Chapter XV - Being There

Chelsea went to the kitchen to see Michael already preparing their food. She noticed that it was the food earlier she cooked. Chelsea facepalm internally remembering that she forgot to eat.

Michael looked up to see Chelsea walking towards him. He smiled at her, noticing that she looked at least better now. She smiled back and quietly sat on her chair after Michael took his seat.

"Sorry, it's all I can prepare for us," Michael said gesturing at the food in front of them. He thought since there are not enough ingredients, the leftover food in the fridge should be fine for them, at least for the time being. Chelsea looked guiltily at him and moved feeling uncomfortable.

"I should be the one who should be apologizing," she said darting her eyes away from him. "I hadn't done grocery and my stock is limited," she continued realizing that she should go to buy necessary things in her kitchen. A sudden idea popped into Chelsea's mind making her looked at Michael immediately. "You know what," she started which earned the man in front of her tilted his head, curious about her idea that she will be going to say. "Let's order pizza," she finally said then abruptly stood up to grabbed a call.

Michael amusedly watched her and chuckled at her actions. He thought that she was at least having a better mood than earlier and it was a good thing for her mind to wander a little bit than focusing on her husband for the entire time.

"What would you like to have?" Chelsea asked Michael as she had her phone resting on her right ear.

"I'm fine in whatever you choose," he said as he stood up and started to placed back the things he had prepared. He was a little disappointed that his effort was wasted but seeing his friend in a better mood made him think otherwise. He quietly cleaned the table while Chelsea was busy talking to her phone.

"I'm sorry, Michael," Chelsea whispered from his back and she lightly touched his right shoulder. Michael automatically turned around and faintly smiled down at her.

"It's fine," he shortly said with a cool tone attached to it.

"No it's not," she argued, knowing that her actions made her friend disappointed from the preparation he laid out on the table earlier.

"It's really fine, Chelsea," Michael said genuinely to her. "If it makes you happy by ordering a pizza then, it makes me happy too," he added, smiling at her softly then chuckled at his last words. "Don't worry about this," he gestured to the already cleaned table.

"But- " she started but she was immediately cut off by Michael.

"No buts," Michael said. "Now, let's go to the living room and watch something while we wait for the pizza," he continued, watching the woman in front of him avoid his eyes. Obviously, still guilty of her actions.

Michael suddenly grabbed her right hand, making Chelsea gasped and look at his face. He grinned down at her shocked expression then dragged her to the living room. Chelsea was so startled by the fast event, she didn't notice that she was now sat on the couch. She slowly looked at Michael who was now changing the channel of the TV for them to watch. She watched Michael getting frustrated due to the boring channels he found, his eyebrows meeting each other end at the middle, showing that he was not really pleased.

"What kind of channels are these?" Michael said to himself, knocking the silence down and making Chelsea aware of her surroundings. She changed her view to her front and started focusing on the TV.

After many channels had passed, Chelsea suddenly shouted making Michael stop pressing the remote. "WAIT! STOP RIGHT THERE!" she exclaimed. "Yes! I almost forgot that they were going to release a new episode today!" she added then looked at Michael excitedly. He increased the volume then put back the remote in its rightful place. "This is my favorite series!" she informed her friend, showing that she was thrilled about the show.

"The Good Doctor?" Michael asked, curious about the story.

"What?" she questioned him, not hearing the words he uttered.

"What is that about?" he asked, referring to the show. He was clearly interested in it, knowing that it has Chelsea's attention.

"You didn't know this?" she was perplexed by his question. Looking at Michael like he uttered a ridiculous thing to her. "Are you living in a cave?" she asked breathless, not believing what she just witnessed.

Michael shook his head, confirming that he didn't know the TV show. "Don't look at me like that!" he exclaimed. "I'm not into science stuff," he added, defending himself.

"That's reasonable," Chelsea commented, wiping her shocked face. "But, you must watch this with me!" she said to him then changed her view looking at the TV to focus on watching the show.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" he mumbled quietly and mimic Chelsea's action. "I guess, this will kill some time and make her happy for a while," he added not knowing that he whispered the things he thought in his head.

"What was that?" Chelsea said still looking at the TV.

"Oh nothing, just wondering about the pizza," he said, lying smoothly at her and a little bit nervous.

"I almost forgot about that," she muttered. A silence was created after that, giving the sound from the TV a clear tone and making the two of them lost in the world of the show.

A while later, the doorbell produced a ring. "That must be the pizza, I go get it," Michael said and stood up from the couch then started walking to the entrance door.

"The money is on the kitchen table!" Chelsea shouted enough for Michael to hear. He went first to the kitchen to grab the money then proceeded to his destination.

Michael turned the knob to open the door and saw a man holding boxes of pizza. Michael held the payment to the man in exchange for the food after that they parted each other by closing the door. He came back to the living room and join Chelsea once again.

"Do you think it's a good idea to eat this while watching that show?" he said looking at the TV where a man was getting surgery.

"Man up, Chol!" she said, remembering the nickname she had created for him. "I forgot calling you Chol," she looked at him smiling while he looked at the TV with a disgusted face. "It's just a show," she continued, getting back at the topic. "Just imagine doctors live most of their lives looking at that and they're still able to eat," Chelsea explained, having an argument over his comment.

"Too bad, I'm not a doctor," he said rolling his eyes at her then sat at his previous seat earlier.

"Don't be bitter about it," she said with a chuckle escaping from her mouth, amused at him. "You act like Tom," she suddenly commented, making Michael whipped his head to look at her with big eyes and open mouth.

"I do not!" he exclaimed. "And never will be!" Michael added, providing his point.

