Chapter 40

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Once I had finished heaving my stuff into Michael's cabin, I sighed and lay down on his bed.

"Where am I gonna sleep?" I asked.

"Oh, um..you can sleep on the bed, I'll just sleep on the floor."

"I don't wanna make you sleep on the floor, though..."

"Ash" he said. "It's fine."

I nodded. I lay down in his bed and closed my eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep.


-


When I woke up, I blinked a few times, thinking I was in the new house. Everything came back to me. I looked at the clock and it read '3:23am.' I sighed, looking to the floor and seeing Michael laying there. His hair was matted with sweat and he kept twitching in his sleep, his chest rising and falling at a rapid pace. I began to get nervous, wondering if he was having a nightmare. He started to kick and I rushed over to where he lay, kneeling down beside him. He started to mumble "Dad...Dad, please..." I took him by his shoulders and shook him to wake him. His eyes flew open and he put a hand on his chest, slowing his breathing down. He looked at me with a worried expression.

"A-Ashley" he stuttered, squeezing his eyes shut and laying back.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

"Yeah, I guess" he replied in a whisper. He sighed and stared at the ceiling. "Thanks for waking me up."

"Of course" I replied, not knowing what to do. I began to stand up, but he grabbed my hand, causing chills to move down my spine.

"Stay" he said, biting down on his lip.

"Michael..."

"You're the only thing that calms me down."

"Um..okay, fine.." I trailed off. He moved over and I awkwardly lay beside him. He pulled me close to him, making my heart begin to race. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on the top of my head. "Michael" I mumbled. "We're not together, and.."

"It doesn't matter right now, I just need you tonight" he said.

"Okay.." I replied.

"I need you always" he added softly.

The words kept echoing in my head as I fell back asleep.


-


My eyes fluttered open and I sat up, looking at the kitchen table. Michael had made me scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. I smiled and stood up, stretching. He looked over at me and grinned.

"Hey." He had gotten dressed into a plain black muscle shirt and a pair of worn out jeans. I chuckled and shook my head. "What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I sat down across from him, where he had set my plate of food.

"Still the same Michael from all those years ago" I replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, generally confused.

"Chill, it just means you really haven't changed at all, besides adding more tattoos."

"Oh...about the tattoos..." He trailed off.

"What?" I asked.

"Um..well, I may have gotten one, representing us breaking up, and..yeah."

"Well what is it of?" I asked.

"It's really stupid and..don't think I'm some kind of softy." He rolled his eyes.

"I won't."

He sighed.

"Alright, well..." He walked over to me and lifted up his shirt. He pulled down his pants a little, and I quickly looked away, my eyes widening. He chuckled. "Chill out, it's just on my hip."

"Oh" I replied, slowly looking.

The tattoo was kinda small, but it was of two birds flying in different directions. I looked up at him.

"Why'd you get this?" I asked. He sighed and sat back down.

"I don't know..I guess I figured with what happened between us, I would never actually find love again. So I got it to represent that I'm independent, I guess."

"Michael," I started. "You WILL find love. It may not be with me, but you'll find it."

"But..I thought we were going to get back together...?"

"Well..." I said. "Things don't always work out, and..I just got out of a bad relationship. Besides, nothing in our relationship ever worked."

"But we're both mature now, and we both kinda know what love is about. Please, just tell me we're going to get back together."

"Michael, I can't..."

"Please, j-"

"Michael!" I snapped. "Why won't you respect the fact that I got out of a horrible relationship and I'm still hurt by it?" I crossed my arms. "See? Don't you get it? We both just go back and forth all the time, and I just don't really think it's gonna work out. Okay?"

He licked his lips and got up, without a word, walking to the bathroom. I sighed, moving the scrambled eggs around my plate with the fork.

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