Sara looked up at him through sleep heavy lashes, barely managing to stay awake. It was their second night together of talking and love making well into the night and she was feeling it. She had just told him her well thought out plan and the silence that followed made her come instantly awake.
She sat up making him look at her. "You don't think it's a good idea, do you?"
She could see his answer in his eyes before he spoke.
"I don't think it will work Sara, that's all. You're sixteen and I'm seventeen, we're just kids. How can we make it on our own? It's just not realistic."
At the hurt look on her face he reached for her, but she pulled away. "You don't want to be with me, that's all. You say you love me, but if you're not willing to do anything for us to be together…"
She jumped up and grabbed her clothes from the floor.
And then at the door she turned to him.
"I won't go back there, I hate it there! With you or without you I'm leaving, and I'm never going back!"
"Sara, wait!"
She left the room, slamming the door behind her.
XXXXX
Michael lay back and squeezed his eyes shut rubbing them gently. It wasn't that he didn't want to be with Sara. God, he wanted her more than air! But he was too smart to think her plan of running away to some hick town where they could get jobs and no one would be the wiser would work.
Sooner or later his father would find them. And in the mean time it would destroy the family completely.
And even though Grace had treated him badly that was something Michael couldn't agree to have a part in. Family was everything.
He thought of Lincoln and the look on his face as he was sentenced. Up until that final moment it hadn't really hit Lincoln, Michael could see it in his expression. But the Judge saying two years in a minimum security prison had left its mark.
Michael had gone to the court house that day with every intention of being strong for his big brother, but when they were taking Lincoln away he broke. And when Lincoln looked at him, and saw what it was doing to him, Michael saw his sorrow. But Michael had also seen defeat when he looked at Lincoln. Defeat and something else. The look on his brother's face, was one that said he thought he had failed him.
But as bad as the scene at the court house had been, somehow going home without Lincoln that day had been the worst. And then Sara had called. He hadn't been expecting it, what with so many days gone by without hearing from her. He had figured Grace had her on lock down. Just the sound of her voice had buoyed him. And then when he realized she was crying it had broken his heart.
Her words of a few minutes before played again in his head. How could she think he didn't want to be with her, that he didn't love her? Still unsure of what lay ahead for them, only knowing he couldn't bear the thought of her crying again without him there to offer comfort, he slipped on his boxers and made his way to the door and out into the hall.
Before entering the living room he paused in the doorway and looked at her, her pale skin visible in the moonlight shining through the window. He was about to speak when he noticed her deep breathing. She was asleep.
He went back to the bedroom and grabbed a blanket. And then returning to her sleeping form he covered her gently, his fingers pausing to touch her soft hair. She stirred slightly at his touch, but didn't awaken.
He crossed the room to the chair in the corner and eased his long frame down into it. He sat across from her in the shadows and watched her quietly for some time. And then his decision made, he climbed wearily to his feet and went back to his bedroom to make the phone call.
XXXXX
Sara awoke on the couch at first unsure why she was there. But then she remembered. She and Michael had had a fight, their first fight. She didn't like the sound of that. Their first kiss, the first time they made love, those were happy firsts. She hated fighting with Michael. But couldn't he see she was right? Running away together was their only choice. Their only choice if they wanted to be together. She knew Grace and Aldo would figure things out quickly when she didn't show up tomorrow as planned. And once they figured it out it wouldn't be long before they showed up here looking for her. Then she had an idea. She sat up and combed her bed tangled hair with her fingers trying to smooth it. She was fully clothed and her shoes were by the door. All she had to do was find his keys…
And then she saw them on the table by the door. She made her way silently to grab her shoes and slipped them on. And then grabbing her purse she dug around for a pen and a scrap of paper. She scrawled her note quickly and then left it where she was sure he would find it, right where his keys had been.
And then keys in hand, she slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind her. She would go get donuts and coffee for breakfast. When they had finished eating they would set down and talk again. And this time she would keep her emotions in check; this time she would convince him that her plan for them could work.
Smiling confidently with her new resolve, Sara hopped into the car and headed for what she hoped was the business district.