Passenger

I entered the hospital room quietly, watching as Gran stood from the chair that was beside the bed, and motioned for me to remain silent as she motioned at my sleeping sister.

I took off my coat, and stood before her, hugging our Grandmother in a pair of jeans and a University hoodie, as I approached the bed, and quickly kissed my sister on the forehead, who woke from the soft noise.

Her reaction was just as I expected, as Gran left. She frowned, pale, and confused at the fact that I was visiting her alone. I took a seat on the chair, rubbing a hand over my pale, and exhausted face, before I leaned my elbows on the hospital mattress, and leaned my cheeks on my hands.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her softly, rubbing her hands as she rolled from her back onto her side, facing me with a frown.

“Tired.” Annie said simply.

Gran had called me an hour after I had returned to my apartment, after my encounter with Lisa. She said she had been calling me all night- having not been able to reach me, and that Annie was in the hospital, her blood pressure had dropped beyond normal, and stable, and she had collapsed.

“Is there a good reason, that you weren’t answering your phone?”

I chuckled, I thought it was. “It turns out it probably wasn’t even worth it.” I said softly, as she sighed.

“Did you guys break up?” she asked.
“We weren’t ever together Annie.” I said lowly, scratching my forehead, pulling my hair into a tight bun.
“You might as well have been.”

I stayed at the hospital for four hours, talking to my sister, watching TV, helping her eat the gross hospital food, and promising, that she’d be out by Thanksgiving, which was two weeks away.
My promise could fall short at any time- Annie had problems with her blood pressure before, last year, and collapsed as well. And wasn’t released from the hospital after three weeks. I prayed that this wasn’t the case.

Glancing at her, I was surprised to see her sound asleep, her stuff Moose on her other side. I grabbed it and placed it in her arms, kissing her cheeks as I stood up and made my way to the door, planning to find coffee, just as it opened and I stopped short at the tall figure that was standing before me, looking unsure.

“Hi.”

Michael looked exhausted and frustrated. A face I had only seen when he didn’t place a medal in London, in one of the many videos Annie had shown me when we were just starting to go out.

His eyebrows were set, and his lips tightly pressed together, pushed to the side, as his brown eyes settled on my own, as he held the door open.

“Are you leaving?” he asked, trying to get me to respond.
I shook my head and walked passed him, motioning for him to close the door, and be silent.
“What are you doing here?” I asked crossing my arms, and leaning against the wall.
He ran a hand over his face, exhausted and leaving his cheeks pink, before he shoved his hands in his jeans, and tugged at his comfortably fitting long sleeved shirt, “Your Grandmother, called my house phone, leaving a message, looking for you. Annie apparently gave her the number, she told me she was here, so I thought I’d come and see...How is she was doing?”

“She’s stable right now.” I said sharply, not looking at his face, knowing that if I did I would crumble, “So, you can go.”

“Karren.” Michael tried, and held my shoulders tightly in his grasp, but I squirmed away, “Would you just give me chance to explain.”

“I thought you couldn’t.” I said sharply, avoiding his stare, as my eyes grew itchy, from frustration and exhaustion, “I really like you, I hope you know that. Lisa’s just fucked so many things up for me-”

His fingers gingerly grabbed my chin and he tugged me softly forward, as he slouched down about two inches, as he tilted my head upwards catching my lips softly.

“Stop it.” I said startled and dazed, pulling away from him as he rolled his eyes, pulling away from him before I could’ve locked on, “Y-You can’t just go around kissing people.”

I was flushed, and my heart was pounding in my chest.

“And you can’t go around accusing people of something you aren’t one hundred percent sure of.”

I huffed, the most childish thing I could’ve done, but I did it. I pulled away from him, my arms burning. I felt like a child. I felt stupid. I wanted to know. But at the same time I didn’t.

“Karren.”

I ignored him, and walked towards the elevator, that was around the corner, planning to grab coffee at the shop in the main room on the first floor.

I breathed out deeply as I felt his presence at my side, “You don’t know what Lisa-”

“When it comes to Lisa, I’m scared to know. I’m scared to know anything, of what she could be doing with a guy I’m interested in. Every time she walks into a room, she steals the show. In looks, and life style, I’m nothing compared to her. She’s not tied down, she has no responsibility.” I said gnawing on my lip as I finished, my arms finally burning as I wiped the corner of my eye.

We remained silent as we entered the elevator. I stood on one end, leaning against the railing, exhausted and distraught. While we went down the floor, I mentally slapped myself.

