Sailing With Destiny

Space

"Vacations have to come to an end," I teased.

"Staying here isn't a vacation, it's as good as home." 

I appreciated his words and they brought a small smile to my face. I stood, stepped towards him, and took his hands in mine. "No words can express how much I appreciate how well you took care of me this last week. But duty calls from Monday and I need to get back into my old routine."

"Why are you being so formal?" Mitchell sounded offended. "It's my job to take care of you when you need it."

"Yeah but still, I appreciate it."

Mitchell ignored my words and licked his lips – something he did when he grew agitated or impatient. "Monday is two days away, why do you need to leave now?"

"I told my dad about the surgery and to make him feel more at ease, I said I'd spend the weekend with him."

Mitchell pursed his lips and took a moment before he stiffly nodded. "When was this arranged?"

"He called last night."

Mitchell slipped his hands away and took a step back. "So, you had the entire morning and all day to tell me yet you didn't."

I was slightly taken aback by his reaction but I remained cool. "I didn't see you this morning and I told Dad to pick me up in the evening so I'd see you before I leave."

Mitchell nodded. "To express your eternal gratitude?"

My brows slowly knitted together. "What are you getting at?"

Mitchell pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath. He shook his head and walked to the fridge to grab a drink. He shut the door and was about to open the bottle of water but stopped midway when he spotted the Post-it on the door. 

I chewed on my bottom lip and cursed myself for writing a note instead of waiting a few more minutes for him to arrive. By his reaction and temper that slowly raised, I knew Mitchell was going to take my intentions the wrong way. 

With the little yellow piece of paper in his hands, Mitchell approached me. "Were you even going to tell me you were leaving? Or were you going to leave without a word, as you've done in the past?"

I didn't appreciate his tone or choice of words. I could tell Mitchell had a bad day and probably didn't want me to leave but there was a more mature way to deal with this. Besides, the last thing I wanted was to have another fight – not when the previous one wasn't resolved as yet.

"Of course, I was going to tell you, I –" 

"By leaving a fucking post-it on the fridge?" Mitchell squashed the note and threw it aside. 

"Instead of getting mad, hear me out."

"Mad?" Mitchell ridiculed. "I'm not mad, Mila. I'm hur..." He trailed off, frustratingly raked his fingers through his hair, and cursed under his breath. 

Despite living under one roof for a week, Mitchell and I couldn't have been further apart. Our relationship was heavily strained and it took its toll on both of us, Mitchell was just better than me at pretending everything was fine. 

"I waited until you got back but you were a little late today so I tried calling but your phone was off. I didn't want to leave without a word, that's why I left the note. If I didn't get to see you before my dad arrived, I would've called you later to check-in," I calmly explained. 

Mitchell remained silent for a long while. The only sound between us was our breathing. He slowly turned towards me and the vulnerability in his eyes tugged at my heartstrings. "I don't want you to leave."