A/N: A little sad. But happy-ish at the end. I own nothing. Please review!
Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing
You believed in superstitions
Then maybe you'd see the signs
The Lord knows that this world is cruel
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool
Learning lovin' somebody don't make them love you
Don figured she wasn't interested. He'd always figured it. And even though they'd been dating for 8 months, it still lurked in the back of his mind. He'd come home to find an empty apartment. Almost everything of hers was gone. It wasn't like what people said. His heart hadn't dropped into his shoes- and he hadn't felt nauseous or dizzy or even mad.
He'd just sat on his couch and rested his elbows on his knees. He'd stared off into space, feeling like he wouldn't regain brain activity for another couple hours. When he was a little less shocked, he walked into their, no, his room. He grabbed the pack of pictures off of the side table. He flipped open the flimsy paper envelope and stared blankly at the top picture. Aiden laughing into the lens, eye radiating mirth. He pulled the handful of pictures out and flipped though them. There were a couple of pictures of them separately- but then one of them really got to him.
There wasn't really anything particularly special about the picture. It looked like a picture a typical boyfriend and girlfriend would take. He had his arms around her and he was kissing the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were closed and she was clutching his shirt in her hands. Happy. They'd been happy together. He wondered why she'd left, why she'd had to end it like she did.
That was six months ago today.
Everyone had tried to find her, to see if she was okay. Stella had given up last. Aiden was good- she'd just disappeared. Everyone had been worried, but they'd finally just accepted that she had left for good.
Flack walked down the hall towards his apartment. He was tired and wanted to crawl into bed. Something stopped him.
She was leaning against the door of his apartment.
He almost dropped his keys.
He managed not to, Thank God for small favors.
She finally noticed him.
She looked a little different, but the same too. Her hair was longer, perhaps a tad darker. She looked kind of sad. She was wearing jeans and a long sleeve black shirt. She had dark circles under her eyes.
He stayed frozen for a second longer, but then he regained composure and trudged towards her, feet scuffing the carpet a little bit.
She moved a little to the side so he could open the door.
They still hadn't talked, and he wondered if that was a good thing, because he didn't really feel like yelling at her, no matter how much she had hurt him.
He gestured her inside, not quite ready to open up to her fully.
He closed the door and pulled his jacket off and dropped it on the couch.
She was watching him.
He stood facing the wall for a second, but then turned slowly.
"So what're you doin' here?"
"I, uh, I moved back to New York."
"I see."
They were quiet for a moment.
He asked another question.
"Where were you before this?"
"Trenton. Chicago. Helena. Boise. Seattle. Ontario. Vegas. Los Angeles. A lot of different places. It doesn't really matter."
He nodded, considering.
He knew he was going to have to ask at some point.
"Why?" He kept his voice detached, but he wanted to know so badly it almost burned.
She looked down almost immediately, finding her shoes immensely interesting all of the sudden. She shivered a little bit.
He stood patiently.
She looked straight up at him all of the sudden, the icy look in her eyes catching him off guard.
"I had a miscarriage."
That horrible feeling came back. The numb one.
He knew exactly what a miscarriage was, but his brain refused to process it.
"You what?" His voice shook.
Her eyes held all sorts of barely suppressed pain.
Her voice shook as she explained.
"I…..I was pregnant. About two months along. I didn't want to tell you- just in case. I went to the doctor's office and everything was fine. But I went back a week later and…." She trailed off, scuffing her foot into the floor.
"And it died." She finished quickly.
He stared at her.
Finally words came out.
"God."
She looked up at him.
"I'll see you around Don."
And then she left.
He'd seen her a lot at work. She seemed to be getting back into things fine. But Stella always gave Don little looks. It was obvious she knew. Finally one day she cornered him after work.
"So…..working with you and Aiden this week has been sufficiently awkward."
"Stell….."
"You want to talk about it."
He shook his head no.
"No thanks, Stell."
"She feels really bad, you know. About everything."
He nodded.
"Yeah, I know. I was planning to talk to her after shift."
Stella nodded. Then she let out a breath.
"Well," She gave him and odd look and hugged him, taking him by surprise.
He patted her on the back awkwardly.
She was at his apartment again.
He looked at her.
"I was gonna call you." He said softly. He leaned against the wall next to her.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know."
He nodded carefully; hoping neighbors weren't spying on them, for her sake.
"I hope maybe someday you'll be able to forgive me." She said, voice cracking with emotion.
He looked at her seriously and then gathered her into his arms.
She cried softly, and his eyes gathered with tears too.
"I'm sorry." She said it over and over. Don wasn't even sure how many times she said it. A lot. A hundred, maybe.
He whispered small things into her ear. He still can't remember what he whispered, but it seemed to calm her down. Then he unlocked the door and they headed inside. Together.
A/N: Not my best, but I couldn't really figure out what to do with it. Reviews are appreciated!