ghost of you // m.g.c

fifteen

*Michael*

"Can I put this here?" Liz asks, pointing to a space on the wall. I nod, looking at the painting. After she hangs the painting, she goes to put her clothes away. She opens Tessa's side of the closet but stops short when she sees all of the clothes already in there. 

"I've been meaning to pack those up and give them away but I haven't been able to bring myself to it, I'm sorry," I tell her, walking over to the closet and beginning to take the clothes off of the hangers. I pull one of the off of the hanger and hold it up to look at it. It was a white shirt that said "baby loading...". The shirt she wore for our baby shower. 

"Mikey?" Liz mumbles, looking at me. I put the shirt down and wipe the tears from my eyes. 

"Sorry," I say once more. She shakes her head and takes her hands in mine. 

"It's okay, Mikey. This is hard for you, I get it. I really do. I can put my clothes somewhere else. You don't have to give her stuff away," She says. I shake my head.

"It can't be healthy to have them in there. No one's going to wear them," I tell her. She nods and sighs.

"I don't want to see you in this pain. If I could take it away, I'd do it in a heartbeat," She says, wrapping her arms around my waist. I wrap my arms around her and lay my head on top of hers. 

"You can put your clothes in the dresser until I box them up. I don't know how long it would take. But I'll get it done," I tell her. She nods. 

"Don't rush yourself, babe. And don't throw anything away unless you're 100% sure you want it gone," She tells me. I nod and let her go so she can finish unpacking. 

She's on the last box when I begin overthinking about somethings. She notices my worried state and walks over to me. 

"Mikey, what's wrong?" She asks, taking my hands in hers.

"I love you," I blurt out. My eyes widen once I realize what I've said and I turn around in embarrassment. She grabs my arm and forces me to turn around and look at her. She looks at my red cheeks and smiles at me. She then stands on the top of her toes and whispers in my ear, "I love you too." 

The words make me feel all jittery inside.  My heart pounds against my rib cage and my stomach breaks up into a million butterflies. I haven't felt this way since Tess. I guess I forgot how much I've missed the feeling.