Meet me in the Middle

Chapter 45

I get startled by the ding of the elevator and drag my feet all the way to my apartment door. From how heavy my eyelids are, I won't be surprised if I unknowingly took a little nap on the way up. I was not the biggest fan of the Maya who chose to run to station 12 this morning, instead of using her damn car. My limbs were already suffering when I left my shift and then I had to walk the seven miles home, which felt more like seven hundred. Usually, I had to use my body to tire my brain out, but more than not these days, my head was so exhausted that my body just kind of limped along.

I throw my keys in the bowl to the right of the door and take my sneakers off before storing them in the open shelve below. I decide to rather save the draft of the email I was working on while walking home, not trusting my grammar or spelling with how badly my eyes were burning. I stop by the fridge and pull out the sandwich and protein shake I forgot to take with me for lunch. I take a few bites on my way to my room, careful not to get any crumbs on the floor before swallowing the last bite with the rest of my shake while waiting for the water to heat up. I rub my stomach which started growling from finally getting a proper meal in it for the first time today. 

I strip and take a quick shower before heading back to the kitchen to throw my clothes and dirty uniform in the wash and rinse off my plate. I let out a long sigh of relief from the comfort I get by slipping into my bed and finally being able to close my eyes. I make a note to stop by the pharmacy in the morning to get myself some eyedrops. I haven't looked at myself in the mirror in a long time but according to Beckett, my eyes were bloodshot from the graveyard shifts I've been working and being on the computer the rest of the time. I groan when my phone starts ringing and pray it's not a multi-company call. I slap my hand over the flashing light blinding me and answer it without looking.

"Hello." I can hear the tired gravel in my voice and clear my throat to try and get rid of it. "Caio, Maya. Is this a good time? You sound-" I roll over on my back while interrupting her, already knowing my blissful sleep could wait if it meant I got to talk to Carina for a while. "Tired. I'm just really tired. I only got home a few minutes ago." I curl in deeper into my comforter while holding the phone to my ear, after switching the night lamp back on. "Tough call? You weren't replying to my texts and I...Non so. I was worried."

We began texting after she found me at the pier a few weeks ago, but it progressed to a few phone calls during the last week when she started hanging out with someone I set her up with. I know it can't be easy moving on from someone while they were still very much intertwined in each other's lives, but I'll rather take a few phone calls and texts over the silence I've endured the last few months. I've made peace with just having a small part of her to find contentment in. "It's been a long couple of weeks. Splitting my time between different stations has completely thrown my sleep cycle out of whack." Just talking about sleep makes me yawn so big my ears pop.

"Ti prego, hai bisogno di dormire." I recognise some of the words and assume she's telling me that I need sleep. I bite back another yawn and snuggle deeper into the comforter, turning on my side and using the pillow to keep my phone pressed to my ear. "No, tell me about your date. I'm going to take forever to actually fall asleep and I miss hearing about your day." I can't help sounding needy, but talking to her still made me happier than I've been in months and for the first time since we broke the silent treatment, I don't reprimand myself for it. I enjoy her company and as long as it didn't hurt anyone, I didn't see why we can't be friendly with each other.

"I delivered triplets today..." I smile into my pillow when I hear the hopeful optimism in her voice that I might find her day as exciting as she did. "Shut up! Really?" I love how caught up she gets in the memory while she fills me in on how she and Jo had taken turns catching the babies as they were all a little too eager to be brought into the world. "The mama was so mad at her husband for passing out on her, that she refused to name any of their kids after him. Opting to name them after the two OBs who stayed awake throughout all fourteen hours of labor." I cross my legs like I have any type of clue of how painful such a long labor can be and giggle when I picture the scene.