If Only Tonight
The Eye Of The Storm: Chapter Sixty Three - Jet Lag
The Eye Of The Storm:
Chapter Sixty Three: Jet Lag
"Matthew?"
A hoarse sound came from beside him.
He had been sitting by his mother's bedside, keeping vigil over the last two nights. Sitting in the hospital chair had been uncomfortable at first but soon he had gotten used to it. Seeing his mother so weak and frail had forced him to put the past aside. His mother needed him, and he would do whatever it took to help her.
"Yes, Mother. It's me. How are you feeling?" He asked in his native tongue, leaning in so she could see him better.
"I don't know." His mother told him, her voice cracking with the amount of effort it took to speak.
"The doctors said that there were some serious blockages. They're going to take you for heart bypass surgery the day after tomorrow, first they have to take you to the anaesthesiologist." He told her, softly. "You'll be better after it."
She was quiet, her piercing blue eyes scanning him.
"My son, why did you come? Roderigo was taking care of everything." She told him, sounding exhausted, Matthew watched as she closed her eyes.
"You are my mother."
-----
Sitting on her bed, Mia fiddled with the earphones of her mp3 player. I need to get better, less flimsy ones, she thought with annoyance. With no Matthew around, there wasn't much else to do after work other than hangout with Lina, Leon, or Nathaniel and Oliver. She had been going to Oliver's with the others to play with Lily; it was the best distraction she could find to stop herself from wondering how Matthew was and what he was doing.
It had been a reversal of roles, when she had watched him walk through the security barrier at Heathrow. Matthew had gotten his agent to book the last flight out to Italy the night they had found out. With his mother in the hospital, Mia had been amazed by how calm and collected he was. Had it been her, she would have been a sobbing mess. Instead, Matthew got his things ready, called Felix about the emergency, kissed her goodbye, and managed to fly out without breaking a sweat.
As she settled under the covers, her phone rang. Picking it up from her night table she smiled when she saw who was calling.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" She asked, answering the phone.
"I should be asking you the same question. I'm just an hour ahead of you." Matthew's voice came, he sounded amused.
"How's your mom?"
"She's okay for now. Their taking her to the anaesthesiologist tomorrow, and then she'll have heart bypass surgery the next day."
"How are you?" Mia asked, concerned.
"Okay, I guess. I just never thought she would need me." He told her, sounding exhausted.
"I'm sure she's happy your there." Mia told him.
"Yea...I guess..."
"I hope she gets better, Matthew." She told him, earnestly.
"Me too."
They were quiet. Mia was unsure what to say next. She'd never experienced anything like that.
"Distract me, Mia." Matthew told her, when the silence had gone on for more than a few minutes.
"Okay...Well...We all went over to Oliver's yesterday" She tried.
"Really?"
"Yea, everyone was fighting over who would hold Lily first." Mia said, as he laughed on the other end.
"So what did Oliver do?"
"He made us pick numbers from one to forty."
"Who won?" He asked her, sounding curious and amused.
"I did!" She grinned at the memory. "I picked seven while everyone else picked 13, 28, and 33. Oliver actually picked 3."
"Nice work. So how is Lily?" He chuckled.
"She's like the perfect mix between Oliver and Ariana. Her eyes are like both of their eyes combined, her hair is like light brownish blonde, and she's just cute. She never cries, which is amazing." Mia gushed, Lily had stolen her heart as soon as she'd met the child.
"You sound quite taken with her...you're making me feel a little jealous." Matthew snickered, making Mia laugh.
"You'd like her too. When you come back you'll see."
As their laughter died down, the awkward silence settled once more.
"So...where are you?" She asked him hesitantly.
"I'm outside the hospital. My cousin forced me to leave, saying that he would cover me for a few hours. It's past 1am here, so I think I'll go home for a shower and grab something to eat before coming back. It was probably the only chance I'd get to call you." He answered, sounding downcast.
"You should get some sleep." She told him with concern.
