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For the next couple of months, Mark spent as much time at Micheal's as he possibly could, just trying to geta chance to know Rain better...there was something about her that drew him to her. Rain, however, didn't want anything to do with Mark. At first, Rain thought it was only a coincidence that Mark was there when she would came over, but soon she figured out that he was there to see her. Rain avoided all of Mark's attempts at conversation and soon just began to avoid him all together. If he was there, she would go to another room or to the opposite end of the room and not ackowlegde Mark's presence. Mark couldn't figure out why Rain was avoiding him. Yeah, they hadn't exactly gotten off on the right foot, but he had been nothing but nice and friendly to her since and she still treated him like the plague. When Mark tried to ask Rain what he had done, she would just walk away without giving an answer. When he asked Micheal if he was doing anything wrong, Micheal would only offer that it was how Rain always acted around people she didn't know. Micheal knew that Mark was only trying to become friends with Rain, so he told Mark to just be patient and maybe she would eventually come around and talk to him.
Soon Rain started to become annoyed by Mark's constant presence. All she wanted to do was to spend time alone with her friend but that became a rare event because it usually ended up being her, Micheal, and Mark. The only time Micheal and her were alone was when he came over to her house. Then came the day when Micheal actually brought Mark over to her house with him. She had never been so angry at Micheal before in her life. Rain did not want Mark to know where she lived and the fact that Micheal invited him without asking her just fueled her anger even more, which she made sure Micheal knew before he left. Rain couldn't understand why Micheal was constantly trying to get her to talk to Mark. She couldn't understand why Micheal, or Mark for that matter, couldn't get it through their thick skulls that she just wanted to be left alone.
~Of all the days I pick to go see Micheal, I pick the one with the wreck that's blocking the entire road~. Rain impatiently thought as she drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She could barely see anything alse but sheets of rain in front of her. ~That's probably what contributed to the accident.~ Rain thought wearily. She had been sitting in that same spot for the past hour and it looked like it could be another hour before the cars were moved. Rain all ready didn't feel well and the situation was making her feel worse...and giving her a migraine headache on top of everything else. Rain turned the radio down, hoping it would ease the throbbing pain in her head, and watched with envy as the traffic going in the opposite direction drove by with no effort. Rain let out a breath she had been holding and tilted her head back onto the head rest, closing her eyes. ~Please, don't let this take too long...~
True to her prediction, Rain was finally on her way after about an hour. Rain's patience had long since left her and she couldn't get to Micheal's soon enough. The first thing that greeted Rain when she pulled into Micheal's driveway was Mark's truck. Rain started screaming on the inside...this is NOT what I need. Her head was hurting to the point that Rain knew the tears were about to start flowing. As soon as she walked into the house, Mark turned to her and said hello.
"Are you okay?" Mark asked when he noticed her pain-stricken face. "You look like you don't feel well."
For some reason, this question pushed Rain to her linit and she spun around to let Mark have it. "No, I'm not okay and yes, I don't feel good. I actually feel worse now that you're here. Why are always over here, by the way? Do you have nothing better to do than to bug the hell out of me?"
Mark was frozen in place as Rain lashed out at him. ~What did I do to warrant this tirade? I only wanted to know how she was doing since she looked like she as in pain.~
"I would love to be able to come here a couple of times to be with Micheal and not have to look at your face everytime I walk through the door. I don't know how else to say this, but I'm not interested in being friends and I'm not interested in getting to know you. It's very annoying having you around all the time, asking me questions about matters that are NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"
Rain was just about to start round two when she felt herself being dragged into the kitchen by Micheal. She yanked her hand away from him and shot him a not so friendly look. "What's your problem?"
"You at the moment." Micheal answered, his anger matching hers. "Don't you EVER come into my house and talk like that to any one of my friends AGAIN."
"I thought it was just suppose to be us here tonight. Why does he always have to be here?"
"He is here because he is a friend just like you are and I'm not going to kick him out just because of you!" Micheal yelled. "I'm not going to choose who can come over on this day and who can't on another...so GROW UP. You're not the only friend I have. If you don't like it when he's here, then don't come or leave."
Rain narrowed her eyes. "I see...if that's how you feel, then I won't bother you anymore."
"Rain, you know that's not what I meant...I'll just go to your house from now on." Micheal could see that he had gone too far with his last statement...he could all ready see the the walls being built around her. "You know you're not a bother to me."
