A/N: I trust that everyone is doing well! I missed you guys! So this is my next project, I've been working on it for the past couple weeks and finally have the courage to post it. I know the amnesia/memory trope has been done but this is my version. If this is not your thing I understand. For those of you who are interested, thank you for sticking with me.
Ok. Let's get to it.
Sophia
Separation Anxiety
"Yeah Mags I'm still thinking about it. It should be interesting in the least. Yeah I know she'll have a total fit. Okay. I will. Goodnight."
Rick caught the tail end of his wife's conversation, momentarily distracted by the sight of her lean form bent over the edge of their bed as she moisturized her already smooth legs. Fresh from the shower, her coconut verdana body wash wafted through the air, intoxicating his already alert body. The cordless phone was tucked between her ear and shoulder, her towel neatly tucked securely into her cleavage; a challenge if he ever saw one.
He heard her sexy voice call his name and he made an attempt to appear alert. "Who was that?" He failed, he was unable to take his eyes off her glistening body.
"That was your sister. She said Hi. We were debating if we're really going to Shane and Andrea's party tomorrow. She said we don't have a choice." She strolled to their walk-in closet in search of a suit to wear to work the following day. Rick sat at the edge of the bed content to watch her as she prepared herself, his wife was nothing but proactive and it was a trait that had saved their family many late mornings.
"Are we?" He wasn't too keen on celebrating the fact their closest friends were separating. Especially as they were married a few months after Shane and Andrea. He was an optimist in spite of the harsh circumstances and thought time away from each other might do them some good but he didn't want to enjoy a party because of it. "I told you I'm meeting with the Mayor tomorrow right? So there's a good chance I'll be late. Your mom coming over to watch the kids?" Deanna Munroe-Linton was not one to shy away from spending time with Carl and Andre, they were the apples of her eye and they both basked in their revered status.
"Yes. She is. So you're leaving me to endure this alone?" She stepped to him and landed between his legs, the warmth of their close bodies creating a shift in the room. He wore a pair of black shorts and black t shirt; she marvelled how breathless the sight of him still left her after five years of marriage. His hands tugged at her towel but she tightened it all the more not wanting to be distracted from her tasks. She didn't mind a little distraction but not entirely, not yet.
"It will be fine. I'm sure Shane and Andrea will be on their best behavior." He laughed even before he could complete his sentence and she joined in with her melodious laugh too. Shane and Andrea were a real soap opera story and couldn't behave if their life depended on it. "I don't think they'll stay divorced anyways." Rick had remained very candid on the ongoings of their friends but he did give Shane an ear or two having been in the same position with Lori before. Although the situations were completely different, the sentiment remained that a marriage was about to end and lives would be irrevocably changed.
Rick knew how much Shane loved his wife and his buddy was hurting something fierce over it. The feeling of failure was intense for Shane. Rick tried to show him life wasn't supposed to be a series of successes knowing fully well everybody failed at something or the other.
It was a good note in theory, in practical they were lamenting on a marriage and not a maths exam.
"You don't believe they're making a mistake do you?" She dangled two hangers in front of him, one with a red pantsuit, the other held a brown skirt suit he had recently purchased for her. He gave his valued opinion via a head nod to the brown suit, he couldn't resist her in skirts.
"I don't think I can make that call. " He glided up the bed and stuffed a pillow behind his back. Talking to Michonne after a full day had a calming effect on his mind. She made all the horrible things he had to deal with as the Sheriff fade away. She was his tether when the demands of the job seemed to be pulling him in all different directions.
"They love each other. Deeply Rick. How can being a part help that?" She was now in and out of their en-suite bathroom as she sped through her nightly routine.
"Maybe they need to be apart to realize that."
"I think being a part is the worst thing for them." She was surprised at how opposite their views were on the topic. Normally they were so in sync.
"Maybe being apart will make that depth rise to the surface?" A statement and a question all wrapped into one and sprinkled with some hope. "This is all Shane's fault. He promised to give her whatever was in his power to give. I'm sure he'd never anticipated her wanting him to sign walking papers. Everybody knows you don't give a girl like Andrea that kind of power." Rick said.
