On the Verge

Micah woke several hours later, still on the sofa with Garrett. He was asleep by then as well, his arm then draped around her shoulders. His head was leaning back, against the cushions. She thought of waking him or at least going to her own bed, but Garrett was so warm and comfortable that she couldn’t pull herself away. She sighed quietly, smiling, and leaning against him more.

When she woke again, Garrett was still asleep. The early morning sun was dancing across the Los Angeles skyline and she sat up, stretching. She looked over at Garrett, still sleeping soundly.

“Gare,” she said, stretching out and trying to flatten her hair. Garrett only grumbled, his brow creasing as his eyes stayed closed. “C’mon, Garrett, we fell asleep. It’s eight AM. We have to be at the studio in half an hour.”

Finally, he sighed, sitting up as he opened his eyes. His hair was completely disheveled and his shirt was wrinkled. He yawned, squinting in the early morning sunlight.

“I, uhm, I’m going to shower really quickly. The guest bathroom is there,” she pointed to the closed door. “Feel free to shower – there are towels in the cabinet. If you’re hungry, there’s plenty of food in the kitchen.” She stood as Garrett only nodded.

Micah showered quickly, dressing in a simple floral skirt and a grey tank top. She dried her hair and put on charcoal eyeliner. When she emerged from her room, Garrett was sitting on the sofa, eating a bowl of cereal and watching cartoons. His hair was still a mess, a large amount of stubble on his cheeks. He looked up when she entered, smiling.

“Pat’s bringing me a change of clothes to the studio,” he said, reaching for the remote and turning off the television. Micah nodded, dropping her phone into her bag and reaching for her keys. He stood up and drank the milk from his bowl, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.

“Are you ready?” she asked, pulling her bag up onto her shoulder. “I’m just going to drive today, so I can stop and get some coffee.”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” he said, looking over her quickly. He walked past her to get to the sink, setting the bowl in the basin after rinsing it out.

She quickly called down to the concierge to have her car brought out and they headed out into the hall. The heels of her boots scuffed along the floor of the hall, and while they waited for the elevator, she looked over at him. The collar of his shirt was rather stretched and she smiled softly.

Half an hour later, they parked at the studio and Micah sipped her coffee as they crossed the parking lot. The ride had been quiet, yet not uncomfortably so. There’d been light conversation about the weather and the amount of traffic, but that had been all. It was simple.

“Y’know,” she said, pausing when they passed the Maine’s van, “Before you guys showed up, that was my parking spot.”

“Really?” Garrett asked, his eyebrows raised. He looked slightly amused.

“Mhmm,” she said, the mouth of her coffee cup against her lips. She smiled softly as they continued towards the studio. Garrett opened the door for her and she couldn’t help but blush softly.

Kennedy was standing in the lobby, talking on the phone. He waved at the pair, smirking a tad. Micah continued down the hall towards the control room, humming softly, as Garrett stayed behind to talk to Kennedy.

When she entered the back room, Em yelled her name, stretching her hands out towards her. Micah laughed, hugging Em quickly between dropping onto the sofa between her and Pat.

“How was Miami?” Pat asked, quickly dropping his head to her shoulder.

“It was good,” she said, smiling softly. She put a hand on Pat’s knee. “I missed you guys. Piper drove me fucking mar.”

“We’re glad you’re back,” Em said, putting her head on Micah’s other shoulder.

Kennedy and Garrett entered the room shortly after, followed by John. He looked a tad shocked to see her there, and he looked away from her quickly, though not before making eye contact. She fought back a blush, tilting her chin up to show her indifference. She caught Garrett’s eye and he smiled quickly.

The band got to practicing and recording quickly. Em and Micah stayed put on the sofa, discussing random topics, occasionally glancing towards the guys. Kennedy and Em would look at each other and wink, mouthing things to one another and Micah felt a pang of loneliness. She bit her lip and pulled out her phone, soon realizing that the only people she really wanted to talk to were in the room with her. She sighed quietly and dropped her phone back into her bag.

When she looked up, Garrett was watching her. She smiled softly at him, running a hand through her hair. He smiled back, maintaining eye contact before finally looking down at his bass again. Micah felt a bit of heat rise up her neck and shook her head.

When she looked up again, Em was looking at her with a confused expression on her face. “Are you okay?” she asked, looking rather amused all of a sudden as she followed Micah’s line of sight to Garrett.

“Yeah, I’m completely fine,” Micah responded, trying to sound confident.

“Y’know, he likes you,” Em told her quietly, raising her eyebrows a bit.

