Branches Book

BRANCHES

“Michael, you—you took the locket?” His voice was eerily quiet. Michael reached into his pocket, and the sound of metal clashing against itself rang out. “I’m sorry Dad, I’m so, so sorry,” Michael croaked. I could see his eyes starting to water, but he didn’t want to cry in front of Dad. He revealed the locket from the concealment of his hand, and my dad let out a sigh. “Keep it,” he said. “What?” “Keep it. I want you to keep it.” “Are you sure?” Michael asked. My dad nodded, and Michael looked over at me, but my eyes were glued to the locket. It shimmered gold in the warm light that illuminated from our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I yearned to see my mother’s face again, even if it was just for a second. I looked up at Michael and he smiled, reaching out to me. “Tessa, I think you should have it,” he said. … “Are you okay, honey?” asked James after a long pause of silence. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I clutched the locket as we walked up the steps to Michael’s building. The ground was slippery from the melted snow. James pressed the buzzer and shortly after, Michael came down to greet us. “Michael, it’s been so long! How are you?” I said as I reached out to hug him. His body felt frail in my arms, unlike the strong, protective older brother I once knew. He smelled of cigarettes, which bruised me. Even after we lost our father to the pocket sized killers a year before, he still hadn’t quit. He noticed me take in his scent and pulled back. “Michael I thought you said—” “I know, I know. It’s harder than it looks. But hey, I’m really glad you’re here, Tessa,” he said. “Me too.” I pulled back and looked at him. His eyes were blood shot and his hair was a mess. A washed out gray t-shirt that could have been the same one from our childhood barely covered his skin, revealing his weak, pale arms. That’s when I saw the scars. He noticed my staring and made a feeble attempt to cover them. “Hey James, it’s good to see you,” Michael said, reaching out to shake his hand. “You too.” Michael’s change in appearance was overtly apparent, but James tried his best to conceal his noticing. “Why don’t you guys come inside? I can make you some tea or something.” I nodded and the three of us walked inside. I felt like a terrible sister; I had barely called to see how he was doing in the past few months.

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