"never was much of a romantic."
RUNAWAY
kanye west ft. pusha t
There was radio silence coming from Aella ever since she left Mike's house that night. They hadn't spoken in a few, and every time she drove past his house to and from work, she saw Diana's car in the driveway.
She tried to get him off of her mind. She'd spend more time with Gavin, standing by his desk at work and chatting in the break room before she was called off to help someone new.
Gavin was a good guy. Even if he was really bold, he never did anything she didn't want to do. She'd been over for movie nights a couple of times, and they'd gone to Sparky's on occasion after work.
He was sweet, but he wasn't Mike. And Aella didn't realize that— or more, come to terms with that— because she refused to trail behind Mike for the rest of her life, waiting for him to turn around and forget Diana even exists so his attention would be on her.
Mike was the opposite. Everything reminded him of Aella, his entire home. Abby slightly did as well. Even though she hadn't been over as much recently, Abby kept the flood of 'family' drawings, even going as far as adding a baby in the picture and fawning over it. She wouldn't tell him who it was.
Mike hates the drawings. He doesn't hate Abby's drawings, he just hates the one Aella's in. Not because he hates her, but because she was always on his mind. He would try to get over it with Diana, call her over when Abby's at a friends and press kisses down her neck until it annoyed him.
She wasn't her. He hated the fact he was trying to use her to get over someone who probably didn't even want him in the first place. The compliments that flooded from his mouth when Aella was around weren't as fluid around Diana. Then again, she did most of the talking.
Aella's humming as she marks down her events on the calendar. Two months have passed since Freddy's, and she felt like she was finally letting it slip through her fingers. She was still stuck on Susie, slightly missing her. Even though she wasn't much of a person anymore, she knew she was there.
The sharpie runs across the glossed paper as Gavin trails past her and towards her kitchen with a glass in hand. They were in total silence as he watched the movie she put on while he drank from the water she gave him.
He comes back and stands behind her as she finishes writing everything down. "Who's Abby?" He asks, referring to, "ABBY'S BDAY!!" Underlined on the calendar. She looks behind her and smiles up at him, capping off the marker. "The girl I babysit." She reminds, putting the marker down on the table.
"What are you thinking of getting her?" He asks with a tilted head. Her arms cross over Mike's hoodie as she winces, eyebrows furrowed. "Don't really know." She mumbles. "I'd get her some drawing supplies, but she'd pretty much stacked up with those." She pouts.
"Tell me a little about her. Maybe I can help." He sighs and makes his way towards the couch, pulling Aella as he sits down.
She plops herself down right next to him as he pulls her legs over his and turns to her. She leans back and sighs, thinking about Abby. "She's ten. She.. likes to draw, likes to watch cartoons.. she likes the snow..." she mumbles. "Why don't you get her snow boots?" He asks, hand massaging her thigh.
"Like, pretty custom ones with her name on it?" He asks as Aella tilts her head back. "Maybe. That could work." She nods. "My friend knows this guy who could make it for you for less." He offers as his fingers tap her thighs. She smiles at him and lifts her head again. "That works." She smiles.
"I'll get you his number." He smiles back and looks up at the clock. "Who are Abby's parents?" Gavin asks as his eyes avert back to Aella. She makes eye contact with him and presses her lips together. "Uhm, she doesn't have parents. Her brother's raising her." She hums.
"Mm. And how old is he?" He asks. "26. He's usually swamped in work, so.. Abby has me." She plays with her fingers. "That's nice." He smiles. "Yeah." She whispers.
It was Mike. She wanted to say his name was Mike, and she wanted to talk about him for hours upon hours, but she was with Gavin, and it would be unethical to talk about another man when you're with a different one.
Her mind was on Mike. About him, and Abby. Aella missed him so much, but she prided herself in not breaking first. If he really wanted to talk, he'd call.
Aella watched TV for the next few beats before Gavin caught her off guard. "Are you two involved?" He asks. Aella's neck snaps towards him and he almost laughs. "No need to get crazy, jus' asking." He holds his hands up in defense.
