Take Me Away | Richard Madden [Completed; Editing]

Chapter 19 - It's Probable

"Don't tell me that's what you fought about yesterday, apart from the obvious."

"Not just that, of course." She shook her head. "I haven't told you yet, have I? He said he did it to make some extra money for our supposed future." She sighed. "Or whatever. He did make up that story, too. About you being a third party and all. Confirmed by the devil himself. I'm so sorry, Richard."

He jammed the rest of his cigarette into the makeshift ash tray and watched smoke slither out of the butt. "You're not the one who should be apologizing," he reminded. "And just to lay down the facts, it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers you. I mean, it upsets me, but it's harder for you. So again, don't worry."

"You're caught in this web of shit, Richard. You never asked for it."

"We never ask for a lot of things, do we?" He held the tray down, supporting it on his knee. "Life would be boring if we always get what we want, don't you think?"

She turned away from the glass in front of them and smiled down at him, resisting a giggle. He was shorter than her now, only because he was sitting, but the tips of his hair still found themselves just above her collarbone.

"Did you get that from a movie?" she teased. "That's very nice."

"That's what you get from literature. I did study Shakespeare," he said with a grin.

"I also studied Shakespeare, and from what I remember, I did better than you."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Theatre, Mi. Not just high school."

The two laughed in unison, recalling the late night reads that had more to do with banter rather than knowledge.

"What would you have said?" he asked quietly, stirring the moment.

"Hmm?" She had heard him, but didn't know what he meant.

"Would you have said yes?"

Mia lowered her head and stared at the doorframe. It was dusty, she realized. Dirty and weathered, and she couldn't point toward the last time she had cleaned it. Her thoughts jumbled away like blocks.

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"Hypothetically, of course. Let's say he wasn't a dick. What would you have said?"

"Probing," she spat, uncomfortably. "You're probing."

"Sorry. I'm just curious."

She finished her stick and disposed it into the dish, taking it from him and placing it on the ground, by her feet. "Honestly..." She let the few final puffs escape her lips. "I probably would have said yes."

Richard didn't react. He wasn't shocked at all, but the news delivered low spirits.

"I loved him," she continued. "I still do, and I shouldn't. I hate it. I hate this feeling. It reminds me so much of—" She stopped speaking abruptly. Her lips pressed together as she didn't dare finish her words.

The feeling reminded her of the time Richard had told her that he couldn't love her beyond friendship. That after expressing her affection, Mia had ultimately been rejected by the one person who had always been special to her. A reality she squelched and had moved on from much time ago, with nothing short of its own struggles.