Chapter 25 - Laura
I looked outside the front door, and I saw Michael bouncing a basketball. His face was somber as he bounced, and I could tell a lot was on his mind. He'd spoken little since the museum.
I pushed the screen door open and stepped outside. I walked down towards him as he threw the ball up towards the basket, missing. He frowned.
"You almost made it," I said, stopping a few feet away from him.
He glanced at me before looking back at the ball. He bounced it again. "But I didn't."
I frowned, chewing on my cheek. He tossed the ball again, this time hitting the back of the net, and then it went out. He frowned and turned to me.
"Is he okay?" he asked, rubbing his hands together nervously. It was the first time Michael had any interest in Miles, let alone something calm rather than hatred.
I nodded my head. "He's okay. He's going to be healing for a while, but otherwise, he's okay. He's awake if you want to see him."
Michael shook his head.
I don't need to let him know that Miles had severe second-degree burns on his side and was having a hard time moving that shoulder now. He was going to regain full function, but it would take time.
"Do you want to talk about the fire?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.
Michael's lips formed a line, and he stayed quiet for a moment. He looked at the ground, rubbing his foot against the gravel.
"I wished he would show up," he said softly. "Everyone was crying and panicking. And we couldn't get out. Even the teacher didn't know what to do. And I just wanted him there. I knew he would know what to do."
Michael scowled, shaking his head.
"You look unhappy about that."
Michael nodded. "I don't want to like him. He's…he wasn't there. He wasn't around when we moved. He wasn't around when you lost your job. He wasn't around for any of it."
I bent down. "Michael, I know this is a lot, and I want to help. I want to help you understand."
"Why didn't you talk about him?" He asked, and I could see he looked hurt. "You never said anything about him. You never told me about him, so I just figured he left us."
I frowned, knowing his confusion was my doing. If I had brought up Miles, maybe we wouldn't have been in this situation. "I thought it was better not to. It was easier for me. I figured if I brought him up, you would have questions that I wouldn't have the answers to. So, I just didn't talk about him, and I should have."
I took a deep breath and sighed. "We didn't end our relationship well, and I guess I didn't want to pull you into the mess we made. Miles and I both had a lot of growing up to do. And he wants to be there if you're willing to let him."
"And what if he leaves? What if he finds out he doesn't like us and doesn't want us around?" Michael shook his head. "If we let him in, he could hurt us."
"I don't think he is going to hurt us, sweetie. He's… he's not the same person he was when I knew him before." I reached out, placing my hand on his shoulder. "I think you deserve a father, and he will be amazing. If you just give him a chance, I know he will surprise you."
Michael swallowed. "But what if you're wrong?"
"There is always that possibility." I smiled at him. "But when have I been wrong about things?"
After a moment, Michael nodded his head. "Okay, we can give him a chance. But only one chance."
I squeezed his shoulder, giving him a big smile. "I'm proud of you, you know that, don't you?"
He smiled, looking more like himself than he had in days.
The rest of the day was quiet. Michael hung around his room, and we watched a movie with dinner and had popcorn afterward. Michael went to shower, and I relaxed in bed, my eyes looking at my closet. I thought of the box inside and all the memories that it held.
I pulled myself up and walked over, opening the closet. My college box sat in the back, hidden under a bunch of old clothes I couldn't even wear anymore. I grabbed it, slid it out, sitting in front of it.
I opened it, taking in all my old items. There were pictures and some jewelry I didn't wear. There were photo albums and notebooks filled with letters and humorous limericks that my friends and I had sent back and forth. I boxed everything up when I left college and never looked back.
I looked at a few pictures of Miles, taking in his smile and the way he stood. There were pictures of him in a classroom, and another was of them outside, relaxing in the garden at the college.
Michael looked exactly like him. They had the same smile and eyebrow raised when interested in something. Even his laugh sounded like Mile's.
"What are you doing?" I looked up and found Michael standing in the doorway of my room. He'd finished his shower, his hair going everywhere.
"You need to comb your hair," I said, giving him a look.
He quickly ran his fingers through his hair, walking over towards me. His eyes looked down at the box, and then his eyebrows went up. "What is all this?" he asked as he bent down to look closer.
