Before separating from Michael, Alex left with Michael and told one of his men to drive me back to the apartment. I suspect he didn't want me to learn where they were putting Michael just in case I was a spy.
After being dropped off into the apartment, instead of going back, I decided to walk around the area. With everything that happened to me over the last week, all I wanted was a sense of normalcy. Since the weather was so nice, I decided to go to a grocery store to buy snacks and chill by the park.
Shortly after I sat down on my blanket, someone came over to me and asked if she could share my blanket. I gave her a quick glance before I replied. A big part of me was craving a normal human interaction and it also helped that she looked friendly. She was wearing a blood-red top and jeans.
"I'm Scarlet by the way. What's your name?"
"Marina. Nice day today right?"
"Yea. I just finished work and am waiting for my boyfriend to get off work." She sighed and then said, "it's been a really long time since I last saw him"
"Is he really busy? Why don't you give him a call?"
Smiling slightly, she said, "maybe later when he is off work"
Seeing that she was wearing an engagement ring, I asked her, "How did he propose? I loved hearing stories of proposals."
Her whole face brightened, and she said, "We met in law school. I was super dense, so didn't realize that he was chasing me. In the end, he sent me a love letter but didn't sign his name. We ended up working at the same law firm and he asked me out again with another love letter. This time he signed his name. I was so shocked since I always thought of him as a friend, but after thinking about it longer, I realized that he has been supporting me in the background. For example, when I had knee surgery, he was always there to drive me to places and give me care packages. He also made me breakfast the whole time since he knew I'll be too lazy to stand and cook. I'm sorry, I've just been rambling. I love him a lot, you know." She smiled shyly. I can tell how much they loved each other.
Without realizing it, we chatted for a few hours and the sun was about to go down. I was having so much fun, I wondered if I should tell Alex that I didn't need him to help me ward off ghosts. I was doing just fine have a normal conversation without any fear.