"Who the hell are you?"
I scowled at the tow-headed boy in front of me. The little brat stood with his hands balled into fists as he glared at me.
"I'm you."
"Bullshit."
I groaned. Little me was such a pain in the ass. How could I make this work. With a sigh, I rolled up my right sleeve, extending my arm toward the small boy. He looked at it, recognition crossing his features as he held his arm out toward me, revealing the same circular, symmetric burn marks that trailed both of our arms. We looked at each other in silence, as the younger me processed things. Slowly, he dropped his arms to his side.
"I want to believe you, but your hair, and you're older and..." He trailed off, looking to me for answers, but unable to keep his eyes from trailing to the bathroom door. Water could be heard running from within.
"Your hair darkens as you get older. You'll grow out of most of the blond by the time you are fourteen. How old are you?"
"Eleven...almost. You?"
"21 on our birthday."
The younger me looked impressed. "You can buy alcohol then."
I laughed, shaking my head. "Here's a secret, you'll be smoking and drinking long before it's legal for you to. You'll also ignore speed limit signs and get arrested for possession, but they'll let you off easy."
Small eyes drifted back toward the bathroom door while I took in just how underweight I was.
"And Joey?" the younger me asked.
I sighed. How could I explain that one to a kid. "He will be alright. I'm not going to lie, it'll get worse before it gets better, and he is always going to need you, but he will be okay. He will start talking again, and be happier, and so will you. A woman will take the two of you in and become like a mother, and you'll meet and fall in love with a woman a few years older and have kids."
"Ew. I don't want kids. And women are no fun. Men are better."
I sighed, shaking my head. I knew why the younger me though the way he did, but he was so niave, even if he was smart and wise for his age.
"Well, too bad, you'll have kids, but that'll be a while. You'll have your fair share of women and men before then."
"You mean like sex?"
"Yeah. And you'll still cuss just not as much because it annoys you're fiance."
"I'll cuss as much as I fucking want," the younger boy declared, placing his hands on his hips.
"Little me, has anyone told you that you are an asshole?" I asked, glaring at the little brat.
"Look in the mirror," he snapped back, flipping me off.
I groaned. This was so pointless. Why was I arguing with my younger self? Besides, I had something I needed to tell myself didn't I? Or maybe I just wanted to see myself with adult eyes, I'm not sure.
Whatever it was, I saw a defiant boy, emotions carefully masked and eyes that glanced toward the bathroom door every few seconds, always on alert.
"But he will be ok?"
He didn't have to ask who 'he' was, I already knew.
"He will be ok."
Little me let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's all that matters. He's the most important thing," he said, walking over to wrap his arms around the boy who emerged from the shower.
"Yes, he is," I heard myself mumble, knowing he always would be. Then, I turned to leave.
"Bye mini-me," I said, waving over my shoulder.
"Bye, asshole."
"Fuck you!" I exclaimed, glaring back at the younger me who clearly needed his mouth washed out.
"No thank you."
I wanted to say something, but instead shook my head. He would be alright. He wasn't that bad of a kid and in the end, he would be alright.
Meanwhile in his room, the younger me sat, mumbling to himself.
"I won't fall in love, I won't ever have kids. That guy is an asshole."
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