Aella opens her mouth to say something, but forgets. "It's okay if you are— I'd just be shocked." He shakes his head. "Uhm, we're not." She shuts him down, hands laying on her tummy as she scans his face. "Nothing's ever happened between you two?" He asked. Aella was pouting as she thought. She sat up completely, lega pulling away from his. "Well..." she starts.
"There's been times, where I've wanted to kiss him." She admits. And she feels stupid for doing so, because Gavin was here. Not Mike, Gavin. Gavin didn't bring up her trauma after a short bickering.
Gavin listens as she talks about another man to his face. And he doesn't interrupt her once. "And, he's with this girl, Diana.. and.. my stomach just churns every time they're around each other. And it feels like I can't catch my breath." She pouts.
Gavin takes in a deep breath. "And they're together?" He asks. She shrugs. "It seems like it." She nods and puts her hair behind her ear. "I want him to be happy, but.. only if it's with me." She admits. Gavin chuckles and pats her legs. "Seems like you're in love." He concludes.
"Love is a stretch." She rolls her eyes playfully. He turns his head to the side and winces. "Is it really? Nobody thinks that way about someone they.. 'like.'" He air quotes as Aella moves her legs off of his.
"I'm sorry. I really like you, Gavin. Seriously, I do." She nods. She wasn't lying either, Gavin was sweet and gentle, and if she'd met him first, she'd probably choose him. "Don't apologize to me." He shakes his head with a gentle voice. That made it worse.
"You deserve it. I'll catch you at work though?" He asks. She smiles as he stands up and nods. He grabs his coat from the rack as well as his keys, looking back at her. "When you get to work on Monday, I better see a necklace with his initial on it!" He yells before closing the door.
Aella felt weird. It was weird how okay Gavin was with her being with someone else, even though he'd spent so much time trying to get her to pay attention to him. Something didn't feel right.
She sighs and looks over at the clock. It was a little ways past 7 pm, but she hopped off the couch and silently hoped Mike would be awake.
She slipped her coat over his hoodie and took her lanyard from the same place Gavin had taken his keys, opening the door and closing it behind her as Gavin made the turn off of her street.
She walked to her car with her hands in her pockets, contemplating how to go about this.
Diana was so boring. She was chatting to Mike about everything— and Mike couldn't care less. He gave her occasional hums and rubbed her scalp when she laid her head on his chest. That was it.
"So.." she mutters, looking up at Mike who turned his head down to look at her as well. "Hm?" He asks, bringing his drink to his mouth. "I wanted to ask you something." She peeled away, eyes bright as Mike's hand made contact with her upper thigh. "Yeah?" He asks, eyes low.
"We've been.. talking, seeing each other, for a little," she sighs, staring at him with a glint in his eyes that knots made him feel bad. "I really like you, Mike." She laughs and pushes her hair out of her face.
Mike doesn't give a shit. He's wondering if Aella will ever come around again, or if he really messed up big time. He's nodding along, her words flying over his head.
There's a knock at the door and Diana pauses. Mike wants to let out a sigh of relief, but he'd feel too bad. He gets up with a small grunt and places the drink on the table, making his way towards the door and peeling it open.
She was so pretty. Her nose was slightly red from the cold and she was sniffling, hands in her pockets as she looked at Mike. "Hi." She greets. He looks behind him and huffs.
"Wait." He mutters, closing the door again before turning back to Diana. "Hey, can we continue this conversation a little later..? I need you to pick up some stuff from the grocery store." He clears his throat, ripping a piece of paper from the notepad he grabbed.
He clicked the pen laying on the coffee table and wrote down bullshit— cookies, milk, eggs, spaghetti— anything to get her out. He handed it to her and she looks it over, looking up at him with a nod. She stands up quickly and pulls her purse off of the side of the couch, hurrying towards the door.
