Chapter 22

04:30 pm

Michael and Scott finished the pool promptly, which left Michael some more time to sort out some things in the backyard. The weather was getting colder, so he had to prepare for it. He began on their shed first. He needed to organise it so there would be enough space when they needed to put away their outdoor furniture. After he was done with that he noticed that the latch on the door was loose so he got to work. Anything would do to keep him occupied until Nikita got home.

"Hey"

"Hey," Michael greeted Sam back and continued working away. He had spent the whole day outside so that he and Sam wouldn't cross paths as often. If the former guardian was going to behave like a child, so be it.

"Want some help with that?"

"No, I'm almost done. The latch was just loose." He wasn't sure why Sam came out here. He had been avoiding Michael the whole day, too. He went into the house at some point during lunch and never came back out. It was probably because Nikita was due to arrive back home soon. Sam always changed his behaviour when she was around. That was one of the things that Michael disliked most about Sam. It created tension between the couple because Nikita never saw that change.

Sam continued standing there, saying nothing. Michael stopped and turned his attention to him. "Do you need anything?" Something was up with him again. He didn't just strike up this conversation out of boredom.

"Do you know when Nikita's getting back? She has been gone all day" And here it was.

"She should be getting back soon. I spoke with her an hour ago and they were wrapping up" Michael couldn't wait for her to get home. This was harder than he thought.

"For someone that's so worried about her you seem awfully chilled about not seeing her for so long" Sam stated.

Is he asking me to punch him? Michael thought. He always had a comment ready.

"I will always worry about her no matter the circumstances." Nikita is the love of life, his everything. There will never be a day when he is not constantly thinking about her. That didn't mean that he was going to keep her locked in a cage. He worried about her as much as she worried about him.

"Well, yeah of course. I'm just worried because of what you told me earlier that's why I'm asking"

Michael didn't think so. If he cared so much about Nikita and was so worried he would have continued to keep in touch with her. She had always been the one tracking him down. "I trust her friends. She also knows to call me if anything is wrong." Michael didn't need Sam to put things in his head. Nikita was fine. She checked in with him regularly. He also trusted her friends more than he trusted Sam. It was probably something about the fact that her new friends weren't the ones to hand her off to a psycho for their own gain.

"That's good. Your friend Scott seems nice too"

"Yeah, he's a good guy" How Sam determined that Scott was nice was a mystery to Michael. They barely said hello to each other.

"Nikita told me that he was a police officer" Sam said it casually but Michael couldn't be fooled. "Is that why you tried to stay as far away as possible" Michael joked to see how Sam would react. There was a reason why they were talking about Scott and he needed to know.

"I don't like police officers and it's not because they might arrest me so don't say that" Nikita had already told him the same thing.

"Scott wasn't on duty so he's just a regular guy helping out his friend" There was something there. Maybe that's where they should dig to find out what Sam has been up to. Why would he be uneasy around a police officer who wasn't even on duty and showed no interest in him regardless.

"There is no such thing as on and off-duty officer. They are always on duty."

"So what? We are not doing anything that will get us in trouble with the law." The couple wasn't but Sam was maybe another story.

"Yeah, of course. Anyway, I came to ask you something else. Can I use your car tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. I can leave it for you. Nikita can drop me off at the office on her way to yoga tomorrow" When Nikita talked to him initially about lending Sam his car he hesitated but quickly agreed when he realised he could track his movements with the GPS. Of course, Michael did not share that fact with his wife then.

"I can call an Uber if you need the car"

"No, I will be at the office tomorrow so you can have the car" Michael was curious about what Sam needed a car for. He didn't know the area. He knew Nikita was home most of the week so she could take him wherever he needed to be.

"Thanks."

Michael nodded and was about to ask him where he was going tomorrow but his phone started ringing. It was Nikita. "Hey, you almost home?"

"Yeah, I'm just turning the corner. Can you or Sam come out and help me with the bags, please" Nikita's trunk was full and was going to require multiple trips if she did it alone.

