Chapter 3
[A/N - Apologies for the short chapter, couldn't sleep and needed a distraction, so bashed this out, may go back through and edit it later depending if I deem it too crappy to belong here.]
Allowing her fingers to brush gently against the small plaque on the wall she took a deep breath, allowing it to escape slowly in a soft deep sigh, glancing to her right she took in the image of the white haired woman first, a small twinge in her heart brought her back down from her thoughts. She hadn't expected to miss Canaan this much, not at first, she hadn't missed her like this the first time they parted, the feelings confused her and Maria shook her head quickly as she felt tears brimming in her eyes. She forced her usual happy perky smile to cross her face as she let her hand slip off the small plaque with the womans name on it, giving one quick glance back to the picture of Alphard and Canaan as she settled her jacket over her shoulders, stepping out into the street she felt the cold air hit her skin and shuddered inwardly.
Waving down a nearby taxi she became lost in her own thoughts as she got comfortable for the short ride back to her apartment. She still couldn't comprehend why Canaan hadn't come to the hospital that day, the day before they had left Shanghai, was she even still alive? She hadn't heard anything about what happened between Canaan and Alphard on the train, If she was still alive then why hadn't she come to see her before she left? The thoughts chased circles around her mind and she snapped out of her trance as the cab driver cleared his throat, attempting to get her attention.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Quickly fishing out some money she paid the man, stepping out of the cab a loud crack of thunder ripped overhead, followed shortly by a downpour of rain, gasping as the cold drops fell onto any bare skin that was available Maria dashed up the steps to the door, keying in her pin the door clicked as it opened. Heading up the two flights of stairs to her apartment door, her fingers shuddering as she tried to find her key, fiddling for a moment she managed to find and slip it into the door, unlocking it she quickly stepped inside. The warmth of the room that greeted her allowed her to sigh softly; it definitely beat the cold that was outside that was for sure.
"Welcome home," Came the dull, mono-toned greeting as she came through the door. Maria glanced towards the dark figure on the couch, not surprised at the sight that met her eyes. The sullen man was staked out on her couch, covered half by a blanket he sat there with the tv remote in hand, flicking blankly through channels, eyes distant and tired, a weeks stubble growth made note that he probably hadn't showered in almost as long.
"Minoru," Maria muttered as she came into the apartment, closing the door behind her she crossed her arms as she stood in front of his line of sight of the TV. "You need to stop this Minoru, you can't stay on my couch forever sulking, what happened to the energetic reporter that I went to Shanghai with? This isn't you, you need to get a new job or hobby or something," She allowed a soft smile to cross her face, attempting to give the depressed man some hope, or at least a little bit of comfort with her usual bright and sunny composure.
"Ugh, what's the point? Everything I do seems to go to shit anyway, the firm is just looking for a good reason to sack my arse as it is, since I didn't come through with the Shanghai story, which they thought was crap from the beginning in the first place," Throwing his arms up in the air in frustration he plopped his chin down in one hand and just looked at Maria blankly, as though expecting some whity or at least amusing reply that would lighten the mood.
"Hence why I said a new job," Maria shrugged off her coat, unable to come up with one of her common smart light-hearted comments. Hanging it on the back of the door she sighed softly, setting down a bag with some take away on the small table in front of the man, hands on hips she shrugged. "I got you some food, figured you wouldn't have eaten," She left him then, not even waiting for a reply or a thankyou she headed for the bathroom, her own thoughts still biting at the edges of her mind.
Locking the bathroom door behind her she leant on the sink slightly with her weight, just looking at herself in the mirror, her usual colourful and bright eyes seemed drained, tired. Sighing again she turned the hot water tap to the shower on first, allowing the room to partly fill with steam before freeing herself from her clothes. Adjusting the temperature with the other tap she finally stepped into the strong steam of water, gasping slightly as it hit her skin she allowed the water to run over her head, as though trying to wash the stresses away. Placing her hands on the tiles in front of her she closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth as it slowly chased any bit of remaining chill out of her body.
"Canaan…" She muttered to herself, biting her lip as she heard herself whisper the name, she still couldn't understand why this was bothering her so much, asides from not knowing if she was alive of course, the thought of never seeing the white haired woman again if she wasn't alive, felt like it was tearing a hole in her chest, what was this? She couldn't understand. Turning off the taps she stepped out of the shower, wringing out her hair she grabbed a nearby towel and gave it a quick dry, wrapping the towel about herself once satisfied she was dry enough. Unlocking the door she made her way quietly to her room, the snoring from the lounge room noting to her that Minoru had once again fallen to sleep. What would she do with him? She didn't know, he couldn't bunk on her lounge forever though.
Ditching the towel once she hit her room and closed her door she slid into bed, shivering at the chill of the bed sheets she snuggled deeper into the covers, closing her eyes and trying to shut out her thoughts.
"Where are you…Canaan…" She mumbled once more, her thoughts fighting her for a while before finally allowing her to doze off into a slightly restless sleep.