"What kinda power does it take to sign divorce papers?" She shrugged nonchalantly thinking the power should've been in their promise to each other and not the pen.
"More power than you think. Even when there's no love it's hard to do." It wasn't really an old feeling, more like a distant memory when it come to his own divorce. He was free finally, but he wasn't unaffected by the breakdown of his brief marriage to Lori.
"Rick I'm sorry." She purposely walked over to him and straddled him on the bed. Her comment was brash and soothing his heart was her intendment. Clad in only an underwear and a bra his hands easily sought home on her bare body. She caressed his stubbled cheek. She had no intentions to dig up old, buried wounds with her callous rambling.
"It's fine." He kissed her lips chastely. "I give you whatever you want don't I?"
He did, but even she thought a line should be drawn at some point, "So if I asked you for a divorce you'd just give it to me?" She was really anxious about his answer, just the thought of them being separated was turning her mood. She couldn't breathe without this man underneath her.
"No." He didn't believe in absolutes, but that one was a given.
"Why not?"
"Because you and I are…" He waited for her to finish his sentence. A smile played on her lips, she loved it when he did their thing.
"Meant to be." Like music and lyrics, a lock and a key. They just go together.
"Good, don't you ever forget that." Another kiss to her jawbone delivered, he looked determinedly in her spice brown orbs and spoke, "You and I, we don't give up. We're not like them. And there isn't anything that has happened or is going to happen that we -" He gestured between them, "Can't handle. Ok?" He saw an abstract need for reassurance and he needed to be that for her. She nodded with a smile. His confidence in them and the love they had for each other overruled the propensity to doubt in the face of any potential disaster.
He wanted their love to trust first. Always.
"I love you so much Rick. I can't lose you…." Maybe it was seeing her friend's marriage crumble before her eyes that made her aware how fragile a union could be. Perhaps it was the understanding of the essential acts of trust and communication that went hand in hand in a marriage, and knowing she and Rick didn't have that problem that brought her out of her musings.
"Baby, I love you too. You and the boys are my life. I've got everything I need right here inside these walls. I'm not losing any of it." Even as he said it his hands dipped inside her panties where he found her wet and throbbing for his touch.
"No you're not. I'm not." As the words died on her lips, her core came alive at the feel of his digits slipping snuggly into her canal while his thumb pressed her nub deviously.
He no longer wanted to be jealous of the air that touched her lips, so he kissed her like she was his everything. When his lips touched hers, sometimes his knees grew weak. He was grateful they were on their large bed.
It was almost nine o' clock. The boys were in bed. The wine colour drapes that decorated the large slider windows had been pulled, cocooning them in their own world where they could express and explore their ardent need for each other.
His dick pressed at her entrance as he strained almost painfully inside his pants. He lifted her slightly off him as he dragged his pants off. He was no longer able to endure the torture of barriers between them. He needed her more than a candle needed a flame. Her touch consumed him and saved him all at once.
"Tell me what you want baby?" His question was an intentional delay to their bated reunion but he needed her to say the words.
"I want your dick inside me Rick." Her voice was already breathless and he used the opening to push up into her waiting heat.
"Aahh, shit baby. You feel amazing!" He crushed his chest to her breasts and held her tightly against him. His lips paid homage to her ears, neck and breasts as they pushed against each other.
"Yessss Rick! Faster!" Her body was in a heated frenzy, her hands tugging at his soft curls like a drifter at sea. She pulled his head to her, wanting to feast on his eyes as he quenched the thirst in her body. There were times when she forgot how to speak when she looked at him. His baby blues had a way of showcasing every drop of love he had for her. It made her breath catch in her throat.
There was no pause as he migrated to a faster thrust, his fingers digging into her cushy skin.
This love making, although intent on passion, had a deeper meaning as they decided they were ready to actively try for a baby. The timing was perfect as they were both settled in their careers and the boys were doing well in school. They wanted a girl, somehow a girl would tie things up nicely in their family.