Micah’s jaw tightened and she nodded once. Color flooded her cheeks as she glanced towards Garrett. He was watching her again and he smiled sheepishly at her. She looked away quickly, her cheeks hot. “I—My dad already got pissed at me for sleeping with John. He’d probably skin me alive if I got with another member of the Maine.”

Em shrugged nonchalantly. “It kind of upset him that you left without saying goodbye to him.”

“Em, why are telling me this?” Micah asked after pausing.

“Does it really matter?” Em said, smiling softly.

Micah glanced down at her lap, feeling the heat on her face up to the tips of her ears. Her hair fell over her shoulder in a curtain, hopefully hiding her newly darkened blush. Both her head and heart were heavy with confusion over everything with Garrett, and now was not the time or place to try and work it out. Forcing herself to calm, Micah looked up again and tucked her hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat and crossed her legs at the knee, leaning back against the back of the sofa. Soon enough, Jonah arrived, saving his younger sister from further distress.

The first couple hours of the day were hectic, simply because Micah had fallen out of the swing of things. She spent all morning running all sorts of errands. After collecting proposals from a variety of different advertising agencies and going to her father’s suitmaker, with a few minor pitstops in between, Micah finally picked up her father’s lunch order before heading back to the studio.

By the time she delivered her father’s lunch to him, it was one in the afternoon and Micah was exhausted. It was a scorcher outside and her hair had turned into a mess of waves. After saying goodbye to her father, she stepped into the bathroom to try and salvage her hair. She’d been all over the city, battling the heat and other people. Thankful that she kept a ready supply of hair ties and bobby pins in her bag, Micah had no trouble smoothing her hair back into a quick ponytail. Her skin had a slight sheen to it, from sweating. She wiped her face with a wet paper towel and took a deep breath.

Micah headed back to the control room, fiddling with the end of her ponytail a bit. Her feet were killing her and she could use a cold shower at that point. Garrett was the only one in the control room, sprawled out on one of the sofas. He was awake and glanced up when he heard the door open. When he saw that is was Micah, he immediately sat up, smoothing down his hair.

“Hey!” he said, sounding a bit too enthusiastic. He cringed at the sound of his own voice and his cheeks flushed softly.

“Hi,” Micah said, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her skirt. She responded to a text quickly, simply standing in the middle of the control room. “Where is everybody?”

“Uh, lunch,” Garrett said simply. He stood up and pushed his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. He licked his lips and looked around the empty room.

Micah nodded, walking over to Jonah’s chair and dropping into it. Her feet were throbbing and it felt nice to be able to sit down. She shifted her shoulder, hearing and feeling her back crack a tad. “Why aren’t you with them? At lunch, that is,” she asked after a moment, putting her feet up on the table in front of her.

A smile twitched at the corner of Garrett’s mouth. He made a quiet noise that sounded somewhat like a laugh and he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I—uhm—I was waiting for you to get back,” he explained, looking down at his feet. “I wanted to see if you wanted to go get lunch—like, together.”

Micah’s cheeks instantly flared, as did Garrett’s when he glanced up at her. Her stomach had dropped when he spoke and she realized then how many mixed signals she’d been given him since they met. “I…Garrett, I can’t. I got in so much trouble with my dad already for getting involved with clients,” she said before pausing. It wasn’t a total lie, and as much as she could see herself being with Garrett, she had her doubts and could already see the flaws that would break their relationship. “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I can’t.”

Garrett’s smile faded instantly, his cheeks flushing darker than she’d ever seen. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it immediately after. Silence ensued and Micah could feel the weight of the tension in the room resting on her shoulders. Finally, Garrett nodded, forcing a smile.

“Yeah, uhm, I understand,” he said, nodding again. His voice was tight, not even sounding like himself. The hollowness in his voice felt like a punch to the gut and Micah had tears stinging in her eyes. “So…have a good day, then? I’ll see you tomorrow.” He words were rushed before he grabbed his backpack from the sofa and was gone from the control room before she could even try to stop him.

As the door slammed closed behind him, Micah rocked back on her heels. Embarrassment, anger, and sadness boiled together in the pit of her stomach. Chewing in the inside of her cheek, she left the control room quickly, her blush still burning on her cheeks. She headed straight for the private bathroom, in the back of the building, shutting the door and flipping the lock once she reached it. Pacing, her head was swimming and she focused on the sound of her heels clicking on the tiled floor. Her tears had started to fall, coursing streams down her skin.

Finally, Micah was able to calm herself down. She put her hands on the cool granite countertop of the sink, leaning into it as she watched herself in the mirror. Her hair was still a right mess, and her eyeliner was now smudged. Sighing, she wiped her eyes and tried to force away the churning in her stomach. After sniffling, she blew her nose and nodded at her reflection

Once she left the bathroom, Micah didn’t dare go back to the control room and instead went to her father’s office. He was on the phone when she knocked once before pushing the door open. He gave her a quick smile, waving her in as he finished up his phone call. Micah sat in her usual chair, curling a foot under her. She hoped it wasn’t entirely obvious that she’d been crying.

Micah’s eyes scanned the contents of her father’s office. He’d had the same leather couch in there for as long she could remember. She eyed the name place on his desk, Ian Claymour, CEO/BAMF. It always brought a smile to her face. Licking her lips, she looked down at her lap and sighed quietly.

Ian ended his phone call a moment later and Micah could feel his eyes on her. When she glanced up at him, he gave her a sad smile. “How’re you, peanut?” he questioned softly, looking concerned.

The corner of her mouth twitched at the mention of her childhood nickname. “I’ve been better,” Micah admitted, knowing there was no point in hiding it. Her father knew her well—too well sometimes. Her eyes fell to her lap again, clenching her jaw to keep the tears from forming in her eyes again.

“Tell me what’s on your mind,” Ian said after a pause. He shut his laptop, pulled his desk phone off the hook, and pushed his chair out in order to put his feet up on his desk. Looking at his daughter expectantly, he raised his eyebrows, offering another smile.

Micah opened her mouth to speak before closing it. Was it really the best idea to tell her father about all of this? Probably not, but she was about to. “Garrett asked me out to lunch like, ten minutes ago,” she grumbled, avoiding looking him in the eyes.

“So, why aren’t you at lunch with him?”

“Because you yelled at me for getting involved with the band members before,” Micah said rather bashfully. Okay, perhaps she’d over exaggerated what had happened when her father had found out that she’d slept with John, but the impact of it felt the same.

“Mic, peanut, I didn’t yell at you,” Ian told her softly, sounding rather worried. “I just reminded you that they’re clients—which they still are. If something were to end badly, I don’t want that affecting your work here, or the business relationship between the band and the studio, that’s all. And honestly, I’m just being an overprotective dad is all.”

His words caused Micah’s cheeks to burn quite a bit and she chewed on her tongue for a moment in silence. “Thanks, Dad,” she said finally, glancing up at him.

“No problem. Now, which one’s Garrett?” her father asked with a grin, chuckling softly. Micah’s cheeks burned again and she was able to laugh a bit. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and licked her lips, speaking with a small smile.

After that, the conversation flowed easily. She spent the rest of the afternoon in her father’s office and going to a business meeting with him, which she very rarely did. Micah had missed spending time with her father, yes, but she was also avoiding the confines of the control room like the plague.

Ian convinced his daughter to have dinner with him once they’d finished working for the day. It wasn’t until they were in her father’s car on the way to the restaurant that Micah turned her phone on. She had several texts from Em, asking where she was and what happened with Garrett. She didn’t bother to respond, knowing that it would only upset her.

Dinner was nice and simple, without too much conversation. When the pair did speak, it was casual and not too in depth. Micah didn’t eat much, still feeling a bit queasy over her encounter with Garrett hours before. They finished eating and Ian took Micah back to the studio for her car and they parted ways.

Once Micah arrived back at her suite, she changed out of her clothes. She showered without washing her hair, letting the water run along her skin. She dried off with a fluffy white towel and pulled on her favorite jeans and USC t-shirt. Her heart was aching and other than that, she felt numb. She kept her hair up in the bun and dropped onto the sofa.

Flipping on the television, Micah watched fifteen minutes of an episode of Modern Family before turning it off. Nothing was holding her attention, nothing. She leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and her forehead in the heels of her hands. With a sigh, she stood quickly and walked to her bedroom. There, she shoved her feet into the first pair of shoes she could find, which happened to be a pair of Jimmy Choo pumps. Micah retrieved her bag from where she’d left it when she returned home and put it over her shoulder.

Micah left her suite, fully aware of her clashing apparel. Waiting for the elevator down to the lobby, she chewed on her lip impatiently as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Every passing second in the elevator felt like an hour and the weight on her chest multiplied tenfold. Micah crossed the lobby so quickly that she nearly twisted an ankle in her heels. Outside, she hailed a cab, her hands starting to shake.

“Where to?” the cab driver asked her as she slid into the back seat.

Micah hadn’t planned that far ahead and paused, thinking over just exactly she was running away to this time. “Just take me to the best bar in Beverly Hills,” she said, licking her lips. She was guessing that’s where he’d be.