CHAPTER 49: WHAT'S BEST

NATASHA

Whenever something bothers me, Michael feels it too. Yet another thing we share, neither of us wants to share these burdens with the other.

Trust. We're supposed to have that. But should I risk mine?

There's something bothering me, and I know that he has his own problems. But something is holding us up not to spill what's overflowing from the inside.

Should I be bothered?

I found myself sitting in his living room. The TV was on, but I couldn't focus on the show playing.

My hands fumbled with the bowl of popcorn in my lap as I waited for him to join me, just as he had promised.

Glancing out the window, I saw him talking to someone on the phone. He seemed frustrated, even furious. His body language didn't betray what was going on in his mind, but his facial expressions did.

His jaw was clenched, and his eyes seemed to gaze into the distance.

"What's going on with him?" I found myself murmuring the question as I stared at his broad back.

He was now dressed in a fresh white shirt a