"I will. I usually sleep while sitting in my mother's room. It's that or reading magazines." He muttered. "Anyway, Mia. I should let you sleep. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Okay. Take care." She told him, not wanting to end the call. She wanted to tell him that she missed him, but knowing what he was facing it would have been selfish.
"I will. Good night, Mia."
"Good night, Matt."
-----
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Matthew sat up straight. He looked around at his surroundings, remembering why he wasn't in his bed back in Cheshire.
Picking up the magazine from his lap, Matthew opened it to the first page. He must have read it cover to cover, at least ten times already. It was a few minutes before he felt someone's eyes on him. Looking up, he found his mother watching him carefully.
"I didn't realize you were awake." He said, slipping back in to Italian. His conversation with Mia had been his only respite from forgetting the English language.
"You were asleep. I did not want to wake you." His mother told him, giving him a measuring look.
Putting the magazine on the table beside his mother, he moved his chair closer to her.
"The nurses will be taking you to see the anaesthesiologist. He's just going to figure out how much anaesthesia you need and if you're allergic or something."
"Will you be coming with me?" She asked him, giving him a peculiar look.
"No, I'm not allowed to. But I will be waiting here." Matthew answered, sharply aware that he was reassuring her.
His mother held his gaze, unnerved Matthew looked away, staring across the room to look outside the window. It was quiet.
"Matteo..." She called him. At once he looked over to her. His mother had not called him by his pet name since the incident with Jason and the girl.
Before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. The nurses told him that they needed to take his mother.
"Just a moment. I need a few minutes." His mother told them. The nurses nodded before walking away.
"Look at me, Matteo." And he did. Her blue eyes shone with an emotion he thought he would never see again in his life.
"I thought that I would die before ever seeing you again, I never thought I'd get this chance to tell you..." Her voice broke.
"To tell me what?" Matthew asked, a lump forming in his throat.
"That I'm sorry. I should have believed you all those years ago. It was wrong of me to have said those things. Roderigo always told me that you were innocent. Lina and Leon sent me all those tapes and the police report. I didn't listen because I thought if I did and you were guilty I would be supporting the men who hurt your sister."
"Why now? Why believe me now, after all these years?" Matthew asked.
"Because after you left last summer, as always Lina told me that I was making a mistake. I don't know why, but I read the files, and the reports, I watched the tapes. I was ashamed and I didn't know how to tell you. I was wrong to tell you I forgive you...when I should be asking for your forgiveness." A tear trickled down his mother's cheek.
Unable to keep her gaze, he looked at the ground, his hands fidgeting with nervous energy. The lump in his throat had gotten bigger. Emotions whirled inside him, as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Do you forgive me, son?"
The question hung between them, as the nurses returned to wheel his mother away. Silently, he contemplated his answer as the nurses started to move away. Before she left his sight, he said the words he had never thought he would say to her.
"Yes, I forgive you."
-----
At her desk, Mia looked over her emails. It had been a long two days with the constant worry of how Matthew was doing. She had waited for his call, but he must have been busy or had forgotten. She didn't blame him, had she been in his place she probably wouldn't remember to call anyone either.
Hearing her cell phone ringing, Mia quickly took her phone from the pocket of her lab coat, thinking that maybe her wish had been granted. Looking at the caller ID, she felt a little disappointed.
"Hey Stacie..." She said, her downcast feelings colouring her voice.
"Hey Mia...that's not the greeting I would expect." Her best friend said, sounding annoyed.
"Sorry, I thought you were someone else."
"Who? Matthew? Do you miss him? Muah Muah Muah!" Stacie made kissing noises as Mia gritted her teeth.
"Funny. I shouldn't have told you." Mia said, unhappily.
"Well if you didn't I would have found out from the papers. These days they seem to think you're like some princess of natural beauty." The older girl snickered.
"Shut up." Mia said with exasperation.
"Aww, come on Mia. I only called to see how things were going? If you're waiting for Matt's call, then where is he?" Stacie said, sounding slightly apologetic.
"He's with his mom in Italy. She suffered a heart attack." She mumbled.