His hands kneaded her ass as he brought her curvy body willingly down even harder on his dick.
She cried out at the rush of sensation, he kissed her hard as his pace increased. The scent of their greedy awakening surrounded them, the sound of their friction triggered a heavier feel of arousal. Michonne felt the orgasm she had been trying to stave off cantering up to her like a horse on a racetrack destined for the winning spot.
Rick had the ease and skill of a detailed lover. Her honey pot was often being schooled by a champion.
"I can't -" she struggled for air and words.
"Then don't!" He was right behind her and held his off until she shattered in his arms. He exploded his seed inside her with a low grunt.
His body shook with the intrinsic yet volcanic eruption being inside his wife caused. He never grew tired of the experience.
"How is it that every time feels like the first time?" She panted as the vibration in her body and the beat of her heart echoed each other.
"I don't know. It just is. Just like us." He kissed her nose as her eyes closed again. She felt like she was drifting off. Her body was still humming the tune of victory.
She crumbled to her side of the bed, her head barely making it to the pillow.
By the time her eyes opened he was staring at her sweetly, waiting.
"The usual?" He asked as though this wasn't part of their routine.
"Yes please. Only this time I want my own spoon." It felt like a sinful indulgence, eating ice cream this late but it was their ritual on a few nights when insatiable appetites for each other usually led to a sweet tooth in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Tonight was one of those nights.
He kissed her cheek as he rose off the bed, "I'll be back, don't fall asleep. Promise me." They never made a promise to each other they didn't intend on keeping.
"I promise." She followed his bow legged gait as he snagged on his boxers and walked around their bed, until he stood in the doorway. "Babe?"
"Michonne." He answered seductively as he leaned on the doorarch. He always made time to listen to the things she had to say.
"You think we made a baby tonight?" She was just starting her ovulation period, so the conditions were right. Hearing it from his voice would increase her hopefulness tenfold. He was a great father to Andre who wasn't his biological child, not that it mattered to either of them but there was nothing more she wanted to give this man than a child that was a part of both of them.
She was praying for a girl with his heart and a perfect mixture of their skin tones. He gave her his word it was going to happen soon and she believed him. She wanted that for them. He smiled to himself; the one where he couldn't hide his cocky demeanor because he believed so much in what he was about to say. "I know we did."
"How do you know?" She asked, sitting upright in an effort to keep her vow.
"Because I made you a promise. You and I...we always keep our promises." He was gone in a blink for their almost midnight snack.
She relaxed happily into her pillow and envisioned what that promise would look like.
"All of a sudden you gotta spend all this money to look cultured?" Shane was genuinely confused with the Italian designer dress Andrea had to purchase for their party. Her lavish spending habits was another insurmountable issue to pile onto the plate of things he couldn't rationalize with her. He was nostalgic for the girl who used to love to parade around their hot, two bedroom apartment in nothing but his V-necks. Now he had been exchanged for a more expensive fit without so much as an ounce of remorse. It all subsequently meant she didn't need him anymore and it was proving to be a bitter pill to swallow.
How could somebody he loved so much also be the source of his contention? It was more evidence to substantiate the compunctive celebrations being held today and how even in his sadness he still tried to give her the things he could still provide.
"First off. It's couture!" Her defense was pointless, she knew it but in a battle of wills she had to have her say.
"Honey just because I don't use all them fancy words doesn't mean I'm stupid." Hands on his hip, he tilted his head and included an eye squint, he was hoping the girl he loved was somewhere underneath all that Armani apparel.
"Did I say you were stupid!? I never-"
"Uuugghh ummmm.." Abraham cleared his voice loudly after being shoved by his fiance to break up the irrelevant argument between the mismatched pair. Shane and Andrea who stood arguing by the flavorful food table turned at the intrusion and gave Abraham their attention, complete with two fake smiles.