"Yeah, of course. Coming right now"

That was the end of Sam and Michael's conversation. They went and helped Nikita out. Afterwards, Michael started preparing them dinner. Nikita was dead on her feet and passed out on the couch while she was supposed to be keeping him company. She had had a long day. Michael laughed and paused dinner to get her a fluffy blanket and tuck her in. She could have a quick nap until he was done. Sam disappeared to his room shortly after and only emerged after he was called down to eat with them.

"What do you want to watch tonight?" Nikita asked as Michael got into bed. They were having another early night. This time it had been her idea since she was exhausted from walking all day. Her bed was calling for her. The nap she had earlier had done nothing besides making her even more sleepy. There was probably no point in looking for something to watch. She was going to fall asleep in the first 10 minutes.

"I was actually wanting to talk to you about something" Michael decided to take the opportunity to talk to his wife while they were in the privacy of their own bedroom and the chances of someone overhearing them were very slim.

"Yeah, what's that?" Nikita ditched the TV remote and turned towards her husband. He had been quiet during dinner. Both guys were. She was the one who did all the talking. She had wanted to bring it up right then and there but she was too exhausted to try and pry any information out of them.

"I've been thinking about how I wasn't very forthcoming when we talked about Sam the other day. Not that we had a lot of time to talk about it but I've been wondering. What's your plan about it?" Everything had happened quite fast. That mixed in with Michael's inability to say no to his wife had left him with now with a lot of confused thoughts.

"Plan? What do you mean by plan?" Nikita expected him to bring up the Carters again since she had promised him another conversation about them. She didn't mind the change at all. Hopefully, her husband had forgotten about it. Now she had to figure out what he was saying. Was she that tired?

"Well, when you asked me if he could stay with us you said that it will allow you to find out what has been going on with him. So I wondered if you had something in mind like an idea of what might be going on." Michael had been thinking about it a lot this evening. At first, he was going to let Nikita do her thing and not get involved but his gut feeling was too strong on this. Something was up and he couldn't just sit around.

"Uhm, no not really. He has simply been a bit off lately. I just hoped to sit down with him and talk. There have been instances where he opened up to me that way." Nikita hadn't thought about it too much. She just kinda went with it and did whatever felt right. Everything else would seem forced and that was the last thing she wanted. "Why?" Michael had something in his head. She could tell.

"I have just been noticing some little things here and there. Might seem like I'm overthinking it but...I don't know" Michael was hesitant to share his thoughts with Nikita since they disagreed a lot when it came to Sam.

"Tell me. I know you wouldn't bring it up if you didn't think there was something" Nikita trusted Michael to put his feelings about Sam aside so if he wanted to talk about him she would listen.

"I don't have anything solid. He's keeping his distance from me. More than usual. Also, the things he does don't make sense a lot of the time and he's only been here for 2 days." Michael wanted to see if Nikita had noticed it too. "What do you think?"

Nikita couldn't exactly agree with Michael. The things he was saying just sounded like Sam being Sam "I only spent time with him yesterday so I don't know yet. He's not the talkative type. I'll try to talk to him tomorrow. Did he tell you what he needed the car for?" The guys had informed Nikita of the last-minute swap but that was it. No more details.

"No, and I didn't have time to ask. I'm curious though. He doesn't know the area. I thought you would be the one going places with him" Michael didn't love that fact but it had been Nikita's idea.

Nikita side-eyed her husband. Alex had said something similar to her and her reaction had been the same. She wasn't going to be invading Sam's personal space. "I'm not planning on following his every move. That wasn't my intention when I invited him to stay with us. I just…" Nikita stopped herself from continuing that thought. Michael wasn't going to like it.

"You just what?" They hadn't had the chance to discuss it that much since their conversation about Sam staying over was done in front of a coffee shop with their whole family inside waiting for them. That's why he wanted to do it now. He had to know what was in her head.

"I don't know I-"

"No, you do know. You wanted to say something there" Nikita knew the chances of Michael letting it slide were very slim. She sighed "It feels like London years ago"

As Nikita had predicted Michael tensed and straightened up. "Like the time when he was going mad because of withdrawal symptoms and almost published the contents of a black box? Like the time when he pushed you in front of a moving vehicle when you tried to help him?" Now Michael definitely regretted letting him stay with them. If Nikita had a similar feeling as to that time in London they were truly fucked. Michael didn't like that she hadn't shared it with him until now.