"And you miss him! Aww..." Stacie gushed.
"And that is why I don't tell you some things." Mia muttered venomously.
"Oh come on Mia. You know I'm joking! Well...sort of joking."
Mia sighed. There was no stopping Stacie when she was in one of her 'Let's torture Mia' moods.
"Okay fine, I'll be good." Her best friend relented. "I should never have let you go out with him. You're such a wet blanket."
"I thought you wanted me to end my singledom." Mia retorted.
"Yea...only so that you'd be more fun!"
"We can't all get what we wish for!" Mia pointed out, snidely.
"Alright, Alright. What's going on?"
"Nothing. I'm at work."
"You were hoping Matthew would call?"
"Yea..."
The emptiness without him became more pronounced. He had been such a large part of her life in the last year that she had not noticed what it was like when he wasn't around.
"I just want to know how he is." Mia told Stacie.
-----
Watching his mother sleep, Matthew felt overwhelmed by the last few days' events. There was a small weight that had been lifted from his shoulders, making it just a little more bearable to be in his home country.
"Matthew." Hearing his name, Matthew looked up at the door way.
"Hey Roderigo."
"I'll take watch for the next few hours. Go get refreshed, and eat something, take care of yourself." His younger cousin told him, coming to stand next to him.
"Alright." Matthew said, forcing himself to get up. He needed some fresh air anyway.
"I'll be back in an hour." He told his cousin. "Call me if anything happens."
Taking one last look at her, he walked out of the room. It didn't take long to get out of the hospital and in to the cold night air. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air. The sterile environment of the hospital had been driving him crazy. Just the smell of disinfectant made his stomach churn.
Walking to his car, Matthew checked the time on his cell phone. It was well past one in the morning, which meant it was past midnight back in England.
Sitting in his car with the door open, Matthew dialled her number. He had missed hearing her voice yesterday, but with everything going on he wasn't able to call her at a good time.
"Hey!" Even from the sound of her voice he could tell Mia was smiling.
"Hey. Sorry I didn't call. It was busy around here." He apologized, meaning it for once.
"It's alright. How's your mother?"
"She's sleeping. She had the operation today, and the anaesthetic is wearing off. My cousin is with her right now." He told her.
"Are you okay?" He smiled hearing this. She's concerned for me, he thought, amazed all over again.
"Yea...I'm better than okay." He admitted to her. The only other person who could understand his relationship with her mother, he found himself wanting to share with her.
"Better than okay?" Mia asked, sounding curious.
"Yea. My mother asked me to forgive her for everything that happened in the past. She told me how she watched all of my games. She actually said she was proud of me." He told her.
"What did you say?"
"I said…I forgave her."
"I'm so happy for you, Matt!"
"Thanks." He said, the feeling of happiness engulfing him. "I just wanted to tell you, since you understand."
"I'm just happy that it's worked out for you. I told you she wanted you there." Mia chirped.
"You were right." He admitted.
With silence settling over them, he decided to change the topic.
"So what have you been doing other than work?" Matthew asked her.
"Nothing, really. Stacie called, Nate and I went to a movie, and that's pretty much it." She told him, sounding a little bored.
"Nothing else?"
"No...well...I did listen to some music. There's a song that reminded me of you..." Matthew heard Mia hesitate. Just by her voice, he could tell she was blushing.
"Which one?" He asked, curiously.
"Guess!"
Racking his brain for what he had seen on her mp3's playlist recently Matthew took a shot.
"I don't know...'Broken Strings'?" He wondered.
"Nope."
"'Up All Night'?"
"No!"
Thinking carefully, there was one title that had stood out when he had looked over her playlist.
"Is it 'Jet Lag'?"
"Yea! How did you know?"
"Lucky guess." He mumbled.
"Do you want to hear it?"
Curious as to why the song would make her think of him, he found himself agreeing. He heard Mia shuffle around the bed, as she got the mp3 player close to the phone.
