Chapter 6: Both a Little Scared
For a while they sat in silence; both were afraid of the truth, whether they knew of it or not. Michaela sat, wet clothes clinging to her shaking body, knowing Sully would have to be told. Sully sat in horror of Michaela's beaten appearance, hoping that, in this case, looks could be deceiving. Unfortunately for both of them, looks told it all. From the scratched and bruises, to the concealed disposition, it was obvious that Michaela had indeed been through a traumatic experience. What wasn't certain was if she would be able to discuss it, and therefore move on. Luckily, for both of them, Michaela was a strong person; but it was going to take all of the strength she could muster, just to speak. She would have to take it a word at a time.
"We were still fighting..." Michaela said shakily.
"Sorry?" Sully looked at her confused.
"After you left...we continued to argue...he said...he said that I didn't love him, and then he drove off..." Michaela decided not to tell Sully the entire part of the argument, as it really didn't seem to matter any more. "I went to his apartment a little while later; to try and talk with him...when I got there...he...he was..." Michaela started sobbing uncontrollably as the memories came back, slapping her as hard in the face as they had when she first endured them.
"Hey it's ok...it's ok...here, we're almost there...it's ok...shh..." Sully comforted as he placed one of his hands gently on her back. Upon feeling the first impact of his hand, she flinched slightly, and then relaxed, allowing Sully to hesitantly rub his solacing hand on her shoulder.
Sully drove his car up the driveway to his house, parking it as close as possible to the entry-way. Jumping out into the bitter cold, Sully almost slipped on the ice that was forming quickly under his feet. Making his way carefully over to the passenger's side, he arrived to find Michaela attempting to get out on her own. Before Sully could get to her, Michaela stepped out with her shaking legs. Slipping due to her shivers and unawareness, she fell onto the cold ground. She gasped in pain and held her right thigh, where she found the steady trickle of blood escaping through the rip in her jeans, and staining the already fallen snow. Sully got to her as quickly as he could manage, and crouched beside her before lifting her up into his arms and carrying her into the cabin.
Upon entering, Sully laid Michaela's frail and broken body onto the leather couch, before he took off his jacket and laid it down on a chair near by. In the light of the room, Sully was finally able to see the extent of Michaela's exterior bodily injuries; and what he saw shocked him. Her shirt was ripped and torn in multiple places, bruises ranged all over he lower arms, an especially gruesome bruise lay below the apple of her cheek, and she was scratched and bleeding in multiple places. Laying a blanket over her injured form, Sully leaned over to whisper to her "I'll be right back; I'm just going to get some things for you." Michaela moaned in acknowledgment to him, and Sully sped off to get the needed supplies.
Seeing Michaela's injuries had haunted and angered Sully from deep within. He suspected that David had committed the crimes against her; and if that was the case, he would make sure that David paid for his actions. After grabbing blankets and first-aid kits, along with cloths and towels, Sully made his way back to where Michaela lay, grimacing with pain. Sully laid the various objects on the coffee table before crouching next to the hearth and lighting a fire. Momentarily, the crackling of the flames smothering and burning the wood was heard, as Sully moved back to kneel beside Michaela and remove the thin blanket to treat her injuries.
Sully carefully disinfected and bandaged every scratch and abrasion, he swabbed every bruise with salve, and he did all he could to make sure she was physically comfortable before glancing at her and suggesting "You might want to get out of those wet clothes...laying in them is only gonna make your condition worse..."
To Michaela, the sticky, wet, clothes felt very uncomfortable and chilling under the warmth of the blanket, yet she still had one problem..."Sully, I don't have anything to change into..." Michaela mumbled softly.
"I'll go find you some thing...I'll be right back" Sully said, exiting the room again. Michaela stared up at the ceiling, where flames cast elongating, dancing lights that hypnotized her; causing Michaela to forget for one moment all the horrors that she had seen that night. Her reverie was interrupted, however, by Sully's return with a short stack of clothing.
