Take Me Away | Richard Madden [Completed; Editing]

Chapter 19 - It's Probable

Mia came home a few minutes later, noticing the tall figure straightaway as she walked through the door. It was a struggle: carrying two large boxes of pizza as her keys carelessly wrapped around her knuckles; but she managed, closing the door behind her before placing the food down in the kitchen.

She glanced at the ring that still sat where she had left it. What to do with you? she thought, but she saved it for another day. She headed for the balcony, sliding the glass panel carefully as not to disturb him. Richard didn't notice.

"Hey," she said softly. "Can I have one?"

Richard peered to his right and watched as Mia leaned against the railing herself, gazing down at the street below. He raised an eyebrow.

"You don't smoke," he said. "Not anymore, anyway."

"Exactly." She opened her hand.

Hesitantly, he took out a pack and retrieved a stick, placing it atop her palm. He shook his head disapprovingly as she brought it to her lips.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Mi," he warned as he lent her a lighter. "It's been too long. You might relapse."

"And yet here you are, giving it to me." She lit the cigarette and breathed it in, remembering the taste fondly. It made her smile a bit. "Just one."

"Are we even allowed to smoke up here?"

She chuckled. "You're asking me that now? It's a bit too late."

The sun was setting fast, its rays glaring against the windows of the buildings ahead. It irritated Mia's eyes, so she turned around, letting the metal dig into her lower back. Richard only followed, swiveling around in his stool. They spoke as they observed their dark silhouettes reproduced on the glass.

"I'm sorry for leaving earlier. That was rude." She studied Richard's position, the way he sat with one foot on the stool's rest while the other remained firmly on the ground. "I just needed a walk."

"I know. Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere, honestly. I bought some pizza, though. It's on the table."

He nodded as he held the cigarette, looking around for an ash tray. None were in sight, but Mia caught on with this and stepped forward, sliding the door open again. She kept a foot steadied inside, on the hardwood, while the other remained on the balcony. She reached over to her desk and grabbed a glass dish, handing it to him afterward.

"Here. It'll do," she said, returning to her original position.

"Thanks. So, how are you feeling now?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." She tapped on the end of the stick as it hovered over the ash, the dish in Richard's hand. "I really don't know."

"I hate to bring it up again, but you didn't seem too surprised yourself." He cleared his throat and sat up straight, awkwardly, like he knew that he shouldn't have said a word. "Did you know?"

"Yeah," she breathed, remembering the lines Brett had cried to her when he said that he wanted to get married. "He told me yesterday."

Richard tried to lighten up the situation. "Well, that's a drag."

She bit down on her bottom lip as she responded, "You bet. Finding out your boyfriend's gonna propose to you before doing it? What a blow." There was a playfulness to her tone that she didn't want to unleash. "A low, low blow."