Those Three Words (sequel to Forever and Always)

Chapter 8- Home

I just saw a spider. Right next to me. Now I'm going to try to focus on writing- sorry if that doesn't work out. I have an excuse.

An old character is coming back into play in this chapter... I hope you enjoy it :)

By the time I had driven back to the flat, it had gotten dark. A light flurry of snow was falling from the sky, paving the roads and making me drive cautiously.

Not that I didn't mind some alone time. Sure, I loved all of the company, but lately I feel like I hadn't had time to myself for a while.

I turned up the music as well as the heat, taking a deep breath.

What the hell was I doing?

Rubbing my eyes, I sighed. I really had no idea what I was doing. I was only a senior, and yet I was already living with a guy that what, I had met three months ago?

But it was so much more than that. The accident seemed to change everything. High school didn't even seem to matter anymore, I could barely even remember my life back there. 

Sighing, I parked the car and entered the complex. The front-desk man smiled at me, saying, "Nice to see you without blindfolds on, you've got nice eyes."

I smiled back, pulling my purse farther up. "Thanks, you too." The lobby was very nice, with a set of couches next to a fire, a small cafe with a coffee shop, and a rack of books. It wasn't exactly high-class, but still seemed quite fancy for my taste.

"Do you know where to get your mail?" The man asked. As he stood up, I could see his nametag read Alan. 

"No, actually I don't," I told him and let him guide me into a back room that was filled with a line of small, individual slots of mail with a lock on them.

"Here's a key for you, I already gave one to your boyfriend," Alan told me, and I smiled, grasping the cold key in my palm.

Once Alan told me some more information I should know about the flat, I opened the mail box and saw three envelopes, one greatly bigger than the rest.

In cursive writing, Courtney was writting across the center.

For some reason, the writing unnerved me. 

Knowing Niall wasn't home yet, I headed over to the couch and sat down, speading my long legs across it. The nearby fire warmed me, and taking a breath I ripped the envelope open. 

Dear Courtney

Hey, it has been a while since we last spoke. I know I'm probably the last person you would want to talk to right now, since first of all you barely know me and second you're out there living it large in the Big Apple. 

Anyway, it's Mike. I heard about your accident and was devastated by the news. I'm so glad you healed fine, and I hope you are doing well now... well I guess you are, since you are now living with Niall.

You're probably wondering how I got your address. Your mom gave it to me, I hope that's not strange... anyway, I want you to know that if you every want to talk to someone, you can always call me. As a friend, I mean. I was wrong before to try to date you, you're an amazing girl but you are taken, and I can accept that. Say hi to Niall for me, and I hope to see you soon. Molly says hi.

Love, Mike

I bit my lip and folded up the letter, noticing his number attached to the card. I hadn't really thought about Mike a lot recently, and I wondered if that made me a bad person....