Disclaimer : The characters don't belong to me :(
A/N : Ok, this happens when I'm bored. So far for never writing a Mark/Susan story again, LOL. Anyway, it's about Mark and Susan, but not really a Marsan (at least not yet...). English isn't my first language, and it didn't have a beta for that story... Hopefully the grammar and spelling won't be that bad.
Big thanks going to Kathie & Kathi for inspiration and support. The idea for this story came from the Savage Garden song, I don't know you anymore. I'm also using these lyrics in the story :)
CHAPTER 1 - MEMORIES
The sky above Arizona was painted in shades of bright orange and red by the the setting sun one warm evening in April. The train began to move with a lurch, and the illuminated city of Phoenix started drifting past the windows. A blonde woman wearing a pair of faded jeans along with a pale blue V-neck pullover that went along really well with her blazing green eyes, leaned back in her seat, She relaxed and closed her eyes. Being lucky enough to have an entire carriage of her own, it was quiet except for the rhythmic rolling noise of the train, which on the account of having worked all day, seemed like a lullaby to her. It didn't take her long to drift into a long and peaceful sleep. Hours later, she woke up again. Looking out of the window, she saw nothing but darkness. Here and there a few lights, but that was about it. She glanced at her watch. 0:25am. Although she was quite hungry, she couldn't motivate herself to get up to find the dining car. Instead, she leaned her head against the headrest and closed her eyes again. Considering that she had a job interview scheduled for the next day, catching some sleep didn't seem to be a bad idea. In a couple of hours, she would be back in Chicago, and if everything worked out, she would go back to Phoenix, pack up all her things and move across the continent again. When first coming to Phoenix, she thought she could be happy there. But it didn't take her long to figure out that she didn't really belong there. She had followed her sister and niece across the country, and even though she saw them every day, it didn't make her as happy as she thought it would. There was a time when the two of them had really depended on her, but that time was long gone. Her sister was happily married, and her niece didn't need her anymore. She felt left out. She wanted to go back home, back to Chicago where all her friends lived, back to where she belonged.
She wondered what it would be like to see all her old friends again, most of all, to see HIM again. They had been friends for an eternity, but the day she had left for Phoenix, it had all fallen apart. He had finally told her that was in love with her, and he had also asked her to stay. To give it a go. What a fool she had been back then. Words couldn't describe what she had felt for him, but she had departed anyway. Was it just her pride, or was it because she was scared? Scared to give it a go? Maybe she was afraid...Afraid of loosing him, not yet being aware that she would really loose him by moving away. These questions went unanswered. All she knew was that she had always loved him. Even back in the days when he was still married, she had secretly felt for him.
She hadn't seen him in ages, and ever since she moved, they had slowly lost touch. At first, they used to speak on the phone every other week, but these phone calls were always awkward and neither of them really knew what to say, both knowing that they were meant to be. They would probably be happy together now, given she had stayed in Chicago.
During the first few weeks in Arizona, she would often cry herself to sleep, because she regretted everything so much. She missed him like hell, and wanted go back to him more than anything in the world. But her pride always made her stay. But she probably would have taken the next train – or even the next plane – to Chicago, if he had asked her to come home, but he never did.
Time went by, and they both moved on. Their phone calls become rare and far between. A short chat, every now and then, a postcard for their birthdays, and one for Christmas, but that was about it. Before long, she didn't know what was going on in his life anymore. They were no longer best friends...everything they had, all those incredible years they had shared, had all faded away.
But even now, when they had almost completely lost touch, she still thought about him a lot. He had probably been the first – and only -person she had ever really loved, and part of her was still mad at herself for never having given him a chance.
She hadn't heard anything from him in nearly 4 months, but while cleaning, she came across with an old photo album full of pictures of him.
Suddenly all the old memories were back. She remembered that day they had said goodbye to each other at Union Station as if it were yesterday. The moment she realized that she was still in love with him, her decision was made. She would move back to Chicago. Back home, back to where he lived.
Before she knew what she was doing, she was calling hospitals in Chicago, and scheduled a couple of job interviews. And soon as her plans were set, she picked up the phone and called him.
"I'll be in Chicago next weekend...how about if we meet? We haven't seen each other in a long time,"she'd said.
"OK," he had replied.
It had been wonderful to hear his voice again. Although their phone conversation hadn't lasted any longer than about 10 minutes, she had good feeling about it. Once she had that job in the bag, everything would be alright...they would be best friends again...and maybe even more...
Of course she had her doubts about moving back, but she just had to find out what - or if - there was still something between her and him. She was longing for an answer to all these questions that had been on her mind since she her arrival in Arizona. She wanted to know what could have been if she had never left. She wanted to find out if he was still in love with her and if they could go back to where they were.
On a windy and gloomy evening in April, she had finally gotten on a fast train which would take her home at last. And there she was, on her own, asleep in a carriage kept in blue – indigo colored velvet curtains, imitated leather seats in darker shade of blue, that were cold, but yet comfortable to sit on – traveling back to Windy City.
so far for part 1.
Any kind of feedback is appreciated, so please be a sweetheart and review the story :)