Skips A Beat ::Wattys2016::

Chapter 15

Christmas Day

I look at the clock, it's 7 in the morning. I try to fight the child inside of me, struggling to not scream "It's Christmas!" and sprint down the hall. I cuddle closer to Michael, feeling his warmth. He's like a little heater, further proof of him being a kitten.

"Mikey." I whisper for the tenth time. "Kitten, it's Christmas." I can't get Michael awake. He doesn't even roll over to ignore me. He just sleeps. I get up, walking out to the living room. Daryl and Karen are already up.

"Good morning, Luke!" Karen says sweetly. I smile. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." I say back. "I can't get Michael up." I frown to show how sad I am about it. Karen smiles.

"I can try to get him up." She offers. She probably won't get him up, especially since he hasn't even tried to get out of bed in a while. Except to pee. I nod excitedly anyway, and she goes back. I watch from the doorway as she whispers something to him. I hear his rough voice say something back to her. Her head bobs as she nods, agreeing with whatever it is he said.

"Alright, sweetheart. Sleep it off." She kisses his head, letting him be. So much for getting him to wake up. We head back out to the living room. "He doesn't feel good." Karen says in a tone that makes her seem calm. We share a moment of silence, all knowing that he's getting worse. We start to mess around as we wait for Michael. My mom and dad come over here for the morning. Mostly because it seems like the last... Uh... They all try to keep the mood light, making lame jokes with one another and pretending that this is all very normal. I can't handle this much longer.

"I'm going to... to check on..." I say, dismissing myself quickly. I just don't want to spend any more of this Christmas without him. There's next year for that.

Oh my God... why would I ever say that to myself? I shake my head, quickly pushing the thought as far away as possible. This should be happy today, not sad.

I head back to Mikey's room, surprised to see him awake. "Hi, kitten." I say, smiling. His face looks sunken, and he looks unhealthy in general. Somehow, even with the dark bags under his eyes, and his slimmer cheeks, he's still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. There's no sunset, sunrise, galaxy, or star in this whole universe that is more beautiful than him. He half smiles, moving his arms. He reminds me of a baby that wants held, but doesn't know how to ask for it. I instantly understand what he wants, picking him up, and taking him out with the others.

"Merry Christmas, Michael." My dad says. Mikey smiles sleepily. I see the look that Karen has in her face. This is her baby. Her only baby, and he's slowly falling apart. I sit on the couch, keeping Michael on my lap. He rests his head on my shoulder, whispering something.

"Huh?" I ask.

"Presents." He repeats. Karen claps her hands together searching for a present.

"This is for Luke." She says, handing me my gift. "Mikey. Daryl. Andy. Liz." She hands each person a gift before finding her own gift.

"Michael first." Mom says, setting her present down. Michael sits up slowly, still drowsy. He unwraps the present carefully, a smile growing on his gray face. I look at the package in his hands. It's a bunch of guitar picks. "I know they look like just regular picks, but they're not."

"No?" Michael asks.

"No. We got all the specialty ones they had." My mom laughs. Michael looks at each one, admiring how they look. I open mine next. It's from Karen. It's a shit ton of gift cards to sporting stores. I smile.

"Thanks!" I say. Everyone opens their gifts, and excitement quickly fills the air. Michael is still weak, leaning against me more than sitting up himself. I don't mind though. It just makes me sad. I don't want him to lose any energy. Eventually we get down to the last two gifts. I set Michael beside me on the couch, going and getting the big tote. I push it across the floor. His eyes go wide.