Mikey is already at the diner by the time I get there. He looks up and waves me over, boredom evident on his features as his eyes scour the menu for something good and cheap to order. I slide into the leather booth opposite him.

"You finally made it. I'd decided to bail if you didn't show up in the next five minutes."

I roll my eyes and I catch Mikey smiling as he places the menu down, mischief sparkling in his green eyes.

"I know you'd have left too, you ass."

Mikey chuckles at my crude language and it draws a smile from me. The waitress stops by our table, then, and we both order. He gets something new, per usual while I just stick to what I know best.

"Dude, live a little. Try something new." Mikey said once our waitress is gone.

"I don't want to order something and completely hate it. I'm good with going with what I know I'll like."

He rolls his eyes at this and leans back in his leather booth, relaxing. I mimic him and we just stare at each other for a long while, neither of us saying anything almost as if we're in a staring contest. My thoughts move to Sandy and my childhood friend can see the shift in my attention.

"So, what've you been up to ever since I got a love life?" He sounds pleased with himself, like getting a girlfriend is some type of accomplishment.

If that's true, where's my trophy for dating Kaley? Worst mistake ever.

I shudder at the mere memory, only coming back to the present when Mikey snaps his fingers for my attention. I slap his hand away and he laughs, leaning back in his seat once more.

"Nothing much," I said and Mikey raises a curious eyebrow.

"Come on, Chris, we both know that's a bunch of bull. How's your family doing?" He takes a sip of his water and he remains quiet as he waits for me to answer. I sigh and say,

"They're how you'd expect them to be. My family. Mom and dad are working. Zach is out doing whatever it is Zach does. Morgan has her lessons and is failing math. Ryan and Alexis, well, they're three so they're a handful as always."

Mikey's eyes fill with an understanding that only a childhood friend can have. He knows my family situation just like I know his. We've always had each other's back, though, so we've managed.

"I know that your family situation forces you into a position where you need to take care of people, but you can't always be the one to do all the work, Chris," Mikey said and I look away from him and around the small diner. Waiters and waitresses mill about doing their job. Families sit together enjoying a nice meal. The atmosphere is light and friendly, though it's pretty foreign to me. I look back at Mikey as I say,

"If I don't do it who will?"

"Chris, come on. They're not you're kids and yet you're practically the mother and father to Ryan and Alexis, not to mention you're always cleaning up after Zach and then packing lunches for Morgan." Mikey shakes his head and looks defeated as he says, "I'm not surprised you've gotten stuck in this mindset that you've always got to take care of people. It's unhealthy, though, you've got to see that. You're not responsible for everyone. You're only responsible for yourself."

My hands become tight fists and I remove them from the table, biting my tongue before I say something I'll regret. I'm not sneaky enough for Mikey, though, and he can see my reaction. I don't want to get into it with him, though, so I say the first thing that comes to mind.

"I've been hanging out with this girl that I met yesterday."

Mikey raises an eyebrow at that and leans forward, clasping his hands together. My lips twitch in a smile at having so easily deflected his attention from my family situation.

It's not his job to worry about me.

"Do tell." He said pulling me from my mind.

I shrug and look away from him and to the window on the other side of the room.

"There's not much to tell. Her name's Sandy and she lives in our neighborhood." I said as I glance at him. His brows are furrowed and I can see the wheels turning in his green eyes.

"Sandy?"

I nod and my full attention turning towards him.

"Isn't that the girl who's in a wheelchair?"

I'm about to respond but stop because I know how this will seem to Mikey. My silence is all the answer he needs and his eyes widen as he shakes his head.

"No." He said and I remain silent. "No!" The waitress comes back with our food and I can't stomach to look at Mikey's awful glare so I look down at the plate. The Chicken Alfredo that I love to chow down on doesn't look near as appetizing now.

"You hypocrite!" He hissed at me once the waitress leaves and I flinch at the venom in his voice. "You have the nerve to lecture me on Charlotte and how she's just some charity case and yet here you are, Mr. Caretaker, becoming friendly with a disabled girl bound to a wheelchair."

I look up at Mikey, anger flickering to life within me.

"It's not like that."

"Oh really?"

"Yes." I bite out and Mikey falls silent, though I can see the doubt in his eyes.

"Then, why the hell are you hanging out with her. She can't do jack outside of sit on her front steps." Mikey watches me like a hawk and I've never felt more like prey under his scrutiny.

Why am I hanging out with her?

"I want to help her." I find myself saying and something turns inside me, making me feel sick to the stomach.

"I knew it."

"But that's not all!"

Mikey raises an eyebrow and his doubt only grows, though I can see a genuine curiosity sparking to life right alongside it.

"Really? Then what else is there?"

My eyes cast downward to my food as I search my thoughts for something to tell me why else I'm hanging out with this girl who I just met yesterday. I search for the answer as to why I've become so infatuated with her.

