Take Me Away | Richard Madden [Completed; Editing]

Chapter 19 - It's Probable

There were questions that spun around in her mind like windmills during a storm. Why, why, why? Crisis after crisis, she felt that the world had abandoned her right when she needed it most, and it manifested clearly in her heartbeat, her heartache, and her heart's immobility to accommodate everything that happened to her in the past day. Like a sponge that didn't live up to its purpose, her heart couldn't absorb much thought, what more the possibility that had sailed by in a blink: getting married. To Brett? She wanted to at some point in her life.

Maybe she was all ready to, in fact. She had dreamt of it once, maybe twice, maybe on far more occasions than that of what she could ever admit aloud, but she knew that the vision had vanished. It was, at least, distorted. A blur of colors, a reflection of her own emotions.

Mia wasn't very good at meditating, but she knew how to distract herself. She exited her apartment building without acknowledging the doorman. That was odd, Don thought, but she had already looked pale to him earlier, and perhaps it was just another one of those days.

She didn't know where she was going. The afternoon sun managed to peek through the tall buildings to provide her a spotlight, warming her up as she walked along the busy sidewalk. She only had one companion: her shadow. It appeared slumped, sinking into itself as Mia knew that her posture had gone rogue, making her shoulders strain beneath the graceless curve.

Her hand kept checking her pocket for her phone even though she knew that it was always there. There was a drum inside of her conscience that irked her to call him, Brett, just to hear him say it himself: Will you marry me? The way he had expressed it to her before just wasn't the same as the actual question.

She wasn't in the process of surrendering on her knees to return to him, but she wanted to hear him say it. She wanted to know how she'd feel, if she'd be more angry than sad, or more flattered than furious. A firm no was always the answer, but she still had her doubts. She believed in forgiveness, but she wasn't going to absentmindedly give it to him, and the thought of his betrayal only heightened her nerves once more, securing the firm no again. Confidently. Absolutely.

No.

Mia turned the corner but stopped in her tracks, tempering the few people who hurried behind her. She noticed the sudden shift in the atmosphere: this street was quieter, less traffic on the road. She realized where she was, and she turned around, knowing that if she were to continue forward, she'd end up at Brett's apartment. That just wasn't going to be an option for her, and she wasn't going to make it one either. She yielded away, back to the noise.

—•—•—

Richard hadn't moved an inch. He checked the digital clock mounted on the wall, its red numbers precise against the plain, white wall. It had been hours since Mia left, and the sunlight was slowly turning into a rich orange, a nod to the nearing evening. It only worried him even more.

Had it been up to him, he would have followed her out, just to make to sure that she wasn't set on doing anything drastic. What if she was drunk, wandering around the city, aimlessly? But he knew that she needed some space, and that was why he remained calm and finished a nap on the breakfast counter minutes before.

Grabbing the stool under him, he stood up and carried it out into the balcony. The wind was cooler now, but the clangor of the urban jungle remained the same. He took a seat and reached into his pocket for a cigarette, immediately lighting it up and placing it between his lips. Leaning against the railing, he huffed in the nicotine, feeling his chest rise with a tug. It was merely a temporary solution, or distraction, to his never-ending drama.