ᵢₘₐgᵢₙₑ ➳ Michael Gray [ON HOLD]

➳ sixteen - the code blue

《 unplanned moments are always better than planned ones 》

➳

The week had passed by faster than she could have ever comprehended and before Arabella knew it, she was once again back at the airport, sobbing as she watched three of the most important people head into the building to get on a plane back to Florida. She glanced back at them as she turned to get into the car, waving softly before she clambered in, refusing to look back again, knowing she wouldn't be able to handle the overwhelming feeling of sadness.

Michael entered the car shortly after, turning on the engine and driving out of the airport car park. He glanced over at Arabella who had her eyes fixated on the window, desperately trying to hide the tears pooling in her eyes.

Although Michael couldn't see her face, he knew she was silently crying, he couldn't blame her for it though.

He didn't make a move to talk or to pressure her into letting out all of her worries to him, knowing it wouldn't end well. Instead, he simply reached over to grasp her hand under his, returning them both to the gear stick, a show of moral support.

Arabella remained unfazed by the action, leaning her head against the window. This time, though, she didn't hide her tears as they began falling. That is how they both stayed, the only sound in the car being the music that was softly filtering through the speakers until they reached the house. Arabella was grateful for the lack of conversation, she knew there were no words that could comfort her in that moment.

The heartbroken woman was the first to exit the car once they had come to a stop outside the house. Michael watched after her as she let herself in and made her way straight up to her room. Taking a deep breath in to gather his thoughts, he opened the car door and made his way up the steps and through the doorway.

Michael felt conflicted. His instinct was telling him to follow after her, to tell her everything would be ok and she would see them again before she knew it. However, he knew what was best for Arabella was to give her space. She would speak to him when she's ready. Instead, he placed his black Ralph Lauren bomber jacket in the cloakroom and padded over to the kitchen to fix himself a drink. He let out a deep sigh as he contemplated whether to attend todays meeting with Tommy, they were due to meet to discuss business regarding the new account. However, as he turned to set his whiskey glass down on the kitchen island, he caught sight of the white Nike trainers that had been carelessly discarded by the living room sofa and his mind drifted to Arabella.

He suddenly felt a pang of guilt at the thought of leaving her at a time when she needed somebody there for her. Michael slid his phone from his back pocket and opened his and Finns message thread, he would know how to fix this. Finn could keep Arabella company whilst he dealt with business. Yet, as Michael began to draft a message to his younger cousin, the memory of Arabella taking care of him whilst he was sick flashed to the forefront of his mind. He owed it to her to do the same. Lifting his glass to his mouth, he downed the remaining contents and composed a message to Tommy instead to notify him that he would be indisposed for the day and would be working from home. A simple 'alright' was the response he received before he made his way up to his office.