[MJ Fanfiction] Motion (Sequel to "Collide")

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The loud voices coming from the kitchen tore me away from my inner battle. When I returned in there, Carl and Alice were arguing as Hayden seemed completely helpless regarding the argument they were in.

"You should learn to have some damn tactfulness, Alice, that's all I'm saying!"

"Tactfulness? Okay big guy, then you tell me. How do you tell your best friend that some greedy ass bitch she thought she got rid of is trying to get back into her life and destroy her future husband's life? Huh?" Alice asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Not like this, for fuck's sake!" her husband yelled back at her, throwing his hands up. "You told her and then you just put the damn machine on! What if she didn't want to—"

"Guys, enough!" I hissed, getting tired of their yelling. "This shit is messy enough for you to fight about it," I told them, rubbing my temples as I sat back down on the stool. "Michael and Faraji are asleep, you should keep it down before they hear you."

"I—I'm sorry," Alice apologized, rubbing the space between her eyes. "I didn't how to tell you this, I just... I'm sorry I forced it on you. I didn't even ask you if you wanted to listen to it in the first place."

"It's okay," I simply said, immersed by my own thoughts. "Where were you when she called?"

"We were out with Faraji, in the park. We would have told her to stop calling if we were there when she called."

"Hale," my brother spoke after he had been silent for a while. "We get it if you don't want to address this issue," he reassured, grabbing my hand on the table as he was sitting across from me. "You need time to process, to know how you want to approach this."

I just nodded, staying mute once again. As silence reigned in the kitchen again, Hayden reached his inner pocket and pulled a folded paper out of it that he slid across the table in my direction.

"What's that?"

"Sangye gave me that and asked me to give it to you," he let me know. "He said that you might find some comfort in this. I guess you could use some right now."

With a hesitant hand and a frown upon my face, I unfolded Sangye's letter. Apprehension coursed through my entire body as I started reading the beautifully hand-written letter I had just before my eyes.

"Ms. Thames,

It was important to me to write you a letter before I leave your country. I wish I could have said goodbye to you directly, but you have so many wonderful things to take care of that I did not want to interfere more in your life. Coming uninvited was enough.

It was the first time I came to America, and I do not regret anything. During this trip, I discovered a strong and capable woman. You were the proof that the legend I had been told during my childhood was true: any person capable to overcome the second step of their journey is stronger than most people on the planet. Meeting you was the biggest privilege of my existence. I wanted to apologize if sometimes my explanations were blurry. Being in your presence was overwhelming for me. It was sometimes hard to focus and forget about the fact that you were the incarnation of the legend I had been told in the past.

You have come a long way, Ms. Thames. Now you have reached this step in your evolution, know that the best is yet to come. But stay vigilant: even if the comas and unbearable pain your visions caused you are gone, you're still human, and you have your limits. Don't forget yourself in the process of saving your fiancé and making a better life for your family. You told me some people were after your fiancé and that he might still be in danger, but listen to yourself: don't put any unnecessary pressure on your shoulders. Lean on your family, because they can handle it.