Miguel O'Hara / Butterfly Effect

Chapter 5

SC HQ - Nueva York 2102

3:23am

Cold. Dark. Ominous. Somewhat messy.
These were the words Alicia used to describe Miguel's room after having awoken up in an empty bed with his smell imprinted on the sheets and pillows. She figured out it was his room aside from the obvious smell on it, but because there was a picture of a little girl wearing a soccer uniform. It was adorned in a wooden frame and kept at the back of the dresser that stood against the wall.

She figured that was Gabriella, his daughter from another dimension. The sole of his happiness that was taken away.

Alicia shifted in the bed, sitting up and kicking her legs out from under the sheets to meet the cold floor panels. She noticed how she was wearing the same top from yesterday, but her pants and underwear were gone. Luckily...there was a set of folded clothes at the end of the bed where her legs couldn't reach to potentially knock them down. Which also made her realize how massive Miguel's bed was. He didn't fit normal sized beds, so either this must've been custom made for him or it was a double king sized bed.

Alicia reached for the folded clothes. Same jeans, same underwear, just clean. She quickly stood up from the bed and slipped on her underwear then her jeans, straightening up afterwards.

She let out a deep exhale, still in a slight shock after remembering what happened yesterday. Some flashbacks ran quickly through her mind that began to make her face feel hot, but she quickly shook her head away. Now was not the time and definitely not the place to think about such events.

She turned to look over at the framed picture and approached it, picking it up and running her thumb over the glass, picking up slight particles of dust. Alicia gave a soft smile at the picture as she stared down at the girl. "You were a wonderful daughter, Gabriella..." Alicia whispered, her smile dropping into one of sadness. No one deserved to loose a child. It was a horrible pain, one that she never experienced, one that she hoped she never had to experience.

"Your father..." Alicia trailed off momentarily, running her fingers over the frame to clean up the small particles of dust. "He's a wonderful man...but he misses you incredibly, Gabriella."

Unknown to her, the door to the room was slid open silently. All that high tech was made for convenience after all. At the doorway, Miguel stood tall, eyeing Alicia. At first, his eyes widened slightly when he noticed how she had his daughters picture at her hands. He was scared that she might accidentally break it, but then noticed how she ran her fingers over it carefully and then heard her voice speak, about him.

Alicia gently placed the frame down on the dresser, making sure the back panel that held the frame up was straight so it wouldn't tumble or fall, removing her hands afterwards. "I would've loved to meet you...maybe in the next life." Alicia said with a silent chuckle as she stared at the picture.

Miguel stared, his chest felt heavy. "She would've loved to meet you too." Miguel suddenly spoke up, watching as Alicia's body jolted and quickly turned to face him.

"Miguel!" Alicia stared at him, frightened at his sudden appearance.

He lifted his hands up. "It's okay, calm down." He reassured her, eyeing the framed picture before looking at Alicia.

"I'm so sorry. It's not my place to—"

"I said it's okay." Miguel interrupted her, taking a step towards Alicia, lowering his hands down to the sides of his thighs. A few more steps and he was standing in front of her, once more towering over her.

Alicia looked up to meet his gaze, feeling incredibly awkward and embarrassed. Did he hear all of that? And how could she face him and stare directly into his eyes after what happened yesterday?