February:
Bright rays of light and the sound of laughter spilled out onto the dark, icy streets as the restaurant door swung open. Michaela stumbled slightly over the frozen step as she flipped her hair impatiently free of her coat collar but before she could fall, Danny had slipped his arm round her waist.
"Happy birthday," he breathed, pulling her closer for a kiss.
"Hey now," broke in a voice behind them, "none of that in the doorway. It's a fire hazard."
Michaela laughed good naturedly and pulled Danny aside as Sully and his date stepped out behind them.
Michaela had felt inexplicably uneasy at the sight of the pretty, petite Hispanic girl who had shyly followed Sully into the restaurant and introduced herself to the table. Sully had been even more cagey than usual about the new woman in his life and for the last few months, had used every reason in the book to keep them from meeting. At one point, Michaela had even joked that perhaps Sully was just too worried that with all her unparalleled knowledge of Sully's awkward adolescence, she might just scare his girlfriend away or at least, put her off him for life.
Yet as the evening progressed, Michaela couldn't help but like her. Maya was cheeky, laughed easily and was clearly more than capable of keeping Sully on his toes.
"So where to next Birthday Girl?" queried Sully, as he pulled Maya closer to his side and rubbed her arm to ward off the bitter cold.
"I know just the place," giggled Michaela, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she grabbed Danny's arm and set off purposefully down the street.
"How is she even still standing?" laughed Maya, as she watched Michaela's slender form fairly skipping ahead, "she must be three quarters tequila by now."
Sully just shook his head in mute disbelief and looked up in time to see Michaela disappearing into a darkened doorway. His gaze snapped up to the neon sign buzzing lazily overhead and his eyes widened in shock.
"No way, she wouldn't…"
"I love you Mike, but no way. Sorry."
"Oh come on, please Danny!"
"Uh uh, no way."
Danny put his hands up and stepped away from Michaela, his tone final.
"Fine then," fumed Michaela, a dangerous glint in her eye, "if you're too chicken, I'll just do it by myself."
"Michaela…" began Danny but she stepped out of his reach and stalked over to the selection of images plastered over the wall.
"What's going on?" demanded Sully, as he stepped inside and registered the mixture of anger and confusion on Danny's face.
"Ask her," grumbled Danny, crossing his arms in frustration, "I'm going to wait outside."
"I'll join you," offered Maya as her dark eyes swept over the greasy, tiled floor and faded, peeling plasterwork; she was clearly uncomfortable.
"Michaela?" queried Sully, as he approached her and gently touched her tense shoulder, "what's this about?"
"It's just something I want to do," she replied brusquely, refusing to meet his gaze, "I'm old enough to decide."
"Old enough? Come on Michaela, that's just the alcohol talking," reasoned Sully, "you'll feel completely differently tomorrow morning when you're sober. You'll regret it."
"No, I won't," retorted Michaela, finally turning around and fixing Sully with a fierce gaze. "When I was lying in the hospital, I promised myself that I was going to do things differently. I was going to let go of being afraid and just live, like my dad did. I don't want to have any regrets at the end."
Sully watched her for a moment, scrutinising her features as the passion ebbed away and her chin rose in cold determination.
"Ok," he agreed, after a long moment, "so what are we getting?"
"We?" repeated Michaela uncertainly.
"I promised you once that you wouldn't need to be afraid," continued Sully quietly, "because you'd always have me. That whatever you wanted to do, I'd be behind you. If this is really that important to you, then let's do it."
"Just don't judge me if I cry," he added with a grin as he reached for her hand.
Michaela swallowed hard over the lump in her throat and forced out a dry laugh as she returned the gentle pressure. Inhaling deeply, she pulled one of the images off the wall and headed for the counter to pay.
Sully eased open the front door to his suite and quietly stepped into the small living room. Danny's room was dark, the door still half open; he was probably spending the night at Michaela's. Without thinking, Sully reached to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. He faltered at the sudden pain that shot through his left arm. Glancing down at the poorly taped white bandage, he grimaced before taking a deep breath and yanking it off. Tears rose to his eyes as several hairs reluctantly parted company with his forearm, yet Sully forced his attention instead on the whorl of dark lines, a slow grin spreading across his face. An insistent buzzing from his pocket distracted him for a moment and with a start, he remembered Maya. Even as he reached for his cell phone, a light clicked on and in the sudden flood of light, he recognised a familiar pair of dark eyes, glaring at him from the sofa.
"What the hell did you do?" she snapped, rising from her seat, ire radiating off her in near palpable waves.
"You go to some run down, filthy chop shop and come back with a tattoo? Are you completely insane? Do you have any idea what kind of needles they use or if they even sterilise them? Did you consider what the risks are? How could you do this, Sully, what were you thinking?"
"Maya, please," began Sully, stepping forward, "I don't expect you to understand, but believe me, I checked all those things. You know I wouldn't take a risk like that, I wouldn't let anyone take a risk like that."
"By that, I suppose you mean Michaela?"
"Yes Michaela," continued Sully, frowning slightly, "or Danny or you."
"I would never be stupid enough to pull something like this," retorted Maya, crossing her arms across her chest, "and I don't need you to protect me."
"I'm not trying to protect you, I'm just…"
"You're just what, Sully?" she queried, her gaze unrelenting, "Trying to be the ridiculously supportive best friend that goes along with any hair brained scheme in the hope that one day she finally opens her eyes and picks you?"
"What are you talking about?" growled Sully, his temper rising, "where is all this coming from?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," continued Maya, her voice low as she squared her shoulders, "Michaela."
"Maya," exhaled Sully, reaching out to grasp her hands firmly in his, "Michaela and I are just friends, we have been for years, I thought you understood that. But you, you're my girlfriend, I picked you. I love…"
"Don't finish that sentence, Sully, please," interrupted Maya, pulling her hands free of his, "I can't bear for you to say that to me and not truly mean it."
"Of course I mean it," protested Sully, his eyes widening with hurt even as Maya turned away from him, her eyes filling with tears.
"God," she choked out, as she chanced a glance back at his torn expression, "you won't even admit it to yourself. But I've seen enough to know that you don't love me, not the way you love her. And that's what I want for myself. I won't settle for being second best."
"Maya, please," breathed Sully, "believe me, you're not second best, it's not like that. Michaela and I…"
"Sully! Sully! Look, these just arrived in the post, a birthday present from mom. Two tickets to Sasquatch in May. Danny's doing that internship so what do you say? You, me, Washington? Are you in?"
Michaela stood framed in the doorway, her cheeks flushed, the tickets held aloft in her hand. As the cold silence around her remained unbroken, she frowned and glanced curiously between the couple.
"Hey Maya," she continued slowly, stepping forward and casting a smile in her direction, "sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just so excited about the tickets, you know. We've been talking about this festival for ages. I'm sure I could get another ticket, if you'd like to come along too?"
"No thanks, Michaela," replied Maya quietly, "I'm not staying. Take care Sully, I'll see you around."
"Maya, wait," began Sully but the door had already closed behind her. Cursing loudly, Sully ran his hands through his hair in frustration before slumping down on the sofa, a malignant scowl on his face.
"What was that all about?" wondered Michaela, her expression shocked, "what the hell did you do?"