𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 || Cillian Murphy ²

thirty-six

𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘺

It didn't take much for Auden to convince Emma to let Cillian come to her house for Thanksgiving. The idea of a celebrity in her house on a holiday was more than enough to do her in when Auden had called the night before.

"Oh my god, should I buy fancier linens?" Emma asked over the phone, her voice shrill in Auden's ear.

"No," Auden sighed, nestling into her hotel bed as she scrolled through the TV directory, "Please don't make it a big deal. He's not like that. In fact, don't mention he's famous at all."

"Right, right. Of course," Emma replied, pausing thoughtfully for a moment before lowering her voice, "So, are you guys back together? Is that what this means?"

"No," Auden sat up in bed, her fingers clenching the phone, "We are not together. He's just in town, and I felt bad knowing he was going to be alone - you know, he - "

Emma's laugh cut her off, "Auden, you don't have to explain yourself to me. He can come, and I'll make sure the boys behave themselves. There will be plenty of food anyway."

With that their conversation had ended, and Auden found herself outside of her hotel the next morning, suitcase propped next to her as she smoked nervously. The plan was for Cillian to meet Auden here, so they could both be picked up by her mom for the hour drive to Kenosha.

She sucked in deeply, the comforting smoke from her cigarette filling her lungs. She needed to quit, it was one of her many things on her endless journey of self improvement but now didn't seem like the right time. Did it ever though?

She flicked the smoke in irritation, just as Cillian stepped out of a taxi with his bags. He looked nicer than he had the day before, wearing a dark suede jacket over his navy button up and stark black pants. Ray-ban sunglasses covered his eyes, though it wasn't sunny out.

"Starting early, eh?" he nudged his chin towards her cigarette.

She waved him away, "Leave me be. I'm nervous."

Saying she was nervous was an understatement. Reconnecting with Emma had been both a hopeful and anxiety-inducing journey, and now, on Thanksgiving Day, Auden couldn't help but second-guess her decision to follow through. The only thing that was keeping her from cancelling was Cillian's willingness to join her on this part of her life.

Cillian chuckled softly, "You look great though. Does that help?"

Auden glanced down at herself. She was wearing an oversized gray knitted sweater and black leggings. It certainly wasn't as nice as what Cillian was wearing, and she suddenly felt the need to change, though it was too late for that. Auden sighed deeply but said nothing in response.