A/N: This fanfic is inspired by two Sara Bareilles songs: "Between the Lines" and "Many the Miles"
I wish time would slow down, even for just a little while.
Susan wished fate had given her one last day. One last day to spend with someone close to her heart, the best friend she ever had in her more than three decades of existence. Just one day to spend doing all the things she wanted to do with him. Maybe cross one more thing on his wish list, and hopefully find out what things of a more personal nature he talked about on his letter.
If only she read between the lines, saw the burning love in his eyes, noticed his yearning for her touch. If only she paid attention to the details. If only she didn't run away from everything and turned the other direction. If only I listened to what was unspoken.
Alas, it didn't turn out that way.
She's, at the present, sitting in some sort of limbo, treading the waters, going nowhere. Now she's trapped in a relationship she wouldn't dream of having, kept a house no sane woman would live in, and worked a job that at times took more what she could give. She's stuck in a low light, and she doesn't know how to get out of it. I can't believe how cruel these memories and missed opportunities are. Are they really making me pay for everything I've done years ago?
Then somebody else came to the picture. Things weren't much sunshine and roses when they first met. They seemed to always be at odds with one another, as if she's a threat in her eyes. Then that fateful day came, and along with his passing, the wall of communication between them crumbled. They started to talk, a lot. Shared stories about him, about life, about a few things they shared in common, including a drink or two.
The urge to help her came in droves. She tried what she could but she kept pushing her away, kept saying she's fine. But instead of giving up, she pushed on, reaching out as much as she could, no matter what. Part of her wanted to confess one secret she held to herself, but seeing her in the arms of another man and her own entanglement with another, among other things, held her back.
She observed the view of the Chicago skyline by the lake, but only one trail of thought ran into her mind the whole time: I wonder how long will I have to go to get to her...I can feel that she's my second chance, and I wouldn't want to blow it with her like I did with him. I only hope she feels the same way.