~What time is it where you are? I miss you more than anything. I'm back at home you feel so far. Waiting for the phone to ring. It's getting lonely living upside down, I don't even want to be in this town. Trying to figure out the time zone's making me crazy! You say good morning when it's midnight, going out of my head, alone in this bed, I wake up, to your sunset, and it's driving me mad I miss you so bad. And my heart heart heart is so jet lagged. Heart heart heart is so jet lagged. Heart heart heart heart is so jet lagged. It's so jet lagged.~
He smiled hearing the words. She was missing him just as much as he was missing her. As the song went on, he heard her yawn faintly. Mia must have been tired, he thought, knowing her routine and how she preferred to stay home during the week.
~You say good morning when it's midnight, going out of my head, alone in this bed, I wake up, to your sunset, and it's driving me mad I miss you so bad. And my heart heart heart is so jet lagged. Heart heart heart is so jet lagged. Heart heart heart heart is so jet lagged. It's so jet lagged.~
As the song ended, Matthew could hear her deep even breathing. Mia had fallen asleep while listening to the song with him!
"Mia?"
There was no reply, just the sound of Mia sleeping.
"Good night, Mia." He said, softly. "I love you."
-----
After speaking to Matthew, Mia found herself pacing the room. Having not gone out for the weekend, Mia found herself with nothing to do and it was only the afternoon. She had been happy to hear that his mother was recovering, and that soon, he would be back.
Resigned to face the nagging she had been feeling for the last few days, Mia knew she was a little envious that Matthew had reconnected with his mother. It amazed her how he had gotten a second chance with his mother. Something she desperately wanted with her own. If only hers would just give her a chance to rebuild or create a new relationship, Mia would have been happy.
Sensing her mood, Matthew had wisely advised her to call up her mother. He had understood how she wished that hers would bother with her even just a little. He was right, she thought. If I want something, I should ask for it.
Taking a deep breath, Mia turned her phone over in her palm. Nervously, she scrolled down the list of contacts until they reached the one number she dreaded. Calming her nerves, Mia pressed dial. The phone rang, once, twice, and then Mia heard her.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mom...can we talk?"
Chapter Sixty Three: Jet Lag
"Matthew?"
A hoarse sound came from beside him.
He had been sitting by his mother's bedside, keeping vigil over the last two nights. Sitting in the hospital chair had been uncomfortable at first but soon he had gotten used to it. Seeing his mother so weak and frail had forced him to put the past aside. His mother needed him, and he would do whatever it took to help her.
"Yes, Mother. It's me. How are you feeling?" He asked in his native tongue, leaning in so she could see him better.
"I don't know." His mother told him, her voice cracking with the amount of effort it took to speak.
"The doctors said that there were some serious blockages. They're going to take you for heart bypass surgery the day after tomorrow, first they have to take you to the anaesthesiologist." He told her, softly. "You'll be better after it."
She was quiet, her piercing blue eyes scanning him.
"My son, why did you come? Roderigo was taking care of everything." She told him, sounding exhausted, Matthew watched as she closed her eyes.
"You are my mother."
-----
Sitting on her bed, Mia fiddled with the earphones of her mp3 player. I need to get better, less flimsy ones, she thought with annoyance. With no Matthew around, there wasn't much else to do after work other than hangout with Lina, Leon, or Nathaniel and Oliver. She had been going to Oliver's with the others to play with Lily; it was the best distraction she could find to stop herself from wondering how Matthew was and what he was doing.
It had been a reversal of roles, when she had watched him walk through the security barrier at Heathrow. Matthew had gotten his agent to book the last flight out to Italy the night they had found out. With his mother in the hospital, Mia had been amazed by how calm and collected he was. Had it been her, she would have been a sobbing mess. Instead, Matthew got his things ready, called Felix about the emergency, kissed her goodbye, and managed to fly out without breaking a sweat.
As she settled under the covers, her phone rang. Picking it up from her night table she smiled when she saw who was calling.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" She asked, answering the phone.
"I should be asking you the same question. I'm just an hour ahead of you." Matthew's voice came, he sounded amused.