"Well Shane...Andrea, I know you two never had your heads screwed on right like the likes of us but in the few months I've known you this is definitely the weirdest thing I have ever celebrated! But congrats on the divorce anyways!" Abraham's burly voice reverberated through the friend filled living room. His impromptu toast as the host by proxy helped to stave off the potential awkwardness lurking in the room like an uninvited guest. The experience was strange for even the likes of this group who had been through life, death and everything in between with each other over the past few years. The lot of them half-heartedly raised their wine filled glasses in an odd toast to the freshly divorced couple who appeared happier than they had been in months.
As far as Michonne was concerned; looks could be deceiving. Her two jaded friends were putting on the act of a century. Behind Shane's brooding eyes lay a sadness left by the one girl he said he'd never give up but did because she asked him to. Andrea's cheery disposition hid a nakedness, a fear even of the acknowledgement she was now severely alone for the first time in a long time.
Andrea went in search of another bottle of alcohol to numb her already porous emotions and it reminded Michonne why she decided to attend the divorce party after all. It was difficult for her girl to express emotions that had been intentionally repressed so Andrea always went the hardened route, the road less travelled. Her present disposition was contradictory to what she always knew was the right thing. After being a neutral force in the divorce proceeding and Andrea's lawyer she was able to dissect a bit more where the real issues rested.
Shane was a sweetheart of a guy that viewed his world in lens crafted by him, he didn't see things for how they really were. He saw Andrea for who she was or rather how she used to be and loved her for it. Andrea saw that necessitous and immature young woman she was; the one she allowed Shane to fall in love with and didn't want to be her anymore. She was moving on up in life and viewed her ability to disassociate from her upbringing as a gift. Her evolution was infringing on the intimacy and friendship that had been so easily crafted between them all those years ago. Now all it did was shed a bright light on the disparity between them.
Andrea did what she did best, she absorbed herself in her job and was away quite frequently, eventually there was nothing really for Shane to love besides shadows and distant memories.
There was no foreseeable way to bridge the gap, the dreamer and the fugitive had called it quits.
It was the worst kind of self sabotage Michonne had ever seen. She knew now more than ever her friend needed her.
"You know, if she wasn't gonna drink herself into a stupor I wasn't going to be here." She was glad Sasha shared her sentiment as she joined her at the table in the brightly-lit dining room. She took a sip of the yellow, alcohol free drink in her hand, unnecessarily named Ale-imony and took a bite of the split chicken breasts she had no choice but to eat. Sasha made a note to remind Carol to desist from indulging Andrea in her food shenanigans.
"It's your house." Michonne reminded her newly engaged sister.
"It's Abe's house, when we're married I'll say different." Sacrificing her fiance's large, roomy three bedroom farm house as the place to finally bury her friends' marriage was the least she could've done for Andrea and Shane. Andrea's color wheel of emotions were on full display for the world to see during what she called the biggest disappointment of her life. It had been a simple case of fools rush in. Andrea met Shane when he was transferred to King County Police Department five years ago, it was lust at first sight and a series of bad decisions after that. In two months they were married on a whim at the Justice of the Peace and broke the news to everyone via a video post on Facebook, which in itself was a bad omen to their impromptu nuptials.
Fast forward five years and they were planning to live happily ever after, separately. Andrea's modelling career had taken off considerably in the past two years requiring her to fly out of state regularly, causing a strain on her already fragile relationship with her husband who only wanted to spend time with his wife. The more money she made the more high maintenance she became and poor Shane couldn't keep up. Andrea's fix for being away so much was to purchase Shane elaborate gifts as an expensive supplement for her presence. She was investing in hardware for a software problem and in the end it was costly for both parties involved.
Her absence was withering Shane's heart away and causing their once heated love to dwindle to a weak flame.
It was hard to start a fire with wet matches.
Eventually they came to a decision they were better apart than they were together. This divorce party was their way of giving their friends the wedding reception they never got the chance to attend and to thank them for their support during their tumultuous separation all in one shot.
"Why do you guys look so gloomy?" Andrea asked, even in her tipsy state Michonne could see the dejection behind her azure colored eyes. "We haven't even played pin the tail on the mistress yet!" She said gulping down the last of her Pinot noir.
