Paper Planes Back Home

ARRIVAL . FOUR

"I've already called Gianna's parents in Seoul. They'll be here in a day or two."

Aaron only watches while Ricky places the bouquet he brought on the bedside table and proceeds to take the seat beside Gianna's bed. He nods to acknowledge his words, but none of them really register in his head. All he could take in is the image of Ricky holding Gianna's hand in his, kissing it tenderly afterward. He studies the man's body language; Aaron's good at that. Gianna isn't exactly the type of person who would say how she feels when he asked, but he was able to tell once he'd deciphered the words her actions convey.

Calm. Collected. Not even an ounce of nervous energy emanates from this man in front of him, and Aaron marvels at that. How is it even possible to be this composed when the woman you're about to marry has slipped into a coma?

"What happened, Aaron?"

Three seconds later, he realizes Ricky uttered his name. "I'm sorry?"

"Have you been here since the first day? You look like you need some rest, man."

Aaron mumbles an everyday lie: "I'm fine."

(In his head, he continues with a litany:

"The woman I love is unconscious on that bed, and I get by every single second without any assurance that she's ever going to wake up again. She's there because of me, but you will never know that...because we have a secret we still need to protect, and because I am ashamed of what I've done. I'm sorry. I have prayed like never before in my life. I have gone so far as to bargain with God...

"Just let her live, please...Let her live, and I will let her go. I'll let her go to you. The thought alone kills me, but I don't think I'd survive a world without her in it.")

"I'll take over for you today."

"No."

Again, he belatedly grasps the fact that Ricky wasn't requesting to take over. He is telling him so.

Ricky leaves his seat and takes his coat off. He leaves it draped over the armrest of the couch where Aaron is seated. As he loosens his tie, he sees the untouched bag of food Aaron brought in with him. "You should eat, man. And then go home and get some rest."

There was no use hanging around, Aaron decides, now that Ricky is here. He runs a hand through his hair, nods, and gets up from the couch.

"I'll call you," Ricky tells him. "I won't be here tomorrow. I have a prior engagement in Seattle, and I can't cancel it, unfortunately. I'll be back Friday."

Fuck you. I'll cancel everything if it meant being by G's side. Especially now. What if she's not— Aaron holds that thought. No. That's not going to happen. He turns to go, and it's then that Ricky's phone rings.

"Hello? Yeah, no...it's fine. What's up?"

Aaron stops by the door and glances at Ricky, who has paced toward the window. "No, of course I'll be there. I'm at the hospital right now, but I'll be able to make it. Don't cancel anything. It's going to be bad form."

* * *

Gianna tells herself she's probably only inside some kind of dream, because how is all this possible, really? Meeting someone on a cloud and being taught how to build a ride from paper planes that are actually a physical manifestation of your loved ones' thoughts is something she could've only seen in movies or read in books.

But she remembers the moments leading up to the crash—the phone call, Aaron taking his frustration out at her while she tried to calm him down. She remembers the strength of the impact, remembers feeling confused that no airbag cushions her at all while it seemed the world spun around her.