"I didn't have much...it's all gonna be really big on yah, but it's better than what yah got on now." Sully reasoned. Michaela nodded, and tried to sit up, finding that she needed Sully's help just stand her weak body upright. Sully helped Michaela to the bathroom so that she could change. "If you want to shower, go ahead...I'm going to make some tea...are you going to be alright?" Sully asked concerned.
Michaela smiled slightly and nodded, while she held firmly onto the sink to keep her failing legs from collapsing from under her. "Thank you, Sully." Michaela muttered before closing the door behind her and glancing down at the clothing she held in her hands. Placing the clothing onto the end table, Michaela continued to grip the sink as she peeled off each layer of clothing. Before pulling on the dry clothes Sully had offered her, Michaela caught the reflection of herself in the mirror. She sobbed quietly at what she saw. Unbeknownst to Sully, much of the bruising had occurred under her clothing, where he, naturally, couldn't see. Looking at her face, seeing the close-distortion that had been caused by David's punch at her jaw, Michaela felt tears stinging her eyes and beginning to cascade down her cheeks. She hadn't yet grasped that this had actually happened to her; but as she saw the evidence standing before her, she knew that this was no nightmare...she knew that it had happened...it was done...now she was going to have to live and deal with it... "At least..." she thought to herself, "...at least he didn't get his way...at least I was able to escape...at least Sully was there to help me...no, Sully is there to help me...I need to be strong now...I need to tell him what happened..." Michaela then realized that her case was no different than little Colleen's...if she didn't tell him what happened, he wouldn't be able to help her.
Michaela lifted the dry, cotton, shirt over head and dropped it over herself; smothering her form, and falling to just above her knees. Pulling on the pair of flannel pants, she found that she had to wrap the draw string around her tiny waist a second time, to ensure that the baggy pants stayed up. Feeling the dampness of her hair seeping through the dry shirt, she undid her knotted, tangled, locks and wrung out the extra moisture, before brushing through it with her fingers, and pulling it back into a loose tail. Glancing back into the mirror, she couldn't help but grin slightly at her ridiculous appearance. Everything fit huge on her petite body; yet the comfort of being out of the clothes that the incident had occurred in, was far too overwhelming for her to complain on the size of the garments.
Glancing once more at herself in the mirror, Michaela closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing for the plunge she was about to take. Feeling for the door knob, she grasped it, and turned the handle slowly. Opening the door, she found that the living room was deserted. The fire crackled invitingly in its place, and Michaela sat back down on the couch, staring mindlessly into the flames. Unnoticed, Sully stood in the archway of the passage between the kitchen and living room, holding two hot mugs of tea in either hand. "God, she still looks beautiful...even with all of her wounds, and the in the unfitted clothing... " Sully thought to himself while gazing at her. "I bet she would look gorgeous even if she fell head-first into the mud..." Sully was brought back from his daydream when he noticed Michaela was shivering slightly. He knew that it wasn't from any chill in the room, but from the fear and memory of what she had experienced. He knew that she needed to tell him now...before the pain got much worse.
"Here's some tea...should help warm you up a little." Sully said while walking over to Michaela and handing her a cup. Unaware yet of the happenings in her experience, and afraid of frightening her by sitting too close, Sully settled by pulling up an arm chair, instead of taking the place next to her on the couch.
Michaela looked into the cup and sniffed slightly at the steam which rose from him. "What type of tea is this?" Michaela wondered, not being familiar with the distinct smell.
"It's a Cheyenne recipe, called Willow Bark tea...there are actually trees that have healing properties to them..." Sully smiled slightly in remembrance.
Michaela, however, did not find the memory of her words amusing, because she knew what had then followed. Sully saw Michaela tense up, and sighed softly, upset with himself for making her feel uncomfortable. Michaela looked at Sully, knowing that he was just trying to help her, and decided to take the dive now. "He was with a woman..." Michaela began where she had earlier left off, "...a prostitute, I suppose...and he was drunk...the lady left, said that he told her he didn't have anybody and was lonely...David said that he wasn't lying, he said I was scared to be around him...that I was too afraid to be with him..." Michaela emphasized 'with', hoping that Sully would understand her meaning. "I suppose he was partially right...but, I...I wasn't brought up that way!" Michaela cried.
Sully moved to comfort her, but then thought better of it, and let her continue. Michaela composed herself, and went on to the hardest parts of her awful memory. "...anyways, everything after that happened so quickly...and yet it was as if it was in slow motion at the same time...I saw him lunge for me...I didn't think he would do anything to hurt me...no matter how drunk he was...but...Sully...he did..." Michaela sobbed. "...he pulled me down, with him on top of me...and he tried...he tried to...to..." But Michaela couldn't say it. It felt as if saying it, would acknowledge that it had happened...and, unfortunately, that was exactly what Michaela needed to do...she knew deep with in her that it had happened...but now she needed to get it out...to admit that her life was no longer full of innocence and peace...she too had seen the evil in the world...evil at it's worst.
Sully waited patiently for her to gather her broken self, and continue on. He only hoped that the obvious conclusion to Michaela's sentence would not be the true one. Michaela shut her eyes tightly, impeding any further tears from falling, and opened her mouth slowly, while saying determinately, "He tried to rape me."
Her words seemed to echo off the walls, causing all living things to pause and shutter in their place. Sully clenched his fists on the arms of the chair; his worst predictions were becoming fact. Michaela relaxed the tension in her eyes, and all the held tears came tumbling down her rosy cheeks. She felt as if a large mass had been lifted off of her chest, allowing emotions to flood into other emotions, as sobs fled into other sobs.
Had it not been for the wrecked state that Michaela was in; Sully knew that he would have torn out of the house not two seconds after she had told him, and possibly killed David for what he did to Michaela. Suddenly, memories flooded back into his mind...of finding the lost girl, lying dead-cold in the woods. Her clothes had been torn, much like Michaela's were, yet her bruising and scarring were nothing compared to Michaela's beat-up form. Sully remembered wanting to find that man and make him pay for his crimes too; but there was no lead, no witness, no suspect. Sully had left feeling helpless, and went home to find out the devastating news. Tears from long ago attempted to renew themselves in Sully's eyes; but Sully blinked them back and looked over at the crumpled Michaela.
Sully got up from his chair and kneeled in front of Michaela, before enveloping her in his arms. He knew that, whether she would admit to it or not, she needed someone to hold her. He remembered all the times he had needed someone; but then he had resisted. He had pushed everyone away, and it almost cost him his sanity. The one thing he didn't expect was for Michaela to be so willing, that her whole body fell right into his arms. What surprised him even more was that she stayed there and didn't even attempt to get up. She sat in his lap and cried her heart out.
Michaela cried for her memories and pains and emotions...she was one who rarely allowed for her emotions to show, especially to anyone else; thus causing her feelings to build up and for her to burst when they came loose. Because of this characteristic, Michaela would never have let Sully see her cry as she was now; however in this drastic situation, Sully's arms encircling around her felt heavenly, compared to the lonely, sopping-wet, pillow that would otherwise await her.
Sully gently rocked Michaela, whispering comforting words in her ear, while rubbing her heaving back or stroking her long, wet, auburn hair. After some time her cries seemed to weaken and the shaking slowed to an occasional hiccup. Michaela raised her head slowly and let her eyes float up to meet Sully's. He looked at her with all the compassion and caring in the world, yet she saw an anger hidden deep within, and she instantly understood what it was from. "Sully...promise me you won't go after David...please, promise me!" Michaela's voice cracked out again, seeing the anger come forward and flash slightly in his eyes. "Please, Sully, he was drunk...I know that doesn't excuse him for his actions...but, I can't have you getting into trouble because of something as low as him..." Michaela explained. Sully nodded, understanding but not completely agreeing with, her reasoning, and Michaela saw the anger subdue and fall back into the blueness of his eyes. "Thank you, Sully." Michaela cracked a small smile, and Sully knew it wasn't just for the promise. Michaela didn't know what else to say...although her gratitude went far beyond those two words, she couldn't string any words together that would make sense, or come any closer to doing justice than 'thank you' had.
