BANG!
The boys woke up as they jumped and awoke to a joyful Anna who had just popped confetti all over the room. She ran to hug both of them as she sang the happy birthday song. "Wow, Anna. This is amazing," "You guys should be sending out invitations... I'm allowing a party while Javier is gone to who knows where," "Really, Thanks. I already have the invitation ready," Steve said as he took out his phone and sent them out on the school's share group. Michael smiled until they left the room as he nonchalantly got ready and made their way to school. "Happy birthday, boys," Bella said, Steve ignoring her. He side-eyed her as he kept walking with Michael.
Anna attempted multiple times to contact Javier. Through his personal assistant or even the number, they only chat through but he never answered and his assistant told Anna he was busy. Irritated, Anna saw his card and grabbed Bella. "Come, we're going shopping," "Oh my gosh, are we going to go crazy?" Bella asked, excited. "You bet," Anna said, catching an Uber and heading to the nearest mall.
Entering the school, Steve got flooded with friends as they all wished him a happy birthday while Michael walked in his shadow and went to his locker. Everyone eyed him as he could hear insults through the whispers - calling him a murderer or a psychopath. He tried leaving but then a group of hard-headed delinquents stopped him as they acted out exactly how he killed Janice and made fun of the blood. Steve intervened as he told them to fuck off but they were ignorant until a teacher walked by. Michael felt embarrassed as Steve asked if he was okay but he just nodded and kept walking.
Throughout the whole day, everyone was scared to interact with Michael because they weren't comfortable being around someone who wasn't scared of taking someone else's life. Steve tried to chill with him but Michael denied and told him he'll be fine alone. All Michael wanted was for the day to end.
On his way to work, Sam's brain began to process random flashbacks as a headache had conjured and it made it worse. While going to the office, he saw a glimpse of Anna and himself talking with each other and almost bumped into a pole. He started hitting his forehead so violently when all of these random memories were forcing themselves back in. Jessica ran as fast as she could to help Sam but when she arrived, he pushed away and screamed in agonising pain.
"Let me help you! Should I call the cops or ambulance?" she asked. Sam then looked at her and saw this grinning smile as he jerked and pushed her away that she almost fell. "What the fuck Sam?" She asked him as he went into the elevator and headed to his office. Sam was going insane as he couldn't control all these memories and most of them depicted Anna. He barged into his room and immediately sat on his chair as he drank a painkiller and hoped it would work.
The DJ played a funky jam as everyone got dancing on that dance floor. Michael sat alone in his corner as he doomscrolled through his phone. "Hey, Mikey. Why don't you go and make some friends?" Anna asked but Michael refused to answer. "I think you should hang out a little, get to know everybody," she said, Michael disagreeing.
"Listen, I understand... You lost your sister and even killed someone, a pretty serious situation but that's why I urge you to make friends. Can you at least try for me?" Anna begged and Michael reluctantly agreed as he walked over to the gentleman who always got high.
"Can I get a blow, there?" "No, who even are you, punk," they said, walking away. "Hey, you're looking really pretty in that dress," he said but she replied "I know, Michael. I've got to go, my friend must be looking for me," she lied, leaving instantly. Michael gave it one more shot but it didn't work. She didn't find any interest and she decided to come clean. "I'm sorry, Michael. To be honest, I don't want to hang out with you because you're a murderer... I'm scared you might kill me next-" "-No, I'm not-" "I know... I just think it's best you leave us alone. I know it's your birthday but I too wanna live," she said. Michael faced down and made his way to his room as he locked the door and cried on his pillow. He didn't want this. He didn't mean to kill Janice.
He stared out the window as a reflection of a picture caught his eye and he went over and saw Jenna and him standing behind a scenery. He wiped his tears, jumped out the window and secretly ran away while Steve was having the time of his life. He then got on the table and called for everyone's attention. "So, when I went on holiday - I got the privilege to meet someone wonderful and she blew me away. Everyone, meet Stacy, my girlfriend," he said, pulling her up and kissing her as everyone cheered and screamed in joy. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVE," they exclaimed in joy.
Sam was sweating a lot as the room began to shrink and was flooded with flashbacks as he screamed in pain. Jessica barged through the door as she saw him shaking. "Sammie, what's going on baby?" she asked, but he didn't respond. She remembered his pills as she ran to the pharmacist. "Watch him, make sure he doesn't do anything crazy," she instructed the bodyguard as he nodded. Sam then began to cry as he saw his picture of him and his mom and cuddled with it while the flashbacks continued to haunt him. He then went under his desk and continued weeping, holding the picture tight.
Anna started to look for Michael who was nowhere to be seen. She tried to look for Steve but after the announcement, he was nowhere to be found. She then ran into Bella who was almost caught drinking. "Hey, Bella. Have you seen Michael? He is nowhere in the house," "Sorry no, Steve must know," "Where is he?" "Making out with his girlfriend in the basement," She said, Anna furious.
Anna opened the door to the basement and yelled at Steve as she saw him and Stacy going at it. "Where is your brother?" "Uh, I don't know," "How can you not know where your own brother is! You're busy here giving this child dessert while your brother is missing," "Uh, I'm so-" "-Come help me find him, now," Anna said, frustrated. They searched for the house and asked everyone but no one had seen Michael until the girl he spoke to said she saw him run to his room. They went there but there was nobody until Steve noticed something.
"Look, his pictures with Jenna are missing," "Well, how does that help?" "There was this cliff we used to go to, it's not far from here," Steve said, everyone following them as they headed there. The wind blew heavily against Michael, the leaves passing by him. He looked at the picture and smiled when he saw the resemblance between him and Jenna standing there. He moved closer and saw how high it was from the ground. He then looked to the sky and smiled, saying "I'm coming, Jenna," and took one step forward.
His foot made the rock crack as the debris fell. Michael felt free as the calmness of the area touched him. Just as he was about to jump, Anna screamed so loud he jerked back. She stopped when he let his right leg hang in the air. "Michael, please. Don't. Don't do this," "You don't understand, Anna. I don't belong here. I'm a murderer. I have no one," he said, moving forward. "No, Michael. You have me. You have me and Anna," Steve begged, about to cry. "Do I Steve? You literally didn't even notice I was gone... None of you did. You were all giving attention to him, not even thinking about me," Michael said, wiping his tears. "I don't want to be here. I don't want to exist. I want to be with Jenna, and Aunty... Even Janice," he said, sniffing and just when he was about to descend, Anna screamed like she was giving birth.
"Michael, I know how you feel. I know. I lost my brother and my father. Both of whom were robbed of their life. Please, I'm begging you for the life of my own, don't... Don't jump! I don't want to lose you too," she cried, on her knees. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, as she saw Michael and pulled him in for a hug with Steve joining. Everyone cheered as the three cried and smiled.
"I'm sorry guys," Michael said, as Steve put his finger to his mouth and embraced his brother.
As they were walking back to the house, Steve saw Bella and out of nowhere got the courage to push her to the ground. Everyone gasped as Bella didn't make a sound. As she stood up, her fake belly was exposed to which made Anna furious. Staring her dead in the eye, Bella panicked and ran away, just enough time to escape. The teenagers tried to chase after her but lost her. "What the actual flip!" "I know, there's a lot I have to tell you," Steve said, as Anna's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Anna, is this Anna?" the person coughed.
"Yes, this is she. Who is this?"
"Anna, it's me, Sam. I need you. Please-" he coughed.
"I-I need you to come, please."
Sam said as the phone hung up. Anna stood speechless as she told the boys to go home and made her way to Sam.