Despite growing up together, Catherine Simmons and Mattis Reed were never close.
Cat was inseparable from Mattis' younger sister, Chloé, while he was busy running around on the football field.
But when Cat's new dream drags her across the country du...
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We're quiet during our ride to the airport. Thankfully, we don't have a long wait, and Mattis wanders off once we've found our gate, so there isn't much time for us to sit in uncomfortable silence.
Despite our agreement to stay friends, the wounds are still fresh, putting strain on our relationship. A weekend at home focusing on other people might be just what we need.
Or it might be a disaster. Only time will tell.
The plane ride is long. Mattis falls asleep with the same ease as his sister. I know he struggles with insomnia at times too, so I'm happy he's getting some rest, but there are few things I wouldn't give to be able to follow him into unconsciousness.
Instead, I try to read a book while my mind replays our conversation at Mattis' house and then come up with all the possible scenarios of this holiday going up in flames.
When the plane finally touches down in LA, I gently shake Mattis awake. He turns to look at me with hooded eyes, his face lighting up in a slow smile. He's so freaking gorgeous that it almost breaks my heart.
I lean my chin against the headrest, facing him. "Ready?"
He swallows and sighs. "Ready."
We head through the airport into the waiting area, where Chloé is bouncing on the balls of her feet, trying to look over the shoulders of the people in front of her. I watch as her curls bob up and down before she finally catches sight of us. She elbows her way to the front.
"Oh my god, hi, Cat!" she squeals, crushing me in a familiar hug. Something settles in my chest.
"Hi, Chlo." I wrap my arms around her and squeeze.
For a second, we're not in a bustling airport, surrounded by a bunch of strangers and her brother awkwardly hovering beside us. We're just Cat and Chloé, the way things were always supposed to be.
When we untangle ourselves, I watch with frayed nerves as Chloé sends Mattis a distrustful look, and he nods at her. I remember their almost hug at LGA a month ago. So much for progress.
The drive home is tense. Chloé gives me a full update on her life, asking about mine as well, mostly ignoring Mattis in the back. I send him furtive looks in the mirror, but his face is turned to the window, and his shoulders are raised.
Coming home is a stressful experience for me because of my family. I've never considered that it might be the same for Mattis.
When the car stops outside my parent's house, I'm happy to escape the suffocating atmosphere, though I wish I could skip this particular night altogether.
"See you later, C," I say, smiling forcedly at Chloé. She gives me a sympathetic grimace. I look at Mattis. "Bye, Matt."
"Bye, Kittycat." His lips tug up a bit, and my heart aches for his real smile.
