Let's Forget Everything (Michael Clifford)

Chapter 33

(Jessie's POV)

I don't know what time it was when we picked ourselves up from the wet ground, I just know it was still dark, but the rain had finally stopped.

Michael looked at me and asked, "Do you want to come back to my apartment?" I nodded, not sure if my voice would even work in my current state.

I had to hand Michael his keys because I had stuffed them in my pocket after I first got here. I watched as he got into his car, and waited until he was buckled in before sliding into my own driver's seat. I followed him as he drove to his apartment. It occurred to me that I had never seen his apartment before, the place he had been calling home for the past couple months. I hoped he felt more at home there then he had at his parents house.

When we were getting closer to his place, we passed the old folks home. I remembered Calum mentioning that Michael had wanted to live closer to his grandma and that was why he picked his apartment.

Now it would only serve as a constant reminder of what he had lost.

When we got to his apartment complex, he had to jump out of his car and run his guest parking pass to me. It had been on and off raining that night, and had started up again when we were halfway to his house. I could almost swear it had started raining once we passed the old folks home.

It was starting to rain hard and my windshield wipers were moving fast, blurring his figure as he ran up to my car.

I could see his shirt sticking to his skin as he got to my window. I reached over and rolled my window down, letting the rain in along with Michael's extended arm, throwing me the parking pass. I got a quick look at his face before he jogged back to his car. His nose and eyes looked red and puffy, his beautiful lips were turned into a frown.

I let a couple more tears fall before following Michael's lead and driving up next to a machine to swipe the guest pass that would allow my car entrance into the parking garage.

After finding parking spots, we both got out of the car and silently made our way to his apartment. I followed close behind Michael as he exited the parking garage and crossed the street walking towards what I assumed was his building.

The rain was coming down hard on us now, almost hurting as it pelted against my skin. I kept my head down and stared at Michael's soaking wet converse.

As we got closer to the building, I saw that there were stairs that wrapped around the outside.

Michael turned to me and uttered the first words spoken between us in the last hour, "There's no elevator."

I nodded in response, but he had already turned around before I got the chance to move my head.

I followed him as he made his way up the slippery stairs, all of which were completely exposed to the outside world with no covering. The rain was hitting me hard and blurring my vision.

Michael turned quickly and grabbed my hand, helping me up the steps. I felt a longing in my heart as he, again, laced his fingers with mine. All I wanted was to reach forward and hold him tight against me. I have missed him so much, and all I wanted was to comfort him.

I held on tighter to his hand, but not because I needed the support. I wondered if he felt the same way I do, or if he his heart is too weighed down by grief to feel this way.

We reached the top of the stairs after climbing five flights. Michael let go of my hand to reach in his pockets for the keys, and I could feel my heart drop at the loss of contact.

My sweatpants were weighed down by all the rain, and my glasses kept falling off of my nose.

I watched Michael intently as he tried to fit his hand into his skinny jeans pocket. His jeans were clinging to his skin because of the rain, making it harder to reach into the pocket.