Fairy-Tale Therapy~ Trouble In Neverland (Book #1) **ON HOLD**

Chapter 4~ Tears In The Airport

     It felt like eons had passed before I finally comprehended what my father had said to me. In reality though, it had only been a few seconds. I was stunned, flabbergasted really. Did my father really tell me that I was moving to New York to live with uncle Jim? As much as I wanted the answer to be no, the unfortunate truth was that I heard correctly. I was destined to live with my uncle in New York city.

     The questions from before were still assaulting my mind, now more than ever. Why was I moving in with my uncle? Why did he drop this load on me NOW? Was he coming with me? I needed answers for these questions, and I needed them now.

     I was still lost in my own personal sea of fear and confusion when my dad opened the door of the car. The loud slam of the door shutting awoke me from my trance. I probably would've stayed like that forever if dad hadn't awoken me. I might've just stayed in the car and thought, hoping that what I heard was an illusion of some sorts. I hoped that dad was playing a sick prank on me or that I would just wake up from this one of many nightmares. But alas, the last insignificant sliver of hope that I had was dashed when dad called out-

     "Come on Scout, up and atom. You don't want to miss your flight do ya?"

     Did my dad honestly ask me that? Of course I wanted to miss my flight. I didn't want to move to New York to live with uncle Jim. I wanted to stay with him. I wanted to stay with him and have more of those daddy-daughter days that we never experienced when I was younger. But I knew that would never happen. Then again, I didn't care. I just wanted to see my father, even if his nose were buried in endless piles of papers, I'd still get to see him.

     I didn't voice any of my thoughts though, I didn't want to disappoint him. This was dad's choice, he was the parent, I wasn't. He knew what was best for me. After all, he should have a good reason as to why he's making me move in the first place.

     I opened the car door and swung my legs over the edge of the vehicle. I slowly trudged over to where my dad was standing. The short walk felt like a grim quest. The world around me was dark, not one star was visible in the night sky. I couldn't even find the moon, it was probably hidden behind the massive airport. The only things that lit my way were the very few street lamps that lined the vast parking lot. They gave off an ugly, orange glow that made my stomach churn. The air around me was still, not a breeze to be felt. The stillness was sickening, it made the air seem denser. That could've been the reason why I started hyperventilating. I could hear my boots scrape against the gritty cement. The noises made me cringe, I couldn't even block it out with the wind (since there wasn't any.) Overall, the short trek was an unpleasant experience.

     Dad was standing at the trunk of the car when I walked up to him. He was rummaging for something, when he got a hold of it, it looked like he was struggling to get it free from the confinements of the trunk. When he finally yanked what ever it was out, I stared at it confused. It was a suitcase. What was I supposed to do with a suitcase? I mean I knew that I needed a suitcase to travel, but in this case wouldn't it be useless? I never had the chance to pack anything.

     I peeked into the trunk. Sprawled all throughout the back were the empty shopping bags of our shopping trip. Where were all of the clothes that we bought? I looked between the trunk and the suitcase, it was only a matter of time before I finally understood what was going on. It was fake, this whole day was fake. Everything about it was fake, everything from the syrup-laden pancakes to us trying on different sunglasses at the mall. It all had something to do with dumping me off at this confounded airport.

     He was sneaky, but I was smart. I could see through his pathetic ruse. Dad took me to Ihop and loaded me up with pancakes. It was probably to keep me from complaining about being hungry at the airport. Is the man really that lazy? Isn't it his job to feed his kid when she get's hungry? Apparently not, it would be too difficult for the mayor of a town to do something as tedious as ordering take out. The least he could do is give me the money to pay for the food myself. As for the shopping, dad must've taken me to the mall so he wouldn't have had to tell me to pack my bags. I guess he wasn't man enough to tell his daughter that she was moving to New York that day. It killed me to find out that he was keeping such a big secret from me. Not only that, I also found that act (or lack of it) quite insulting. It was as if he thought I couldn't handle the news for myself. He made it seem as though I couldn't handle such information on my own. Yet, I couldn't help but think that he was right about that.