Chapter Seventeen: Dear Murphy

Lydia pounded at Amy's door at two o'clock in the afternoon. The secretary notified her exhausted, pale-faced boss of the concerned calls Lydia had received from Simon Ansell and Hank Jensen. Apparently Amy had turned her cell phone off – or had ignored all calls and messages – thus Lydia had been contacted out of worry. Simon hadn't heard from Amy in over a week and Hank was curious as to what Amy was up to.

At three o'clock, Amy sat at the suite's balcony. She was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans (what she called her most "casual" pair), a form-fitting dark-green sweater, and black flats. Her wavy hair blew against the wind and her eyes were frozen on the cell phone lying on the table. She continued to drink her honey-lemon tea slowly.

It had been Lydia's point that Amy contact Simon "ASAP" as to not worry him, ergo worry his father – their boss.

But Amy sat at on the balcony's furniture not worrying over the call.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

She sat at her laptop in the living room. Amy leaned over toward the center table to grab her computer and rest it in her lap. Sitting Indian-style on the lush couch, Amy cracked her knuckles anxiously.

On the screen was a Microsoft Word document.

The screen read:

Dear Murphy

Amy stared at the screen sadly. She retyped:

Dear Connor and Murphy

Her eyes narrowed at the laptop. Separate letters? Or just one letter addressed to both, she thought.

She figured the best way to avoid any trouble was to tell the MacManus brothers her goodbye. Amy knew better: She had to keep her distance from them.

She backspaced; Amy decided to make two separate letters.

Dear Murphy,

Words could never describe

Backspace…

Murphy,

I can't believe

Backspace…

I want you to know that I don't hate you. If anything I miss you. I'm not sure if you're still the same man I knew eight years ago. You've assured me that you're the same person, but a part of me can't accept that.

Backspace…

Amy ran both hands through her hair. She tapped her fingers nervously against the keyboard. Her eyes glazed over the "Murphy" on the screen.

"Fuck it," Amy told herself.

Murphy,

I can never fully explain how much you hurt me. Connor too. You two were more than just friends.

More like my soul mates.

Connor was the man I pictured always being there for me. My best friend. The man that shows up to every big event in my life. The man that's there for the little things. I always thought of us as "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place" – or whatever that show was called. Just not the "Pizza Place" part. Or "Three Men and a Baby" – just with an additional woman, and lose the man, and the baby…

And I loved you.

Remember when I told you that regardless of whom I was with, I would still be thinking of you?

I stuck with it.

I'm with Simon. Simon loves me. Yet I can't wrap my finger around my feelings for him. In the beginning of our relationship we were quite happy. I was content. And he's asked me to marry him. And I don't know what the fuck to say.

And then I'm forced to come back here…

To Southie. And…with my luck…you're here too.

And I still lo

Backspace…

All that was left on the screen was "Murphy."

Amy couldn't imagine starting a "Dear Connor" letter.

She began to erase everything…first the "y"…then the "h"… "p"… "r"… "u"… Amy released a small sigh… "M"…

Her hands hovered over the laptop. Her fingers felt drawn to the keyboard.

I still love you Murphy, Amy typed. Which is very stupid. Because you left. Not because of me. And you came back. Not because of me. Which probably means

Amy paused as she stared at the computer screen bitterly.

you never loved me.

Her pinky felt annoyed with backspacing so much. Amy merely closed the screen of her laptop and placed it back onto the center table.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Amy ran around the area outside of the hotel. She wore black shorts and a long sleeve shirt – the attire wasn't enough to keep her warm, thus Amy ran harder and faster. Her heart was beating fast and she could feel the sweat drip down her body despite the cold weather.

Arts for All…Murphy…Ansell-Aurora…Connor…Thompson & Falcon…Rocco…Simon…Murphy…Simon…Murphy…Connor…

Murphy…

Damn you, Amy told herself. Just run…keep running…think about work…the mergers…everything else except…

Murphy and Connor…

Her body slammed into another person. Amy felt the other person's weight collide painfully into her chest. She spun into a half-circle before crashing into the pavement.

The man she had run into rubbed his arm as he slowly got up. The businessman (Amy guessed because he wore a blue suit and carried a briefcase) appeared to be surprised by what had happened. His mouth opened and Amy heard words come out, such as "You okay?" and "Can you stand?"

She continued to lie on the sidewalk. Her knee stung and Amy noticed the bleeding wound suddenly. As she slowly rose to her feet Amy felt the pain in her arms and legs. She stared at the businessman who continued to ask if she was okay.

