A/N: I know it has been a ton of time since I updated this, but I got the loveliest review from carlycarter last night and thought that I should continue it. Thank you so much for your reviews, carlycarter, they are so nice! I promise to keep updating this if you continue to update 'This is goodbye.' Everyone's reviews mean a lot to me. =]
Myka quickly entered her room and shut the door behind her. She looked around, desperately wishing that she could do anything else than what lay ahead of her. But unfortunately she found nothing to tidy nor anything else to do, so she grabbed her pajamas and made her way to the bathroom that linked her room and Pete's.
She grabbed her shampoo out of her cabinet and contemplated whether she wanted to shower or take a bath. If she were honest with herself, both choices sounded horrible. But she knew it might take her a while before she could do either like a normal person, and no one would question someone who takes a long bath, but they would most definitely worry if her shower ran long.
Myka shuffled about the bathroom, trying to avoid Pete's clutter. It may have been odd that they shared a bathroom as Claudia or Leena might have been the more obvious choice, but Leena had her own and Pete had already cluttered up his room when Claudia joined the team, making switching inadvisable. Therefore, she was unfortunately stuck being Pete's bathroom partner. She gathered her things, smiling to herself as she thought of the number of times she had to bang on the door when Pete's singing in the shower got even more loud and off-key than normal.
She started the water and waited until it got hot and filled the tub to a decent level. She stripped off her clothing and stepped in, holding onto the edge for balance as she slowly sank down into the water. She took a moment to inhale deeply before she began to wash her skin and hair from the filth of the lake water.
For the first time in the last twenty-four hours, Myka's mind drifted and settled upon the happenings of the day before at the lake. It had been terrifying at first, but then it was something else. Suspended there in the water, watching as the world slowed and nearly came to a stop before Pete wound his arms around her and pulled her to the surface… It had been peaceful, in a way she had never known was possible.
Washing done, Myka pondered for a moment. Things had been hectic since Sam had died. Hectic and painful, and then she had been rushed to the warehouse and thrown into the mix there. The fact was, she could not remember a time when things had been peaceful and joyful, and that thought frightened her.
With these thoughts in mind, Myka let go of the rim of the tub and sank down so that her face was even with the water. Taking in a deep breath, she sank under the water completely. Myka counted in her head to a minute before she could no longer hold her breath and rose to the surface.
She was disappointed. Whatever truth she had found in that water at the lake was just out of her grasp. All she felt was the sloshing of water in the tub. It seemed that that peace would forever elude her, would just be a brush against her fingertips as she tried in vain to reach for it.
Pete would kill her if he knew what she had just done. Like he wasn't worried enough, she had to go and act so strangely. Even though he didn't know about it, she couldn't help the zing of guilt that went through her. Remorseful, she stepped out of the bath and dried herself off with the towel, quickly getting dressed before she made her way back into her room.
Pete sat on the edge of his bed as he strained to hear through the door to the bathroom. As soon as he'd heard the water start to run, he'd made some excuse about being tired and nearly run up the stairs. Now he'd just been sitting, waiting on the other side of the door in case something was wrong with Myka.
But she appeared to be fine. He heard no strange sounds, no alarming crying. To the outside observer, she was alright. And to Pete, that was what was more alarming than anything. Because he wasn't at all okay, and he didn't think she was either.
He sighed and leaned back until his back touched the bed. Tomorrow they would be back to their normal warehouse activities, and the incident at the lake would just be a memory that would continue to haunt him. They would never mention it again, and it would become some source of pain and anxiety that they didn't mention but lay suspended in the air between them, as an insect in amber.
As much as he wanted to mention it, he understood that Myka just wanted to move on. He already knew without a doubt that he would do what she wanted.
