Loose Lips Sink Ships - Part Two (Helen Roper x OC)
Summary: Michelle and Helen return from the cruise and they both know things have to return to normal, only Michelle isn’t sure what normal is for her anymore and she sure as hell doesn’t want to talk about it.
Word Count: 1,046
Warnings: More angst, mentions of infidelity
Part 1
When the ship pulled to shore, Michelle could feel her heart lurch in her chest. Was this really it? How could two days fly by so quickly? Luggage in tow, Michelle followed Helen off the ship. The car ride back was silent, the most uncomfortable she’d ever felt in Helen's presence, yet she didn’t dare break it and force a conversation that she knew they couldn’t have.
They unloaded their bags from the trunk when they made it back to their building, nothing passing between them besides idle chitchat. It felt stiff, wrong somehow, but neither knew how to fix it. Michelle and Helen both wanted to fix it, but the words to do so weren’t available to either of them. So, Helen did the only thing she could think of. She took her free hand and laced it together with Michelle's and they walked like that all the way up to Helen's door.
The two women paused there at the door, eyes locked on one another, but still no words came, for what could be said here in the situation they found themselves in? What was right? Saying anything felt wrong, saying nothing felt worse. Either way, the choice was taken from them when the door swung open. "There you are. I was wondering when you were ever going to get back from that cruise."
Helen swiftly dropped Michelle's hand before Stanley had gotten a word out, and that action alone spoke volumes. No amount of words could rival what that one action meant. It’s over. The spell is broken and they should try and get back to normal. Michelle forced a smile. "Thanks for bringing me along, Mrs. Roper. I really enjoyed the trip." While there was no lie to her words, that didn’t stop the sting of them when they passed her lips. And then it was well and truly done. Helen went inside, the door closed and Michelle was left standing there, frozen, and holding back a sob.
When her body finally allowed her to pull her gaze away from the Ropers' door and move in the direction of her own apartment, she still lingered outside for several minutes, hand on the doorknob, bracing herself to put on a happy face again until she could brush the whole trip under the rug and move on. She couldn’t wait outside forever. There'd be even more questions from her roommates if one of them opened the door and found her hand attached to it.
Despite her inner turmoil, she must admit it felt good to be home, surrounded by only familiar things. Everything was just as it should be in the apartment, and if nothing else, she was thankful for that much.
"There’s our girl," Jack greeted cheerily. "How was the cruise," he inquired with a hint of accusation in his otherwise pleasant tone.
"Fine. Good. Great. Okay," Michelle replied, not quite able to settle on the right neutral sounding response. She tried to sound casual, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t coming off as nice and breezy as she wanted it to. Nor was she able to meet Jack's eyes when she answered. He’d see right through her.
"Well, which was it," Chrissy asked, unaware of the implications of the conversation between her and Jack.
Ignoring Chrissy, Jack's eyes narrowed in Michelle's direction. "Michelle, you didn’t, did you?" The pleasantry was gone now, and all that was left was the cold, doubtful tone of accusation, now with a fresh and growing air of disappointment in her.
"It was fine, Jack. A normal trip with a friend. Can we please just drop it?" Michelle felt the tears begin to prick at the back of her eyes again, and she took off for her bedroom before they could start to fall.
In her bedroom, the one she shared with Chrissy, she finally let the tears out, muffling them into her pillow. She couldn’t lock herself away all night, but if she could just get away with it long enough to get this —get Helen— out of her system, maybe she could play the part of dutiful roommate again without any of Jack's suspicions or Chrissy's many questions.
It was just after sunset when Michelle came out of the bedroom. Chrissy had gone out and Jack had been working on some dish for his cooking class. She could smell it before she even came out into the living room. She made a dash for the shower before Jack could be alerted to her presence, and washed away what remained of the salty air on her skin. A layer of skin flaked off from the mild sunburn she’d gotten on her shoulders. Funny how she hadn’t felt it’s sting until now.
Fresh from the shower and redressed, Michelle came back out and found Jack bringing in food. "Hungry," he asked. She hadn’t been thinking about it, but now that she was, her stomach gave a little growl in response.
"I could eat," she responded.
Michelle sat down to the pasta dish in front of her. It smelled heavenly, and she dug right in, not even realizing how hungry she was until just a few minutes later her plate was half empty. "That good, huh," Jack asked, choking back a laugh at her enthusiasm for the dish.
"Sorry," she replied, covering her mouth, which was still partially full of pasta. She finished the bite and wiped her mouth with the napkin to her right. "It is delicious, Jack. I missed your cooking."
"So how was the cruise, really," he asked next. Michelle paused with the fork in midair, once again headed for her mouth. She hadn’t been prepared for him to ask again.
"It was…" she began, swirling around her fork while searching for a vague yet apt description of the trip. "Fun," she settled on halfheartedly.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sounds scintillating," he teased.
"No, I mean it. It was. I just wish things were different, you know? Two days on vacation with a friend shouldn’t be so—" Michelle took another bite of pasta as an excuse for not knowing how to finish her sentence again. "Conflicting, I guess, is the word." Jack nodded and let Michelle finish her pasta without mentioning it again.
Forever Tag: @arrthurpendragon, @baubeautyandthegeek, @foxesandmagic, @carmens-garden, @chickensarentcheap, @endless-oc-creations, @unheolycs-ocs, @fawera, @themaradaniels, @that-demigirl, @iloveocs, @bossyladies
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