"How's your mom?"
"She's okay for now. Their taking her to the anaesthesiologist tomorrow, and then she'll have heart bypass surgery the next day."
"How are you?" Mia asked, concerned.
"Okay, I guess. I just never thought she would need me." He told her, sounding exhausted.
"I'm sure she's happy your there." Mia told him.
"Yea...I guess..."
"I hope she gets better, Matthew." She told him, earnestly.
"Me too."
They were quiet. Mia was unsure what to say next. She'd never experienced anything like that.
"Distract me, Mia." Matthew told her, when the silence had gone on for more than a few minutes.
"Okay...Well...We all went over to Oliver's yesterday" She tried.
"Really?"
"Yea, everyone was fighting over who would hold Lily first." Mia said, as he laughed on the other end.
"So what did Oliver do?"
"He made us pick numbers from one to forty."
"Who won?" He asked her, sounding curious and amused.
"I did!" She grinned at the memory. "I picked seven while everyone else picked 13, 28, and 33. Oliver actually picked 3."
"Nice work. So how is Lily?" He chuckled.
"She's like the perfect mix between Oliver and Ariana. Her eyes are like both of their eyes combined, her hair is like light brownish blonde, and she's just cute. She never cries, which is amazing." Mia gushed, Lily had stolen her heart as soon as she'd met the child.
"You sound quite taken with her...you're making me feel a little jealous." Matthew snickered, making Mia laugh.
"You'd like her too. When you come back you'll see."
As their laughter died down, the awkward silence settled once more.
"So...where are you?" She asked him hesitantly.
"I'm outside the hospital. My cousin forced me to leave, saying that he would cover me for a few hours. It's past 1am here, so I think I'll go home for a shower and grab something to eat before coming back. It was probably the only chance I'd get to call you." He answered, sounding downcast.
"You should get some sleep." She told him with concern.
"I will. I usually sleep while sitting in my mother's room. It's that or reading magazines." He muttered. "Anyway, Mia. I should let you sleep. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Okay. Take care." She told him, not wanting to end the call. She wanted to tell him that she missed him, but knowing what he was facing it would have been selfish.
"I will. Good night, Mia."
"Good night, Matt."
-----
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Matthew sat up straight. He looked around at his surroundings, remembering why he wasn't in his bed back in Cheshire.
Picking up the magazine from his lap, Matthew opened it to the first page. He must have read it cover to cover, at least ten times already. It was a few minutes before he felt someone's eyes on him. Looking up, he found his mother watching him carefully.
"I didn't realize you were awake." He said, slipping back in to Italian. His conversation with Mia had been his only respite from forgetting the English language.
"You were asleep. I did not want to wake you." His mother told him, giving him a measuring look.
Putting the magazine on the table beside his mother, he moved his chair closer to her.
"The nurses will be taking you to see the anaesthesiologist. He's just going to figure out how much anaesthesia you need and if you're allergic or something."
"Will you be coming with me?" She asked him, giving him a peculiar look.
"No, I'm not allowed to. But I will be waiting here." Matthew answered, sharply aware that he was reassuring her.
His mother held his gaze, unnerved Matthew looked away, staring across the room to look outside the window. It was quiet.
"Matteo..." She called him. At once he looked over to her. His mother had not called him by his pet name since the incident with Jason and the girl.
Before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. The nurses told him that they needed to take his mother.
"Just a moment. I need a few minutes." His mother told them. The nurses nodded before walking away.
"Look at me, Matteo." And he did. Her blue eyes shone with an emotion he thought he would never see again in his life.
"I thought that I would die before ever seeing you again, I never thought I'd get this chance to tell you..." Her voice broke.
"To tell me what?" Matthew asked, a lump forming in his throat.
"That I'm sorry. I should have believed you all those years ago. It was wrong of me to have said those things. Roderigo always told me that you were innocent. Lina and Leon sent me all those tapes and the police report. I didn't listen because I thought if I did and you were guilty I would be supporting the men who hurt your sister."
