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     Eliana hadn't visited her brother in a long ass time.

     It's not even that she had been purposely avoiding him, but now that she's been back in town for over a month, she really assumed it looked like that to him.  She didn't want to admit it, but he made her nervous.  Something about him was so incredibly expectant.  Or maybe it was all in her head; maybe she thought she should be someone better for those around her instead of herself and herself alone.

     Mikey used to be her favourite person in the whole entire fucking world.  It wasn't even because the two spent a lot of time together growing up, walking to the corner store for ice cream or him teaching her how to play the drums on the set he kept in the garage, but she genuinely loved him.  Before everything that happened, he was just another kind kid who was doing the best he could for his mother and sisters.  He was even the one who taught her how to sew.

     Drugs are a fucking scary thing.

     Eliana wished that she hadn't seen so much of the drug abuse and the toll it took on her brother's life, but if she had turned a blind eye to it, then it would have slipped through the cracks and Ginger and Gwen would have had to deal with the consequences.  Eliana wouldn't let that happen, no matter what.  That was really the only thing she ever blamed Mikey for; being so selfish when she needed him the most.

     More than anything, she hated what he left her with — to wander the house alone because mom was almost always working, to be left wondering how to afford groceries for the month, to be left with the neighbours and the kids who repeated the tales of Mikey Romano.

     They all had the story wrong, of course.  Mikey was made out to seem like the sole perpetrator, the reason that the robberies went down the way they did, leaving several people severely damaged.  Hardly anyone paid attention to the fact that he was only an accomplice, only there because he wanted the money to fuel his drug addiction, only there because addiction is an illness he was charged with.  He cooperated with the police and was only charged with second-degree sentencing, and would be eligible to be released once his five years are up.  Almost three down, two more to go.

     In the mess Mikey left for Eliana to clean, there were also a lot of things that were changed in the wake.  Mostly just the fact that she was no longer having to hide a drug addict from three people in the house.  She didn't miss having to feed Rocco because he forgot again, passed out on the floor of his bedroom with traces of powder in the room — on the floor, stuck to his notebook, on his dresser — anywhere.  He'd be a mumbling mess as Eliana scrambled to clean the surfaces, anything that could be dangerous later.  Although she never found the source, he would be mumbling to her how much he loved her and how much he was sorry, to which she'd meet with a hushed, "it's okay, Mikey, it's okay, I still love you so much."

     I think a lot of them thought Mikey was a lot more dangerous than he actually was.  The cops, the prison mates, hell, even their mom for a while.  They acted like he was a raging maniac with no hope.  The judge was pretty much the only person who took mercy on him besides his sisters.  In all actuality, he was just a scared little kid.

     Mikey felt guilty for what he did, she knew that much.  He had to sober up in the prison, which was an extremely humbling experience for the young man.  His cellmates were extremely disgusted with him at first, especially when he was rolling on the floor, vomiting all over himself as he wept and wept until passing out from exhaustion.  It was a living hell, and he had definitely learned his lesson.

     His eyes lit up as he noticed his sister walking through the fence, taking in her appearance.  The girl pulled her now light brown hair into a high ponytail, leaving her bangs clipped behind her ear.  A purple babydoll dress with slightly puffy sleeves with extremely small white and yellow-flowered prints all over the dress.  She dangled a heart-shaped purse in her hands as she searched the room for her brother.  She smiled once her eyes landed on the man who was waving her over.

     Mikey looked a lot healthier than the last time she saw him, which made her smile from ear to ear.  The two were definitely blessed with their parents' genes, as Mikey looked a lot like their dad when he was younger; dark and thick hair tousled on top of sunkissed skin, freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks and neck like constellations.  He stood around six foot two when he wasn't slouching — something their mother got on his ass about a lot.  His eyes were a gorgeous hazel, like a milky cappuccino.  Somehow, he still managed to look handsome in his orange jumpsuit.

     "Hey, superstar," he greeted the petite girl.  "Nice outfit."

     Doing a turn, she chuckled as she approached the table he was sitting at.  "Thank you, thank you.  It's upcycled."

     "I expect nothing less," Mikey tapped his fingers on the tabletop expectantly.  "Whatcha got?"

