he’s just grown up.” Anna replied softly.

Laura chuckled under her breath and shook her head in disbelief. “ Trust me mom…he’s never going to grow up.”

Anna looked back at Mike and nearly had a heart attack at the sight before her. It was so adorable, her heart almost burst in two. Xander had fallen asleep on his father’s chest, breathing softly and comfortably, listening to Mike’s steady heart. Mike had also fallen asleep holding his child closely with his head down almost on his own chest.

“ I guess he was more tired than he thought.” Anna whispered happily.

Laura giggled as she watched them both sleeping peacefully.

Here I am - this is me
There's no where else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am - it's just me and you
And tonight we make our dreams come true

It's a new world - it's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day - it's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am

Here we are - we've just begun
And after all this time - our time has come
Ya here we are - still goin' strong
Right here in the place where we belong

Here I am - this is me
There's no where else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am - it's just me and you
And tonight we make our dreams come true

Here I am - next to you
And suddenly the world is all brand new
Here I am - where I'm gonna stay
Now there's nothin standin in our way
Here I am - this is me

{Song: Here I Am}
{Artist: Bryan Adams}

~~ I hope you all liked this chapter. BUT, i am not quite finished with this fic yet. There will be an epilogue coming soon so watch out for that!! WOOTNESS!!!...ok so if you liked it, or, hated it, please review, give me your thoughts and such and i will update as fast as i can. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL MY READERS AND REVIEWERS!! U GUYS MAKE THE FIC!! *hugs for all*~~
Baby Steps
~~ Okay...so...uh, i lied. The last chapter wasn't the last...well it kinda is...anyways, here's a small one in between before the epilogue. ENJOY! :)~~


1 year later…

Anna smiled as she peered into her son’s deep chocolate brown eyes, watching him giggle and laugh as she tickled him gently. She bent down and lowered him to the floor, standing him up on his feet, holding him up so he didn’t fall over. Mike treaded down the stairs heavily and bounced into the kitchen like a five year old, causing Anna to frown.

“ Michael, honestly, how old are you?”

He grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge and began to open it but not before Anna growled at him from the living room.

“ CUP!”

Mike sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, then placed the carton down on the counter while grabbing a cup from the cupboard.

“ What, have you turned six years old today or something?” she demanded.

He turned around slowly and took a large swig of his milk, and then gave a loud belch, causing Xander to giggle loudly. Anna lowered her eyes and shook her head, not knowing where this sudden immaturity came from.

“ And I just love how you’re not answering me.” She stated.

He gave a smug smile and crossed his arms, leaning back against the counter. “ Actions speak louder than words.” He muttered.

“ So let me guess…you are acting like you don’t really care that the whole cup thing is important because you don’t want to actually say it to my face, is that it?” she asked.

“ You’re a really quick one Anna.” He smiled and shook a finger at her.

“ Mike…”

“ I don’t know how you do it.”

“ Mike?”

“ Its like you just know!”

“ Michael!” she shouted, annoyed that she couldn’t get his attention the first two times.

Maybe it was better if he had kept his mouth shut.

“ What?” he asked with a frown.

“ Xander is standing.”

“ So?”

“ Standing on his own.” She finished as she stared at her son, holding himself up with his own two legs.

Mike walked over towards them quickly and raised a brow of surprise. She was right, he was standing up on his own…while giving a very quizzical look, wondering why his parents were staring at him.

“ Wow…hey you think he might be able to walk?” Mike breathed in question.

“ I don’t know…hold on, go sit over there.” Anna ordered quietly.

Mike backed up a few feet and kneeled down against the hardwood floor. Anna smiled and turned Xander around, facing his father. “ Okay sweetie…see daddy?” she asked.

Xander placed a finger in his mouth and stared at Mike with big eyes.

“ Go see daddy…” she encouraged softly in his ear.

Mike smiled and outstretched his arms slowly. “ Come on Xander…come here.” He stated lightly.

Xander eyed him curiously and grabbed Anna’s shirt tightly with one hand. “ Its okay sweetie…go see daddy.” She chuckled.

After a small moment, he let go of his mother’s shirt and kept his finger in his mouth, watching his father’s hands with interest.

“ Come here.” Mike whispered with encouragement.

