KATE
“Wh-what?” Michael stammers, realization flashing in his eyes.
“I’m not saying it again, Michael,” I lean forward, resting my elbows on the table, knowing that he heard me perfectly fine.
“You did see her, then,” he sighs, defeated.
“You knew?” I practically screech, half standing from the table. “You knew she was here?”
“Kate, please relax,” Michael pleads, reaching for me across the table. I snap my hand back but sit back down, trying regain composure. I’m so tired and my head is starting to pound. “I didn’t know, not until it was already too late to warn you. Luke told me that she was here.”
“But you weren’t going to tell me,” I fold my arms across my chest. “You thought that she and I had somehow managed to not cross paths and that you were in the clear.”
“I was going to tell you,” he lies.
“When?” I ask coldly.
“Kate, can you please just—"
“When?” I snarl, my voice laced with venom.
“I don’t know!” He half-yells, exasperated. “But I was, I wasn’t just going to let you be blindsided!”
“I was blindsided!” I fire back.
“What did she say to you?” He asks suddenly.
“She didn’t tell me a damn thing Michael, because unlike you, she cares about the well-being of other people.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” He asks, snapping back.
“It means that she picked up pretty quickly on the fact that you’ve been keeping me in the dark, and she didn’t want to ruin your little plan.”
“What plan?” He asks, looking around wildly.
“I don’t know! Whatever plan you have to keep me around without telling me anything!”
“Kate, please let me explain, I didn’t want you to hear it from her.”
“Well I sure wasn’t hearing it from you,” I snap, sitting back in my chair.
“Yeah, and you still won’t be!” He snaps.
“Tell me,” I say sternly, staring him down.
“No.”
“Michael.”
“Kate,” he challenges.
“Tell me now or I’m leaving,” I threaten. Michael stares at me coldly, and I see some sort of regretful resolve form in his eyes.
“No need,” he says, deceptively lightly. I watch in subdued horror as he stands from the table, shrugging his coat over his shoulders. He gives me fierce glare. “You can’t have everything, Kate.”
“You don’t give me anything,” I say, trying to fight back the angry tears in my eyes. I seem to be frozen in my seat. Michael just shakes his head at me bitterly before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving me alone.
I am stunned into silence for a few minutes before I come to my senses, jumping up and grabbing my purse to follow him. He doesn’t get away so easily, not this time.
God damn it, some people just run.
It’s been about three minutes since Michael left the restaurant, but I don’t see him anywhere outside. There are people crowded on the streets, together and separate, going everywhere and nowhere. The push and pull of the city seems to catch me in its riptide and I try to call Michael’s name but my throat is too raw. Either way, he’s not there to hear it.
