Chapter 5

 

Spencer

 

Finally got her to board the damn plane. She can’t navigate worth crap. Turning phone off. Text you when we land. C U bro.

I hit SEND, and waited for it to indicate it was delivered before shutting my phone off to get ready for a taxi. I wrapped my hands on both armrests tightly, squeezing my eyes shut as I felt the plane begin to ascend.

I could never get used to this part of the flight. Actually, I could never get used to flying, period. Just the thought of being up in the air at probably a hundred thousand feet made me sick to my stomach, but all my years as a Marine helped me to bring that feeling down to a slight queasiness.

Call me primitive, but I’d take riding a ship over a plane any damn day. My reasoning was at least if a ship broke down and sank, I could swim for land, unlike when a plane experiences engine failure, I wouldn’t be able to sprout wings and fly to safety. Instead, my soul would probably drift from my body and watch as the latter go splat.

So yeah, planes freaked me the fuck out.

“Would you like something to drink, sir?” I heard the flight attendant ask me with an overly sweet and kind voice that irked me so much. One more thing I find really iffy about planes was that the flight attendants sounded too nice, bordering on the unnatural, like they were planning your murder behind those honeyed words and wide smiles.

No, I will not take your cyanide, ma’am…just kidding. I wasn’t that paranoid.

“Uh, I’ll have that drink together with my meal,” I told her, sparing a quick glance before closing my eyes once more. “In the meantime, can you just give me another sick bag, just in case?”

 

***

 

Turbulence was terrible, and despite my resolve to watch over the girl and see what she’s up to, my pansy ass couldn’t stop barfing the contents of my stomach. I mean, I grossed out the middle-aged man sitting next to me so much, he asked the flight attendant to seat him somewhere else. What a fucking douche. If I wasn’t feeling so messed up, I would’ve intentionally missed, and barfed all over his pants, the bastard.

I felt a hand rubbing my back, trying to comfort me, and I pulled my head off of the bag to tell the person to fuck off, when I was face to face with the girl I’m supposed to be surveying. She looked at me with sympathy as she continued to rub my back, and I just stared at her, not saying a word. She stopped rubbing my back and opened her mouth.

“Hey, I heard some of the passengers talking about a guy retching his guts out, so I came over to check. I wasn’t expecting it to be you, though,” she explained.

She looked around the corridor before taking the seat next to me, putting a little tote bag on her lap.

“Are you feeling any better?” she asked, and I refrained from rolling my eyes at her.

“Do I look like I’m okay?” I asked back, and she bit her lip.

“I’m sorry, that was stupid of me to ask,” she said, as I winced.

“Nah, it’s okay. I’m the one who should be sorry. I was rude,” I apologize. She smiled and opened her bag, pulling a small metal strip, and then handing it to me. She flipped the light to ask for assistance before she spoke.

“It’s supposed to help you with your airsickness,” she said simply. The flight attendant came over, and George asked for a cup of water. She turned back and saw me holding the medicine stupidly, and gestured for me to take it. I popped the pill into my mouth, and the flight attendant came back and handed me a lidded cup of water. I peeled off the lid and downed the medicine in one gulp.

George took the cup and replaced it with a strip of Double Mint gum.

“That’s so you could get the taste of vomit out of your mouth,” she said, answering my unasked question. I chuckled and tore off the wrapper before putting it in my mouth.

“You came prepared,” I remarked, and she shrugged, her eyes looking to the side like she was embarrassed.

“I just…I’ve never really ridden on a plane before,” she admitted, making me look at her in disbelief. She seemed to have expected it. “I know, I know. It’s the twenty-first century, what human being has never been on an airplane, right? But yeah, it’s true. I’ve never really been much of a traveler, and this is the first time I’m going someplace without my family, so I ended up researching about what to do, what not to do, what to bring, what not to bring, and I wanted to be prepared for any and all eventualities, and I guess I overdid it a little,” she said.

I blinked multiple times, trying to process what she just said. Her mouth moved so rapidly, my brain was scrambling to pick it up.

My confusion was probably all over my face, because she grimaced and dropped her head.

“I’m sorry. My brother told me I have a tendency to ramble,” she said, biting her lip. I shook my head at her.

“It’s fine. You shouldn’t say sorry about those kinds of things,” I assured her. “Just if you see me doing that face again, just give me five seconds to catch up,” I kidded, making her giggle.

I couldn’t help but smile at the way she laughed. It was so carefree and contagious, like she really did find it humorous, and she didn’t care if she looked a little crazy laughing so widely. It was weird, in a totally endearing type of way.