As a single tear emanated from Michaela's blood shot eyes, Sully used the pad of his thumb to wipe it away from her tear-streaked face. Reveling in the feel of her soft skin to his hand, he cupped the side of her face. "Your welcome Michaela..." Sully said warmly before scooping her up into his arms and standing to lay her onto the couch. "You should try to sleep now...you're exhausted..." Sully commented knowingly. Michaela nodded her head, as Sully reached for the blankets and pillows he had brought in earlier. Gently, Sully helped Michael lift her head as he placed a pillow underneath. Then taking the blanket, he placed it on top of her, making sure she was covered fully from the shoulders down. "Yah warm enough? I'll leave the fire going...it will go down a little as the night ends..." Sully assured, as Michaela nodded once more gratefully. "I'll be just down the hall...if you need absolutely anything...don't hesitate to call."
As Sully turned to leave, Michaela felt she had one more thing that she had to tell him. "Sully! I need to tell you...he...I ...I told you that he tried to...rape me...Sully...he didn't succeed...I got away..." Michaela concluded, staring up into his eyes, seeing some of the anger die out and more hope come forth. Sully smiled and nodded. "I hoped that was what you'd been saying...you're safe now Michaela...I'm gonna make sure nothing like this ever happens to you again..." Sully told her determinately. Michaela felt fresh tears growing in her eyes at Sully's kind and brave words. She nodded, allowing him to move out of the room and farther down the hall. Michaela looked upward towards heaven, silently thanking God for sending her this guardian angel. Within seconds, Michaela's head fell deeper into the soft pillow and sleep overtook her tired body and mind.
Sully never went to his room that night. After waiting for Michaela to fall asleep, he quietly made his way back into the living room to watch for her. He knew that tonight was going to be restless, for Michaela's dreams were sure to be filled with the nightmares that she had experienced. Sully wanted to be there for her when she woke, afraid and disoriented. Collapsing back in the armchair he'd sat in earlier, Sully sat and gazed down at her sleeping form. "How could anyone commit such awful crimes to such an amazing, caring, and beautiful woman?" Sully wondered to himself, perplexed yet angered by the entire incident. After many minutes had pasted, Sully continued to gaze at her, feeling things he never recalled feeling before. Unable to control himself, Sully got to his feet, and silently stepped next to Michaela, where he leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Surprised by his own actions, Sully sat back in his chair and did his best to get his mind off the young woman lying in front of him. Eyes drooping, head nodding, Sully soon succumbed to a dream-filled sleep.
Unfortunately, Sully's predictions for a tumultuous night were correct. It hadn't been a half an hour since Sully had dozed off, when he was suddenly awakened to the shrill sound of Michaela's cries for help. Jolted and surprised, Sully leaped from his seat and went to Michaela's side trying to wake her.
He was coming towards her, with that cold-hearted, menace look in His dark eyes. She continued to back up, until she found herself pushed against the hard, obstructing wall...there was no escape...she was cornered...cornered into the loss of innocence...She felt His steaming breath slapping her face, and His hand touching the side of her breast... "NO!" She screamed...she tried to lift her hands and put a halt His actions, but her arms felt like lead and she could make no such resistance... "Help me! Please! Help me!" She cried, hearing her words echo tauntingly back at her. He started to move His hands roamed freely toward her untouched territory, and she made one last attempt to get away...lifting her arms against their weight, Michaela pushed back at Him...but His hands soon gripped hers and she became immobile. She started at her hands, accepting her inevitable fate...then she noticed something...these weren't His...they were another's...belonging to someone of comfort...She looked up, gasping...her world was spinning...voices echoed calmly, yet incoherently around her...staring up into the face that had once belonged to Him, she saw that His features were distorted and fading...they were being replaced by someone else's...someone she trusted...blinking her eyes, trying to make sense of it all, her spiraling world suddenly came to a stop...
"Michaela...Michaela, it's ok, it's ok..." Sully tried to reassure a shaking Michaela. He held her in his arms, waiting for her to recognize her surroundings.