"Okay, you need to get over that. It's why I didn't want to say it. I didn't mean it like that. He just seemed a bit lost like he did back then" So many years had passed since that incident and Michael was still not letting it go. Nikita had been completely fine then. The car wasn't even moving that fast. Sam was also not himself. He had no control of his thoughts or actions.

Michael took a deep breath and tried to remain composed "It's not really something to get over. It's an action that speaks louder about a person than any words can. It wasn't a one-time thing. He has put your life in danger multiple times for his own interest. It's why I didn't want him to stay here. I don't know what I need to do or say to make you see that" Nikita had the biggest heart that just kept on giving and giving and also forgiving. If it was up to Michael he wouldn't keep Sam close to him at all. But he did. For her. It was causing him a lot to see the person that he loved most get used and hurt time and time again by one individual.

"I thought we already talked about this the other day. I know you don't like that he's here but you promised me that you'll trust me" Nikita didn't understand why they were having this conversation again. She thought that they had reached an agreement. The last thing she wanted was to argue about it every day until Sam left. If that was going to be the case she wouldn't have invited him at all.

"Nikita, baby, I trust you with my life. It's him I don't trust. I know you want to help him with whatever he's dealing with but…I can't have you get hurt again. I'm tired of watching it happen and when it passes you go and just forgive him and forget all about it." Michael was going to go absolutely feral if there was even a hair missing from Nikita's head. He had restrained himself before because of Nikita but if something happened to her Michael was not going to care. Sam would be a dead man this time.

"Then just lean on that trust in me Michael. That's what we agreed on when we talked about him staying. I don't understand why we're discussing it again when he's already here. I can't exactly kick him out. It's who I am. You know that. I can't leave him. You've always said you loved all of me, right? Well, that is just a part and I can't change it. I won't put you in the same position again next time. That's on me." Nikita couldn't understand what she was supposed to do.

"Of course, I love all of you. I'm not blaming you for anything. I'm not saying that we should kick him out. I just think we need to take it more seriously" Nikita and Michael were having trouble understanding what the other one meant and it was frustrating.

"How for example?" Nikita was too exhausted to have this conversation so she was just going to let Michael say what he wanted to say. She didn't think they needed to be doing more than they were. Nikita had gotten far with Sam before by simply talking to him. She could do it again.

"We can let him use my car for the rest of the week and I can use the GPS to see where he is going or-" That was a step. He didn't believe Sam was at the gym this morning for 4 hours.

"Michael, no" Nikita huffed and got out of bed. She was getting irritated by this conversation so she started pacing the room.

"What?"

"Are you hearing yourself? Following him is insane. I'm actually trying to do something here not just catch him in something. I get that you don't like him. You've made that perfectly clear so you don't need to be doing anything. I can handle it on my own. I don't want anyone's help so please leave him alone." Nikita was fed up with her family's comments about taking in Sam. Why did everyone have to be so harsh with him?

"Okay" Michael swallowed down everything else he wanted to say and just nodded. Nikita wasn't interested in hearing it. He didn't blame her but it hurt that after so many years together she still didn't trust his judgment when it came to people. She always looked for something good in everyone. It was a lost cause. She had to get burnt time and time again to realise which people were worth fighting for. Michael didn't believe Sam deserved that kind of kindness from her.

"I'll drop it and leave you to it" It wasn't worth continuing. They were both exhausted and too much in their head to see some sort of compromise. "You can come back to bed" His wife was still standing in the middle of the room.

Nikita was too fired up to just drop it. She needed a minute. "I'll go get a snack for the movie" And with that, she was out the door.

Michael groaned internally. That was not how he wanted this conversation to go.

Back downstairs Nikita was rummaging through the pantry for a snack. She didn't really want one but that had been her excuse so she couldn't return empty-handed. The conversation with Michael shouldn't have gotten as heated as it did. He had his points but she also got hers. Honestly, she should have seen this coming. She knew her husband and his overprotectiveness wouldn't have let anything slide. It was a miracle he even said yes to her idea in the first place.

"Find anything good in there?"

