23. Forget Me
That Saturday morning, Beau was taken to the airport by his family. There was an atmosphere of excitement, intermingled with a sadness to see him go so far away from home. They were all there to see him leave; his dad, his step-mom Victoria, his step-sister Ashley, Jai, Gina, and Luke. Along with them were his friends from school. James, Daniel, and Lilliam were there to say goodbye. He would be leaving for a full year and his dad had hopes that Beau would ultimately decide to stay in England instead of returning to Australia.
He hugged his brothers, and his friends goodbye, some of them with tears in their eyes. Beau himself was finding it hard to keep the hot tears that burned his green eyes at bay. Luke wanted his brother to stay, but he would say nothing of it, at least not for the time being. He was still upset at him for leaving the house to stay with their dad. When their brother Jai had left home, deciding to live with their dad, both Luke and Beau had vowed they would never leave their mother alone. It seemed like Beau had forgotten about that promise, and it made Luke resent him for it. He still resented Jai for having left home too.
When it came to Gina, she hugged him tight and wouldn't let go. Her tears were staining his button down navy blue shirt and Beau didn't complain. He wanted to feel his mother's embrace for the last time. His arms found their way around their slender frame and he pulled her closer, more than they were already close. The next time he would be seeing her again would be in an entire year and he would really miss her.
When Gina finally let him go, Beau went over to his dad. His dad had been discretely watching Gina the entire time they were at the airport. It was evident that he still missed her, but his elite way of life would not allow him to get back with the love of his life. Victoria had seemed to notice his attention was on Gina and she was constantly trying to hold her husband's hand and trying to kiss him. With a proud smile on his face, Michael pulled his eldest son in for a hug. "You're doing the right thing, son." He said to Beau. Beside him Victoria smiled as well, but hers were other reasons. Victoria only grudgingly accepted Jai. She wanted her husband's money all for herself and her daughter Ashley. Now that Beau was coming into the picture, she wanted nothing more than to get rid of him. Sending him off to England for a year was a good enough start for her.
Michael gave Beau some final instructions to follow through upon arriving in England and Beau nodded in understanding. He didn't want to let his dad down now that he had been given this opportunity, but he also didn't want to let his Annie down.
They spent the remainder of the time waiting for his flight to be announced and making casual conversation. Every now and then, Beau's green eyes would wander around the crowded terminal. People buzzed around all over the place. None of them were his Annie and he was losing hope that she would even show up.
Even though he had refused her plea to stay in Australia, he thought she would come say goodbye ot him.
Beside him in the waiting chairs was Luke to his left, and next to Luke was his girlfriend Lilliam. Beau knew Lilliam and Annie were best friends. They were always together when he met them at the school that was next to Locke #7. He turned in his chair to face them and asked the girl with dyed red hair, "Hey Lilly, do you know if Annie's coming?"
He hoped he would get a positive answer from her. But instead, the answer was negative. His brother's girlfriend shook her head. "I don't know. She didn't say anything to me about it."
Beau held his head down, upset that he wouldn't get to see Annie before leaving.
From the chairs across where Beau was sitting, his father said to him with an encouraging smile, "Maybe its for the best that she didn't come." He told his son. He had liked the fact that an elite like Annie Walker had been dating his son. But he had also seen the way she was sometimes embarrassed to be seen with him because he was a delinquent boy. Despite him being an elite, he cared for his son and didn't want him to suffer over a girl who might have not even been entirely serious about him to begin with. "Spending the year in England will be good for you. You'll meet all kinds of interesting people, and perhaps you can find a nice English girl you can get married and settle down with."
That was Michael's Smith's hope after all.
Contradicting what his father had just said, Luke told his brother, "You need to reconsider, Beau. You shouldn't have to change anything about yourself to get a girl." Slipping his hand into Lilliam's own, he reminded Beau, "Lilliam accepted me the way I was."
"Sky told me the same thing when we talked the other day." Beau admitted to Luke. "But I know she's different. She loves me, but she needs me to show her I can change."
In an attempt to make light of the situation, Jai added jokingly, "Stay. I don't want to be left alone in a house with them." He gestured to his step sister Ashley and his step mother Victoria. He had been trying to lighten the mood after Luke and his dad's contrasting opinions had made the atmosphere tense. But Luke had always been like that, and so was their dad. They always said what they thought about something, even if they disagreed with someone else. They were so much alike in a few aspects of their personality that they often clashed with each other, and both always refused to be the one to give in.
The group of family and friends waited some more time in the waiting area until Beau's flight was finally announced. He got up from his chair and waved a last goodbye to his family. Before he woulc walk away, Gina went to hug him again. "Call me as soon as you get to England." She pleaded, her eyes watering up once again.
"I will, mum." Beau chuckled a bit sadly.
From over his mother's shoulder, he saw something that caught his attention. A young woman with blonde hair was sat near the back of the terminal. People blocked her from view as they passed in front of her. But he recognized her from the very instance he saw her there.
Her head was down and her shoulders slumped. She had still not yet noticed that he had seen her.
Beau pulled away from his mother and took off in a direction opposite towards the doors where he would wait to board the plane.
He was running to his Annie.
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rather short, but this is part one of the finale. so i hope you all like it. the very last part will be posted in a couple of minutes. thank you all for the support you have given me and this story. it really means alot. i hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
and make sure you check out my other stories (if you want to) ^.^
-clary xx