"That's because Shane didn't have a mistress Andrea!" Maggie said joining them at the table. In her four months pregnant state she had opted to sip some lemonade in lieu of the wine she longed for.
The newly, unwed blonde shrugged at her closest friends as she dragged a chair out and dropped herself on it. She leaned into them as though she had a secret to divulge. "Shane didn't have a mistress but he had something. Everybody cheats with something or the other." Deep down she wished there was a face responsible for their mess of a marriage instead of the black abyss of irreconcilable differences that had been blotted with black ink on their divorce papers like a death sentence. Not even a ruling judge could identify what was wrong with them even though she knew she had a big part to play in their breakdown.
"He loved you. He still does." Maggie knew they had this conversation a million times but it hurt her hearing how cynical and jaded divorce made Andrea.
"I'm sorry we all can't have perfect marriages like you and Michonne. Listen were doing this for y'all. You guys don't get to choose here. Shane and I are sharing the lot of you equally. Our lives are too entwined to have a bitter divorce between us. I'd appreciate it if my mains could have my back." The rant was a long time coming, she knew everybody was not pleased with their decision. As far as she was concerned she knew they were blaming her for everything. They didn't say it but she knew.
Shane had promised he'd give her anything she wanted and that included a divorce and somehow that was her fault too.
"When have we not had your back?" Michonne asked, unable to hold her silence in anymore.
She checked her watch and hoped her boys were behaving. Anna was at home keeping an eye on them and she knew they could be a handful. Hopefully Rick would arrive soon. They heard the rich laughter of Shane, Glenn and Abraham greet Daryl and Rosita who had started dating three months ago, out on the front porch. Rosita stepped inside the house leaving the men outside to commiserate with their boy Shane who on all counts was putting on a good facade in front of his friends.
"Did I just see a divorce cake out there?" Rosita asked comically. The olive green body con dress she wore in perfect contrast with her skin. "I mean Darth Vader and Princess Leia on the top tier with the words May Divorce Be With You? That's genius!" Rosita was the coolest chick in the game and was the best beautician this side of King County. She never allowed things to mess with her headspace for too long. She knew her two friends weren't happy and she supported them both in their separation. "How does it feel chica?" She questioned the ex-missus.
"I do. I did. I'm done." Another raised glass from Andrea and she drank every drop of the red enabler of bad things and even worse thoughts.
Michonne reached over and dragged the bottle towards her. Somebody needed to take responsibility for Andrea tonight and it looked like it had to be her.
"Hey! Chonne this is my Divorce party! What kind of divorce support group are you if you don't drink with me?" It was a stare off between the pair but Michonne won. Good sense prevailed with Andrea it just almost, always came a day late.
"Did you see her divorce keepsakes? They're candles that smell like 'freshly scented divorce papers' and I'm not kidding." Sasha couldn't believe there were companies making a profit off of people's broken hearts and shattered lives.
"You really went all out for this one Andrea."
"What can I say? I love to over do it."
"With. Every. Thing." Maggie said popping a grape in her mouth.
"Are we still doing girls night this Thursday?" She asked eagerly, turning her gaze to Michonne as though she had full autonomy on decisions.
"I don't know Andie" Sasha said circling the table where they all sat. "We opted for every other Thursday to do whatever we wanted as a means to get away from the men. Now that um…..you have none I don't think we can allow you in our club anymore." Her eyes were sinister as Andrea's smug smiled turned serious.
"You really gonna do me dirty like that Sasha? Don't forget I'm a holder of all of y'all's secrets." It was a dirty manipulation even though she knew they were teasing. Their ridiculous roars of laughter filled the air.
"So Fussy Posse we're on right?" Rosita needed clarification.
"Yeah we are. It's getting late. This baby is sucking my energy. Where is my brother Chonne?" Maggie asked as she prepared herself to leave.
"He had a panel meeting with the Mayor to discuss an anti-drug campaign they wanna implement….I guess he ran late." she hadn't heard from him in the last hour, she needed to remember to take a to-go plate home in case he didn't make it.
