Status: work in progress

Piece by Piece

I need a little more time

The chairs were too close together. Rachel thought this was silly, since the room itself was spacious. Having these chairs within inches of each other just seemed like wasted space, in her opinion. She couldn’t have been the only person who felt too close to the person next to her. This was, after all, the office of a divorce attorney.

It looked like any other office, really. There were random paintings on the wall and family photos scattered on the large wooden desk, right next to a bowl of mints that had probably been touched by hundreds of different hands.

Rachel scrunched her nose at the thought, making a mental note to avoid the peppermints at all costs. She took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes. The chairs were too damn close.

So close that she was suddenly overwhelmed by his cologne. It was what some might call a “manly” scent, composed of pine and sage, as if the wearer had spent all day roaming the wilderness. In the past, she would immerse herself in the scent. But now, she found it suffocating.

The couple, if you could still call them that, sat in the office in silence. Rachel could feel Sidney staring at her intensely, yet she kept her eyes focused away from him. Their silence was interrupted by their attorney clearing his throat. Rachel looked up, still trying to avoid Sidney’s glare.

She looked at Michael Brooks, waiting for him to tell them the next steps in their divorce process. He looked down at the papers in front of him, flipping through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. He settled on the appropriate paper and picked up the expensive ballpoint pen next to him. The click of the pen was still the only noise in the room.

“Mrs. Crosby --”

Before he could even get another word out, Rachel quickly interrupted him.

“Rachel. Please, call me Rachel.”

She could feel Sidney tense up beside her. He moved his hand to his face, squeezing the bridge of his nose in attempt to remain calm. It was if their lawyer had called her something obscene or offensive. At least, that’s what someone would have thought if they had seen Rachel cringe at being called, “Mrs. Crosby.” After all, she was technically still Mrs. Crosby.

Michael cleared his throat again, scribbling notes on the papers in front of him.

“Right. So. Rachel, you are entitled to a certain amount of money a month from Mr. Crosby to support yourself and your son.”

Rachel bit her lip and fumbled with hem of her top, sighing. She knew she could get the money if she wanted to. But this wasn’t about the money.

“I don’t need it.”

Sidney couldn’t stay silent any longer. He turned his body towards Rachel and shook his head.

“Rach, are you crazy?”

She looked into his deep brown eyes for a moment before shaking her head and looking back down at her hands.

“I’m not crazy. I’m a physician’s assistant, Sidney. I make enough money to support me and Cole, without your salary.”

“You heard Michael, you’re entitled to it. I want to help you and Cole, if I can.”

Rachel bit her lip again, and she was certain that if she did it one more time she would draw blood. It was a nervous habit of hers, and she seemed to be doing it a lot lately. She sighed again and looked over at Sidney, her face serious.

“I don’t want it.”

“Rach, honestly I--”

“Sid, stop. I do not want your money.”

It wasn’t a lie. She didn’t want the money. But she could definitely use it. Sure, she made plenty as a PA. But she knew she was entitled to it. However, that entailed keeping up with Sidney. And she just couldn’t do it anymore. She was exhausted. She needed space.

Michael looked up at the couple in front of him and clicked his pen open again. He scribbled onto the paperwork again and took a deep breath.

“Alright, I’ll put that to the side right now. We can come back to it if we need to,” he said as he looked down at his watch to check the time. Their appointment was over and he knew he wasn’t the only one who needed a break.

Rachel stood up from her chair and stepped out of the office, feeling Sidney close behind her. He left the office and closed it behind him, following Rachel out of the law office. They stepped out into the cool Pittsburgh air and stood across from each other (but not too close).

Sidney thought for a moment before stepping closer to Rachel. He looked into her eyes and tried to ignore the pit in his stomach. This wasn’t over for him. It was anything but over.

“Rachel, could we maybe get coffee or something? I just want to talk.”

Rachel looked down at the watch on her wrist and lightly shook her head.

“I have to get to work. I’m sorry.”

Sidney nodded, thinking that he should have known better. She was dressed in her scrubs, her white lab coat draped over her shoulder. Although, at this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if she wore them just as an excuse to get away.

Rachel interrupted his speculation by snapping in his face.

“Sid, did you hear me? Is there any way you can pick Cole up from practice tonight?”

He nodded silently and watched her leave after she gave her thanks. He turned around and dug his hands into his pockets, walking in the opposite direction. He had time to kill and decided the best way to do it would to be on the ice, taking shots until he couldn’t anymore. So he made his way to the arena, where he could escape, at least for a little while.
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I'm so excited for this guys.

Let me know what you think!
I'm hoping updates will be pretty regular.