Three Little Birds

The street was empty this early in the morning. At these just post-sunrise moments of the day where most are still sleeping, or still at their homes getting ready for the day's agenda to play out, I walked the sidewalk as the day got brighter. I kept my head firmly down, watching my feet slowly trespass the sidewalk that led me to my work. The air was cool, brisk with impending winter. The wind picked up and I saw the evidence of the chill displayed in gooseflesh up my arms. I didn't bother putting on a coat this morning. I wish I could feel the cold enough for it to make a difference. I sigh and shake off those thoughts as I walk into my workplace. The warm air hit me as I heard the chime over the door ding as I walked in. The chairs had already been set to the floor and I could smell the coffee brewing and the pastries baking. "Mattie, did you walk here wit

"He's got the same look in his eyes as Kaiden did. That same...lost and terrified look. I know you've seen it, too. Regardless of whatever emotional involvement I allow myself to fall into, it is my burden to carry, but I'll be goddamned if I'm not going to try. And I know you see it. "I know you care about him, too, or you wouldn't have brought him here. I've lived here for three months, Liz, and he's the first person you've ever brought here." There was silence for a moment before I saw Liz wipe at her eyes and pinch the bridge of her nose. "Mykel, I love you. If you remember, too, I paid for his funeral. And if you remember, he was just as much a little brother to me as you are. And damn it, Mykee, I remember what his death did to you. I remember...and I know if you fall in love with him and he succumbs to the same end, if we can't reach him...you can't survive that again, can you? And goddamn it all, I don't want to

When I woke I was being placed in the bed I had been tenanting the last few days. I tensed up in his arms, reaffirming my hold of him. He straightened and sat with me in his lap. He kissed the top of my head. "What is it, mon bonheur?" I smiled slightly. I didn't know what he'd said, but the way he said it...it...how do I articulate it properly...? It made me feel like I might matter. My heart fluttered as his lips contacted against my temple. "Don't leave me. Please. Please, don't leave me." The desperation I felt at that moment transcended into my tone, and I felt it rolling off of me in waves. Mykel felt it, too. "Come on, then. It's late." He patted my side where his hand rested and I crawled off of him onto the cold bed. I felt the loss of his heat instantly and I

It was early morning on a Saturday. Mykel had to leave proceeding breakfast that morning to go sign the papers in order to gain the space with which to open his new tattoo shop. Liz was up with the sun, already having a pot of coffee brewing when Mykel and I dragged our half-dead carcasses down the stairs.  Liz is and always has been a regular early riser, much to the opposite effect of her younger, though much bigger brother.  We enjoyed a jovial breakfast together that Liz had been preparing, being the early bird she is when we came downstairs that morning. Things had been...I'm not quite sure really...restive and the unquiet anxiety that was building between Mykel and me was becoming insurmountable. While he laughed during breakfast, I saw the small glances

I soon felt the mixture of the alcohol and marijuana, my mind hazy, but not unpleasantly so. We migrated to the living room after the game was done, Mykel having to catch me as I stumbled over the floor. I felt his propinquity next to me, the heat of his arm wrapped around my waist, stealing me. I found myself leaning into his hold. My hand coming to rest on his chest. I closed my eyes, my head pressed into his shoulder. It would be so easy... I had not noticed we were standing still until he tugged lightly on me, whispering to come on. We walked to the couch and he set me lightly on it. The room spun lightly and I found myself leaning once more into him. I inhaled him. I both felt and heard his pulse speed up at my impingement, he inhaled sharply as my arm wound around