Julian found his place on the team bus, waiting for his teammates to finish up their Media Day festivities. He sat near the front, in his assigned seat. Coach Belichick liked to keep things in order and track of all his players. He couldn't bring himself to go back into the chaotic arena that threatened to ask him questions he couldn't supply with an answer. He found it easy to sleep in the bus while he waited. Much easier than his bed back in Boston. The bus didn't smell of Mara or have her decor spread throughout it. The bus was unfamiliar, uncomforting, and empty which was all Julian needed. He wasn't reminded of Mara on the bus. The only smell he could sense was of faint body odor rising from the seats of the football players and just a little bit of cologne.
An hour of sleep passed when he woke up to the sound of 100's of shoes hitting against the concrete and then climbing their way up the stairs to enter the team bus. His quarterback found his rightful spot next to Julian. He slid in smoothly and immediately crossed one leg over the over. The bus didn't provide much room for the long legs that many of the players possessed. Julian who stood at a mere 5′ 10″ didn't have problems with leg room like his long legged quarterback did.
"What happened out there buddy?" Tom asked coolly. He saw Julian run off but couldn't leave his booth as abruptly as #11 did. When he finally did get a chance to leave he saw a pretty serious conversation between Julian and Mara that he didn't want to interrupt.
"It's a long story," Julian pouted looking out the window as he softly shook his head. It was perfectly sunny and a tad bit humid outside. The sun made even the drab parking lot behind the building seem like paradise. The bus finally pulled into motion as the coaches took their seats after counting all of the players and checking them off for attendance.
"Did they ask you about Mara?" Tom pried, not accepting Julian's answer. He leaned towards Julian.
"Yeah, and she was in the crowd," Julian answered still looking out his window as buildings and people passed by.
"Oh shit. I'm sorry bud. What happened then?" Tom asked. He could only imagine how Julian felt after that.
"She ran after me and was pissed that I took her on a date even though I was married. But I told her it was complicated and that she should just trust me."
"And?" Tom pleaded, begging for more information. His eyes were wide as he tried to sort all of this information out.
"I think she does," Julian finally faced him. "I almost got her to kiss me but then she left."
"She left? Where the hell could she have possibly gone?" Tom asked confused. If Mara couldn't remember Julian there was no way she could find her way around a city she had never been to before. "You're not worried about where she could have gone? She doesn't know her way around this city. I can't imagine it's very safe for a woman with memory loss," Tom practically yelled trying to talk some sense into the wide receiver. Players began looking at the duo to see what the commotion was about.
"Oh my god. I'm so fucking stupid. I'll call Raven," Julian answered whipping his iPhone out of his pocket. He scrolled through his contacts until he found the one he was searching for. Ring. The bus pulled up to the front of their hotel and all of the players immediately stood up. Ring.
"Hello?" Raven's raspy voice answered on the other side. She sounded like she just woke up. If Julian wasn't in such a frantic state of mind he would have felt bad, but not now.
"Hey, do you know where Mara is?" Julian asked, his voice was suddenly frantic. His heart was beating rapidly at just the thought of something happening to Mara.
"She was going to Media Day," Raven said, not picking up on Julian's urgency.
"Well, she was there but then some shit went down and she left. She's not back yet?"
"Not yet. How long ago did she leave?" Raven asked suddenly realizing the problem. Julian heard scrambling on the other side of the phone and then a slam of the door.
"Over an hour ago," Julian said his heart still racing and head beginning to spin. He just wanted to get through the crowd and find Mara to make sure she was okay.
Once Julian's foot hit the ground he was stunned by the amount of media that had already arrived back at the hotel to snap their picture. He imagined this was what it was like to be a celebrity.
"Raven!" Julian yelled. The woman was running through the revolving door and going into the city to find Mara.
"Julian!" She yelled back frantically. Julian escaped the large crowd and found her standing just outside the doors. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let her go. Not by herself. I'm so sorry Julian," Raven gasped as tears fell from her green eyes. Julian pulled her to his chest for a hug and bit his lip. He didn't want to cry. Not here. There were too many people around. Raven was breathing heavily into him and a tear unconsciously fell from Julian's eye onto her shirt leaving a mark.
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"We'll find her," Julian finally let out. He hadn't realized he was holding his breath. He let go of her and began sprinting towards the direction the bus came from. The stadium.