Michaela's rapid breaths matched that of her heartbeat. Her head ached and her skin stung, even at Sully's gentle touch. She wanted this all to be over...she wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare and get her life back...why of all the nightmares, did this one have to come true... "Why did this happen to me?" Michaela wanted scream out, but instead she decided to sob into Sully's shoulder. Then a memory from years before suddenly came back to her...it was something her father had said, right after her best friend at the hospital had died of leukemia... "Mike..." He said, "Never ask "why things happen the way they do"...if you try to find the answer to that, you may as well throw your future away and join the hundreds who have spent their entire lives trying to discover the meaning of life...you need to live your life to the fullest, the way you want to live it...because as you've seen here, we only have so much time on this earth..." Her father's soothing words warmed Michaela, and she felt his spirit's presence giving her strength.
Her sobs were slowing as was her speeding pulse, and Sully thought that it might be best to let her loose from his comforting arms...but she felt so relaxed; laying her head in the crook of his neck. Her breath on his skin made his mind wander to things far too inappropriate, especially under the current circumstances.
Michaela felt weak in his arms, and when he moved she was afraid he was leaving her...instead he readjusted him and herself, so that she could lay down, with her head resting on his chest and him sitting behind her, embracing Michaela protectively with his arms around her shoulders. Sleep beckoned her and she obeyed, praying for the nightmares to be over for the night.
Sully felt her drawing breaths slower and her body relaxed into his even more. Lying there, with her in his arms felt so right, so comfortable, as though they were meant by some spiritual destiny to be together. With this feeling fresh in his mind, Sully also drifted off to sleep, and envisioned dreams that drastically differed to Michaela's earlier nightmares.
"Well someone must be at home…" William thought to himself when he saw the smoke rising from the chimney. While driving in the awful weather last night, his car had broken down. Miffed, he decided to go home early. He was surprised that Sully was at the cabin and not with his…friends.
William parked his car and headed up to the door; opening it he looked in to find a site that astonished and perplexed him. For there lay before him, Michaela, wrapped in Sully's arms, sleeping comfortably on the couch. William felt the blood drain from his face as he gazed upon the couple. Half of him wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the scene in front of him, yet the other half felt anger and spite running through his veins. "When did Michaela start cheating on David? And what the hell made her do it with Sully?" William said scratching his head. He was about to pull Michaela off of Sully and shake her until she came to her senses; when he saw Sully quiver as he began to wake up.
Sully awoke feeling Michaela's soft hair against his cheek. He just wanted to lie there, basking in the feeling of holding her, when he felt the presence of another being in the room. Looking up, he saw William standing with a dumbstruck look on his face. Taking in a shallow breath, Sully thought to himself, "Oh, this just keeps getting better and better doesn't it!" William started towards Sully, opening his mouth, with the visible intentions of screaming at Sully. Sully shushed him and nodded slightly towards the still-sleeping Michaela. William bit his lip and took a deep breath, controlling his anger slightly. "What the hell is going on, Sully? I leave for one night and come home to find my room-mate, sleeping with my best-friend's girlfriend…what are you doing?" William said in a loud whisper.
Sully needed to talk this over with William, calmly and rationally. He knew that William needed to have to be told somehow, and Sully wasn't sure if Michaela could go through that torturing process again. However, Sully wasn't going to tell William without Michaela's permission. Luckily for both of them, Sully's opportunity to ask her came sooner than anticipated.
Michaela heard a whisper echoing from somewhere above her. She lay silently; at first wondering why her body ached as it did…then it all came flooding back to her. She moaned at the pain and memory, as she opened her eyes wearily. When she realized who was still holding her and recognized the person standing in front of her, Michaela somehow summoned up the strength to jump from her place on the couch.
"Michaela! It's ok…" Sully said gently, reaching for her hand to give her some comfort.
William continued to stare back and forth between the two until he couldn't stand it. "Michaela…What in God's name are you doing? Or have you been doing for that matter? What….what…when did you start cheating on David?"