"Is Jessie on that panel too?" Sasha asked curiously. It was no secret the Mayor's newly divorced secretary had a crush on the Sheriff.
Michonne shrugged, she honestly wasn't sure if Jessie would've been there and she didn't care.
"She probably is. She likes to be everywhere with her box-dyed persona." It was also no secret Andrea didn't care for her at all.
"Tell us how you really feel Andie. I barely say two words to her. Why do you hate her so much?"
"You mean besides the fact she wants your husband? Besides the fact your husband seems ignorant of this? She is such a phony, her handbag may say Coach but her attitude says Costco." Rosita choked on the remnants of Carol's delicious vegetarian quiche she had stuffed in her mouth.
Michonne laughed at the quip too but she never considered giving Jessie a second thought, she honestly didn't feel threatened by the over friendly woman.
"He wanted to be here Andie." Andrea barely heard Michonne, she was too caught up in watching Shane saunter over to them. Shane was the tall, handsome brooding type. A born gentleman who was always in protective mode of those he cherished. It was sad to see despite their love for each other pride and ego brought out a darker version of himself that only Andrea could tame.
He threw his hands over Andrea's shoulder, his gaze resting on the rest of the girls he considered like sisters, "Isn't she the most beautiful ex-wife you've ever seen?" He gave her cheek a smooch and she shrugged out of his embrace. Everyone noticed it was a bit delayed.
Michonne stared at the odd couple as they migrated to an argument over the bill for Carol's Catering for their divorce party. They were all numb to the public disagreements and gathered up themselves as they prepared to leave.
"Andie!" Michonne shouted in order to be heard over their passionate exchange of words.
"What?"
"How are you getting home?" The plan was to get a lift home with Michonne and Rick but he was unable to attend tonight. Rick's Sheriff's duties had him being pulled in all directions. A late text from him was discovered only moments ago. He was still stuck at the meeting. He told her he already arranged with Daryl to take her home.
"I'll grab a lift with someone, y'all go on. Thanks for coming." She stalked over to her friend and gave her a courtesy hug. Michonne hugged her tightly in return.
"NutherMother is with the boys. I don't wanna keep her. Call me when you get in."
Despite the uncertainty of leaving Shane and Andrea to their own devices Michonne had her motherly duties to attend to.
…...
Michonne's cell phone rang on the table beside their King size bed just as Rick was lapping at her neck and her hands were finding their way to his boxers.
It was ten p.m, with her being the senior attorney at Beatty and Monroe, work calls all hours of the evening wasn't completely unexpected.
"Tell them you're unavailable." Rick said unashamedly as his hand slipped between the thickness of her thighs. She squirmed under his warm touch and reached for the phone. "It's not work, it's Andrea." She lifted off the bed and turned on the lamp as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of her screen. They had just retired after catching up with the boys about their fun evening with their grandmother. They were eager to share their experience playing on their X-Box with Deanna, who apparently was a fast learner.
They were making out like teenagers when the phone interrupted their late night guilty pleasure. At the knowledge it was her best friend Rick didn't approve with the interference, especially as they had hung out at the party a few short hours before.
"I'm sure she's calling you to bad mouth my buddy Shane. Don't answer." He kissed behind her earlobe as his fingers found her lower lips and he toyed with them a bit. She giggled as the caller ID tune continued. She knew if she didn't answer Andrea would call back until she did.
She connected the line much to Rick's chagrin.
"Andrea, what's up?" The sound on the phone was a bit muffled but she was certain her best friend was crying.
"Can you come take me drunk, I'm home." She was intoxicated, Michonne had high hopes any drama for the evening was smartly dodged.
"Where are you Andie?" She heard Shane's voice in the background and fit the puzzle pieces together. Andrea left Abraham's house with Shane. Obviously they made a stop at his house, never quite making it to hers.
"I'm in Westerfair." Michonne heard the click clack of expensive pumps and figured Andrea was outside on Shane's wooden porch.
