Chicago (City Trilogy 1)

Chapter Forty : Early

Chapter Forty

"Em..." In my half-conscious state, I swear that I can hear Michael talking to me. "Emerson, c'mon."

I furrow my eyebrows and groan. I try to say 'go away', but I'm fairly certain that it sounded more like 'farmer shay'. I hear a light chuckle behind me and am startled when I feel myself being lifted off of the cloud-like mattress.

"Holy shit..." I nearly scream as my eyes fly open, only to be greeted by unfamiliar surroundings.

"Emerson, you're okay. Look at me." I whip my head to the side and am greeted with Michael, and instantly relax. He has my body in his arms bridal style, and is carrying me around my room. "I thought picking you up might wake you up, and I see I was right." He chuckles, though I can see the dark circles under his eyes. His laugh is weaker than usual.

"You can put me down now, though. I'm fully awake." He obliges to my request, carefully setting my feet on the ground but still holding my waist to steady me. "Michael, I'm fine. Thank you, though." He smiles and lets go of my waist.

"Do you need to go back to your house to change before we leave?" I looked down at my current outfit — plain black leggings, a large navy t-shirt belonging to Michael, and my orange socks — and shake my head.

"I'm fine. We're just going to the airport, and it's nearly four in the morning, so I think everyone will look like this." I slip my black and white high tops on over my socks and tie them quickly. I stand back up and lace my fingers with Michael's as he leads the way out of his bedroom.

We begin descending the stairs and Karen is there, waiting for us. My parents have agreed to watch their house while they're gone, so they only have a large suitcase packed for each of them. Karen says that she has already loaded the luggage into my father's car — he will be driving us to the airport — and we can leave whenever.

I sigh as she heads outside to speak with my father, leaving Michael and I alone. We don't speak, simply enjoying our last couple of hours together before he has to board the plane. He wraps his arms around my shoulders, and I around his waist, and we stand like that.

After a few minutes of simply hugging each other, he lets his arms down and I follow. "We should probably go on outside..." His voice is dry and raspy, but it holds an emotion that I can't determine.

I nod and lace my fingers with his again as we go to the porch. 

A/N: this one is really short so there's gonna be another update in just a few minutes :) 

Chicago is coming to a close, and that makes me so sad! but its been a great five-ish months and I can't wait to start on more stories to share! this is only my first, so don't worry. you're not getting rid of me that easy ;)

xx - Emma Reed