"Well, it looks like I am from here." Rain replied. "It's the only thing I asked of you...to just accept that I'm content with where I am, that I'm content in not having a lot of friends, that I prefer to spend time only with you and not with your friends. I know that I'm not your only friend, that you have others...you didn't have to throw that in my face."
"I didn't mean to say that...I was just very angry at you for yelling at Mark for no reason. He didn't deserve that."
Rain was about to say something when she felt a stabbing pain in her head. If she didn't lay down soon, she would never be able to get rid of this headache. Rain gripped the top of the chair as tears began to fall down her face.
"Are you having another headache?" Micheal asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He knew she would get them when she was stressed or upset.
Rain brushed his hand off her shoulder and backed away from him. If she could have, Rain would have left and gone home at that very moment, but her head was preventing that.
"Don't leave like this, Rain." Micheal pleaded.
"Just...just leave me alone." Rain said as she walked out of the kitchen towards the guest room. Once she was there, she closed and locked the door. Rain took off her jacket and shoes and climbed under the covers. Several minutes later, Rain finally fell asleep.
Rain awoke with a start the next morning, wondering where she was. She immediately recognized Micheal's guest room and also remembered what had happpened the previous night. Rain silently cursed herself for her behavior...she knew she had no right to be so rude to Mark, and it wasn't part of her personality to just lash out at people like that. Perhaps if she hadn't sat in traffic or had a horrible headache, then she wouldn't have been so harsh. ~I probably looked certifiable last night.~ Here she was, always upset at how rude people were to her, and she just did the same thing to Mark...~I'm quite the hipocrit, aren't I.~ Rain knew she deserved every angry word Micheal had said to her...she had probably embarrassed him thoroughly, but his last statement about her not having to come over any more really stung Rain. Although she never said it that much, Rain needed Micheal's friendship. She cared for and could honestly say loved him deeply, and to lose him was something Rain knew she could not take. Rain slowly stood up and walked to towards the door. Her head was still hurting, but not as bad as before...nothing that some medicine and more sleep wouldn't cure. Rain unlocked the door and walked to the bathroom. After splashing some water on her face, to wake her up enough to drive home, Rain made her way back to the guest room and found Micheal sitting on the bed. Rain walked by him and sat in a chair to put her shoes back on.
"I take it you're still not talking to me." Micheal said. Rain answered by tying her shoes. "Rain, I know you're angry at with me, but I would have done the same thing to Mark if he would have been yelling at you like you were." Rain answered this time by slipping into her jacket.
"Dammit Rain, would you please say something. I don't want you to leave angry at me."
"I'm not angry, I'm hurt. I might not have the right to be, after how I acted last night, but I'm still hurt by what you said last night."
"So does this mean that you're going to ignore me and treat me like you do everybody else?" Micheal asked. "Am I back to square one as far as our friendship goes?"
Rain shook her head. "Maybe I'll talk to you later. Right now, I'm going home and going back to sleep." With that, Rain walked out of the room...leaving Micheal to wonder if he had hurt her enough to lose her and her friendship.
The next couple of days were spent in virtual silence between Micheal and Rain. Micheal wanted to force Rain to talk to him but knew pushing her too hard would only make things worse. She didn't completely ignore him, Rain talked to Micheal when needed but felt like she needed time away.
Rain soon found out that the more time you spend alone, the more time you have to think about the things you had done. As Rain replayed everything that happened that night, the more she realized just how childish she had been. In the end, she had no real reason to be upset...Micheal had a reason to be upset, Mark REALLY had a reason to be upset, but she didn't. Rain knew what she needed to do...she needed to apologize. There was no reason in losing a friendship over this...she probably had Micheal thinking that she would never talk to him again. ~Boy is it going to be hard to apologize to Mark.~ Rain thought. ~But first I need to take care of Micheal.~ Rain picked up the phone and dialed Micheal's number. Micheal answered the phone on the second ring, and when he realized Rain was on the other end, Micheal hoped this meant they would patch things up. All Rain said was for Micheal to come over. Thirty minutes later, Micheal was standing in Rain's living room, unsure of what to expect.
Rain stood before Micheal and watched as he nervously shifted his weight from side to side. His hands buried deep in his pockets. Micheal briefly looked at Rain but his eyes immmediately fell to the floor...he was fearing the worst and hoping for the best. Micheal didn't notice that Rain had walked up to him until he felt her finger left his head. Rain pulled Micheal's hands out of his pockets and held them in hers.