Chelsea just shook her head with a grin displaying at her lips, thinking that Michael was being dramatic again. "Ok, ok. Just forget what I just said and open that," she gestured towards the pizza knowing that she was giving up on the Tom-Michael topic.

They sat silently as they watched and eat together. Commenting on some scenes of the show and just making themselves comfortable with each other.

"I wish I'm smart like Shaun," Chelsea commented after they finished watching the new episode. "And with his condition, he is simply extraordinary," she continued, feeling the main character of the show.

"And knowing that many people were judgemental about his capabilities," Michael suddenly said to her, wanting a deep conversation. "If that's in our real world, the man will never be peaceful," he added.

"Yeah..." she agreed and nodded to him. A pause was created between them, earning a sound from the TV to amplify. The silence was not uncomfortable, it was full of mystery and question, not only for the show they watched but for the events that just happened in the past 24 hours. While the TV kept on blaring, Chelsea began to think, she knew that the big elephant was lurking around her and making a disturbance in her head. She needed to talk and needed to get it out of her.

Watching for entertainment was only a break from her, to have an escape from her reality. Eating also helped her gain energy that was drained earlier from the emotional outburst she had experienced. It was not easy, it was not simply just a sad situation. The love of her life died and the worst of it was that she was mad at him for leaving her and Rebecca. It was outrageous, she should be worried but the first thing she did was getting angry at Esmond.

It all changed when she began to seek help from Tom. It was the start of her worrying until the recent call she received. The police gave her news to stopped her worry. That worry changed to devastation and numbness to her soul. The pain she felt was unbearable when she heard Mr. Larson uttered the word 'dead'. Her brain had shut down, leaving her stuck in her own misery.

Chelsea was drowned in guilt and sorrow, beginning to lose all hope she gathered only for her family, for Rebecca. It was an experience of grasping to air, all hollow, nothing to claim, only air passing through. Even when Esmond went missing, she never stopped loving him. The love for him was the strength and Rebecca is her future. Her strength was gone, Esmond is gone. How will she manage to fight life? The struggles and the whipping of reality's torture on her back?

Her Esmond promised wholeness and content life to her. It was wiped all of a sudden, she ignored his message, the emotions behind her husband's eyes, and the actions he had shown. Who was really to blame? Chelsea's ignorance or Esmond's mysteriousness.

Every memory she had with Esmond will be cherished inside her until she drained all air in her body. The smiles, laughs, and cries. It will not be forgotten, only hidden deep inside her heart and soul, she needed to hide it, for her daughter, for their daughter.

"Chelsea?" a man's voice was heard near her, full of concern and worry that heavily laced with the word he uttered, making her snapped from her deep thought and aware of what surrounds her. Her vision was blurred due to unnoticed tears that came from her own eyes.

Gaining consciousness around her environment, she shivered to the newly found cold around her and warm hands that were placed on both of her shoulders. She darted her eyes to the figure in front of her, still unable to see the expression he was making.

"Michael?" she faintly muttered. Chelsea tried to lift her right hand to wipe the tears that had gathered around her eyes but a hand stopped her. The warm hands abandoned her shoulders and she then felt it down her eyes and up to her cheeks. The softness of the slow caress, wiping the essence of the sweat of her eyes that keeps overflowing on the edge of her eyes. She can't stop crying but the hands still working on wiping it for her to see the clear view in front of her.

"Shhh... shhhh..." he whispered attempting to calm her down. "I'm here, see?" he continued then moved his right hand to her touch her back to pat it lightly while his left hand remained on her left cheek. Michael began to caress slowly the light smooth skin of the woman in front of him. "I'm here," he repeated wanting to assure her.

She quietly stared at him, looking at him like she was trying to decipher the man in front of her. Michael, once a stranger to her then suddenly turned to a supportive friend in just a short amount of time. Pam, his mother that gave a bridge for them to know each other and to strengthened their fresh friendship.

From time to time, they had got to know each other, deeply. In the span of almost 5 months of friendship, they discover each others' protectiveness and support from one another. Then, Chelsea suddenly saw a light of hope in the back of her soul. Michael gave her support that he was willing to give her a wall to lean on or a shoulder to cry on. He had given her a light in the darkness that surrounds her.

Coming to the realization, with an abrupt action. She lifted herself up to reach out for her friend. He was shocked by her sudden behavior, after a moment, he hugged her back with the right pressure of tightness in their hug.

"Thank you, Michael," she whispered near his left ear with a genuine and appreciative tone in the words she had just said. They hugged for less than a minute then, broke it with Chelsea's last squeeze of her hug. They gave one another a space between them and stare at each other.

"What for?" Michael asked her, breaking the silence around them.

"The things you had done for me," she said with a smile while looking directly at him. "The support you had given to me," she added. "Thank you for being here," she finished her statement by having a single tear dropped from her left eye. A tear that didn't come from sorrow but from contentment and safeness.

"You know that you were always welcome," he said having a small smile on his lips while he lifted his left hand to wipe the tear stain that was sticking on her cheek. "That what friends are for, right?" he continued waiting for her to agree with his statement.

Chelsea just nodded to him. Michael stared at her and realized that she had dozen off again, thinking of something that made her have a determined expression plastered on her face.

"I think I need to go to the police station to get more information about Esmond," she uttered quietly staring at the blank air.

"I'll come with you," Michael said immediately making Chelsea looked at him confusedly.

"What?" she asked.

"I'll go with you to the police station," he repeated his words.

"Did I just said that out loud?" she asked no one.

"Yes," he confirmed to her. "So, can I go with you?" he asked this time.

"I think that would be best in my situation," she finally agreed. "I would probably cry my eyes out and forget to speak," she chuckled, getting the aura to a light mood.

"I will make sure that you won't," he chuckled back.