AN:This is a JOINT story, written by Nikki[TheNikster & Emily[HavahKinny.
Can anyone guess who is writing who? Am I writing Kevin or Nick? Is Emily Writing Kevin or Nick?
Who can guess?
-Nikki

Message from your heart

The smell of sugar and charcoal filled my sinuses as I pushed my way through the crowd to the backyard to get some air. I was stopped briefly by my sudden urge to drink something, or at least hold something in my hands. As I passed a woman holding a tray of drinks I grabbed a soda and began to move for the side of the house where my old tree house was still standing for Frankie to use…but I even had to admit, he was getting old enough not to care about it any longer.

"Nicholas!"

I groaned as an older woman made her way over towards me. As much as it killed me to be rude, I couldn't help but let the thought of telling the woman to take a hike and she smelled like cats enter my mind. My mind came back to reality immediately as a lanky hand full of nimble fingers covered my right shoulder.

"My, my, Nicholas you've grown so much."

"Thanks Aunt Pearl."

"Where is my hug?" She asked in a rather derogatory tone. I had no time to even reply as her poor excuse for arms encircled me in just as poor of an embrace. "That-a-boy." She smiled down at me, she was a scrawny, lanky, tall woman…my aunt Pearl… makes me cringe; she smelled like cats. The fact she lived with uncle Charlie and never once owned a cat in her life, made my curiosity heighten…and not in a good way.

"I'm sorry Aunt Pearl…but I was about to go grab something, um…do you mind?"

"Oh, of course not." She gave her toothy grin and patted my shoulder. "Happy Birthday Nicholas darling." She waved me off and immediately began to chat with my mother. Thank god…I walked as fast as I could without catching anyone's attention and climbed into the tree house.

It was then, peering out of one of the three windows of the tree house, that I noticed something…Kevin wasn't there. I stared down into the bottle of rootbeer I had grabbed and sighed. Rootbeer was Kevin's favorite…he drank it like I drank milk…it was the little things that I noticed about my eldest brother, which caused my heart to beat faster everytime…I fell in love with the little things, with the imperfections…with everything that was Kevin.

My cell phone light went off and I yanked it out of my back pocket of the tight black jeans I was wearing, but nothing showed up on the screen as I flipped it up. I had just hit the volume button and it lit it up. Great…here I am holding a bottle of rootbeer and the cell phone Kevin had bought me two years ago.

"Great job Nick…you are officially a moronic loser." I said to myself aloud. Leaning my head back against the cool hardwood of the tree house, I took a deep breath while my eyes glued themselves to the screen of my phone. I shouldn't have to call him…I shouldn't have to remind him of my birthday…that it was today…the 16th of September…my 18th day of birth.

"Dammit." I cursed myself as I held down the first speed dial button on my keypad, immediately lighting the screen up with the irritating lettering "Calling Kevin" across it, with those…irritating dots flashing across the bottom…

"Hello?"

I blanked as I heard a girls voice on the other line. I began to shake with anger and pain as the voice of Kevin in the background quipped in over her voice on the line.

"Who is that?"

"I don't know …" Came her confused tone. "Hello, is someone there?" She tried again. This time I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out and I quickly closed my phone. I couldn't do it…I can't just cope with the pain of my own brother forgetting about me…not again…