Tattooed Hearts

Chapter 15: Stay

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"Cheryl, Paul. Nice to meet you again." Maks shakes her parent's hand

"Thank you, Maks. The show was wonderful. Thank you for showcasing Meryl beautifully." Cheryl notes, still mesmerized by the impression the show left her

"She deserves nothing less. But, it wasn't me, really... It's Meryl herself. Her ability to dance and her passion for everything she pursues." He looks down at her, who was leaning her head on his chest. He could see how content she was. It was a short week, and though she was only able to perform during the first day, he was still grateful that she became part of the show.

"Guess I can trust you with my little girl anytime, eh?" Paul laughed

"Absolutely. I... I love-" he stopped, feeling his arms being held tighter. He looked down once more, only to receive a glare. "I love Meryl's presence and I'm sure everyone else does too. She brings such good energy to the floor that it fuels us all just by looking at her give her best every time."

"Thank you" Meryl replies softly

"Well then, congratulations on a sensational first show day. I'm afraid that Paul and I have to get back to our rooms to pack and catch our flight... Again, thank you for everything, Maks."

As they say their farewells, Meryl pulls Maks over to a corner, hoping no one could spot them.

"We can't... You can't... I'm not ready" she mutters

"What?"

"I'm not ready to reveal... us..."

"Babe, don't you think that we've been hiding long enough?"

"I'm not ready. Not yet" she states before kissing him goodbye.

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"Ms. Davis, great to see you all set and ready to go. We'll definitely be missing your aura around, but I'm glad that you're healthy enough to leave now. Just remember that you must restrain yourself from physical activities for about five months."

"Five months?! No, I can't do that. I've got commitments I need to fulfill. I can't. I can't ruin my reputation and disappoint everyone." Meryl shakes her head, both hands covering her face

"Meryl sweetheart, you're not disappointing anyone. Charlie already spoke to the all the agents. Right now, everyone just wants you to rest and recover as soon as possible, you should too." Cheryl comforts her

"Now, since we've got it all settled, I've got to check on my other patients. Hope to see you again, Ms. Davis; just maybe in a better and healthier condition next time." The doctor ends the conversation in a bright and happy spirit

Meryl was barely able to contain her outrage. One simpleminded fall was all it took to take everything away. Throughout her whole life, she has always been on the ice; whether she liked it or not, now, it felt as if someone had stolen one of her ribs and unfortunately, that someone was herself. She needed a distraction. One for the next five months. One that would not even cause her to ever think of the cold, hard, slippery sheet off ice.

"Where's Maks?" Meryl questioned her mother

"I don't k-"

"You called?" Maks popped his head inside the room

"Um... I'll leave you to your own thing..." Cheryl whispered to her daughter, patting Maks' shoulder on her way out

"Where'd you go? I thought you left"

Maks sat beside her on the side of the bed, arms rubbing her shoulders. "I was grabbing your prescription pills." She stared at the bag he was holding for a moment, noticing it carrying much more medicine than she had expected

"What do I do now?" she asks him

"Now you go home to Detroit and focus on your health." He tried curving his lips upwards

"I don't want to do that, Maks. You know that. I've always had a busy schedule; I've always got everything planned out. I can't just all of a sudden do absolutely nothing."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know... Stay here... With you? I've got nearly six months to waste, I might as well stay here rather than going home, waiting for my body to turn into a corpse." she mutters, looking up at his eyes

"Listen, you are more than welcome to stay with me, but, how are you going to explain this to everyone else?"

Meryl looked between the white walls of the room. All the furniture and decoration seemed so lifeless; no wonder everyone hated being in the hospital. Maybe if they were going to keep people quarantine there, at least put in some colors to make the place more pleasant

"I'm certainly not going to miss this place." She says, eyes still wandering around

"Let's get you out of here. I'll drive you and your mom to the hotel and we could figure things out later, okay?"

Maks stood up, offering her a hand. She grunts, knowing she's slowly running out of time to make a decision.

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Once they arrived to the hotel, the two went separate ways as Meryl assisted her mom to pack and Maks with Charlie

"I'll pack the bags, you just find us a flight for tonight, okay?" Cheryl told Meryl. She went over to her mom's laptop on the desk and started looking for any red eye flights available that night. Even though her fingers were scrolling through the selection of flights, her mind was wondering elsewhere. Despite her instincts desperately begging her to say something, she kept her mouth sealed; until she couldn't hold back any longer.

"I'm not going on that plane with you and Charlie tonight." She finally professes

"Pardon?" Cheryl turns to face her

"I'm staying in New York. Considering that I'm limited to the activities I'm allowed to occupy myself with, I reckon it would be a wise decision for me to stay here. All my friends in Detroit are either training or parenting. I don't want to put the burden of taking care of me on them or you. I would be much more independent here anyway."

Cheryl sighed, "I never thought I would say this but, Meryl Elizabeth Davis, you are obliged to get on the plane back to Detroit unless you tell me the actual reason why you want to stay."

"Mom, but I just did." She exaggerated

"No, you narrowly gave me excuses why going to Detroit isn't a good decision; not why you want to stay here. Mind you, I'm the one that carried you around for a good nine months, and then raised you everyday for the next eighteen years. I know precisely when you're lying."

Meryl groaned, "give me a minute." She raised herself up and walked across the hall, knocking on Charlie's door.

"My mom's demanding answers. I... I can't tell her. Come with me, please?" Meryl informs Maks; tears on the verge of pouring down. He wrapped his arms around her petite body, granting her reassurance. "What were you going to tell her?" he asked

"I don't know. Anything to convince her to let me stay"

"Meryl, I know how strong you are. You've always been the strong one, no matter what. I understand you're in a vulnerable situation right now, but I know that you'd always, always fight for anything you desire."