"I don't know, man. There's just something about her that's so, so-"

"Strong?" Mikey asked, cutting me off and pulling my eyes toward him. He sighs and scratches the back of his head as he leans back in the leather seat. "Are you sure you aren't mistaking help with a want to be with her. Maybe you've just fallen hard enough that it's blindsided you."

That shocks me and my mouth falls open which Mikey just finds amusing. I shake my head in denial.

"That's not possible. There's no way I've fallen for her. I'm pretty sure I'd know."

Mikey shrugs as he looks down at his own food and starts digging in.

"You're denying it pretty hard."

I grind my teeth together, becoming annoyed at him for trying to push this.

There's no way in hell that I've fallen for Sandy. The only thing I want to do is-

"I just want to help her."

"Did you ever think that maybe she doesn't want your help, Chris?" His instant reply hits me hard and I feel like I've been blown a step back. I look at my best friend who is oblivious to the blow he just landed on me.

"What?"

"That's what a figured. Listen, dude, I love you like a brother and I'm grateful that you were there to help me through things when my dad just up and left, but if I'm being completely honest I hated you a little as well." Mikey said as he studies me across from his food. I blank at the confession and look at my childhood friend like this is the first time I'm seeing him. Some people come into the diner and my eyes move to them, unable to meet Mikey's for a moment longer.

How do I face him after something like that?

"Hey, don't leave me yet, I'm not done." He snaps his fingers for my attention once more. "You had your fill of lecturing me about Charlotte, now it's my turn and I won't even use a disgusted tone when talking about your girlfriend."

My anger sparks and I look at him as I say,

"She's not my-" A piece of his bread smacks into my face cutting me off.

"No interrupting or there'll be more where that came from."

I narrow my eyes, unamused though he seems to be thoroughly pleased with himself.

"It's my turn to give you a reality check, dearest friend. We've been together since the get-go, practically since we were born. We know just about everything about each other and you've been my pillar through a lot of my hardships, especially when dad left."

My anger vanishes and my heart goes out to my best friend as his eyes take on a clouded look no doubt remembering back to that day he woke up without a dad. It's a day I doubt either of us will forget. He blinks and the clouded look disappears.

"Honestly, if you weren't there, Chris, I probably would have lost my shit ten times over. You helped me get through it and you kept me grounded and I can't thank you enough for that. At the same time, though, it's the reason I can't help but hate you a little bit. I mean, you're always taking care of me. Ever since we were kids you've cleaned up after me, you doctored me through my first hangover, you helped me through my families troubles. Dude, if you were a chick we'd probably be dating."

I scowl and toss a piece of my own bread at him. Mikey dodges it a huge smile spread across his face.

"Joking, joking. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I hated that I couldn't take care of myself. I hated that I needed someone there to be able to get through it and I'm not saying that I can get over every obstacle in life on my own. No, that'd be stupid. Everyone needs help. Everyone needs that pillar of support like you are to me, but the fact of the matter, the thing that gets me, is that you aren't always going to be around, Chris. Love it or hate it come June we're graduating and, come August we're going to different universities. I'm not saying we'll lose touch with each other but you aren't going to be there every step of the way like you have been up until now."

"But I'm still-"

"I'm not done," Mikey said, a serious look in his eyes that shut me up. It's fierce and the same one he showed me in the library when I lectured him on Annie. "You aren't always going to be by my side and I'm not always going to be by yours. I need to learn to grow up and quit relying on you to take care of me as some pillar. I need to learn to take care of myself and Sandy, dude she's trying to prove that she can take care of herself, too. She's in a wheelchair for crying out loud. The girl needs help, she can't dispute that. She needs help to do the absolute basic of things like go to the bathroom and she probably hates it with every fiber of her being. When you first met her, I bet she was cold and distant. I bet you anything that girl doesn't want anyone coming into her life because they'll see her as frail and helpless. They'll see her wheelchair and it'll be like looking at the cover of a book. They won't actually read the contents. Isn't that what you did?"

I look away from Mikey, unable to meet his eyes as shame rolls through me.

"Exactly. Sandy doesn't want people to take care of her but, unlike me, she needs people to and she can't get around it. She can live in denial, sure, but at the end of the day, that girl will still have someone helping her into the bathtub to get a shower. She'll always need that help she'll always need those people to take care of her and it's exactly what she doesn't want." Mikey's phone screen lights up with a text and he replies to it, leaving me trapped in the turmoil of my thoughts.

She doesn't want my help.

"Chris." Mikey's voice pulls me from my thoughts and I meet his eyes once more. "I know it's not your fault that your thought process is to always help and take care of others. That's on your parents and siblings. They've turned you into what you are today, and there's nothing wrong with it, but do me a favor and, next time you see Sandy, just really look at her. Not who she is on the surface. Give her the credit of being someone strong enough to take care of herself even if she does need others. I mean, she's gotten this far in life without giving in to her disability." With that, my childhood friend leaves me to sit alone in a diner.