"You need to stop rocking back and forth like that...you're gonna make me sea sick." Rain remarked causing Micheal to let out a nervous laugh. She led him over to the couch and they both sat down. Taking a deep breath, Rain looked back at Micheal and began.
"Micheal, I'm sorry for how I acted...I embarrassed myself and I embarrassed you and I regret that. I could say that I wish I could take it back, or blame it on the traffic I was in, or on the headache I was having, but that would be pointless. What I did was inexcusable and that's all there is to it. I guess...well..." Rain stopped and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I got used to not having to deal with your friends or anybody else while I was at your house. Most of your friends know I prefer to only be with you, you've told them how private a person I am and they respect that. And besides, most of your friends don't want to know me...so to have someone who is so determined to get to know me, to be my friend, to get me to talk to them is something I’m not used to. Having Mark constantly around every time I was there...it just got old. I was used to our long talks, nights watching movies, playing games, or our night walks where it was just us, and it seemed to dwindle when he was around. So instead of actually talking to you about this, I let it build up until I couldn't take it anymore. It's still beyond me as to why Mark is so set on getting to know me."
"Because he saw someone he was interested in." Micheal simply said. "I could see why myself. You're a beautiful, intelligent, fun to be with and to talk to when you actually let someone see the person you really are. Mark probably got a taste of that when he gave you the flowers and now he wants to know more about you."
"Well he probably doesn't think that anymore after how I acted. He probably thinks I'm a horrible person now." Rain replied, choosing to ignore the 'beautiful, intelligent, and fun to be with comment'. Even though it came from a person she knew and trusted, Rain still found it hard to believe those words.
"Mark is just like me...he doesn't run away at the first sign of trouble or because things are difficult. Someone did that to him before, and he made a promise to himself that he would never do that to another person. He's the kind of friend I knew you could use in your life and that's why I didn't discourage him from coming over and talking to you." Micheal replied. "I wanted you to see that there were other people out there who are just as nice and non-judgemental as me. I know it's your choice as to who you decide you want as a friend, but I knew you wouldn't give him a chance if I left things up to you. He's a good person, Rain. I had good intentions and I guess I let them get the best of me. I know this may upset you and I don't even know why I'm asking, but don't you wish you had more friends around?"
"Well, I have you and I have my parents...and there's a lot of love there for me, more than I would probably get from having a lot of friends." Rain answered and then she looked away. "But there are times when I wish I had a friend are two more...especially a female friend, someone I could just be silly and girlish with. I remember how much fun I had a long time ago with my friends...going to parties, going shopping, talking late at night about guys, love, and a bunch of other things. I miss those things, I'd be lying if I said I didn't, but the years have made me hard. I don't even feel like trying anymore...it's not worth it to me. They'll only disappoint me in one way or another and it's not worth finding out the hard way. But I said that same thing when I first met you, and I turned out to be completely wrong on that one."
"And you're not sorry about being wrong about me, are you?" Micheal asked.
Rain laughed and softly touched the side of Micheal's face. "No...no I'm not, but you were probably the only exception I'll ever see."
"Well maybe you're wrong about Mark. I know, I know...I'm not going to push it." Micheal replied when he saw the Rain's expression. "It’s your life, it's your decision...but think about it, talk to him, don't let what happened in the past bias your opinion of him, and see what happens from there. He might end up being the next exception you see."
"I'm going to talk to him anyways because I intend to apologize. By the way, what did Mark say to you about me? He probably wasn't expecting that..."
"He was stunned at first, not knowing what to say, and then he just apologized and left." Micheal answered."He feels bad about getting you upset and then hearing us argue. Mark feels responsible for what happened and for causing some strain in our friendship. Today was actually the first time I've talked to him since that night."
"I didn't do anything to jeopardize your friendship with him, did I?"
"No, as a matter of fact, I need to talk to you about Mark. There was a reason he was over at my house when you came over. He's been having some problems at this apartment with his neighbors and he has to commute about an hour each way everyday to work. So..." Micheal looked at Rain as if he was expecting a storm to break loose. "Mark's going to move in with me."
Rain just nodded her head. "Okay."
"Okay? I was expecting a little more from you. You know this means you may run into him more often. Mark said he would leave you alone when you came over or he would make sure to leave if we wanted to spend time alone, but...I just don't want anybody to feel uncomfortable."
