Chapter Two: At the End of the Night
It had been easy to avoid him. At least for the first day. A call had come in early that morning about a suspicious B&E, that ended up turning into a triple. Sara had found herself at the scene the majority of night, and into the early morning. The only reason she had gone back in was due to Catherine's urgings, once seeing how tired the brunette was.
Sara hated being fussed over, she could very well hold her own ground, but she had to admit that she was tired. Ever since leaving Greg's place she hadn't been able to sleep. She had gone to bed yes, but that was about it.
Even when back at the lab there had been no sign of him. Sara half wondered if he had taken the night off, but never was able to gather the courage to ask someone. She was still angry with him. A combination of being kicked out and rejected, especially after all she had done for him.
Her landlord had been surprised to see her there. The apartment was still hers, seeing that she had already paid rent to the end of the month. He had tried to question her, but Sara brushed him off. She didn't need to unload her problems on an unfortunate stranger.
Taking a cold shower, just standing under the freezing spray, unable to really wash. Everything was at Greg's still. Shampoo, body wash…she dried off with a clean towel, slipping into a lengthy t-shirt, crawling under the few covers that were spread her bed. It was cold, the room was dark, and she never had felt more alone.
The second day was even harder than the first. She was beginning to miss him, silently wishing for this ridiculous feud to be over with. Yet there wasn't much of a chance for her to be the one saying sorry. For a brief moment she had seen him, they passed by one another in the hallway. Greg hadn't even looked her way, and Sara had tried her very hardest to not look either. It had only been a fleeting moment, and she scolded herself afterwards for it.
By the third day she was sick and tired of it. Plus it had taken her that long to realize that she had left her phone at his place. Sara nearly considered the option of apologize, something that would sting her pride. Forget her pride; she was willing to risk anything to be on talking terms with him once again.
She caught him in the break room that morning, making a point of staying there longer than necessary. Once again there was no eye contact, and he made his way in as if he had no care in the world, stooping to sift through the small fridge.
"I left my phone at your place," Sara started out quietly. She decided it would be better to go straight to the point. The less she asked, the better off it would be. The last thing she wanted was to let him think she was miserable without him.
"Will you bring it here for me tomorrow?"
"You have a key," Greg told her quietly, risking a glance at her. He turned away quickly, pulling the carton of Chinese food out. "Get it yourself. It's still on the counter where you left it."
At least they were on talking terms again. That was a plus, however small. Sara let out a sigh, frowning. "You mean I don't need to make an appointment or anything?"
Greg raised an eyebrow, watching her oddly. "Why would you?"
"Considering this is the first day you've even taken the time to notice I still exist, I wanted to make sure," she replied coldly.
Greg rolled his eyes, seating himself down on the couch as he took a jab at the cold food with a fork. Sara made a face, half wondering how he could even attempt to eat it that way.
"Just pick it up whenever."
It was all that was said for the day. Sara stopped by his place the following evening, partially relieved to find that he was not there. In another way she was disappointed. If she caught him here they could at least work out their differences in private. Who knew what could happen if something started at work.
That was all they needed, talk. And the rumors would be spurred on by actions. Word traveled fast in the lab, and both her and Greg would be in enough trouble with Ecklie. No…she definitely did not want to be in that situation.
Along with her phone she packed a few extra clothes and necessities. There would be no real way to tell how long this would last, or if it would ever end. It left a bitter feeling in her mouth, a sunken feeling in her stomach. She loved Greg, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud.
Work went by quickly that shift. She was too preoccupied with the triple still to even think about Greg Sanders, their relationship, and their problems. It was Catherine who reminded her that she needed to head home. Being so close to maxing out on overtime, Sara had little choice but to comply.
This was where she caught him the second time; in the locker room. At first she just ignored him, but that tactic was short lived. His hair was matted, still wet along with the rest of clothes. Moving slowly he peeled off his shirt, replacing it with a much drier material.
"What happened to you?"
Greg raised an eyebrow as he turned to her, watching her fiddle with the dial on her locker. "I got to go swimming."
"Purposely or…"
"Let's just say it was unexpected," Greg cut her off, pulling his jacket on. Sara let out a sigh as he went by her.
"Greg…are we ever going to talk about this?"
He came to a stop, turning around to face her. "Talk about what?"
"About us?" Sara offered up after a moment, surprised that he even had to ask. "About what happened between us, what's going to happen?"
He shrugged, turning away. "I don't have time for this."
She was quick to catch him by the shoulder, turning him around. "You can't just shut me out, you can't pretend that nothing happened," she hissed at him quietly. "Just because I said no doesn't mean I don't love you."
"Then why did you say no?" Greg wondered, matching her angry gaze with his own.
"Because Greg, I'm not ready. I can't make that type of commitment. You know better than I do how long it took you to convince me to go on a date. It took even longer to convince me to go steady. And I'm glad you did…but I can't make a promise unless I know I'm going to follow through."
"That's not my problem then," he told her quietly, brushing her hand off his shoulder. "I have to go."
She let out an angry sigh as he left, turning back to her locker. Out of all the irresponsible, infuriating things he had done, this was…
She came to a stop as opened her locker, mouth hanging open slightly as she saw them. A bundle of roses, red in color that sat on her shelf. Only two people knew the combination to her locker, and even still, she knew who they were from. Reaching in she pulled the flowers down, pausing for a moment to read the card that had been attached. Scribbled on it had been the simplest of words. I'm sorry.
Letting out a quiet sigh she smiled, taking a moment to smell one. They were fresh cut, rich in color and fresh in scent. The next thought came over quickly, and she glanced in the direction Greg had gone. The flowers would stay in her locker, for now at least. She had other business to attend to.
She didn't have to go far. Sara found him waiting out in the parking lot, leaning against his car. She approached cautiously, unsure of what his mood was exactly. He didn't say anything, didn't even look at her.
"Are you waiting for someone?"
Greg shrugged, still looking straight ahead. "Something like that…"
"I found the flowers," she continued, taking in a breath. "You didn't have to do that."
"I felt like it," he answered simply.
"Why?"
He drew in a deep breath, watching her now. "It took me five minutes after you left…to realize that I didn't want too lose you."
"And you waited until now to do anything?"
He shrugged, looking a little embarrassed now. "It took me this long to figure out how to make up to you…"
"It's not all your fault…" she offered up quietly, moving closer. Now she stood directly in front of him, but Greg still had a hard time meeting her gaze. "You had everything planned out, had everybody joining in…and I'm embarrassed you…I can understand why you were upset."
"I wanted everything to be perfect," Greg told her quietly, shifting his gaze slowly. "I had it planned for weeks…I thought we were ready."
"I can't tell you how much I love you Greg," she nodded to him, "But I can tell you what I do know. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it together. No surprises, no unexpected calls…I want to plan our life together. And if you can't understand that…then maybe we're not meant to be together."
"I do understand," he was quick in answering, "I just…sometimes I forget. I love you just as much…I want to make you happy, I want to see you smile, hear you laugh…"
Sara wrapped her arms around him, reaching up to kiss him softly. "Then let us call this stupid fight off, and start over. What do you say?"
Greg nodded, resting his head against hers. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."
"So…what did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking dinner," Greg offered up with a shrug. "Unless of course you want to do something else, because I'm totally open to it…"
Sara silenced him, placing her fingers on his lips. "Dinner, sounds great."
The End
