[cl] 52. Grilling picture
[Set in Gorgeous. freelncesuphero is used with permission and feel_theburn is referenced with love.]
When Bela got back to Maddie’s, she slept for about ten hours.
She was worried about Michael. She was worried about who those men were and where they were taking him. She also knew that this was important, and that odds were he’d be fine. He had to be fine. He better be fine.
She was taken to the hospital for observation, as was the norm for head injuries, but she had Sam keeping her awake to make sure she didn’t have a concussion. It was long, it was arduous, and she had to listen to more of Sam’s military stories than she ever wanted to hear. As much as she adored Sam, she never wanted to spend that much time in close quarters without Michael again. Even after the six hour window regarding concussions had passed, she still couldn’t sleep. Hospitals had a way of getting under her skin, and she was always on guard, not wanting to take the chance that something could go wrong.
When Sam took her home, she passed out in their bed, and hoped that when she woke up in the morning, Michael would be back. That he would have taken care of whatever he needed to take care of, and be back before she woke up, but she was wrong. When she woke up, she was still alone. For the next week, she continued to wake up alone. After a week of no word, it became rather clear what she was dealing with.
Michael wasn’t coming back.
It hurt. It hurt a lot more than she would be willing to admit, but she was aware that this path that he was on would take them there eventually. She knew that she would get left behind as he went back to his life, and that was fair. She knew that. He was moving on, so she would have to as well.
Sam was at the grill at Maddie’s when she came down to say goodbye. He had been there fairly often over the course of the week, they all had. None of them had been there to say goodbye, however, which meant that Bela was going to be the first. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing, being the first to run away after Michael was gone, but she couldn’t stay in Miami. There were too many reminders of what she had lost, and she just wanted to get back to work. It was the only thing that was going to get her moving forward again.
“Heya, Bela,” he said with a grin as she made her way closer. “Want something to eat?”
“No, I don’t have the time,” she said softly, before giving his arm a squeeze. “I have to start driving.”
“Driving?” he frowned. “Where are you heading?”
“Back to New York?” she said softly. “I … I think I need some space.”
“It’s only been a week, Bela,” Sam said slowly. “That doesn’t mean he isn’t coming back.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but I need to do this. At least for right now. Michael knows where to find me if he wants to.” She pushed up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Say goodbye to everyone for me.”
“Yeah, kiddo. No problem. You be safe, alright?” Sam knew she dealt with some dangerous people, and she wasn’t going to have friends there to protect her, and she just gave him a small smile.
“I will. I promise.” She reached for her bag again, and started to head towards the door. “I’ll see you around, Sam.”
“See ya ‘round, Bela.”
599 words
When Bela got back to Maddie’s, she slept for about ten hours.
She was worried about Michael. She was worried about who those men were and where they were taking him. She also knew that this was important, and that odds were he’d be fine. He had to be fine. He better be fine.
She was taken to the hospital for observation, as was the norm for head injuries, but she had Sam keeping her awake to make sure she didn’t have a concussion. It was long, it was arduous, and she had to listen to more of Sam’s military stories than she ever wanted to hear. As much as she adored Sam, she never wanted to spend that much time in close quarters without Michael again. Even after the six hour window regarding concussions had passed, she still couldn’t sleep. Hospitals had a way of getting under her skin, and she was always on guard, not wanting to take the chance that something could go wrong.
When Sam took her home, she passed out in their bed, and hoped that when she woke up in the morning, Michael would be back. That he would have taken care of whatever he needed to take care of, and be back before she woke up, but she was wrong. When she woke up, she was still alone. For the next week, she continued to wake up alone. After a week of no word, it became rather clear what she was dealing with.
Michael wasn’t coming back.
It hurt. It hurt a lot more than she would be willing to admit, but she was aware that this path that he was on would take them there eventually. She knew that she would get left behind as he went back to his life, and that was fair. She knew that. He was moving on, so she would have to as well.
Sam was at the grill at Maddie’s when she came down to say goodbye. He had been there fairly often over the course of the week, they all had. None of them had been there to say goodbye, however, which meant that Bela was going to be the first. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing, being the first to run away after Michael was gone, but she couldn’t stay in Miami. There were too many reminders of what she had lost, and she just wanted to get back to work. It was the only thing that was going to get her moving forward again.
“Heya, Bela,” he said with a grin as she made her way closer. “Want something to eat?”
“No, I don’t have the time,” she said softly, before giving his arm a squeeze. “I have to start driving.”
“Driving?” he frowned. “Where are you heading?”
“Back to New York?” she said softly. “I … I think I need some space.”
“It’s only been a week, Bela,” Sam said slowly. “That doesn’t mean he isn’t coming back.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but I need to do this. At least for right now. Michael knows where to find me if he wants to.” She pushed up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Say goodbye to everyone for me.”
“Yeah, kiddo. No problem. You be safe, alright?” Sam knew she dealt with some dangerous people, and she wasn’t going to have friends there to protect her, and she just gave him a small smile.
“I will. I promise.” She reached for her bag again, and started to head towards the door. “I’ll see you around, Sam.”
“See ya ‘round, Bela.”
599 words