Where did I go?

I wake the next morning from a dreamless sleep. Thank goodness. I don't know if I can handle another nightmare like the last one. I head to the kitchen for cereal and pass a sleeping Mike on the couch. He looks really uncomfortable, his long legs have no room at all.

I eat and then shower and get ready for the day. The clock tells me I have another hour before my therapy session, so I go shake Mike's foot that's hanging off the couch. He murmurs, "Ten more minutes, baby, please." I pinch his foot instead and his eyes pop open. "You are a cruel woman."

I stick out my tongue. "Fight me, Fuentes. I need a favor though, can you take me to my therapy?"

He sits up and rubs his foot. "You pinch me awake and then ask for a favor? Nah, I'm kidding. Let me get ready and we'll go."

I scroll through my phone while he is in the shower. I try Instagram first. My profile is filled with pics of me and Mikey and all of them have ridiculously cheesy captions. There's a bunch of comments on the pics. Most are get well soon, hope you feel better, that kind of thing, but some are kinda nasty. I creep on Mikey's profile too and the rest of the band. They all look so happy touring and making music.

Mike comes out ready to go. "All set?" I look up and nod, "yea, I just got a question. When are you guys leaving for a tour again?"

"Umm I don't really know. Things were kinda on hold for a while since, you know, so we haven't figured that all out yet."

I frown. "Okay well don't let me hold you back. I have Cara and others who can help me when you leave."

He smiles that same sad smile. "I know, I just can't make myself leave your side quite yet. But, come on, you're gonna be late."

The doctor's office isn't too far, maybe ten minutes. Mike drops me off and then tells me he will be running errands and to just call when I'm done. The session goes okay, I don't get too bad feeling after all the exercises. After I'm finished I wander outside. The weather is beautiful and, honestly, it's nice to have a break from Mike. I window shop a bit and buy a pastry from a cute little cafe down the block. Next door is a music store and, of course, I go in and look around. I pick out a few cds, apparently some of my favorites are still around making music, and take them to the counter. Right next to the register I notice a help wanted sign. The cashier, a petite girl with blonde hair and huge green eyes, sees me looking.

"The pay is pretty good. And it's not hard work, just organizing and reorganizing when new shipments come in really," the girl explains, smiling. "I'm Lucy, by the way, the manager. Would you like an application?"

"That would be great, actually!" I smile back. "I'm Valerie. Is it cool if I just fill it out now?"

Lucy nods, "Of course!" I write my info down, relying a lot on the info Mike programmed into my phone for me. I hand it back to her and she spends all of two seconds looking at it. "Well," she says, "I'm pretty short staffed right now, and I like your taste in music, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say you're hired."
"Ahh that's awesome, thank you!" It really is perfect. Since I was in the hospital for such a long time, my last job was forced to fill my position. We arrange for me to start on Monday, and I leave the shop super excited. When Mike picks me up, he asks why I'm so smiley. "I got a job!" I reply.

He immediately starts to worry. "Where? Nothing too hard, right? You know you have to be careful still, you can't lift much and you can't look at a screen for too long. And-"

"Mike for fuck's sake chill the fuck out." I snap. "I need to live my life. I need to figure stuff out for myself. I can't just rely on your for everything. I can handle taking care of myself." He doesn't respond, but I'm glad I said something. The last thing I need right now is a babysitter.

Notes