Michael sat on the floor against his nightstand, phone in hand. He dialed Jeremy's number, waiting for him to pick up.

Soon, Jeremy surely answered. "Hello?"

"You have to help me..." Michael whispered through the phone, too afraid to speak louder.

"Michael?" Jeremy reacted in surprise. "Is everything okay?"

"...I-I can't stay here anymore." Michael replied, his voice shaking.

"Wh-Why, what... What happened??" Jeremy sounded worried, even though he was half asleep.

"I j- C-Can I stay at yours for a while...?" Michael asked desperately. "I promise I'll explain when I get there, just please-"

"Hey, hey, breathe..." Jeremy frowned. "Of course you can come over. I'll wait for you, okay?"

"Thank you..." Michael whispered, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

"Of course. You just get here whenever you can. Bye, Mike." Jeremy smiled before hanging up the phone.

Michael sighed, hanging his phone up as well. He stood up, putting on the backpack he'd packed up, and slowly crept towards the door. He ever so gingerly opened his bedroom door, inching through the hallway while listening for any sign of his father waking up. Fortunately, he managed to get out of the house safely. Michael hopped on his bike and pedalled top speed to Jeremy's house. Once he arrived, he knocked on the door. When Jeremy's older sister let him in, Michael immediately went upstairs to Jeremy's room. As promised, Jeremy was sitting there and had waited for Michael.

Jeremy stood up, walking up to Michael and hesitantly putting a hand on his shoulder. "So. What's going on...?"

"...I-" Michael stammered, struggling to just put together a single sentence.

"It's okay." Jeremy nodded gently. "Take your time."

"My parents got into a fight..." Michael started. "...I couldn't make out much of it, since it was in the basement, but- My mum threatened a divorce at some point, a-and then I heard screaming... My father came out of the basement alone afterwards..."

"...O-Oh, that's awful." Jeremy frowned, guiding Michael to sit down on the bed.