"My stuff from college," I said, grabbing my shirt with the college logo. I couldn't help but smirk, remembering all the times I'd worn it.
"You don't talk about college," he said, sitting beside me. "Did you not like it?"
"I loved college," I said, realizing he was right. I never really spoke about it because that would have required me to talk about Miles.
"If you loved it, why didn't you talk about it?"
I gave him a soft smile. "A lot of college was with Miles, and I didn't like to think about the hurt. And it was so long ago."
Michael made a face. "And we're going to let him into our home? Are we sure we should be getting close to him if he hurt you?"
I smirked. I felt gifted that he cared about me so much. "He's changed a lot." I pulled the photos over and showed him. "He didn't have loving parents. He never wanted to go home for holidays and didn't have a good relationship with his family. I don't think either of us likes to think about college."
Michael looked at the photos, his finger rubbing over Miles's face.
"He looks like me," Michael said, looking into the box. He reached in, pulling out my small jewelry box. I had rings and necklaces, almost all of which were gifted to me by Miles.
"These are nice," he said, looking through them. "You don't wear them."
I felt a little guilty about never wearing them, but I couldn't ever let myself get rid of them, either. There was always a small part of me that could never let go of our past.
"They were gifts from him."
"Did he love you?" he asked, rubbing a locket between his fingers. I remembered Mile's giving it to me soon before we broke up.
"Yeah, he did. Nothing like he does now."
Michael looked at me. "Does he love me?"
I smiled. "The moment I saw you when I gave birth, I knew I loved you, and the moment that Miles saw you, he knew you were something special to him. He didn't know it yet, but he does. Possible more than me."
Michael chewed on his lip. "Does he like sports?"
"He loves them," I said, grabbing a few more photos of the one I had taken of him. He used to play all kinds of sports when we were in school. He even does BMX still."
Michael's eyes widened, and they sparkled a little. "He does!? That's cool."
"You will not be," I quickly added. "So, don't ask."
Michael scowled and then looked back at the box. "Did you mean it when you said he never knew? That he didn't know about me?"
I nodded. "I never told him." I ran my hand over his hair. "And I'm sorry I never told him."
Michael pulled out a photo album and started to go through it. I took the pictures out carefully, remembering each day. We had gone to the lake one time and fished. We flipped the boat and had to swim back to the shore.
Another was us at the circus, which Miles hated, but he knew I wanted to go, so we went. I was next to an elephant, and he was next to the clowns.
We'd gone to the fair, taken a trip up to Colorado, and climbed mountains. We went tubing down rivers and stayed out late watching the stars. We spent one winter break in the mountains, sipping coffee while it snowed.
I felt an ache remembering how much I had loved him. He had given me so much, and everything ended so quickly. And I'd been blind to his pain.
I thought Miles was just cold, but in truth, he had been trying so hard to be perfect that I didn't realize it. All the times I'd thought he was heartless were him trying to avoid being hurt.
"You know how I would never let anything happen to you," I said, watching him flip another page. I brushed his hair back again, kissing the top of his head. "He didn't have that. His folks wanted to hurt him, and they did. They wouldn't run into a burning building like he did."
Michael glanced at me for a moment before frowning. "I feel bad. I told him that he was just going to screw everything up."
I was about to ask when, and then I remembered the day I knew something was off.
"Maybe he isn't that bad," Michael said, sighing. He closed the album and gave it to me. "Do you think he will want to come here sometime?"
"I think he would love that," I said, smiling at him.
Michael nodded before turning and stepping out of my room. I sighed, looking at everything, feeling a little relieved.
After putting everything away, I sat on the couch and stared at my phone. I dialed Miles's number and called.
It only rang a few times before he answered. "Miss me that much already?"
I smirked, rolling my eyes. "I was just checking to make sure you got home. That is all, don't get cocky."
He chuckled. "I'm home. Little sore, little burned, but I'm home."
I leaned back against the cushions. "You're supposed to take it easy the next couple of weeks."
"I know, and I will be."
I looked towards Michael's bedroom and softly smiled. "Well, when you start to feel better, would you like to come have dinner sometime? Michael was wondering."
Miles was silent for a moment before I could hear his voice lightening. "I would love to."
I smiled, reaching my hand up to the locket. I had finally put it back on. "Good. I'll talk to you later."