when you met me

after

After

He didn’t even have the decency to pick up his phone. Mara wasn’t angry, she was just down. After such an amazing experience… Her very best friend, the one person she fully trusted in the world, failed to show up. Mara decided to leave a message.

“Hi, Dud. It’s Mara. You- you didn’t show up tonight, I was counting on you.” Tears started rolling down her face in a moment of profound abandonment. “I’m going out with Cole and the others. I guess that everything changes, right? But I stay the same.” Shaken, she hung up and walked back to the others, carefully wiping under her eyes and faking a smile.

Dud finally got his phone back after a long and heavy debriefing. He was exhausted, and it was about three in the morning. He ran into Jim, who had already changed, and was rushing off, probably to see Jack. “He’s still in surgery.” Dud said to him, as he had checked just a minute ago. Jim nodded, with dark circles under his eyes. “I know. I just want to be there, you know?” Dud nodded so that Jim knew he understood and Jim hurried off.

Before Dud could turn to sleepily change into normal clothes, Jim was back, and gave him a big and awkward hug. “Um, I heard you kind of saved him. Thanks.” Jim said with a small smile. Dud yawned, “Just doing my job.” He joked.

Beth was giggling and falling all over Cole, who didn’t mind the attention one bit. Dax sipped his drink and secretly checked the football scores on his phone. Mara just wanted to go home. Though she wasn’t sure she had one. She’d left the one with her parents, and her first flat. The flat she was in should’ve been home, but it didn’t feel like it. Everything was empty, and she wanted… She wanted her Mum.

Mara stood up and put down some money for the bill. “I’m gonna go.” She said. Dax looked up to smile and wave. Beth and Cole didn’t even notice her. Mara put on her jacket and walked outside to the sort of fresh air, and started to walk towards her old flat. Her home.

Dud pulled his shirt over his head and picked up his phone sleepily. A new voicemail. He pressed his phone to his ear and listened to it, slowly feeling his heart fall and crash. “Oh, no.” He whispered to himself, wondering how to get back in contact with her.

He paced for a minute, and decided to go to her flat, and be there when she got back. That way, he could explain it to her. Something in the pit of his stomach said that Mara was really seriously hurting from a blow that wasn’t his fault.

She approached her flat under the soft glow of the streetlamps, and smiled slightly at how happy her parents would be when she came home. Her bedroom light was on. Did they miss her that much? Mara headed towards the yellow light and peered in the window. A little girl with red, wild hair was in her pyjamas and was staying awake way past her bedtime, playing quietly with her teddies.

Mara’s room was pink. Her heart hurt, it was beating too fast. She clutched her hand onto her chest, trying to slow it down. The girls head suddenly snapped up to the window, where she stared at Mara with a curious but sleepy look. Mara backed up quickly. Too quickly, as she fell over the curb and onto the pebbled road. She stayed sitting, in shock. She couldn’t think of a single thing to do next.

Dud ran out to the front of the station, when a tired looking unit suddenly got called to go out. “What’s going on now?” Dud asked.

“A jumper. Off the north side bridge.” An Officer stopped to yawn and then shrugged, “Lucky you’re off the clock.” Dud paused for a moment, trying to process it. “Wait!” He shouted out. “Who is it?” The Officer stopped again. “All tactical got out of her is a first name. Mara. Look, I have to run-”

“I know her.” Dud said breathlessly.

“What?”

“I know her, you have to let me come.” Dud said earnestly.