"Please Mich." She heard the hopelessness, the remorse and even the pain in her tone. Michonne still grimaced, Mich only came out of Andrea's mouth when she was desperate. She got up to drag on some pants even before she agreed. She couldn't leave her stranded.
"Stay there. I'm coming for you. I can't understand why you went there in the first place but we'll talk when I get there." She hung up the phone. Rick sat up on the bed, arms folded as he watched her in disbelief as she got dressed.
"Michonne." She heard the displeased intonation, he didn't even try to mask in his voice.
"Rick. She's stranded. They're arguing. I'm not gonna leave her there."
"Let her get a damn cab." She shot him a glare and his position didn't budge.
"I can't sleep knowing she's not okay." It sounded like a lame reason to her too but as her best friend she couldn't abandon her.
"Andrea is an adult. So is Shane. They make their own decisions. You treat her like a child every time you do this." He was pacing while he gave his reasoning.
"Every time? I don't do this every time."
"Doesn't matter. I don't want you goin' out there." He knew she always listened to his opinions, he knew she respected him greatly but he also knew when she had an idea in her head she tended to go her own way.
"Look at me. I'll be back in forty minutes." His hands pulled her into him at her waist and pressed his forehead to hers.
"Please be safe. The next time she does something like this I'm gonna have her arrested." She laughed because he probably meant it.
"The faster you say you love me, the faster I can leave."
"I love you, you know that." He kissed her deeply before he let her go.
"And you and I are what again? I can't remember…" She was teasing him, bringing back some levity to his mood.
"Meant to be. Don't be too long." He would camp out on the couch downstairs until she got back.
He couldn't sleep without her.
…...
"The silence is deafening." Andrea said in the tensely quiet car. The low sound of Bobby Womack's 'If you think you're lonely now' playing on the radio like a not so subtle reminder of her current status was grating her very last nerve.
"Now you wanna talk? You all sobered up?" Michonne couldn't help the accusatory tone of her voice as she looked at Andrea who had slunked all the way into the front seat of her Volvo.
"How was I to know the night would end up like this?" In her defense she had no plans to end up at Shane's house.
"Divorce people don't normally sleep with each other Andie!" Michonne said as she guided her car down the dark road of Westerfair. The drive to Andrea's house was twenty five minutes long and she hoped the time flew by quickly. Having to leave the warmth of her home and the warmth of her husband's arms to retrieve an inebriated Andrea from her now ex-husband's house was something she could have done without tonight.
"We may not be married anymore but the passion is still there."
"Then why - you know what, I'm not doing this with you tonight." Andrea knew Michonne had her back no matter what. They had been through a lot together over the eight years they knew each other but her behavior over the past couple of months had been complexed and inexcusable.
"You can say it Chonne. I've disappointed you. I couldn't even have the perfect marriage like you and Rick. I suck at relationships. You win. " It wasn't a proud admission but it was something she knew she had to own.
"That's the thing Andrea. It isn't a competition. Nobody's keeping score here."
"Shane thinks I complete him. Said that he wants to be perfect like you guys."
"You think I believe my marriage is perfect?" her words came out in a scoff.
"Maybe." Andrea shrugged uncertain of how to bring her point across. She stared at the highway with its densely populated street lights and felt like she was staring at the unlit path of her own life.
"I'm not with Rick because he completes me. I'm with him because he compliments me. There's a big difference."
"I think you and Rick are in your own world sometimes. And it's a false sense of security feeling protected from outside influences because we don't have control over that. Nothing seems to get in between y'all. Maybe I'm just jealous of how untouchable you guys are. You two don't even argue." Her tipsy slur remained tenacious and reminded Michonne that mysery liked company.
"You're right. We don't argue. We discuss things. Arguing leads to more arguing about who's right. Discussions help us see what is right. We work at it. It doesn't come out of thin air. Marriages are to be fed Andie, they don't become great with a magic wand. My marriage takes precedence over everything else in my life. It's my priority. Your marriage is probably third on your list. With you coming in first and your career a close second. That's all on you."
