Lovers' Maehem

Chapter 43

Maeve

October 12, 2180

6:22am

I wake up extra early today. Because today I get to leave this goddamn bed. I smile, joy filling every part of me. Of course I have to use crutches but other than those limitations I'm free to move around. I'm so excited to get out of here that I set my alarm for 6am and waited patiently for 22 minutes until I couldn't wait anymore and wake Griffin up.

"Goodmorning," I say gently, shaking him.

"Couldn't even wait until I woke up," he says offering a sly smile. I grin wider and get him up in minutes. My crutches are in the closet so I couldn't get up before, which means I need him to go get them. He lazily moves towards the closet and brings me the crutches and clothing. "First put on clothes so we can actually go somewhere." We both quickly change into a t-shirt and shorts and I take the crutches. Griffin helps me to a standing position, my left leg slightly elevated above the ground the way it has to stay. "Are you sure you feel ready?" Griffin questions. I nod anxiously.

"If I don't get out of this bedroom soon I think I'll explode," I tell him as I steadily take 'steps' with the crutches. I obviously feel a bit of stomach pain as I do this where the stitches are, but not bad enough to stop me from advancing beyond this apartment. I move carefully, as much as I want to drop the crutches and sprint. I can't risk reopening the wound in any way.

"How does it feel?" Griffin asks as I stand outside the apartment, the fresh ocean breeze moving through my hair.

"Amazing," I say quietly as I close my eyes and smile at this feeling that I've taken for granted too much. Griffin let's me soak everything in for a minute and I can feel his gaze burning into me.

After about 15 minutes of me just standing there, I get in the car and we go to Mack's place to pick her up. Mack hates living with her parents. It was one story when she lived with her friends too, but she really hates being back there alone. I can't really relate, but I get where she's coming from.

"How does it feel to be free?" Mack exclaims climbing into the back seat. I smile, one of those huge goofy grins you usually only see on children.

"Better than you could imagine," I reply as we head to a place I can't say I'm as excited to go to.

"We don't have to go," Griffin repeats for the eighth time. "It's totally fine if you don't want to do this, you can even stay in the car." I shake my head. This was my idea. I wanted this to be one of the first things I did after getting out of there.

"I'm going," I state, "Nonnegotiable. I'm doing this. I have to." The car is silent for the rest of the short ride. When we pull up outside of the dumpy hotel, my breath catches. Deep breaths. Everything will be ok. Facing your fears is the only way to make them not seem scary. Dad's words pulse through my mind. While a lot of what he told me should not be something to go by, This is one thing I will always listen to. Griffin glances at me as he unlocks the room. He knows he can't stop me from doing this. As the door opens I force myself to stand tall, despite the crutches holding me up.

"Isn't this a surprise!" the voice I've been trying so hard to block out is ringing through my ears once again. Not a hint of fear. Not a hint of sorrow.

"You must have expected this was going to happen sooner or later," I sneer. There is no way for me to civil with this girl. She shrugs and motions to the chair. The dirty chair that probably has bugs in it. "No thank you, I'll stand." She gives. a surprised look,

"Guess you don't have much experience on crutches then. That shit hurts after a while," I try to ignore the joking tone she's bringing into this. She likes the fact she holds the higher ground. Except she doesn't. At this moment in time, Cassie has nothing over me. She's the one, who if she acts up will just be locked in here for longer. The one who has everything, her family, her job, her best friend on the line. I give her a smug smile and push back the memories flashing through.