ᵢₘₐgᵢₙₑ ➳ Michael Gray [ON HOLD]

➳ chapter twenty-two - the fallout

《 denying what you feel will not make it go away. it will just ensure that it never gets resolved 》

➳

The kiss wasn't necessarily a long one, just a brief touch of the lips as Arabella barely had the time to kiss him back before they pulled away, their forehead remained attached and their eyes closed, as if when they opened it the moment would end. And they were right. The moment that their eyes opened and eye contact was made, Michael practically threw himself back into his upright position, immediately overthinking the decision he had just made.

Arabella slowly pulled back, chewing nervously on her bottom lip as she averted her eyes, once again peering at the view, though the darkness made any features much harder to decipher. She still looked. 

She would have taken any excuse to try and look away from Michael, anxious over how he would react to his own sudden actions. He really was an unpredictable man and she could almost see the thoughts he was having, his eyes conveying his confusion and anger. That was to be expected though - Michael Gray, a man incapable of being straight forward. 

If there was anything that Arabella had learnt over these past few months, it was that Michael Gray was a fucking hurricane of emotions.

Michael was panicking. Contrary to Arabella, who had seemingly come around to the fact that she had some kind of feelings for the man in front of her, he was completely and utterly in denial. 

Denial about his feelings. Denial about her feelings. Denial about the reality of the situation they were in.

Michael shook his head in an attempt to ground himself, and whilst keeping his gaze locked on the ground, he mumbled out a quiet apology. He could feel Arabella's eyes on him, the brunette obviously puzzled, but he ignored it in favour of clambering up and beginning to collect the champagne bottles along with the two empty flutes. He then tugged gently at one end of the blanket that Arabella sat upon, still avoiding her gaze as he waited for her to get up before collecting the blanket. 

"What do you mean 'I'm sorry'? Are we not going to talk about this?" Arabella scoffed as he blatantly ignored her and instead made his way back inside to place the empty flutes and bottle in a basket alongside other discarded glassware. The half-empty bottle remained in his grasp. 

The man simply disregarded Arabella's questions as he made his way out of the room, lingering in the doorway as he waited for the brunette to follow him out so he could lock the door. Arabella idled behind him, noting his lack of response. She looked over to the figure waiting for her in the hallway, frustration seeping in as he continued to avoid her gaze. She paused in her steps and furrowed her brows as she huffed, "Why did you do it if you're sorry, Michael?" 

"Excuse me?" Michael sounded both confused and taken aback by the sudden, bold confrontation, yet he kept his eyes trained on the bottle in his hand, taking a mouthful of it, sensing that this was a subject that Arabella wouldn't easily drop.