𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖯𝗂𝖺𝗇𝗈 | 𝖬𝗂𝖼𝗁𝖺𝖾𝗅 𝖫𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖽𝗈𝗇

Chapter Seven

She chuckled, leaning against the wall. "I was feeding Sheldon, Michael."

"Doesn't matter."

Rolling her eyes, she opened up his messages and typed a simple hello back, grinning up to him. "Happy?"

"Yes." He nodded. "But I don't like the picture in the screen." He complained, pulling her away from the wall to show her.

Ana released an airy laugh, shaking her head. "Oh, you mean your lock screen?" She didn't blame him, because it was quite ugly. A kitten in a basket, how boring.

He nodded slightly, still confused by her words. "How do I get it off?"

She took the phone from his hands, switching to the camera app as she lifted it above them. "Smile." Her teeth shone proudly, but she had given him no time to prepare before the bright flash of the camera burned his eyes.

"What the fuck was that?" He backed away, ready to attack the rectangular box.

"Relax, Michael." She pulled him back. "It's just taking our picture. You're gonna have me on your lock screen, not some fucking kitten."

He stood by her side awkwardly, a not so graceful smile etching across his face. She clicked the button, the flash going off again as he blinked. "Michael, you look like your in pain." She scoffed, showing him the picture of themselves.

He cringed at the photo, grabbing it from her hands and muttering curse words under his breath. And for the next hour, he dragged her around the house, trying to find the perfect spot to take a picture. Either it was too dark, too light or that his hair didn't look good. He used his tall arm to hold it above them, and Ana's teeth were practically falling out of her mouth from how sore her jaw was.

Eventually, he got one too his liking, and he proudly showed it to Miriam when she arrived back from grocery shopping.

It was unbelievable how his behavior could change with a flip off a switch. At times, he could be predatorily dominating, almost scary. And others, he would act like a kid. Sometimes she wondered if he had undiagnosed bi-polar.

"We have two days until your interview, Michael." Miriam reminded as they all sat around the dinner table. She had stopped and gotten a peach pie from Ana's old workplace, making Michael's day even better.

He muttered a quick okay, and the women watched as he lifted his phone above his piece of pie and snapped a picture off it. They both bit their lips to keep from laughing aloud, not wanting to sour his good mood. "I missed this." He sighed in content as he took a bite. "I'm half tempted to send you back to work." He sent a smirk her way, causing Ana to amusedly roll her eyes.

"Anastasia, I'll be going clothes shopping for you tomorrow. If there's anything else you need, feel free to write it down on a list." Miriam called out, taking a sip of her red one.

"Miriam, you don't have to do that." The girl shook her head, a polite smile on her face. "I have plenty off things to wear. Besides, who am I going to impress? No one will know I'm there anyways." She shrugged her shoulders, causing the woman to nod.

"True." She agreed. "But you can never have enough clothes."

Ana went to respond, but Michael shoved his phone in her face. "Smile." He grinned, the flash bright in her face as she cringed.

"Fucking-" She sighed as she grabbed his phone, placing it on the opposite end off the table. "No phones at the dinner table." She blinked, returning to Miriam as he grumbled and went back to his pie.

"Well, I don't need clothes." Ana began, folding her hands beneath her. "But I'd appreciate it if you could feed Sheldon for me while I'm gone. He get's lonely up in that room. Maybe try talking to him some."