Page 17 of Rescuing Micah


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Change was coming whether she liked it or not.

Ava was going to wind up moving across the country to be with Nathaniel, and Chelsea didn't want to come back to the apartment after all that had happened. So she was going to have to get on board with the idea of cleaning the place up, finishing up their lease, and then finding a new place to live. Maybe with Chelsea, maybe without.

She’d love to keep living with her friend, but watching Ava meet Nathaniel and fall in love, and then Tobias meet Isabella and fall in love, she had to also accept the possibility that Chelsea could be the next to fall.

Perhaps it was time for her to move to a place of her own.

As a child, in the darkest of times, when she felt completely overwhelmed by everything she had to handle and take care of, she’d wish that she didn't have a single responsibility in the whole world save for taking care of herself. She’d live alone, only have to cook and clean for herself, no one else’s bills to pay, and no one counting on her or relying on her.

Despite her desire for freedom, she also knew that she didn't do well on her own.

She’d tried it when she first went to college, and the sound of the empty house, or rather the lack of sounds, had bothered her way more than she thought it would. She thought she would have loved being on her own, but she didn't. She craved company and companionship.

But she wasn't that eighteen-year-old traumatized girl anymore. She was almost thirty, and maybe it was time she faced that fear head-on. Sooner or later, Chelsea would meet someone and fall in love, or she’d finally convince the grumpy loner of their team, Josiah, to finally see her and give her a chance.

When that happened, it would just be her.

“Time to get used to that idea,” she muttered as she gave herself a final scrutinizing once-over in the bathroom mirror and then stepped out into the hall.

Since she’d skipped dinner last night, Micah’s innocent words about cooking the final nail in her coffin as she remembered all her specially chosen kitchen appliances were all destroyed had sent her spiraling, her stomach grumbled a little. Needing to be alone, she’d taken a steaming hot shower where she’d cried out all her emotions, then completely wrung out, collapsed onto the air mattress. Exhausted as she was, she hadn't even cared that it wasn't very comfortable, she’d slept right through until her alarm woke her up.

Now it was time to start her day, and she was ready to shut down any last lingering feelings for Micah and stop allowing his presence in her life to throw her off her game.

“Only temporary,” she reminded herself as she walked into the living room.

“Did you say something?” Micah called out, sticking his head out of the kitchen doorway.

With his hair all messed up from sleep, and wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants hanging low on his hips, he looked better than she remembered. Back then, he’d been little more than a boy, but now he was a man. A man who spent a lot of time working out and had the body to show for it.

Too bad the inside of the package didn’t look as good as the outside.

If it did, they never would have broken up.

“No, I didn't say anything. I'm ready to go,” she announced. She certainly was not going to inform this man that she’d been giving herself a pep talk on how to survive his intrusion in her life. Knowing Micah, he’d probably find some way to use it against her.

“It’s only six thirty, Raven said not to be in before nine.”

“I have a stop to make on the way.”

“A stop? I don’t think that’s a good idea, Teresa. The trafficking ring has put a bounty on your head, you should be staying out of sight as much as possible, giving them as few opportunities to get to you. I’d bet anything that they’re tailing you, or at the very least watching your apartment. If we go anywhere other than right to Prey, we give them the opening they’re waiting for.”

That was all true, yet she was still going.

“This stop is non-negotiable, and it won't take long.”

“It’s more important than your safety?”

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. Already, she didn't make as much time for this as she should, but once a week, she went to her mom’s house to check in with her and Arthur. Sometimes they’d have breakfast together, sometimes they’d go for a walk, sometimes they’d just say hi and have a quick catch-up. Today would be a quick catch-up, but she wasn't missing out on it. Not for anything, and certainly not to cower to some trafficking ring that thought they could threaten her into letting them continue committing crimes.

With a sigh, Micah leaned against the door jamb. “Where is this life-risking place you have to go at this hour of the morning?”

“My mom’s,” she answered simply.

Another sigh fell from his lips, but he didn't offer another protest, just disappeared into the kitchen and a minute later reappeared with something wrapped in parchment paper.

“Breakfast,” he said as handed it to her. “French toast sandwich. I found some fruit in the fridge, they didn't touch that, so I put in some strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I know French toast used to be your favorite. Give me ten minutes to shower and get dressed then we’ll head to your mom’s.”

Teresa watched as he grabbed his bag and headed for the bathroom. She was pretty sure her mouth was hanging open in shock.