A weird need for honesty. [locked to naughty_tess]
Set a few days after this.It was extremely tempting to just try and continue his life normally, and to hide once again what his new job was going to be, but as hard as he tried he simply couldn't. A part of him argued that no one needed to know anything, that they'd be better off not knowing, but the other part was just too tired at the moment of
( Read more... )
The loss of Face was much worse, and each night she spent in an empty bed in her huge empty apartment seemed to slash another wound across her heart. She often had trouble sleeping, used to as she was a warm body next to her; although it was true he had often been gone for a few days for business, she'd always known he was coming back. This time he wasn't.
Lots of things irritated her, lots of small things, so it was probably good she was alone much of the time. She was able to fake it at work, of course. Naughty Tess, though obviously sharing many common traits with Tess Jacoby, was not completely the same person.
When her phone rang she felt a streak of irritation run down her spine; she was standing on the balcony of her apartment, looking out at the city, but when she saw it was Michael the annoyance passed. In fact, she was glad. Had it been an unfortunate telemarketer or someone, their ears would have been burning for the rest of the day.
"Hey," she almost sighed into the phone, unable to fake anything to him.
Reply
"I'd ask how you are, but that's probably a really stupid question. You mind having some company for a few hours?"
Reply
He didn't know it, but she felt equally guilty about not calling him sooner to see how he was doing, but the truth was their last encounter, though ending well, had rattled her more than she'd realised once she'd left. Was it the fact that they'd fought, or other things? It was just too confusing to think about, so maybe she'd been subconsciously avoiding him.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Maybe he'd get a bottle of alcohol on the way there, he thought, so it could make breaking the news a little easier.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Once the cab made it to the house, on the way over he had the cabbie stop at a liquor store so he could get a six-pack of beer before he made it to where Tess lived. Taking a deep breath as best as he could, trying to ignore the cold, he buzzed her so she could let him in.
Reply
She was waiting for him outside of the elevator when the doors opened, and she smiled. "Hi. You look much better than the last time I saw you."
Reply
Michael smiled as soon as he saw her, and hugged her with his free arm. "Thanks. I'm healing okay, thankfully." The cut that he had had along his jawline would probably scar once it was fully healed, but he didn't want to think about more scars just yet. Truth be told, he still wasn't exactly ready to face just how marked his body was going to be once everything was healed.
"So how are you doing, now that you quit smoking again and everything?" His tone was casual, but he couldn't help but turn to her so he could see if she was telling the truth. It was done unconsciously, after what had happened.
Reply
Since Tess wasn't a mind reader, she thought he was just looking at her. "That part's crappy as ever. Well, maybe a little less difficult." She shrugged; she was chewing some gum. "As for the everything, I'm dealing."
She led him down the hall to her apartment. She still wasn't used to living in a place this big, especially alone. She didn't know if she could do it much longer, truthfully, and would probably have to get herself a smaller place soon.
Reply
Besides, who knew if she'd even want to speak to him after the visit was over.
"I brought some beer," he said as soon as the door closed, smiling. "Didn't know if you needed anything else, but since beer is always good it seemed like the thing to bring."
...yeah. Right. Keep stalling, Michael.
Reply
At that moment Lucy and Lily, the cats, came running in straight up to Michael, their noses and whiskers quivering with curiosity.
Reply
...he had no idea what to do. He just stood there for a moment, almost frozen, before he turned to her with the best smile he could manage. "Lily grew a lot since last time I saw her. You got another cat?"
ooc: *dies*
Reply
Leave a comment