Human Sized Hurricane | Michael Clifford

Chapter 18 - Unexpected Suprise

The phone in the hotel room suddenly started ringing, jerking Emma awake from her restless sleep as she sat bolt upright. Seeing her father was deep in a sleep, she walked around the double bed from her sofa bed against the wall and picked up the telephone in the dark, turning on the light above the that side of the bed. "Hello?" She said into the microphone, holding the dark grey phone to her right ear.

"I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, but there is a package at the front desk for you" The man on the other end of the phone said, hanging up the phone.

Emma wiped her eyes and blinked a few times, running her hair through her hair for a second before putting down the phone. She sighed and went over to her bag of clothes, pulling out a pair of light grey tracksuit bottoms and a red and blue shirt, wearing them over her pyjamas. She slipped on a pair of black converse and a hoodie, then grabbed the key card and stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door so not to disturb her father. Emma made her way towards the lift at the end of the long hallway, passing a couple who were deep in a passionate moment against the wall and didn't seem to notice her. She pressed the button to the ground floor in the lift and pulled her hood over her head, hiding her long hair behind her as the lift descended. The doors opened a few moments later and Emma stepped out into the hotel's reception, turning a corner to get to the front desk. She placed her arms on the tall white desk and leaned on it, blinking in the brightness of the lights. "Hi. There's a package for me" She said drowsily to the receptionist, who smiled as she spoke kindly to him.

"It's in the restaurant" The receptionist replied, pointing to the dimly lit restaurant area through some open double doors at the other end of the room. Then he got back to his work.

Emma looked over to the doors uncertainly and suddenly wide away, then left the front desk and slowly approached the doors, checking through the glass before walking inside, her shoes scuffing along the floor as she dragged her feet. She scanned around the empty restaurant and saw only a member of staff cleaning up with a floor mop and nobody else seemed to be present. Then she noticed a small box on one of the tables wrapped in red with a yellow ribbon and sitting sleeping at the table was Michael. A light smile spread across Emma's lips as she made her way toward the sleeping teenager and sat down opposite him, reaching her hand across the table to touch his arm, but she stopped herself and pulled it back. "Michael? Michael? Wake up" She whispered like a mother would to her sleeping child. Slowly, Michael stirred and pried open his eyes, squinting in the light as the cold table underneath his arms made him shiver. He sat up and looked across the table, while he stretched out his arms and clamped his eyes shut, as if he'd just a woken to heaven. "Hey" Emma whispered with a light smile as her eyes were finally met with Michael's. 

"Hey" Michael replied, finishing his stretch and placed his elbow back onto the table, leaning his chin on his hands. "Are you alright?" He asked, whispering. 

Emma nodded. "Yeah" Her voice was a tender and loving whisper as her eyes fixed themselves upon Michael's cut and bruised face. "Are you staying? Or... do you have to go back?" She asked, dying to reach across and hold his hand. 

Michael averted his eyes and slumped back in his chair, sliding down it halfway until he was almost falling off. His eyes displayed an expression of exhaustion and unhappiness, but there was also a shine of desire and a hunger at the corner of his eye as he craved to touch her fair skin. He struggled to open his mouth and look at Emma in the eye again as he cleared his throat and pulled the black sleeves over his cold hands. He signalled to the red box in between them and folded his arms, still averting her gaze. He watched as Emma slowly and carefully unwrapped the gift, taking off the ribbon and handing it to him. She unwrapped the rest of the paper and smiled at the sight of a black box, no bigger than his hand, then she allowed Michael to open the box and turned it around to show her the gleaming contents inside. It was a small, round silver ring with an anchor on the front and a small diamond fitted into the centre of the anchor's cross. Emma smiled sincerely as a tear fell from her cheek. "This used to be mine" Michael said, sitting up and taking the ring from the box to slide it onto his thumb. Emma watched with a beaming smile as Michael twirled his thumb around in the air with the ring placed on it, then he slid it off and put it back onto the silk cushioning inside the box. "And it's very dear to me, but I want you to have it in case something happens to me-"

"Nothing will happen to you" Emma said, interrupting him as another tear streaked down her rosy cheeks and landed on the back of her hand. 

"If something did" He whispered, losing his composure a little with the glance he made into her eyes. "I want you..." He began, but struggled to continue. "... I want you to-" He stopped and took a deep breath as a glistening tear fell. "Keep it safe" He managed to say, as she slid the ring onto the chain around her neck, removing the intricate, small bronze band attached to it with four Egyptian hieroglyphics running across the front spelling 'Emma'. She placed it into Michael's palm without touching his flesh, and watched as he placed it onto his little finger. "Thank you" He said, almost choking on his lost breath. Emma bowed her head and held the necklace in her hands before reattaching it around her neck as Michael slowly got back to his feet and pushed in his warm chair, keeping his hands on the back of it for a moment, just to linger. "Give me your phone" He instructed and Emma placed it on the table in front of him. "It'll make them leave you alone because they can track you. Keep moving and I'll find you soon" He said picking up the phone, then he gazed into Emma's desperate eyes for one more lingering moment before tearing them away and marching out of the double doors, and back to his car, leaving Emma to quietly sob on her own.