He nodded. "And fly away," he said softly. He turned to me. "Angie, I'm glad we got to hang out like this before you go off to college," he said sadly. I looked at him. "Tony, you know I don't want to go. Please, don't make this harder on me." He looked at me with teary eyes. "Then why are you going, Angie? Why do you wanna leave me here with our drug-addict mother and drunken father? Huh? Why would you do that to me? You're all I have left!" he screamed. He burst out into tears. "Tony. Tony, I love you, buddy, but I have to go to college. If I don't, I'll be stuck with Mom and Dad forever. And in two years, you'll go to college too! You only have to deal with them for two more years." Tony lifted his head. "Can't you take me with you, Angie?" he asked quietly. I sighed and layed back down on the soft grass. "I wish I could, Tony. I wish I could."
Tony drove the car home and I sat next to him in silence. When we got home, Dad was passed out on the floor and Mom was gone. I stepped over Dad and picked up the Jack Daniels bottle next to him. "Angie, what are you doing?" Tony asked. "What we should've done when we saw him buy this," I responded plainly. I dumped the remainder of the bottle out and threw it into the recycling bin. Tony frowned. "He's just going to buy another bottle. You know that, right?" I nodded. "Baby steps, Tony. Baby steps."
I went up to my room and lifted the phone and called my best friend, Tess. "Hey, Angie, what's up, girl?" asked an excited voice from the other side of the phone. "Excited about heading off to Michigan? Worried about your relationship with Kyle? Just lay it all on me! That's why I'm here!" This was not the Tess I knew. "Alright, Tess. What's up? Why are you acting so perky?" She paused. "Well." Mental dot dot dot. "I didn't get accepted to Michigan. We aren't gunna be roomies. I'm sorry, Angie." I blinked and saw the birds from the park earlier today. "Oh, Tess. Where are you going then? I promise, I'll come and visit-"
I stopped short. My bedroom door was slammed open. "Where were you and your brother this afternoon?!" yelled my mom. "SHUT UP!" yelled my father from downstairs. "I'll shut up when I want to!" she yelled back to him. "Tess? I'll call you back," I said quickly and hung up the phone. "Where were you?! And where's Tony now? You'd better tell me, young lady!" I blinked. Tony was missing? This was news to me. I told her this. She stormed out of my room with as much of a violent slam as the one that had opened my door. I looked out my window and saw a flock of birds overhead. "Tony!" I whispered.
I ran out of my room and into his. I flew up the ladder outside his window that led to the roof. "Tony, don't do it!" I shouted at him. He was perched on the ledge looking down. He turned around abruptly. "Angie, I wanna fly with the birds. And the angels." I looked at him. "Tony, no! Please, don't do this to me. Please," I said softly. He took a step back from the ledge, but not a very big one. "Angie, it's not that easy." I looked at him. "How can it not be that easy?" I asked angrily. He smiled sadly at me. "I won't live anyway. Mom and Dad'll get to me," he said sadly. I sighed and stepped towards him. "Tony, I don't know how I'll do this, but you're coming with me to Michigan, buddy. I'll bring you with me, okay?" I said softly. He looked at me and I could see the fear in his eyes. "Don't worry, Tony, it'll work out. Everything will work out."
The next morning I told mom that I was going to take Tony with me to Michigan. She shrugged and told him to go pack. That Monday we said our farewells to our friends and we drove to Ann Arbor. First I had to go to the office to find a place for my brother to stay. "You can't bring a brother to college," the receptionist told me. Tony snorted. "And where does it say that in the rules?" he pointed out. She paused. She then hit the button on her intercom. "Mr. Grote, we have two kids here to see you."
We went into the dean's office. "What can I do for you children?" he asked. I told him my story. He leaned back in his chair. "Well, this is an unusual situation. I can't exactly tell you to go back home, but since you are not a student, you cannot live here in the dormitories. I know, since Angie has already paid for her stay in the dormitory, you can use that money to rent you two an apartment. How does that sound?" he asked. I looked at Tony. He shrugged. "What about the girl that was supposed to be my roommate?" I asked. "A girl placed in the singular dormitory can choose to stay with her, or the girl can stay alone," he replied. I sighed. "Alright. C'mon, Tony, let's go apartment shopping."
When we finally found an apartment worth living in and Mr. Grote paid the landlady, we started to unpack. "Now Tony, the next deal of buisness is getting you enrolled in a high school," I pointed out. He grumbled and said, "I'll bring the car around."
We got in my little car and went to every high school we could find. But everyone either had a huge waiting list or registration was no longer allowed. But finally we got to a small private high school that still had a few spots open. I signed him up immidiately and I could hear him groaning when we got back to the car. "The uniforms weren't that bad!" I told him. He laughed. "I have
