Burning Flames ¦ Evan Buckley

Chapter 25 - Panic and Coffee

Bobby had given both El and Buck 2 weeks off to help Mikey and Maddie back on their feet and to care for them while they recovered from their traumatic events. It had only been 5 days back at home and already Mikey was driving El insane. He was playing video games, specifically yelling while El was sleeping, however she kept her cool, not saying anything as she knew what he had been through was tough.

"Mikey, can you please pick up your dirty underwear and not throw it across the house?" El spoke, picking up a pair of boxers and throwing them at his head while he was mid game.

Mikey gave El a quick glance and then back at his game, "El, just give me a moment, okay? I am kind of in the middle of something."

"Yeah well I'm trying to do everything, the least you can do is pick up after yourself" She rolled her eyes, beginning to get frustrated by his laziness, especially as he was feeling considerably better.

Mikey threw his controller down and groaned, "Fine, whatever." He picked up his dirty laundry and threw it on the couch.

El groaned "Urgh!" And stormed over to the kitchen, needing some more coffee to energise herself, so much for a relaxing two weeks off where she could work on her properties and house hunt.

"Oh, so now you storm off. Sorry that me getting stabbed has been such an inconvenience for you!" He scoffed and picked up his controller again, "If you didn't want to take care of me, you should have just said so."

"You know what, I'm going out for a bit, have fun looking after yourself!" She clapped back and headed for the door "And no more foot massages!" She yelled and slammed the door.

-

El decided to call Buck and see if he was available to meet up for coffee, needing someone to talk to. To her surprise, Buck agreed and they met at a small cafe in the middle of both their locations. Buck was already there when El arrived which was rather surprising however it was nice to see him after a week.

As soon as Buck saw El he stood from his seat, a soft smile planted on his features. El felt a surge of anxiety run through her veins when she saw him. Why was she feeling like this? She was starting to become better with her emotions and physical touch, so she braved a hug wrapping her arms around his neck, his large hands wrapping around her waist. She felt instantly safe, a sensation she didn't often feel, it was foreign. "Hey" He spoke in a gravelly tone.

"Hey" She spoke softly, smiling as she pulled away from the hug, his hands lingering for a soft moment before taking a seat.

"Is everything okay?" Buck asked, "I was just surprised when you text, seemed a little ominous" He let out a soft chuckle, trying to hide the fact that he was actually excited to be out with her, just the two of them in a neutral environment.

"Yeah...I mean, kinda?" She raised a brow, "Mikey is just driving me insane" She sighed "And I figured you would be the best person to talk too seeing as Bobby put us both on leave"

"Maddie has been the same" Buck confirmed, "i'm glad we got each other at least" He laughed a little, "It's just...she's acting like nothing happened, she's keeping herself so busy...she's repainted every wall in the apartment"

"Well at least she's being productive, Mikey is doing nothing" El groaned.

"Well he was stabbed...3 times" Buck pointed out.

"No, I know that, but so does he, and he's playing on it" She sighed, "I was up in my room and peered down as it was quiet and I caught him doing press ups, yet he can't go and get himself a drink"

"You gotta go a little easy on him, you can be uptight" Buck rebutted.

"Hey" El gasped "i've gotten a lot better thank you very much"