His words echoed in her mind, as anger and sadness engulfed her at the same time, causing her to crumble from within. Sully saw her face pale and her knees buckle at the words. He stood up quickly and caught her before she collapsed. Looking into her eyes, he silently asked for her permission to tell. Michaela understood him, and saw the reasoning behind his question. She nodded and Sully helped her to sit down before he turned back to William.
William, seeing Michaela more clearly, drew a sharp breath at the sight of her. "My God, Michaela…what…" However, Sully stopped him. "Let me explain everything to you…" And Sully did…Michaela stared hopelessly off into space, as Sully's retelling of her abuse brought back images that she had tried so hard to remove from her memory. William stood in front of the hearth, with a dumbstruck look upon his face, trying to grasp what he was being told about his best-friend.
When Sully had finished, he fell down into the arm chair from earlier and waited for William's response. Silence defended the room momentarily before William finally spoke. "This… you…. you actually expect me to believe that my best-friend...who is studying to become a doctor...who will save people's lives...would actually commit a crime like this?"
"Yes, that is exactly what we are asking you to believe." Sully said determinately.
After another moment of silence William continued. "I don't know how Michaela got herself so beat up, but I can't bring myself to believe that David would do such a thing…it just…he's not capable of that!" Sully was about to respond back, when a knock came from the door. William glanced at Michaela and Sully briefly before going to answer it. Michaela's eyes met Sully's, and she wordlessly begged him for guidance.
William opened the door to find none other than the man of their previous discussion. "David! Thank God…maybe you can make some sense of your girlfriend…"
"Michaela is here…" David croaked, not as a question but more of a statement.
"Yes, she's here…but, she's slightly insane...she keeps telling me about you...well...trying to rape her, or something...and you don't even want to know how I found her this morn…David?" William suddenly paused, seeing David's broken nose and half-drunken appearance. "David?" William started again.
"Michaela…I need to see her..."
"Yeah, but you heard what I said…that she told me you'd…" William stopped again when saw the coldness in David's eyes. It was in that coldness that he found the truth, and the truth was what he'd refused to believe. Dazed and confused, he let David walk past him and into the house, while he stared blankly outside trying to comprehend what had happened.
David walked into the living room to find Michaela and Sully sitting and staring at each other. Their reactions to his presence came simultaneously. Sully's hands transformed into fists and his entire body went rigid, as if he were a dog with rabies. Michaela lost all the color in her face and clenched the fabric of the sofa, as her breathing became short and hard.
"What are you doing here?" Sully asked with a menacing tone.
"I came to…Michaela, I'm sorry for what happened…I was drunk, not myself…" David began.
"You're sorry? Tell me David, what are you sorry for?" Michaela said weakly, yet with all the bitterness that ran through her body. Then, before he had time to answer, she stood up to stand her ground. "I don't what to even hear it….and 'not yourself'…oh David…no…being drunk only caused you to let your true feelings come out...it stopped you from controlling them… sorry…no…not this time David….you almost took something from me, that meant so much to me…and, on top of it all…you threatened to kill me, David…How? How am I supposed to forgive and forget? How?" Michaela repeated.
"Please Michaela…I'm sorry...I….I don't know what to say…" David stuttered.
"Then don't say anything, David…I'll...I'll forgive you…but only if you walk out of this place right now…and I never want to see you again…" Michaela said with all the strength she could muster as her voice began to fail her. For a second, Michaela thought David might lung at her again. However, David made a quick glance sideways at Sully, who stood poised, ready to attack if necessary. The two men made brief eye contact, ending when David broke the connection, foreshadowing who would have been victorious had there been a fight. David looked at Michaela pleadingly, and she responded back with a head shake of 'no' and a look of disgust and loathing. In that moment he realized he had completely lost her...Turning on his heals, David started to leave the room. When he reached to door, he glanced back at the young woman he had been fool enough to loose. "I'm leaving for New York next week…I'm dropping out of my position here…" David said solemnly.
Michaela nodded. "Maybe it's for the best...", was all that she said to him before he slipped past a disbelieving William, and headed out of the cabin forever.