“I’ll try and remember that,” she replied, and I nodded sagely.

“My brain’s not running on a core i7 like yours does. I’m still on Pentium 4, but I promise I’ll update it as soon as I can,” I said, keeping a serious façade.

She cracked and started laughing uncontrollably, her arms cradling her stomach like it was starting to physically hurt to laugh. I smiled, my heart feeling a swell of accomplishment from that feat.

We continued to make jokes with each other until we spotted the flight attendant with a trolley cart full of food approaching. She looked back at me, her eyes full of hesitation.

“I guess I have to go back to my seat,” she said, lowering her voice to a somber tone while pointing her thumb towards the back of the plane. She was still looking at me with hesitant eyes, and I sort of figured she didn’t want to leave.

I also realized that from the moment she sat there and helped me out, I have not felt like barfing once, nor have I had any thoughts of the plane crashing and sending me to my death…well, until now.

Or maybe that was just the medicine talking.

“Hey, you don’t have to go unless you want to,” I told her, subtly giving her a reason to stay. “I mean, the guy that originally sat there is long gone, and eating plane food alone is kind of a downer,” I said.

The flight attendant arrived and bent down.

“Chicken or Fish?” she asked, staring at George and me expectantly. I looked back at George and tilted my head.

“What do you say? Want to have dinner with me?” I asked her, one corner of my mouth tilting up to form a smirk.

George looked down at her lap, her cheeks glowing softly rose pink. She turned her head towards me and grinned.

“I’ll have the chicken, please,” she answered, still keeping her eyes on me.

And I smiled.

***

 

“Thank you so much for keeping me company,” George said while she kept her eyes on the revolving conveyor belts that ejected our stuff.

We had safely arrived in North Carolina, and I was grateful I didn’t have another episode of upchucking the contents of my stomach, because believe it or not, that was some pretty good fucking chicken. There was still hope for plane food, after all.

“It was nothing,” I said, spotting another one of my bags, and hauling them out of there and onto my trolley. “I should be thanking you. I barely felt that last turbulence while the plane was descending because of you,” I told her, and she looked down on the ground in embarrassment. I frowned, but I said nothing.

I really didn’t like that mannerism of hers. Whenever I paid her a compliment or an expression of gratitude, she turned her head down, looking at the ground like she couldn’t believe the words she was hearing. Like, who the fuck messed her up that badly?

Her eyes widened as her duffel bag got closer to us, and I reached for it before she could, pulling it out and placing them neatly at her trolley.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, and I scoffed.

“No offense, babe, but you’re tiny as fuck. I could probably bench press you with one hand,” I replied, making her glare at me. I shrugged it off, continuing. “Just let me get the bags for you. Consider it as my way of thanking you for helping me keep the food in my stomach throughout the rest of the flight,” I said, and she rolled her eyes, waving her hands and letting me do what I wanted.

And when we finally got our stuff, and we were free to leave the airport, we walked out of there into the good old North Carolina sun shining down on our faces. We stood there at the side of the road just staring at each other, both unwilling to make the first move. Of course, I knew I was going to meet her later at the university, but I had to keep up the act. She had to know the both of us were thinking this was going to be the last time we saw each other.

She didn’t know my name, and she sure as hell never asked for it. She didn’t know I knew hers, and I never asked, either. Her eyes were distant, flashing a million different ways that clued me in she was probably overwhelmed thinking about so many things at that moment. She was struggling, and I held my tongue and clenched my fists around the handles of my bags to keep from asking her what’s running through her brain.

When she was finally done thinking, she smiled, her cheeks barely rising to crinkle her eyes, and I could tell it was a smile faking she was okay. She was steeling herself from something, and in the back of my mind I wondered how I knew that.

“So, I guess this is goodbye,” she finally said, and I sighed, nodding.

“Yeah. I had a good time,” I replied. I dropped one of my bags and extended my hand for a handshake, which she reciprocated half-heartedly. I let go and whistled for a cab to stop in front of us, and I signaled the driver to pop open the trunk. I wordlessly helped her load her bags inside before walking over to the back, and opening the door for her.

“Me too. I hope you have a safe trip,” she murmured, giving me a small wave before getting inside. I closed the door for her, and she gave me one last smile, and I just stood there watching the taxi drive off. I immediately took my phone out of my pocket and switched it on, waiting for the home screen to load up so I could make a call. I pressed 1 on my speed dial, and held the phone up to my ear as I raised my other arm to call another cab.

I heard Chase pick up the call and I spoke up.

“We’re here. She’s en route to the university. I’m following after her.”