Broken and Together

Chapter Fourteen: Out of Sight

    Enjoy Mikey suffering!

    ...

    Okay, that felt mean to say.

~~~~~~~~~~

    Charlie drummed her fingers on her dining room table, resting her chin on the wrist of her other hand. Fighting back a sigh, she glanced out at her balcony. Her eyes trailed across the sky outside. She'd called Michael at least five times now, and he had failed to answer each one. Obviously, he couldn't leave his house, and it was well past the time he usually slept in till. So...why hadn't he answered? She told herself she shouldn't be worried nor bother herself over it, but she fretted, anyway. It wasn't like Michael to ignore her calls.

    "Hey, Charlie!" someone called from her living room, which was only a few paces away, seeing as he apartment was small. "What are you doing over there? I thought we were going to watch this flick now."

    "Hm?" Charlie glanced towards the room where Jessica and Marla sat, waiting expectantly for her. "Oh, sorry." Charlie looked away. "Just thinking."

    "About?" Jessica said, resting her arm on the back of the couch.

    "Michael." Charlie kept her eyes glued to the table.

    "Oh, of course you are." Jessica sounded rather smug.

    Marla giggled a little. "Still crazy about him?"

    "No!" Charlie snapped, shooting them both a glare. "I'm worried about him."

    Jessica's pleased expression faded. "Ah. What's up? Something bad?"

    "Maybe," Charlie said. She opened her mouth to add onto her statement, but hastily decided against it. She couldn't tell any of her other friends about their dangerous job, nor the mysteries surrounding it. "He just hasn't been himself lately, I guess," she said, "and he hurt his ankle. I'm just, you know, looking out for that dork." She gave a forced laugh.

    Jessica and Marla exchanged glances, then shrugged it off and turned back to the television.

    "Well if you want to call him, go ahead," Jessica said, "but make it fast. I'm here for a fun afternoon of girl movies!"

    "You always pick the worst ones, though," said Marla.

    "I'm offended you would even suggest such a thing." Jessica clicked on the TV. Charlie ignored them, muttering to herself over Michael not answering her calls. She knew perhaps she was simply worrying about nothing or being overly clingy, but after the other night when both their lives were put at stake, she couldn't exactly help it. And she knew Michael well. He was stubborn and often threw aside his health for other things, things he thought were more important. Charlie was so close to getting up and driving out to his house, just to check up on him and make sure he hadn't done anything foolish. He could very well have snuck off to the job, and besides, living alone and having a broken ankle would be difficult, anyway. She needed some relief from her anxiety.

    Rising from the table, Charlie opened her mouth to tell Jessica and Marla what she was about to do, but the sound of her phone ringing cut her off. With a sigh, she went over, yanked the receiver off the wall, and put it to her ear. She had silently hoped it would be Michael calling her back, but it was in fact someone from Afton Robotics. They let her know that, although she had asked for a brief break, they could not allow her to do so, for they were short on a technician, seeing as the other had mysteriously disappeared while on their shift last night. This made Charlie vaguely uneasy, and she agreed to work, then almost hung up after doing so...but a thought struck her, making her move the phone back to her ear.