Caught In The Gray

Chapter Twenty-Five

I lock eyes with Alaric as I walk into the kitchen. I smooth down my skirt as I walk to the counter and pour a mug of coffee. I make toast and walk back to the table, sitting across from Alaric.

We sit in silence and I take a drink a drink of my coffee. Rosy moves and sits by my feet, I smile and give her some of my toast. I look up at Alaric and he smiles. "Are you going to the Medical center today?" he asks and I nod.

"Yeah, my shift starts soon," I say and take a bite of toast. "What are you doing today?" I ask and take a drink of coffee.

"I'm going to the Base," he says and runs a hand through his hair. He looks up after a moment. "We're supposed to meet my parents for wedding planning," Alaric says and I swallow.

"Oh," I say. I'm not sure what else to say, our relationship is complicated right now. We're at a crossroads of sorts and wedding planning seems like it'll be awkward at best.

"My parents want to meet your mom and she's supposed to come today, too." Alaric says and I nod. I take another drink of coffee, thinking about it.

"What time is it at?" I ask and give Rosy the last bite of my toast.

"Nine," he says and I nod. I have about an hour and a half which should be enough time.

"I'll be there," I say and Alaric looks up, his gray eyes hopeful. I take the last drink of coffee and stand up. I put the empty mug into the sink and walk back to my room. I grab my backpack and walk back into the kitchen.

I bend down and give Rosy a belly rub before I stand up and walk out the door. I grab the earbuds from my backpack and put them in, music playing from them. I walk towards the Transit and shift my backpack.

I'm not sure why I said yes, I just had a feeling too. It's fair to Alaric that I go and I think that my mom is going to be excited. She'll get to ride the Transit and I think she's going to like it. I step onto the platform and the Transit arrived a few moments later.

I walk onto it and take a seat, staring ahead as it pulls away. My fingers play with my necklace and I look down. Shit, I'm not wearing the ring or the bracelet and I should be if we're going to see his parents.

I sigh and stand up as the Transit pulls to a stop. I step off and start walking towards the Medical center. I'm just going to stop by and tell Linc that I'm not going to be there and then I'm going to get my mom.

I push open the doors to the Medical center and I pull my earbuds out, putting them into my backpack. I walk around for a few minutes before I end up near the staff lounge. I walk inside and no one's there.

I sigh and start walking around, maybe Linc's in the clinic. I start walking towards the clinic and ended up by Fiona's room. I knock on the door and step inside, Fiona looks up smiling. I smile and sit on the edge of the bed.

She makes a gesture for me to be quiet and I nod, looking around the room. Her brother is asleep in the corner, with a blanket draped over him. I smile and look at Fiona. "Hi," I whisper and she smiles.

"Hi," she whispers back.

"How're you feeling?" I aks and she shrugs.

"Okay," she says and I nod. "My brother told me that I'm on the list for a kidney transplant," she says and I nod. "What does that mean?" Fiona whispers.

"It's good, it means that you get a healthy kidney to replace the bad kidney's," I say and she nods.

"Thank you," Fiona says and I frown.

"For what?" I ask, whispering.

"Everything," she says and I smile. "You've been like a big sister," she says and I smile. She open her arms and I lean in, hugging her. Fiona means so much to me, I kinda feel like a big sister with her.