Their game lasted a good few hours. They laughed and kept making up the rules of whatever game along the way. Mike usually liked structure, a set system of rules carved in stone. But none of that seemed to matter right now. He didn't care about the chaos and felt no need to try and fix it, to organize it. He had to admit, the chaos was pretty fun in a group like this one.
The game very abruptly ended when Mike suddenly stiffened.
"Hi darling," he could hear her voice say.
"Mike, are you alright?" Peter asked, being the first to notice something was off about him.
Tears filled Mike's eyes as he began to look around for her, eventually finding that her voice was coming from above.
"Hello," he choked out. Peter backed off, knowing what was happening and choosing to give Mike his space.
"Who is it?" Micky asked in a whisper, leaning in toward him. Davy scowled and elbowed him.
"Hey! What was that for?" He whined, turning to Davy.
"It's none of our business…" he muttered.
"It's fine," Mike sighed. "It's my wife."
"Oh," Micky said, straightening in his seat. "Do you want us to go?"
Mike didn't have time to respond before he heard her again.
"I'm so sorry," Phyllis said quietly. "I would've come sooner…They wouldn't let me see you until now."
He could feel her squeeze his hand as he looked back up at the roof of the train.
"It's okay," he smiled slightly, wishing he was there so he could comfort her.
"If we hadn't gone out or if I had gotten help sooner–"
"It's okay!" He said, talking over her. "You did enough, and that's fine. Don't worry about it."
"You're gonna be okay, though," she said and Mike could hear that she was crying.
"I'm gonna be okay," he said and could feel a hand being placed on his shoulder. He turned around quickly to see Peter there, smiling at him.
"You're gonna be just fine, Michael," he said with a nod. Mike smiled for a split second at him and looked at the other two. Davy had returned to his seat in the back of the car, pressing his head back up against the window. Micky was busy collecting all the cards and stacking them back up.
"Don't stop just because of me," Mike said. "If you wanna play, keep playing."
"We don't wanna play without you, Mike," Micky shrugged, pushing the cards into his pocket. "Talk to your wife. We can play in a little bit."
"Christian's still staying with your sister," Phyllis continued, in a sad voice. "I called her last night, this morning too, and Christian, he wanted to know…I could tell, he was asking for you. I bet he was wondering why I was there and you weren't…"
"Oh God…" Mike whispered, eyes widening.
"What is it?" Peter asked, worriedly.
"And I-I didn't know what to say…" She sniffled, squeezing his hand tighter. "I couldn't say anything…"
"It's okay, it's okay," he said, squeezing his own hand as if she would be able to feel it. "It's gonna be okay."
Micky turned to look at Davy as Davy slowly brought his knees to his chest, resting his head atop them. When he noticed he was being watched, he turned to look at Micky, who offered a slight smile to him. Davy sighed and pressed his head against the window again, now closing his eyes.
"You can fight this, Michael," she said decidedly. "I know you can do it."
Mike frowned.
"Fight what?" He asked, genuinely confused. It was then that he realized he knew practically nothing about what happened that night. The last night he saw her. It was all so sudden and fast. He remembered the two of them walking home after a…and then…he was packing his things and he was boarding onto a train. Why? Someone told him to. He didn't know the person. Someone just came up to him and told him there was a train that would take him away, and for whatever reason, he believed it. It was stupid, he shouldn't have, but the train did come. It arrived right outside his house maybe 3 minutes later…and he was gone, ready to go right as it arrived. He just left her and their son.
"You're strong," he could now feel her run a hand through his hair. It was a strange feeling without her being there. "And you're brave, and you can do this."
"I don't know if I can…" Mike said, frowning.
"I believe in you. Christian believes in you." Phyllis said. Mike was able to hear both her smile and her tears in her tone.
"I mean," he sighed, unsure of how to phrase it. "What am I supposed to do? What do you want me to do?"
"Just hold on, okay?" She asked, her voice quivering with doubt. "You just need to hold on for a little bit longer."
"How do I do that?" He asked at the ceiling.
"I'm sorry, Michael," she said and Mike could feel her release his hand. "I have to go now, but I can be back later."
"Go?" Mike asked, worried. "No, you can't go."
"Goodbye, Michael."
"No, please! Tell me what you want me to do!" He cried out, getting no response.
"Come back!" Mike yelled, jumping up. "What does that even mean? Just come back, please! Tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it! I'll—!"
"Mike!"
He felt a hand on his back and he jumped, clutching his chest in surprise.
"It's just me," Micky said with a smile. "You're okay."
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," he choked out, trying not to cry in front of them.
"It's okay," Peter said comfortingly, going over to his side. "No one knows what they're supposed to do."
"What am I supposed to do?" Mike asked sadly and Peter shrugged.
"I don't know, Mike…" Micky said, looking down. "But it's gonna be alright and she's gonna be alright."
"She's gonna be without a husband if I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing," he muttered. "And our son's gonna be left without a father."
"You'll know what to do," Peter said, giving Mike's hand a squeeze. "You won't be leaving them."
Mike sighed. He wanted to believe them and share their optimism but couldn't bring himself to.
"Hey, Mike?" Micky asked after a moment, a slight smile on his face.
"What?" Mike asked, returning to his seat.
"Wanna see my impression of Tommy doing his impression of the inimitable James Cagney?"
Mike frowned, confused by the description.
"I'd rather not…" he said quietly. Micky must have not heard him as he went ahead and did it anyway. He leaned forward and scrunched up his face, pointing his finger out.
"Okay, don't expect anything from me, you dirty rat!"
Mike couldn't help but crack a grin at it.
"Thank you," he said, rolling his eyes. His gaze happened to land on Davy, who must've known he was being watched as he sat up straight the instant Mike looked his way.
"She'll be fine," he said, unable to think of something better to say. Mike smiled slightly and nodded.
"So will you."
Davy frowned at the statement, but nodded slowly.
"Okay," he whispered, returning his focus back out the window.
Mike sighed and returned to his seat, laying down across it.
"Think I'm gonna call it a night, if that's alright with y'all."
"Of course," Micky said, going back to his own seat, Peter following and joining him.
"If you need anything, we're here." Peter said with a smile.
Mike closed his eyes, trying to ignore the voices in his ear, all the noises of different machines, and the sterile smell of the world. As he drifted off, he thought he could hear someone singing. It was a voice he didn't recognize, a song he didn't recognize, but a beautiful one. Slowly, he was finally able to fall to the sound of it, a slight smile on his face as he did.