Rookie in Love [SYTYCW 2013]

Rookie in Love [Chapter Fifteen]

Chapter Fifteen

            Abby tried to get me out of my room for days.  She climbed in bed with me and begged for me to tell her what happened.  I’m embarrassed and so hurt that I just let her hold me as I cry.  Kyle came and sat with us sometimes; he perched precariously on the edge as if a bomb would detonate if he made himself comfortable. 

            Today is different.  I crawl out of bed and into the shower.  Greg is coming home today and is expecting me to pick him up at the airport.  I want to imagine him walking through the airport and into my arms finally relieving this pain, but I know it is not his homecoming that will end this ache.  Jackson also comes home today.

            I haven’t spoken with Jackson since before I made that fateful trip up to his apartment.  He has tried to call so many times but I don’t want to hear his voice.  The text messages would be heartbreaking if I thought they were true.  He says he loves me and he asks me over and over why I am running.  His last text plays over and over as I get ready.

            Jackson:  I won’t give up, Rookie.  I love you and I will love you every day for the rest of my life.  Stop running.

 

            I pack a small bag and throw it in my trunk before heading to the airport.  I have decided to stay with Greg for a few days so that Jackson can’t find me.  I need time away to get my head on straight and let my heart stop hurting.  A few days ago the news that Greg was coming home a few days early would have been devastating, but right now I look forward to being with my best friend again.  Maybe with time romantic love will grow from our friendship.

            The airport is crowded as always and I make a few laps in the silence of my car, rethinking every moment that got me here.  Ben and Greg were right: my time is up and it has cost me so dearly.  In a short time I have loved, lost, and learned about a choice my mother made long before I was ever born. 

            Greg texts that he is walking out of the airport so I make my way to his terminal and pull in behind a large white van.  I watch the sliding glass doors open and a group of men walk out and begin filing into the van.  When I think that not one more person could fit in the van, I see Jackson walk through the doors and head to the van.  I have never seen him look so terrible.  He is not smiling and his eyes are sunken in with such sadness it takes my breath away. 

            As if he could feel my presence, he turns his head in my direction and makes eye contact with me.  I can hear the blood pounding in my ears as I watch him start to make his way over to me.  Before he can take three steps, Greg startles me as he opens the back door and throws his bag in.  He opens the passenger door and climbs in, leaning over and giving me a kiss. 

            Jackson stops dead in his tracks and watches me as I pull away from the curb.  Just like that, the weeks we have spent together are gone and my life is right back where it was before I met him.  Only now, instead of defiance and helplessness, I feel devastated and hopeless.  I had a taste of what love could be and I know that no amount of time is going to wash that down.

            Greg is talking about all the work he has done over the past few weeks and I can tell he is nervous.  When he reaches over and holds my hand I let him.  With a smile, he squeezes my hand.  “I’ve missed you, Madeline.  I am so happy to be back.”

            “It’s good to have you home, Greg.”  We don’t push it past that and just sit in silence until we get to his apartment.   Greg grabs his bag and I open the trunk and take mine out also.  When Greg sees the small bag he looks nervous but reaches out to take it from me.