"Jesus, Sam!" Nikita jumped and almost screamed. She had been deep in thought and hadn't heard Sam approaching.

"Relax. Who else would it be?" Sam laughed at her expense.

Nikita rolled her eyes and settled for a can of Sprite. "Well, I'm not used to having someone else in the house" She didn't miss it. She loved having a house all to herself and her husband.

"Fair. I thought you'd be asleep by now"

"Can't fall asleep yet. What are you doing up?" She opened her can and pulled one of the barstools out. She didn't want to go upstairs yet. Not that talking with Sam was going to be any better. He was a part of the reason she was in this mood.

"Got hungry so I was going to make myself something"

"There are some leftovers in the fridge from dinner" Nikita offered.

"No, I was thinking something else. I saw earlier that you had tofu so I was thinking of making my tofu scramble. I can make you some too. You loved it" Sam moved to the fridge to get all the ingredients out. He had gotten used to the house fairly quickly.

"Oh, yeah" Nikita had forgotten about it. To be fair he had only made it for her once or twice and that was years ago. "I'm good. Still full after dinner"

"Okay. I'm still going to make more though so feel free to change your mind"

"Probably not but thanks." The question slipped into her mind easily but she stopped herself. She didn't want to ask him about what he was doing tomorrow. Not after her conversation with Michael. That's not how she wanted to handle things with Sam. She shouldn't be influenced so easily by her family.

"You okay?" Sam asked as he started preparing his late evening meal.

"Yeah, just tired from today" She yawned and took another sip of her drink. It wasn't doing the calming trick that it usually did. Her sore feelings were still very much present.

"How come Prince Charming hasn't come and dragged you up to bed yet?" And that didn't fucking help as well. So mature. "Sam" She had forgotten how annoying these two can be about each other. There was no break. Did she ask for that much?

"It was a joke…but it's not that far from reality" Sam gave her a pointed look to which Nikita responded with a glare. She was having none of it.

"Okay, okay. Pretend like I haven't said anything. Now tell me where your pans are" Sam lifted his hands up in surrender and changed the topic.

"Big bottom drawer and please don't burn my house down" Nikita was officially done for the night. She took her drink and headed back upstairs.

When she entered the bedroom she noticed that Michael was no longer in bed. The lights were off in their bathroom and closet so he wasn't in the room at all. Nikita hadn't seen him downstairs. She assumed he probably also needed a minute so she got into bed. Shortly after her husband appeared.

"Where'd you go?" He had put on a hoodie which meant he went outside.

"To my car" He said nonchalantly as he was taking his hoodie off.

"Why?" What would he need from his car so late?

"To turn off the GPS"

Nikita was speechless for a few moments. It wasn't about that. She just wanted her family to show some compassion towards a person that had gone through the same shit they had. "You didn't have to do that"

"Yeah, I did. If it makes you upset that I was planning to look at it then I don't mind turning it off. " He wasn't going to argue with Nikita over Sam. It wasn't worth it. He can protect her in many other ways too. He wasn't giving up on that just because she wanted to help him again.

Nikita didn't know whether to say thank you or be more upset. Why did it have to be so complicated? All she wanted to do was help someone out.

She said nothing. Michael got into bed and put something on the TV. He usually pulled her closer or held her hand as they settled into bed but he kept his distance tonight. It wasn't all fine. They needed to talk about it again but Nikita had no energy to and from the looks of it Michael didn't either so it wouldn't be even productive. Nikita turned her bedside lamp off and dozed off.

Michael couldn't fall asleep yet. He had gotten downstairs first to check on Nikita and overheard her conversation with Sam. That had gotten him even more pissed. Nikita somehow still didn't see why nobody liked this guy. He decided he wasn't going to let it get in between them so he went and turned the damn GPS off. He knew he wasn't going to be able to control himself from looking at it constantly. If Nikita found out it would have been a problem and it wasn't worth it. He could keep Sam in check in other ways.

When he got back to the bedroom the air still felt tense. There was more the couple wanted to say but they held back. Nikita was upset and Michael was hurt. He trusted her with everything he had. There was no doubt about that but why didn't she trust him like that too?

Thank you so much for reading! xx