Not a Reunion

Chapter 42

Thea
Six years ago

My dad passed away from the impact of a car hitting him.

As soon as I get off the phone with my mom, I run to turn my computer on. Then I book the next flight that goes to my hometown. I needed to be with my family right now.

My chest is heavy as I head back over to my bed. My hand shakes as I pick my phone back up. I hit on a number saved in my favorites and wait for him to pick it up. Please, baby, I need you. The call doesn't get answered, neither the first nor the second time. By the third time I was sent to voicemail, I decided to leave a message.

I'm all over the place, but only one thing is certain. I needed to talk to my boyfriend. My pain hurt immensely, and I was seeking someone's comfort.

"Mase," I say into the ohone, frantic as I try to clear my mind. My mind was playing my mom's words over and over again. My mind was trying to piece together how a month ago I had the best father in the world, and now I simply don't have him anymore. He isn't here. "I know you said that I shouldn't call you," I say through a sob. "I know that you asked for me to wait for you to call me first. But it's been a month, and I need you."

"Are you there?" I say, feeling my heart clench in my chest. "Mason, I need to tell you something. But I just want you here. Can you get here?"

"Where are you?" I asked on the phone, feeling my body shake. "I can fly you out here, and you can go home with me. I just need you to be here. I need to be able to talk to you face-to-face but also be able to hug you. I really need your touch, baby. You're the only person who could make me feel slightly better. Mason, pl—"

The voicemail cuts me off, and I curse as I head over to my desk. I pull my laptop off the desk and then take a seat on the floor as I open it back up. I'm looking up flights as I frantically call the phone again. The call goes to voicemail after a lot of rings, and I sigh as I start to make another voicemail again.

"Are you getting this? If you are, I need you to tell me where you are. I can book a ticket for you to come here, or even just a direct ticket to our hometown. Mason, we need to go back. Mason, my family isn't doing well. My mom is crying, and I cannot imagine how hard it is on her with kids. I need to go to her. But I don't want to go without you. Can you please tell me where you are? I know you told me you weren't going to tell me until you finally settled in, but I need you. Mason, it hurts. I can feel every breath I take in and out, and I can feel how much it stings."

I place a hand on my heart, feeling as though I'm actually going to combust, and then say, "Mason. I've never felt this awful in my life. I've never felt as though a piece of my heart had been ripped out. It hurts. That's all I can say and all I can think. Mason, I need you. Please answer me.".

I send the voicemail and then toss my phone on the bed as I hear a sob. Then I head over to my closet and pull all my clothes out. I take the suitcase that I only unpacked a month ago and throw all my clothes into it. After I have enough clothes, I head over to the floor. I pick up my laptop, take its charger off the outlet, and throw those into my backpack.

My vision blurs from all of the tears, and as I try to do things, I'm moving so fast that I'm not comprehending anything. I'm moving so fast that I run into a few things on the way. I hold my bruised knee as I pick up my phone again. My mom had just texted me when I was coming, and I replied back to her shaky hands. My flight would be in three hours, which meant that I had to wait for a long time.

I hated that the earliest flight back home was in a couple of hours. I open my phone again and go into my call with Mason again. "Mason, I need to tell you something. It's something that could easily hurt me. My dad, oh, Mason, my dad, is dead. He died. Can you explain that? Dead. Why? Why me? Why did my father have to go? He was the sweetest person to me. Je was a part of my heart, and now that he is gone, he took that part with him. I'm left here with a broken heart, and Mason, oh baby, it hurts so bad."

I feel myself falling to the floor again, but I cannot help myself. I'm shouting out loud. I'm screaming at the world for making me grieve so hard. I'm screaming at the world for choosing me. I didn't want this. I just wanted to hug my dad again. I would do anything to have his mother around me. I would do anything to have him tell me he loved me. I would do something to hear him say how he would stay with me forever.

But he was gone. He was gone, and there was nothing that could save him.

"Mason," I say into the phone, feeling the phone shake in my hand. "Mason, can you not hear me? I'm shouting in my room. I think that everyone can hear me, but my grievance is so strong that I don't even care about others right now. Everyone can hear me but you. Why aren't you calling me back?"

I have another hard sob, one that makes me actually want to jump out of my chest. "Mason," I say into the phone with a broken voice. "I need you. You promised to be there for me. You told me that even though you asked for time, you would call me back as soon as you got a message from me. I haven't been selfish enough to push your wishes, but I am.

"Mason, we are talking about my dad," I say. "You bonded with him. He loved you so much, and I know you did as well. I'm sorry to tell you this on the phone. I'm sorry to be calling you left and right, but Mase, I need you. Can you hear me? I need you. Please come to me."

I sit up on my wobbly legs and feel myself sniffle as I pull the phone down. Then I dial the number again, and then when I am sent to voicemail, I say, "Mason. You aren't answering me. You must be busy. I understand that. I'm going home. Meet me there, please, baby."

Then I hang up the phone and shove it in my hoddie pocket. Even though all I want to do is curl up in a ball on my bed, I take my stuff and head out of my dorm room. I pass by a lot of people who are just leaving their classes, but I don't stop. I can't stop. I needed to get home to my family.

I needed to go see how they were doing. I needed to be there for them. I needed to help them, and maybe we could all grieve together.

I needed my boyfriend to come and help me through it. I knew that my family couldn't help me with my pain, with theirs being so strong as well. I knew that I would need the comfort of my boyfriend. He was the only one that I could actually breathe correctly around.