Happier (Michael x Noah)

Michael

I wake from my nightmare, screaming and flailing. Noah pulls me in closer, trying to be comforting. But it's not comforting this time. I've got to get out of here. I can't do this. I need to get out of here!

"Mike, what're you doing?" Noah asks quietly when I try to wrestle his arms off of me.

"Let go of me!" I shout, crying against my will. Shit, I didn't mean to be so loud.

"Okay, okay!" He lets go of me and backs away ever so slightly.

Still crying, I clumsily drag myself off of my bed and crash to the floor. I gracelessly reach up onto my bedside table and feel around for my stabilizers. I take them off the nightstand one by one, setting them in front of me, I put them on one at a time. When I designed them, I made sure that the first clips that kept them on me are magnets. They don't lock shut until I turn on the main component.

Once all of my stabilizers are on, I feel around my nightstand for my main component--I call it the key chip--and attach it to its "base" that's installed in my head. I switch the key chip on, wait a few seconds for my stabilizers to warm up, grab my stupid crutches next to my bed, then rush to my feet and run out of the room.

"Michael, wait!" Noah shouts worriedly.

Ignoring Noah's anxious shouts for me, I sprint down the stairs and through the living room, then out of the house. Slamming the front door behind me, I continue sprinting. Where am I going? I've no clue. All I know is that I have to get away.

"Michael! Where are you going?!" Noah's voice rings throughout the air. "Mike, come back! You forgot to grab your Disc!"

I keep going. I run, and I run, and I run.

By the time I finally stop running, I'm almost at the end of my neighborhood. I can see the stone slabs installed in the grassy ground with the name of the neighborhood. The slabs are six miles away from my house. That means I've run around five to six miles. Damn. I still have my endurance and speed from my cross country and track years in school. I thought that I'd lost it. I guess not.

Even though I've run so far in a short amount of time, I've still got tears streaming down my cheeks. What the fuck? How am I still crying?

The blank space next to me catches my eye. It's the playground. There's a singular bench. Sweet. I can take a breather for a moment.

Wait, no.

That's too close to home.

The thought of home closes off all oxygen from my lungs. Why does home scare me so much? I love my kids. I love Noah. I love Auralie.

I have to keep going.

Knowing Noah, he's not going to stop looking for me until he reaches the end of the neighborhood. Maybe the borders. But he won't go further than that.

I guess I have more miles to run.