Amy shook her head sadly. Damn you.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

She walked through the hotel lobby zombie-like. Pale and victim to elbow and knee wounds, Amy ignored the inquiring glances of the hotel staff and guests. There were only a few people around but everyone seemed to remember the woman that had fainted the other day.

Amy sighed as she pressed the button for the elevator. A hotel staff member – a bellhop – appeared beside Amy as she waited for the metallic doors to open.

"Miss, are you alright?"

"Fine."

The bellhop motioned to the lobby. "We have a First-Aid kit."

"There's one in my room."

The elevator doors opened and Amy stepped inside. The bellhop grinned sheepishly and asked, "What happened ma'am?"

Amy looked up and smirked. "I fell."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

She walked toward her suite with her head down and eyes half-closed. Amy's body ached and she deeply desired sleep. For the first time she looked forward to crashing into the too-comfortable hotel bed…

"Sir, I'm sorry-"

Amy heard Lydia's voice. Her attention focused on her secretary who seemed annoyed…

Lydia was talking with Romeo…

What the hell…Amy thought fearfully…

Romeo was there. Standing in front of her hotel room… He leaned against a large crate that looked to transport laundry…

"Ms. Jensen requested a staff member to come here and pick up some towels…" Romeo told Lydia. "And I…"

The Hispanic stopped when he noticed Amy.

Amy felt her throat go dry and her stomach churn.

"What's…" Amy began slowly.

Lydia had her hands placed on her rooms and her face revealed an obvious annoyance with Romeo.

"Amy, this gentleman says you requested someone to come by and pick up your towels…?" Lydia asked suspiciously. "I heard him knocking at your door for like ten minutes…"

Amy turned her head to Romeo. He was dressed in jeans and a white dress shirt; Romeo was obviously not wearing the usual hotel uniform.

His hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail and a fake grin was spread across Romeo's face.

Amy noticed Romeo's finger tap on the laundry crate…

"Oh…" Amy whispered. She turned to Lydia. "It's okay, Lydia. I did accumulate a lot of towels…I asked someone to come immediately and grab 'em-"

"He says he lost his keys so he couldn't get in?" Lydia questioned heatedly. She turned to Romeo and stared at him accusingly.

"I-It's like my first day miss," Romeo smiled. "Cut me some slack?"

"Lydia it's okay, I promise. The manager even told me that-" Amy stopped when she noticed the nametag on Romeo's shirt. The tag read: Arthur. "Arthur…Arthur would be the one to come up and get the towels. I requested it before I went for my run."

Lydia nodded slowly. She looked at Amy and suddenly noticed her boss' physical appearance. "Oh Amy, did you get hurt? Your knee is bleeding-"

"It's fine," Amy said quickly. "And I'm a bit tired. Not in the mood for dinner right now. You go on ahead, 'kay? In fact, Arthur here can come inside and show me where the First-Aid is."

"Yes ma'am," Romeo said happily.

The confused secretary nodded. "Okay," Lydia said gently. "Fine. But you get some food later, okay?"

"Gotcha," Amy said with a wink.

Romeo and Amy watched as Lydia stomped down the hallway.

"Umm, Ms. Jensen," Romeo whispered closely, "we need to get inside. Laundry's a bit tight in here."

Amy's eyes went back to the laundry crate. Her eyes widened and Amy pulled her room-key out of her sneaker.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Romeo pushed the crate through the door. Amy slammed the door behind her and Romeo began to push aside a few towels and white T-shirts. To Amy's surprise, she watched Romeo toss the towels and shirts to the floor.

A thin wood panel was wedged into the crate. Romeo removed the thin wood piece and Amy gasped as she watched Connor and Murphy attempt to crawl out.

Connor was practically rolled into a ball and Murphy was hugging his knees to his chest.

They grumbled as they tried to squeeze out one at a time.

Murphy popped up first. He stretched his arms and leaned side to side. "For fuck's sake Rome, took ya forever."

"Sorry, the little woman gave me trouble," Romeo defended innocently. "Plus your friend Amy here wasn't here when we arrived."

Connor stood up with the same problem – he stretched and raised his arms in the air. "I need to do some yoga or some shit."

Amy gaped at the two men who climbed out of the crate. They were dressed in the usual jeans and familiar black pea coats.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Amy demanded.

"Oh, we thought we'd drop in," Connor said.

"Had some time before we have to be some place…" Murphy explained. "We wanted to see ya."

Romeo scrambled to put the wood piece back into the crate. He tossed the towels and clothes back on top to hide the light brown surface.

"Alright," Romeo said, "I'll be back in two hours."

"Wait what?" Amy gasped.

Connor shrugged his shoulders. "C'mon Aimes, we just wanted to have a bit of time wit' ya. Two hours. That's all."