     Taking a seat across from him and settling in, she began to unzip her purse.  "A piece of grilled cilantro and lime chicken from last night, the guard also asked me to bring him a piece," she chuckled, placing the foil in front of her brother, who looked at it with eager eyes.  Another guard nearby overlooked them cautiously, even though Eliana had already had a bag search.

     "Fantastic," Mikey said, his mouth-watering.

     "And almond chocolate chip cookies, no almond," she pulled out another small foil, a pile of three cookies.

     "No almond?"

     Eliana nodded.  "Yeah, I used almond milk to give it a different taste, so I started calling them almond cookies no almonds."

     "I've gotta try these first then," he said, unwrapping the foil to pull out the top cookie, biting into the soft dough and releasing a satisfied groan.  Eliana smiled as his eyes rolled back.  "Wow.  You've absolutely outdone yourself, Ellie."

     "Yeah, you think?  Rate it, one to ten."

     "Fucking twenty," he said with a mouthful.  "These are heaven."

     "Thanks, Mike."

     After swallowing down another bite, he cleared his throat.  "I can't wait to get out of here and have a real homecooked meal again.  I miss you guys so much.  You're keeping me going, Ellie."

     "Fuck you," she whispered.  "You know I'm incredibly sensitive," she brought her bottom lip to under her two front teeth, biting down softly.

     "I know, I'm sorry, I am just so incredibly grateful to have a kickass sister like you," his lip quivered.  "I miss kicking y'alls ass at Guitar Hero, I miss my own bed, I miss the twins, I miss Denise," he groaned softly.

     Denise had been his girlfriend, who ultimately broke up with him shortly before he was arrested and tried, but she still showed up to his hearings and very occasionally visited him in prison.  The two had been madly in love once, nothing in the world could have torn the two apart.  Well, nothing but heroin and oxycodone and cocaine.

     Releasing her lip from its hold, Eliana gulped.  "Yeah, well, we miss you a lot too."

     "The day I get out, we're renting Fast and Furious and getting fat.  We'll throw back a couple of beers too."

     "You've missed so many movies," Eliana realized.  "Most of them bad."

     Mikey chuckled.  "I bet."

     "We can do anything when you get out," Eliana nodded, folding her arms on the tabletop.  If their mom saw her posture right now, she'd freak out.

     "In that case, we're gonna party hard and paint the town red," he said, earning a chuckle from his sister.  "After you make me some more cookies."

     Imagining her brother joining the rest of them at the table for a real family dinner, the thought of hearing her younger sisters giggle as he joked with them, brought tears to her eyes.  One escaped quickly and fell down into her lap.  "Okay," she quietly said.

     Noticing the change in emotion, Mikey scaled back.  "But hey, we don't have to talk about that, let's talk about Rocco.  How's Rocco?"

     "I think he's a tad upset with me, but he'll get over it... I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a while.  I actually went to dad's for a while and stayed with him for the past semester."

     Mikey nodded.  "Mom told me something like that.  I'm glad you spent some time with him."

     "Mom visited?"

     He nodded again.  "Yup, just twice.  I think she was feeling lonely."

     Eliana's eyebrow twitched.  "That's rich.  I can't even get her attention for two seconds at the house.  I can't believe you said just twice."

     "Really?  That bad?" he sighed.

     Eliana nodded.  "Yeah, pretty much the only time we talk is to go over bills for the month.  Or what to eat for dinner."

     With his hands clasped in between his legs, he asked, "You want my advice?"

     "Sure, yes.  Hit me."

     "Start forgiving people.  Stop being so afraid to trust someone."

     "Hit me with anything but that."

     Sucking his teeth, he said, "come on, I'm being serious."

     "Yeah, me too.  I'm good with how things are right now.  Besides, I've already forgiven you, and that... that's enough for me right now."

     "Okay," he said.  "So what else has been going on with you?  And don't lie, mom said you weren't doing so well after the breakup.  Spill."

     "Making me tell you about my emotions and shit, go to hell," she said, which made him laugh.

     "I know, I'm the worst."

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i think this is my favorite chapter so far??if you couldn't tell from my writing mikey is very handsome
and i lova him <3 i imagine him to look similar to a dylan o'brien type???