"He doesn't have to leave because of me...it's going to be his home. I’ll go over there sometimes but you can always come to my house." Rain answered. "Mark shouldn't have to walk on egg shells for my sake."
"Are you sure you're not going to have any problems with this?"
"It doesn't really matter if I have any problems with this. It's your home and you're free to live with whomever you want." Rain answered. "Besides, I learned my lesson. Pitching a fit won't help and it's not worth losing you...you're too important to me."
"So everything is okay between us?"
"If you forgive me, then it is."
"Of course I forgive you. I'm not going to let you get rid of me that easily." Micheal wrapped his arms around Rain and pulled her into a hug. Several minutes passed before they seperated. "Are you up for one of our walks?"
"Sure." Rain smiled. They both grabbed their coats and the dogs and went outside.
"Excuse me." some woman threw over her shoulder to Rain after she had ran into her. Rain watched the woman rush off and let out a frustrated breath, that was the third person who had done that to her today. Rain watched as people frantically ran around the grocery store, making sure they had enough food to last them through the snow storm which was supposedly coming. That was Nashville for you...all the weatherman had to say was the word 'snow' and people would believe that a blizzard was coming and the first thing everybody did was to run to the grocery store. This occurred even if the weatherman said there was only a chance of snow. What Rain found funny was it never snowed when they said it would and it always snowed when they said it wouldn't. Rain made her way down an aisle and stopped in front of the cookie section, trying to decide which kind to get.
"I would recommend the chocolate chip cookies myself." a voice said behind her.
Rain turned and saw the owner of the voice was Mark. "Actually, I'm more of an oatmeal raisin person."
"Those aren't bad, but they'll never beat a classic like chocolate chip cookies." Mark said. Rain smiled and grabbed both kinds of cookies. ~That's a good sign. She smiled instead of back-handing me~. "So are you stocking up for the storm?"
"No, I made the mistake of running out of food right when they said it was going to snow." Rain answered. "So I'm suffering right now for my laziness. I really don't like wasting my time in grocery stores." Rain looked down at the beer Mark was carrying. "Looks like you're stocking up on some things as well."
"If we do get snowed in, there are several things Micheal and I can do without for several days...but beer is not one of them." Rain rolled her eyes. "You and Micheal...you're one and the same."
"Mind if I tag along with you?" Mark asked. "If you don't want to it's okay, but...I'll load up your car for you."
Rain was hesitant at first. That old voice was raising its ugly head again, warning her, telling her to say no. For the first time in a long time, Rain pushed the voice out of her mind and ignored it. "Well, if you'll load up my car, then how can I say no."
Mark placed his stuff in the cart and started to push it as Rain walked beside him. "So are you all settled in?" It had been about three weeks since Mark had moved in with Micheal.
"Yep, all settled in." Mark answered as Rain picked items off the shelf and placed them in the cart. "It sure is easier on me to be closer to work. I don't miss those commutes at all."
"You couldn't find an apartment that was closer when you first moved here?"
"Everything was too expensive...for an apartment anyways. That place was cheaper and I thought it was a good find, but I learned that was about as far as you could get from the truth. The neighbors were always loud and the land lady was always giving me a hard time."
"At least you got out fast when you realized you weren't happy there. I'm sure you're having fun living with Micheal."
"Yes, I am." This small talk continued for the next fifteen minutes as Rain continued her shopping. After she paid for everything, Mark was true to his word and helped Rain load her groceries in her car. Once this was done, Mark and Rain stood across from each other, unsure of what to do or say next. Mark had enjoyed their conversation and what little time he had spent with Rain, and he didn't want to ruin it by asking her to join him for dinner. ~Well, might as well go for broke...she might say yes~.
"If you're free this evening, could I interest you in joining me for dinner?" Mark asked, already knowing she was going to say no.
"Why don't you come over to my house and I'll cook us dinner?" The words flew out of her mouth before she even had a chance to think about them...or stop them. ~Are you CRAZY! What in the world possessed you to say that~?
Mark was taken aback...this wasn't at ALL what he thought she would say. "This won't make you feel uneasy, will it? You don't have to..."
"I know...I still owe you an apology for how I acted and the least I can do is make dinner." Rain replied. "Can I tempt you with chocolate chip cookies?"
"I think you can." Mark said as he smiled and nodded his head. "I'll just follow you to your house, okay?"
"Sure." Rain answered and watched as he walked away. ~Please don't let me regret this~.