Murphy rubbed his own shoulder – apparently still sore from the small space of the laundry crate.

"If you don't want us here, we'll leave," Murphy explained gently. His eyes narrowed at Amy's knee.

"Okay fine," Amy snapped when she noticed Murphy eye her wounds. She looked at Romeo. "You're leaving?"

"Yes ma'am," Romeo sighed. His eyes darted to Connor and Murphy annoyingly. "They need me to take care of errands – because I get to be their little bitch-"

"Aye, watch your fuckin' mouth around the lady!" Connor shouted.

"Fine fine," Romeo said and rolled his eyes. He bowed his head to Amy's direction. "I'll be back for…more towels in a couple of hours."

Amy nodded in understanding. She watched Romeo back the crate up and exit her hotel suite.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Connor, Amy, and Murphy stared at one another in silence.

Amy rubbed her arms uncomfortably and said, "Well. I'm going to jump in the shower." She motioned for the couches. "Why don't you guys just hang around a bit. I won't be long."

"I'll see if I can find that First-Aid," Murphy called as he watched Amy go into the direction of her bedroom.

Amy didn't turn to stare or say anything back; she disappeared into her bedroom and closed the door.

Murphy turned to Connor and began to remove his peacoat. "This is a bad fuckin' idea, Con."

"Oh c'mon Murph," Connor spat, "it'll be a'right. Better here than at Doc's." He began to walk toward the couch. Connor tossed his coat over the back of the couch and relaxed into the large cushions. His eyes closed out of enjoyment.

Murphy stared around uncomfortably. The hotel was too large for his taste. It reminded him of the suite he and Connor had killed Petrova in.

"I'm going to find the First-Aid," Murphy told Connor as he made his way toward the kitchen-area.

Connor waved his hand at him and sat up on the couch. He reached happily for the remote on the center table and turned the TV on.

His eyes noticed the laptop sitting on the table.

"Huh," Connor said aloud, "been a while since I've seen a computer."

His interest took the best of him. Connor grabbed the laptop from the table and rested it on his legs.

He opened the screen; Connor hoped to play some sort of computer game or even search the Internet…

There was something already on the screen. Connor's eyes glazed over the screen – reading the Word Document.

I still love you Murphy. Which is very stupid. Because you left. Not because of me. And you came back. Not because of me. Which probably means you never loved me.

His eyes narrowed at the screen sadly. Connor's lips parted and bit his lower lip. He glanced behind him to see Murphy digging around the drawers in the kitchen and bar.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Amy sat on the edge of her bed wrapped in a towel. Her eyes stared at her bedroom door – the only thing separating her from them.

She tapped her foot nervously against the carpet. Her hands rubbed one another and Amy bit her lip.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

She came out of her bedroom fifteen minutes later. Amy felt strange dressed so casually – black yoga pants and a plain gray T-shirt.

Connor and Murphy were sitting on the couch flipping through channels.

"Oy, come over here love," Murphy called.

Amy obeyed and walked toward them. Connor motioned for Amy to sit on the edge of the center table.

"Now roll up that leg," Connor asked. "We gotta get a bandage on that knee."

"It's not that bad," Amy told them. "Bleeding stopped."

"Still need ta take care of that," Murphy reminded.

Amy looked at the two of them and sighed. She rolled up the pant-leg of her wounded knee. The bleeding had stopped but the wound was nasty-looking.

Murphy handed Connor the First-Aid.

Connor opened it and immediately pulled out a small tube of Neosporin and a large rectangular band-aid.

Amy watched Connor rub the cool gel over her knee. Murphy ripped apart the paper pieces of the bandage and had it ready.

Connor laughed. "Remember the time at the meat packing plant?"

Murphy smiled slowly. "Aye, Amy had to do some project. Go to Work with a Friend Day or something."

Connor: "And you, Amy, were fuckin' around with Murphy on the balcony. Fell. Scraped your leg."

Murphy: "I made it a big scene – picked up Amy in my arms and started screamin'. Connor you were so pissed-"

"You sat me down in a chair…" Amy remembered. "Connor got the First-Aid and patched me up. You were so mad at Murphy."

"Playin' around a meat packin' place isn't safe," Connor reminded.

Amy nodded slowly. She looked up at the two men sitting in front of her. Connor was still staring at her knee while Murphy finished putting the bandage in its proper place.

When all was done, the three sat in silence again.

Amy quietly pulled her pant-leg down and placed her hands together.

"So…" Amy crooned.

"So…" Murphy and Connor said in unison.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Author's Note: Sorry for the loooong delay. I've been extremely busy. I'll try and update (BETTER!) chapters soon! Reviews much appreciated!