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This day, and the weeks following this days events had made everyone be in constant fear and alarm, reasonably so. Now they could finally breathe again, though there would still be a trial against Noelle Meyer in the upcoming months. But right now, everyone in the Stones family just wanted to wanted to hit snooze in the next morning, and just sleep for the next two weeks.
Michaela was no exception, but as an adult, she still had responsibilities before she could fall asleep in her husbands loving arms. Sighing, she quietly left Olive´s room, careful not to wake the sleeping girl up.
Avoiding those creeky floorboards she had learned in the past decades, she slowly made her way upstairs, to her and Zeke´s bedroom.
”Hi, you sleeping yet?” Michaela asked while making her way to the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She softly frowned her eyebrows, when she saw her husband in a clear distress.
”Uhh.. No, I was waiting for you” Zeke shrugs, turning to look at his wife.
”Ohhh, got it. Do you mind if I change quickly? Would love to wear my pyjama…”
Zeke chuckled, knowing very well that what Mick had said wasn´t a question. His wife always keeping her head was one of the countless reasons he loved her so much.
Then he rememberd what he was supposed to tell his wife soon, and his grin dropped as fast as it had appeared on his face. Anxiously he played with his shaky hands, trying to make the stress go away with a bad succes.
Before he could stop himself, he lifted his head up when he heard the bathroom door open. Hoping Mick didn´t see him, Zeke pressed his head on their pillows.
Zeke didn´t have time to see his wife´s face, that had worry written all over her features.
”You want to talk?” She asked while she lazily got downt to lay on their bed.
Mick gently wraps her arms around Zeke, and leaning the side of her head against his neck curve.
”You know, you are usually the one who can tell what others are feeling.
But right now I don´t need to have emphatetic powers like my amazing husband, to know that something´s wrong. Is it the leg or just the Noelle shit?”
”Uhh, okay. Well” Zeke tries to adjust his position on the bed, attempting to move further away from his wife, who is patiently waiting for his answer.
”Zeke, we have gone through crazy shit together, this cannot be something too bad. For example, we catched a serial killer today”
He feels her cold fingers running on his back, and oh, how much he wanted to just turn around and take Mick´s hands to his, and warm her. But he just can´t bare looking at his supportive wife´s face while telling her how badly he had messed up, this time in a way he never thought he would do again.
Clearing his throat, he still starts speaking to Mick, even though he feels like there´s no words coming out of his dry mouth.
”You know, at Adrian´s safehouse… And when you told me that I shouldn´t go to work the next day… I-I messed up. It was bad, Mick”
”Zeke, you need to look at me. Please. I don´t understand, what happend, love?”
If this situation would´ve been anything else than what it was, Zeke would have bursted out laughing - Mick was always trying to be such a badass cop, but she was so soft and gentle inside.
”I..” He hesitated for a moment, but just decided to open up to the woman who had now stopped brushing his back.
”Mick, I relapsed. I went to the closest shop, and bought the heavy stuff. I fuckin failed. I was so drunk I almost couldn´t walk here. I failed you and everyone else in this house”
”Hey, hey, look at me Zeke. Look at me”
Mick´s voice left no thought for Zeke to do anything else, he slowly turned to facing his wife, still trying to hide tears shimmering in his eyes. Trying not to shake, Mick took her husbands hands to hers, interlocking their fingers, that we´re made perfectly for eachother. A little moment after, she slipped her hands away from Zeke´s warm palms, and cupped his face that was wet from tears.
”Zeke. I am not mad at you. No one is. It´s okay, it´s okay babe. Just please breath for me, ok?”
”It´s okay from you to be mad at me, I am so mad with myself for letting you all down, now Olive is the only one with job, and money is already tight and-”
”In, and out, ok? Come here, Zeke”
Mick opened her arms for him, and Zeke didn´t think twice - he bursted in to tears, and pressed his head against his wife´s chest, feeling those familiar arms wrapping around him. For a moment, it felt quiet - like there was no one else in the whole entire universe other than he and his soulmate.
”It´s okay. I love you, there´s nothing that could ever make me feel otherwise” she whispered soothingly.
”Thank you for telling me. You know, a little step back is part of the process”
After a few minutes, Zeke slowly lifted his head up, adjusting his position so their eyes would be on the same level.
She looked at him so lovingly, so kindly. What did he do to deserve this kind of love?
”Hey. I love you, that will never change”
”I am so sorry, there´s so much other stuff going on and I shouldn´t-”
”Drop it, Zeke. There´s nothing more important for me than to listen to you. And help you as best as I can. Never, ever apologise to me, or anyone else for having feelings like everyone else”
”You believe me, right?” She asked, lifting her hand to play with his dark hair.
”Yea. I do” he mumbled, still sniffling and eyes red.
”Good” her lips curled a bit up, softening her eyes.
”Jeez, I must look horrible”
”No. You look like my husband, who is such a strong, loving, kind and amazing human being. Zeke, we have already went through this three years ago, we will get through it this time. This is not going to erase the process you have already made”
She smiled at him, pressing her lips softly to meet his.
”I love you” he muttered, leaning in for a second kiss.
”I know, doesn´t take an empath. Now, how is your leg? Do you want water or something else-”
”I am perfect, just - just please don´t leave now”
”Never. But I do think you should get some sleep, or we all will be zombies tomorrow”
Zeke smiled at her response, he finally felt like he could breathe again. It was horrible trying to keep a secret from Mick, it felt like he was hiding something from himself. This probably was what people meant when they said their soulmate felt like a part of them.
But for Zeke Landon, his wife made him fully him. She was the reason why he kept waking up in the morning, the reason why he smiled, the reason why he had started to love living.
His wife was everything for him.