elysium . michael langdon

chapter twenty-one

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ADELAINE WISHED that she could stay with Michael at the beach forever. But she couldn't. She needed to face to the music and to go back to her crappy apartment and boring job. The ginger wouldn't complain though. She couldn't wish for anything else. For once in her life, she felt contented and happy.

The incident on Sunday was still stuck in her head when the dreaded Monday morning arrived . It was an ordinary morning, except Michael didn't cuddle with her the night before. She was a bit disappointed, but she understood where he was coming from. He was still upset about something and wouldn't talk to her about it, but she wouldn't push him to. The blond will talk to her if he was ready. He always did.

As she got out of bed and glanced at the sleeping Langdon boy on the other side of the bed, she could almost taste the storm coming. She didn't know why but she felt that it was going to rain later in the day.

Michael quietly made his way from her room towards the kitchen when Adelaine was finally finished making him all his favorite breakfast. The ginger sent him a small smile as she squeezed his hand that was on top of the table lightly. The blond looked up from the French toast and looked into her brown eyes, his lips curling up a bit. The rest of the breakfast went on quietly, Adelaine eating her pieces of bacon and drinking her glass of orange juice. She could feel the Langdon boy's stares as she thought of what cake she will bake him tomorrow as a way to cheer him up. The ginger knew that Michael never had spent a birthday in his life, which she felt really sad about. She had made it her mission to make sure that she would make him chocolate cake and spend his birthday, even it wasn't on the exact date of his birth.

"A-Adelaine," He gripped her hand when she was about to stand up from her chair to clean the dishes.

"What is it?"

"I need to tell you something," Michael's blue eyes bore into her soul, like he was looking inside her, "Tonight."

Adelaine nodded her head in understanding, her heart hammering wildly, "Of course. You can tell me anything, Michael."

It was an ordinary afternoon – they had watched television and she played with his blond curls. When it was finally time for her to go to work, Adelaine wore a thick hoodie over her beige uniform, in case it rained on the way to the convenience store or on the way home. She couldn't risk it.

Michael wrapped his arms around her like he always did, but this time, she appreciated it even more. She didn't know why but she felt that she will miss his warmth and his tight embrace. Shrugging the sad thoughts away, she smiled at him and waved at him.

"Be careful, okay?" The Langdon boy placed a hand on her cheek, "I'll talk to you tonight."

"I will," She didn't know why she did it, but she pressed a haste kiss on his soft lips. The blond looked shocked, his blue eyes widening as his cheeks flushed noticeably. Adelaine didn't bother to wait for his reaction or his response. A few words hung at the tip of her tongue, waiting to be uttered. A strong urge to come back and stay home hit her, but she couldn't. Instead, she walked away, her heart hammering loudly in her chest.

It was an ordinary day, like every other day, but somehow, something was off. Richie was absent, and the ginger was alone on her shift, since her co-worker was going to send her brother away again. Then, a few people came and went in the convenience store. She was honestly thankful for that, because she didn't know how much she could handle everything without her friend and co-worker.