Xander’s smile widened and he gave a loud giggle, shaking his head roughly. Mike lowered his eyes and his arms, then stared at Anna hopelessly.

“ What was that?” he asked.

“ I think he thinks you’re funny…I don’t know why.” Anna laughed and hugged her son tightly, making him laugh louder.

“ Gee…I’m glad he thinks I’m so funny looking.” Mike muttered.

Anna smiled at him and shook her head. “ Aw Mike, he loves you…maybe it’s just the spikey hair…”

“ What about the spikey hair?” he demanded with a furrowed brow.

“ I don’t know…he finds it amusing…besides, he’s just a baby…he doesn’t know what he’s doing anyway.” She explained with a chuckle.

Anna sat Xander down on the floor and then stood up slowly. “ I’ll make some lunch.” She sighed and wiped the dust off of her jeans.

Xander’s eyes instantly squinted with tears as he watched his mother disappear behind the centre island. He looked to his father and whined helplessly, not understanding why no one was holding him.

Mike grabbed a magazine from the coffee table and opened it, still on the floor by the way. His eyes widened when he saw a picture of his band on the cover…then a story about his new ‘arrival’.

“ Jesus Christ…” he muttered with a frown.

“ What?” Anna asked as she pulled a frying pan out of the cabinet.

“ I’m so hot…wow, I love how this lighting brings out my eyes.” He smiled, causing Anna to roll her eyes.

With all the ‘distracting’ photos in the magazine and with Anna busy with lunch, no one had noticed how upset Xander had suddenly become. His face became red and he whimpered quietly to himself, staring at his father. Suddenly, he placed both of his hands on the shiny floor and with a small grunt, got to his knees and then shakily wobbled upward onto his feet.

He gripped the edge of the couch tightly and then moved one of his legs forward, attempting to reach his father. Of course Mike hadn’t noticed his son’s attempt and continued to stare at his own pictures in the magazine, marveling at his own ‘delicious looks’.

Xander took another step forward and slowly let go of the couch, extending his arms. Mike glanced up briefly and saw him standing there with outstretched arms and grasping fingers, then looked back down at the magazine…then quickly looked back up, dropping the magazine.

“ Oh my God, Anna come here!” he exclaimed softly.

She frowned and walked around from behind the island and peered into the living room. She raised her eyes as she watched Xander taking a few steps towards Mike and then stopping to regain his balance.

“ Come here Xander.” Mike stated gently and extended his hand towards his son.

Anna walked around behind Xander and kneeled onto the floor, making sure he didn’t fall backwards and smack his head against the floor. He took a few more shaky steps and then quickly gained speed, whimpering endlessly for human contact.

“ Aw its okay little guy, come here.” Mike smiled with soft encouragement.

Xander gripped at the air and moved his legs quicker until finally he fell into his father’s arms. Anna gasped out with excitement and watched Mike’s eyes widen with joy.

“ Did he just walk?” he demanded.

“ Yeah, he did! Oh my God!’ Anna exclaimed happily and crawled towards them. When Xander noticed his parent’s cheerful voices, his fear slowly diminished and a dimpled smile grew across his face.

“ Wow, you walked!” Mike sighed happily and lifted him up into the air, leaning back against the edge of the couch.

Xander giggle and screamed happily as Mike lifted him and lowered him quickly into the air and then back down again.

“ What the hell is going on?” Laura demanded as she walked upstairs from her room.

“ Xander just took his first steps!” Anna explained cheerfully.

Laura stared at her and frowned. “ That’s what all that screaming is about? My God people, calm down. It’s only a few measly steps.” She explained.

“ Laura…they’re his FIRST steps. This is a pivotal moment in his life. Now he can walk.” Mike stated happily and lifted his son back into the air, lowering him down only to kiss him gently on the nose, causing him to giggle softly.

“ And now he’s going to be able to run and then you’re really going to have to watch him.” Laura explained with warning.

Mike frowned a little and then glanced at Anna who now sported the same frown. “ Great…now we’ll never be able to catch him.” She muttered.

Mike chuckled and shook his head, staring into Xander’s happy eyes, so full of life. “ Can’t wait.”

~~ WOOT SHORT...EPILOGUE COMING SOON!!!