the holiday- mileven

chapter 9

CHAPTER 9: solo mission

after mike and el's relaxed movie day, he took her back to nancy's cottage around 9:30 in the evening.

the house was dark and cold by the time they arrived and el instantly ran over to turn the heating on, while mike closed the front door to keep out the chilling december breeze that fought its way into the cottage.

since mike had to go to work the next day, this would be their first night not sleeping under the same roof since el had arrived in england.

though she would never admit it to him, she was feeling rather sad that he was leaving her on her own for a few days. part of the reason for this was that el was terrified of navigating her way around an unfamiliar city alone. however, another small part of her knew she would miss his company.

as el ran around closing curtains, mike headed over to the dining table and pulled out two pieces of paper from his pocket. he set them down on the table, one on top of the other, before turning the kitchen lights off and walking back over to the front door.

though he would never admit it to her, for the first time in his life he was dreading going to work. he knew he would see her again in a few days but something pulled at his heartstrings as their parting moment came closer and closer.

once el had made the cottage even cozier than it already was, she hung up her coat and took of her shoes, a horrible feeling rising in her chest.

"did you wanna stay for a drink or something?" el blurted out before she realised what she was doing.

"normally i would, but i should really be getting back since i have to be up early tomorrow morning." mike said softly.

"yeah, of course." el nodded quickly, fiddling with her fingers, a small part of her wishing he had said yes.

el sighed as she walked over to mike, catching a sight of herself in the living room mirror.

"oh jeez i look awful." eleanor scoffed, glancing at her wind-swept hair and make-up free face which displayed dark circles under her honey eyes.

"you look fine, el." mike called, leaning his back against the front door.

"fine? i look like i've been dragged through a hedge backwards...twice." el groaned. "and i've looked like this all day, why didn't you tell me?"

"because you look fine, like i said, you don't need makeup to look pretty."

pretty.

the word made her cheeks flush pink. she was still not used to his compliments.

"well even so, maybe i should have brushed my hair." el giggled, running her hands through her knotted locks.

mike watched her from the doorway, frowning as she tried to fix her appearance— something she really didn't need to do in his opinion.

mike would never understand how someone like eleanor, thought so little of herself. granted, a manipulative man named troy was to blame and mike never thought it was possible to hate someone you'd never met until hearing about him. but in mike's eyes, from the moment he met her, el has been this beautiful, smart and funny girl who he felt privileged to have met. even though their time together had been short, they hadn't spent a moment apart and he wouldn't have had it any other way.