I finally turned to Michael, who was giving me a knowing, yet kind stare.

“You want to know now.” It wasn’t a question.

We walked out of the elevator towards the coffee shop, where I quickly bought an iced coffee, and fixed it, before taking a seat near the large windows, across from Michael who’s arms were stretched out towards me, the palm of his hands open.

“She’s in trouble.”
“Lisa is always in trouble.” I said in a sour tone, “Excuse my attitude, but it’s true.”

Michael gave me a bored and tired look, and my stomach dropped.

“What’s happened?”

“She’s getting a restraining order,” he said lowly, “The guy she was with when you’re bike got totaled, got weird, and started following her everywhere. So she got keys to my apartment, I gave them to her. Since my place is between hers and work. I’m helping with the payments, with the lawyer. Because the guy is being serious about wanting to talk to her.”

I pushed the drink away from me.

I felt like a bitch. An idiot. Selfish- I felt like Lisa. But she needed more then this.

“She was at the apartment, coming to say goodbye. She was flying out to Denver to spend time with her Mom-”

“Why would she tell you this?” I asked, my tone coming out harsher then I wanted.

“I have one of those faces.” Michael laughed, causing me to scowl, and him to clear his throat, “She didn’t want you to have more on your plate, then you do, with Annie.”

I broke down.

Michael’s eyes went wide just as I plopped my head down on the table and pushed my forehead down on my hands. I cried silently. I was pathetic. I was exhausted, and I was horribly embarrassed.

“Kazz.”

Ignoring his voice, I shook my head sniffling.

I heard him chuckle and glared up at him quickly, my facial expression probably causing him to laugh louder, and me to cry harder at him laughing at me.

“I-I feel so stupid.” I sobbed.

❊

I stared at Michael with narrowed eyes as I sat on my bed, watching as he took in his new surrounding. Almost like a new kid, visiting relatives he didn’t remember.

My room was neat. Organized, OCD, as Annie said was a given. If anything was knocked down, I would speed up and walk towards it and fix it.
That was the first thing Annie had told Michael when she had woken up and we had come to say goodbye.

I wasn’t good at ‘romance’, awkward situations with the guy I like, I guess that’s why they were awkward.
After informing me of what had really happened Lisa, and after sobbing my eyes out, I finally, agreed, and fell into his hug. Letting him hold me for a few moments, before I pulled away and and asked him to come home with me. That I didn’t to be alone, and I wanted to fix the hurt I had caused the previous day.

I flinched, and gripped my bed, as Michael smirked at me, and gently knocked over a tiny jar of cotton I had on my dresser. I breathed, did my best to remain seated as I watched him wreak havoc in my bedroom. Tilting frames to the side, making my curtains on the window uneven, and not half way or completely up or down the way I liked to have them.

“You look like you’re about to kill me.” he said with a laugh as I pursed my lips, watching him launch himself in my direction as he landed on my bed and wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me down to a laying down position, just as I was about to stand up and fix my belongings.

“Can I say it again?” I asked softly, turning in his arms, as I leaned my forehead against his, my eyes starring into his intently, as they watered again.

Michael chuckled and pressed his hand against the back of my neck as he kissed my softly, “You don’t have to. It was a mistake.”

“Please.” I begged, feeling like an idiot again.

Michael laughed as my lip trembled, and kissed me again, as I spoke, between kisses.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize anymore.” he said sternly, “So stop.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever made a bigger fool of myself until this morning.” I said with a soft chuckle as I kicked off my shoes and summersaulted away from him landing perfectly on my feet on the edge of my bed.

“I think I know one more occasion where you made a fool of yourself.” Michael yawned.

“When?” I said stepping into my bathroom, to tug off my bra and change into a set of PJs.

“When you thought you could beat me in the pool.” he laughed as I came out and glared at him as he tugged off his sweatshirt, leaving him shirtless, and giving me the opportunity to wolf whistle.

I laughed and sat on my bed taking my hair down from it’s knot, watching as Michael’ head finally appeared from his clothing, his hair sticking up all over the place adorably.

“I’ll take your couch.”

I glared at him. Him being so polite, but he was a guy and I saw the need in his eyes, for contact.

“You can take it if you want to. No one’s making you.” I said politely, with a teasing smile, and a large yawn as I plopped on my pillow and I watched as Michael tugged off his pants stood in only his boxers.

“Well then I don’t want to.” he said climbing into the bed.

I laid in his arms, and we laid together, in comfortable silence.