Aella was still there when she opened it, and the girl shocked her. "Hi." Diana greets. "Hi." Aella mutters back. Diana closes the door behind her and walks to her car, eyes on Aella the entire time.
The door cracks open only when Diana finally pulls off. Mike is on the other side with his eyebrows furrowed. "Can I come in?" She whispers. Mike wants to scream yes at the top of his lungs, but he opts to opening the door wider and stepping to the side.
She's missed it here. The environment was better and warmer than her own house. She shrugs her jacket off as Mike walks past her to sit on the couch. She follows him shortly after.
She sits down a little bit apart from him, making eye contact as she shifts. "Haven't gotten this back yet." He mutters, pointing to the hoodie. She nods and looks down.
"I'm sorry for what I said." He immediately apologizes. She huffs and looks up at him, lips pressed together as she nods. "I am too. I'm sorry for blowing up on you like that."
"No, you were right. You deserve to have a life." He sighs. Aella moves her hair behind her ear and just looks at him. She stares as he looks down at his hands. "And.. I'm sorry for bringing up your dad. You were really vulnerable at the time." He shrugs.
"I guess.. I couldn't handle you wanting someone else." He mumbles and looks up. "It felt like you were digging my grave when you mentioned another man." He scoffs with a laugh shortly after.
Aella moves a little closer to him, eyes never leaving his. "Shut up." She mutters. She knew if he kept talking, she wouldn't be able to keep the self control she had now. "Huh?" He asks.
"Shut up. Stop talking, you weren't in the wrong." She shakes her head. "You've been so good to me, Mike. From the moment we met you've only ever looked out for me," she shakes her head, trying not to cry.
"You took care of me when I needed it, and you didn't take advantage of my state. And you were there, when no one else was." She grabs his hands, intertwining them with hers. "I want you to always be here." She mutters.
"I want to be here." He nods. "I let you spill into my life and take it over completely and to be honest..? I'm okay with it." She nods.
He decides that's enough, and places his hand on the back of her neck and brings her face towards his, slotting his lips into hers. Aella's initial reaction is shock, before she realizes what happened and crawls into him. He tasted sweet, a mix of strawberries and chocolate. She guessed he'd gotten into Abby's stash again— but she didn't care.
He grips her hips and moves her to sit on top of him, and Aella swears it's the hottest thing she's ever felt. His hands are bruising her hips with how hard he was holding her.
He sucks in a breath between kisses, sighing as she wraps her arms around his neck, and his hands plant themselves on her waist. Aella pulls back and presses another kiss to his lips, looking behind her. "Abby home?" She asks in a whisper. He nods hesitantly.
She pouts and goes back in with a hand on his jaw. He takes no time to take the kiss back, rubbing on her skin like it was the last thing he'd ever feel.
She sits herself on his lap fully before pulling away again. He laughs as she hides her face in his neck. He's making slight circles on her hips as he hums. "You're so beautiful, baby." He compliments softly. Aella hums and she looks back up at him.
His hand moves her hair out of her face as he admires her. "Sorry again." She mumbles her apology, avoiding his eyes. He laughs as the hand resting on her hip trailed up to lay under her shirt. "Not mad at you, sweetheart." He shakes his head.
Aella winces at the feeling of his hands, calloused and cold. A complete contrast to hers, he'd say. "Sorry I got jealous," He shrugs. "You changed me." He smiles and scratches her back softly.
Abby's room door opens and Aella is tumbling off of Mike's lap, wiping her lips and fixing her hair as she comes running out. "Hi Aella!" She greets, jumping on the couch next to her. "Hi Abby." She smiles, wrapping her arms around her.
Mike huffs out gently, looking over at Abby. She's smiling up at her older brother before the TV turns to her cartoons— she'd been watching the clock. He huffs out and crosses his arms, slightly leaning into Aella as well.
Enough was enough guys it was go time 😭💯 anyways we're a long ways away from over. There's still so much I want to do but this might be ur endgame!!!