A hush claimed the room once more. Sully's knuckles were white from the pressure he exerted onto them. William stared in disbelief at the door David had gone through, as if he expected it to explode or for David to come crashing through it...Michaela continued to breathe unsteadily and she was forced to sit back on the couch to keep from collapsing. Covering her face with her hands, as if she was trying to block out the rest of the world from her view, Michaela felt silent tears drop from her eyes and spread to her fingers. Forgiving him was the hardest thing she'd ever done; and deep down she felt that she may have lied partially.
Finally detaching his eyes from the door, William looked into the living room, avoiding Michaela's eyes. "I...er...I'm gonna...just...I need a walk..." William stuttered before turning and leaving though the same door David had previously. Michaela and Sully were left alone again, lost in their own thoughts.
After a few tense moments, Sully stood, still rigid from David's presence, and spoke roughly. "Do want anything to eat?" Michaela glanced up at him, surprised by his tone and the slight absurdity of his question. His eyes told it all...his was filled with anger towards David, and it was all he could do to not run after him and kill him...breakfast seemed to be a good way to busy himself.
"May I have some tea, please?" Michaela's voice sounded hoarse from crying last night.
It was Michaela's voice that brought Sully back from his anger, and he looked down upon her. She was the strongest and bravest human he'd ever met; how she was able to survive what she had, and then to encounter the attacker again, blew his mind.
"Actually, I'm really don't need anything...Sully, honestly...can you just take me home...you've been such a comfort...so wonderful...I needed that last night...but now, I need to go home...I need to..." Michaela cut off, afraid Sully would think that she didn't appreciate what he'd done for her, afraid he'd think she wanted to get a way from him.
"Of course Michaela...I'll go get my keys, one second..." Sully turned and left the room to get his keys. Meanwhile, Michaela walked carefully to the bathroom, changing back into now-partially-dry clothes; which she'd laid in the tub the night before, to drain out.
The drive to her apartment was quiet...no words needed to be exchanged, for both knew what the other was feeling and thinking. As Sully put his car into 'park', he started to get out, when suddenly Michaela stopped him. "Sully, I'll be fine...you don't need to walk me up..."
Sully glanced at her with a puzzled look, and was about to ensure her that he wanted to take her up himself; however, he saw a look in her gaze, that told him she wanted to go up by herself. Without knowing or questioning the reason, Sully nodded. "If you're sure...I promise you that it would be no trouble at all..."
"No, thank you...truly Sully...I want to just go up alone, I'm not even sure why..." Michaela stared at her lap, as tears she thought were long dried-up, came forth again into her contrastingly- colored eyes. "Sully...I need you to know...just...thank you...thank you…I can't tell you how grateful I am that you came for me...and then that you actually helped me through, probably the hardest ordeal I've ever experienced...Sully...I probably wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for you...I may not even be alive..." Michaela trailed off.
"No...Michaela, you're the strongest woman, or even person I've ever met...you would have made it on your own just fine with out me...but I was glad to be of assistance...anything, anytime, Michaela, I'll come when ever you need me..."Sully cut off and looked down at his hands.
Michaela couldn't believe how lucky she was. Sully was the most kind, considerate, and patient man she'd ever met. She felt blessed just knowing him, let alone having him come out in the dead of night to rescue her. She smiled slightly, and raised her hand to his face, turning his head gently towards her, and leaning in to give him a small kiss on the cheek. Blushing slightly, Michaela moved back. "Thank you, Sully." Michaela unbuckled her seat belt and opened the car door, in a bit of a rush. Getting out slowly but steadily, Michaela smiled again at Sully and waved a bit before turning and carefully carrying herself across the snow blazed landscape to her front door.
Sully sat, paralyzed, trying to recuperate from the unexpected kiss from Michaela. Raising his finger tips to his cheek, he touched the place Michaela had kissed, as if testing to see if it was real. His cheek tingled slightly and felt warm. "What is it about that woman...that makes my head spin?" Sully asked himself, before shifting into reverse and exiting the drive-way. What he didn't know, was that Michaela was asking herself a very similar question, concerning him.