"Why now? Why believe me now, after all these years?" Matthew asked.
"Because after you left last summer, as always Lina told me that I was making a mistake. I don't know why, but I read the files, and the reports, I watched the tapes. I was ashamed and I didn't know how to tell you. I was wrong to tell you I forgive you...when I should be asking for your forgiveness." A tear trickled down his mother's cheek.
Unable to keep her gaze, he looked at the ground, his hands fidgeting with nervous energy. The lump in his throat had gotten bigger. Emotions whirled inside him, as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Do you forgive me, son?"
The question hung between them, as the nurses returned to wheel his mother away. Silently, he contemplated his answer as the nurses started to move away. Before she left his sight, he said the words he had never thought he would say to her.
"Yes, I forgive you."
-----
At her desk, Mia looked over her emails. It had been a long two days with the constant worry of how Matthew was doing. She had waited for his call, but he must have been busy or had forgotten. She didn't blame him, had she been in his place she probably wouldn't remember to call anyone either.
Hearing her cell phone ringing, Mia quickly took her phone from the pocket of her lab coat, thinking that maybe her wish had been granted. Looking at the caller ID, she felt a little disappointed.
"Hey Stacie..." She said, her downcast feelings colouring her voice.
"Hey Mia...that's not the greeting I would expect." Her best friend said, sounding annoyed.
"Sorry, I thought you were someone else."
"Who? Matthew? Do you miss him? Muah Muah Muah!" Stacie made kissing noises as Mia gritted her teeth.
"Funny. I shouldn't have told you." Mia said, unhappily.
"Well if you didn't I would have found out from the papers. These days they seem to think you're like some princess of natural beauty." The older girl snickered.
"Shut up." Mia said with exasperation.
"Aww, come on Mia. I only called to see how things were going? If you're waiting for Matt's call, then where is he?" Stacie said, sounding slightly apologetic.
"He's with his mom in Italy. She suffered a heart attack." She mumbled.
"And you miss him! Aww..." Stacie gushed.
"And that is why I don't tell you some things." Mia muttered venomously.
"Oh come on Mia. You know I'm joking! Well...sort of joking."
Mia sighed. There was no stopping Stacie when she was in one of her 'Let's torture Mia' moods.
"Okay fine, I'll be good." Her best friend relented. "I should never have let you go out with him. You're such a wet blanket."
"I thought you wanted me to end my singledom." Mia retorted.
"Yea...only so that you'd be more fun!"
"We can't all get what we wish for!" Mia pointed out, snidely.
"Alright, Alright. What's going on?"
"Nothing. I'm at work."
"You were hoping Matthew would call?"
"Yea..."
The emptiness without him became more pronounced. He had been such a large part of her life in the last year that she had not noticed what it was like when he wasn't around.
"I just want to know how he is." Mia told Stacie.
-----
Watching his mother sleep, Matthew felt overwhelmed by the last few days' events. There was a small weight that had been lifted from his shoulders, making it just a little more bearable to be in his home country.
"Matthew." Hearing his name, Matthew looked up at the door way.
"Hey Roderigo."
"I'll take watch for the next few hours. Go get refreshed, and eat something, take care of yourself." His younger cousin told him, coming to stand next to him.
"Alright." Matthew said, forcing himself to get up. He needed some fresh air anyway.
"I'll be back in an hour." He told his cousin. "Call me if anything happens."
Taking one last look at her, he walked out of the room. It didn't take long to get out of the hospital and in to the cold night air. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air. The sterile environment of the hospital had been driving him crazy. Just the smell of disinfectant made his stomach churn.
Walking to his car, Matthew checked the time on his cell phone. It was well past one in the morning, which meant it was past midnight back in England.
Sitting in his car with the door open, Matthew dialled her number. He had missed hearing her voice yesterday, but with everything going on he wasn't able to call her at a good time.
"Hey!" Even from the sound of her voice he could tell Mia was smiling.
"Hey. Sorry I didn't call. It was busy around here." He apologized, meaning it for once.
