erik menendez // if you love me..don't let go

chapter nine

The cool, crisp, fall air immediately hit me like a brick once I stepped outside of the car. I shivered. I was about-facing the car, trying to find which entry way would be best to go through at the airport, when I felt a pair of large, rough hands on my shoulder. I instantly whipped around and so much fear went through my body when Jose's bold eyes met mine.

"You cold?" He asked as he roughly rubbed his hands up and down my arm. 

I yanked myself away, giving him a dirty look. "No." I muttered. Mentally, I flipped him off. I wish I could do so in real life.

It seemed like Jose was trying to distract me from that happening because he then said, "Well guys, lets go find attendant. They help us get to plane." He fake smiled and clapped his hands together, in an attempt to warm up the cold air that everyone now stood around with luggages in hand.

"Hey, you!" Jose shouted at a nearby worker carrying those large crates where you can put your suitcases in. The worker rushed over, looking nervous. Same. "Take these to gate A35."

"Uh, sir, I'm sorry but you need to get through security first." He stammered, keeping his head low.

Jose got very irritated very quickly. His face crinkled. It was not a good look. "Then...then what are you doing here?" He spat. Me, Erik and Dad all exchanged uneasy glances, feeling very awkward. Did he have to put on a whole display?

We all decided to start a conversation between ourselves as Jose and the worker got into a pretty heated argument. Well, Jose was arguing, the worker was just almost pissing his pants. Eventually, Kitty made her way into the argument after plenty of random accusations Jose made towards her.

Finally, the argument came to an end, and he filled the cart with our stuff. But I felt so guilty leaving the worker there feeling so defeated. He didn't deserve what he got, and I mouthed a sorry to him and smiled as he turned to leave with our cart.

***

Of course we got first class. I would've been fine with regular old economy seats, but Jose never does anything regular. But it is a six hour flight after all. I'd rather be comfortable than rotting away in a tight, confined seat. Especially if I had to sit next to Jose.

I didn't really understand, but we got a private part of the plane for just our two families. There were three rows with two seats on either side of the aisle. So twelve seats in total, which I think was good so we could all be separated. The tension between all of the adults were actually quite killing me and Erik. They were acting so immature, like elementary schoolers who just fought over who gets to be the line leader or something. And they were horrible at getting rid of a grudge. Well, not Dad, but definitely Erik's dad.

I chose a window seat at the very back of the section, wanting to be as far away as possible from the others. I guess Erik was thinking the same thing, because he sat in the other window seat across the aisle.

"Hey." He said, loud enough for me to hear him, but quiet enough so the adults couldn't hear us.

"Hi." I replied. I let myself get lost into him as he so carefully got himself settled in. He already grabbed his necessities out of his bag and set them up around his chair. His book, water, a snack, and his walkman. Erik then placed his bag under the seat in front of him and put his seatbelt on. I couldn't help but laugh at that, he was so adorable.

"What?" He looked up at me and bit back a smile.

"Nothing." I shook my head. "You just want to be extra safe, I get it!" I teased him and giggled more.

"Sorry." Erik joked, rolling his eyes. He sat back in his chair and pulled out his walkman, giving me one more side eye before turning it on. I held back a grin.

I tried to sleep the whole plane ride, wanting a good nights rest for the time were going to be spending in New York. But sometimes I would jerk awake. I would hear Jose start to yell something, but I wasn't sure who at. Probably Dad, Kitty, the flight attendants. Maybe even the pilot and co-pilot, if that was possible. 

Erik always seemed to notice when I would wake up and hear the noises. I would look over in his direction and see him staring at me. His eyebrows would be furrowed and it would look like he was studying me. He would then see that I "caught" him and quickly turning away. And then I would go back to sleep.

The fourth time this happened, we were about a half way through the flight. All I needed was just three hours of pure, heavy sleep. No noises, no distractions. Just sleep. 

"Scarlett?" Erik had leaned over his seat, whispering to me.

"Yes, Erik?" I murmured, still slightly asleep.

I think his goal was to see that I was awake, because when he realized I was, he got up out of his seat and started moved.

"What're you doing?" I groaned.

He didn't say anything. He just sat in the seat next to me. I looked up at him with a perplexed face, but he didn't seem to notice me or my confusion. Instead, he was solely focused on the arm rest that separated us. Before I knew it, there was no barrier between us, and I could easily crawl over to him. Obviously, I couldn't just do that, he would think I was some creep. But I really just needed to be comfortable.

It was like Erik knew what I was thinking, because then he quietly muttered, "May I?" His lips were brushing my hair as he spoke. My body tensed. I nodded my head. The tension soon slipped always as he wrapped an arm over my shoulder and brought me closer to him. The gap was gone and our bodies were pressed against each other. "Goodnight." He soothed me. I folded my legs up and tucked my head into the nook of his neck. His head rested onto my head as he mindlessly rubbed circles on my arm. It didn't feel rough like Jose's, it felt comfortable. I was finally able to get that rest, knowing that I was safe in Erik's arms.