Maybe it was the alcohol that had Andrea speaking so freely but Michonne felt like sharing things unfettered too.
"Thanks for that slap in the face." The tears were rolling again, the feelings of inadequacy creeping over her skin.
"You two seemed to be in love at one point. What changed?"
"People change Michonne."
"Do they? Change that is? Or do they forget they love each other?"
She gave no response, she didn't know the answer to the question.
"Sometimes it's easier to forget. Sometimes we forget not because it doesn't matter, but because it matters too much." Michonne was digging for the truth even if it contradicted what Andrea convinced herself to believe in order to face her own twisted reality.
"He said I've turned into a hoity, toity bitch. A selfish shell of the girl he fell in love with. So I hear what you're saying but Shane and I aren't those people anymore…and...I couldn't take it ok….." There was a look in his eyes when he locked her in his gaze and she knew that although he looked at her there was so much he didn't see.
"Take what?"
"Take the hurt and pain on his face, knowing I caused it. I couldn't live with the need in those pensive brown eyes of his everytime I packed my suitcase. I know one day he'd ask me to choose." It was her big, dark secret out in the open.
"So you asked him to give you a divorce instead? Knowing he would. He was just collateral damage in all of this?" It made everything more cruel.
"Michonne, you picked me up from Shane's. We had sex. Then we argued. Can't you see I'm the collateral damage?"
"Do you honestly think it was the right thing to do? Was it easy to make that decision?" Michonne wanted to know what that thought process involved, how much of Andrea had it ripped away?
"He said I deserve to be alone…..I am alone." Her hands lifted and dropped to her lips at the realization.
"The single life might be good for you. I've been there. You get to use that time to find out who you are or who you are not."
"Being single is hard enough. It's being single again that worries me."
Michonne felt sad for her friend but otherwise incredibly motivated to be even more protective of her relationship with Rick.
Andrea's truth serum had her pensive, was she jaded into thinking she and Rick were equipped to handle anything?
She certainly didn't want to end up like Andrea or Shane. If a tragedy struck would they remember how much they loved each other? How much the good memories they made with their family out weighed any bad that could ever come their way?
They had both been through complicated loves in the past, it's what made their relationship so different. There was brutal honesty between them. A soulful connection, deepened by their familiar circumstances. She didn't take that for granted.
Michonne came to a halt at the last traffic light in Brash. They were a block away from Andrea's street. They had arrived at the more rural part of King County in good time. It was early enough they could both still get a good night's rest.
"Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are one and the same." The bare truth was settling around them uncomfortably as they both began to muse on it.
The silence ticked by like a clock with a dying battery.
"Well for your sake I hope nothing ever changes between you two. Thanks for coming to get me. I appreciate it."
"Andrea I'll always-" She didn't have time to complete her sentence. There was only time to react. She made a vain attempt to swerve the stationary vehicle as the delivery truck opposite them broke the light and beelined straight towards their car.
"Michonne!" The fear in Andrea's voice as she shouted her name and reached for her hand was the last thing she remembered before her body slammed into the steering wheel.
It was a head on collision. Andrea's air bag deployed before Michonne's, knocking her out completely after the harsh sound of bone breaking penetrated the cabin. Michonne's head slammed forcefully into the dashboard before the seatbelt could snapback her elastic body.
Steam rose from both vehicles as they smashed. The windows shattered on contact, the front of the metal vehicle looked like crumpled paper. The two friends were bleeding and unconscious at the intersection. The driver of the other vehicle remained pinned behind the wheel of his car.
Two vehicles stopped at the scene and frantically dialed the police while getting as close to the injured as possible, praying for signs of life. The smell of burnt tyres grew thick around them.
It was a spine chilling sight, the kind of scene you viewed on the news and not one you witnessed with your own eyes.
Lives would be forever changed by the fragility of life. The first witnessed screamed desperately into her phone as though her urgent voice would help materialize the ambulance. "Please! Hurry! I think...I think one of them is dead!"