"It's alright. How's your mother?"
"She's sleeping. She had the operation today, and the anaesthetic is wearing off. My cousin is with her right now." He told her.
"Are you okay?" He smiled hearing this. She's concerned for me, he thought, amazed all over again.
"Yea...I'm better than okay." He admitted to her. The only other person who could understand his relationship with her mother, he found himself wanting to share with her.
"Better than okay?" Mia asked, sounding curious.
"Yea. My mother asked me to forgive her for everything that happened in the past. She told me how she watched all of my games. She actually said she was proud of me." He told her.
"What did you say?"
"I said…I forgave her."
"I'm so happy for you, Matt!"
"Thanks." He said, the feeling of happiness engulfing him. "I just wanted to tell you, since you understand."
"I'm just happy that it's worked out for you. I told you she wanted you there." Mia chirped.
"You were right." He admitted.
With silence settling over them, he decided to change the topic.
"So what have you been doing other than work?" Matthew asked her.
"Nothing, really. Stacie called, Nate and I went to a movie, and that's pretty much it." She told him, sounding a little bored.
"Nothing else?"
"No...well...I did listen to some music. There's a song that reminded me of you..." Matthew heard Mia hesitate. Just by her voice, he could tell she was blushing.
"Which one?" He asked, curiously.
"Guess!"
Racking his brain for what he had seen on her mp3's playlist recently Matthew took a shot.
"I don't know...'Broken Strings'?" He wondered.
"Nope."
"'Up All Night'?"
"No!"
Thinking carefully, there was one title that had stood out when he had looked over her playlist.
"Is it 'Jet Lag'?"
"Yea! How did you know?"
"Lucky guess." He mumbled.
"Do you want to hear it?"
Curious as to why the song would make her think of him, he found himself agreeing. He heard Mia shuffle around the bed, as she got the mp3 player close to the phone.
~What time is it where you are? I miss you more than anything. I'm back at home you feel so far. Waiting for the phone to ring. It's getting lonely living upside down, I don't even want to be in this town. Trying to figure out the time zone's making me crazy! You say good morning when it's midnight, going out of my head, alone in this bed, I wake up, to your sunset, and it's driving me mad I miss you so bad. And my heart heart heart is so jet lagged. Heart heart heart is so jet lagged. Heart heart heart heart is so jet lagged. It's so jet lagged.~
He smiled hearing the words. She was missing him just as much as he was missing her. As the song went on, he heard her yawn faintly. Mia must have been tired, he thought, knowing her routine and how she preferred to stay home during the week.
~You say good morning when it's midnight, going out of my head, alone in this bed, I wake up, to your sunset, and it's driving me mad I miss you so bad. And my heart heart heart is so jet lagged. Heart heart heart is so jet lagged. Heart heart heart heart is so jet lagged. It's so jet lagged.~
As the song ended, Matthew could hear her deep even breathing. Mia had fallen asleep while listening to the song with him!
"Mia?"
There was no reply, just the sound of Mia sleeping.
"Good night, Mia." He said, softly. "I love you."
-----
After speaking to Matthew, Mia found herself pacing the room. Having not gone out for the weekend, Mia found herself with nothing to do and it was only the afternoon. She had been happy to hear that his mother was recovering, and that soon, he would be back.
Resigned to face the nagging she had been feeling for the last few days, Mia knew she was a little envious that Matthew had reconnected with his mother. It amazed her how he had gotten a second chance with his mother. Something she desperately wanted with her own. If only hers would just give her a chance to rebuild or create a new relationship, Mia would have been happy.
Sensing her mood, Matthew had wisely advised her to call up her mother. He had understood how she wished that hers would bother with her even just a little. He was right, she thought. If I want something, I should ask for it.
Taking a deep breath, Mia turned her phone over in her palm. Nervously, she scrolled down the list of contacts until they reached the one number she dreaded. Calming her nerves, Mia pressed dial. The phone rang, once, twice, and then Mia heard her.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mom...can we talk?"