Chapter 6 : Going Back
633 Words
Hannah stood in the center of the living room, her hands empty at her sides.
Michael hadn’t moved.
He stood across from her, arms crossed, his expression unreadable—but controlled. Waiting.
“You didn’t answer me,” he said.
His voice was even.
Too even.
Hannah swallowed.
“I told you I was traveling,” she said carefully.
“That’s not what I asked.”
Her fingers curled slightly.
“Where. Were. You.”
Each word landed slower than the last.
She could feel it building already.
The shift.
The pressure.
“There was a flight issue,” she said. “We had to land somewhere else.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“You didn’t think to call?”
Her mind flashed back to the hotel room.
The missed calls.
The messages she hadn’t opened.
How many times his name had lit up her screen.
She hesitated.
“I didn’t get the chance,” she said.
Michael’s eyes stayed on her.
“I called,” he said.
His voice didn’t rise.
Didn’t need to.
“Several times.”
Her chest tightened slightly.
“I know,” she said quietly.
He watched her for another second.
Like he was deciding whether to push further.
But he didn’t.
His gaze lingered a moment longer before he dragged a hand down his face and stepped closer.
His eyes searched hers.
Looking for something.
Always looking.
“Why are you just getting back now?” he asked.
Hannah held his gaze for a second before answering.
“The airline covered a hotel for everyone,” she said. “We had to wait for the next available flights.”
Michael watched her closely.
Taking it in.
Measuring it.
Silence stretched between them.
Thick.
Heavy.
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” she said.
Michael let out a quiet, humorless laugh.
“Not a big deal?”
He stepped closer.
Now it felt tighter.
“You could’ve died, Hannah.”
The words should have sounded concerned.
They didn’t.
“You didn’t even think to tell me.”
Her pulse picked up.
“I’m here now,” she said.
Michael studied her for a long moment.
The silence stretched again.
Then finally—
“Next time,” he said, voice low, “you call.”
Not a request.
Hannah nodded.
“Okay.”
A pause lingered between them.
Then—
Michael turned and walked away.
⸻
Hannah turned and walked down the hallway, her steps steady even if nothing inside her felt that way.
She reached her bedroom, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.
Then she shut the bedroom door behind her and leaned against it for a second, closing her eyes.
She pushed off the door and moved toward the bed, setting down the small bag the hotel had given her.
Her hands moved automatically—going through what little she had, placing things where they belonged.
Her mind wouldn’t stop.
Not about the plane.
Not about the water.
The way it had felt to breathe easier.
To not think about every word before she said it.
Her hands stilled.
She stared down at the few items in front of her.
Her chest tightened.
A knock sounded at her door.
Sharp.
“Yeah?” she called.
The door opened before she could say anything else.
Michael leaned against the frame.
“I have people coming over tonight,” he said.
Her stomach dropped.
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
Her fingers curled slightly into the bed.
“I just got back.”
“And?”
The word was flat.
“You’ll be there.”
Hannah nodded.
“Okay.”
He studied her for another second.
Then left.
The bedroom door shut behind him.
Hannah sat still for a moment.
Then slowly exhaled.
⸻
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD