Face Your Fears

Chapter 28

John F. Kennedy airport was crawling with people of all sorts and sizes, dragging along their luggage, bumping into other weary travelers as they rushed for their destinations.

I stood in the middle of the concourse, attempting to block out the loud noises buzzing around me as my mother and my three little sisters all stared at me apprehensively.

"Archer, I still don't understand what's going on," Mom finally said, biting her lip. "Why do we need to go to Palermo? And better yet, where on earth did you get the money to buy four international plane tickets?"

 All of these questions were valid. I wanted nothing more than to tell Mom why I was literally forcing her and my sisters out of the country, but that would only put them in even more danger than they already were.

 I had no way of knowing what was coming for me at Havoc's hands. I'd only met the man twice, and I got the impression that he never acted in the same way twice. After what he did to Lauren...it was obvious he had the capacity to do truly awful things. And if I could protect my loved ones from that, even in the smallest form, then I was going to jump at the chance.

How many others had made the same sacrifice before me? 

"Mom. Look." I pulled her to the side, away from the girls, who were squabbling over the ticket with the window seat. "I know this is going to be difficult to understand, but I need you to trust me, okay? And it doesn't matter where I got the tickets. You and the girls just need to be on that plane in an hour." 

 "Trust you? Archer, I don't even..." Mom took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut. I said a silent prayer that she wouldn't start crying. If Mom started crying, I knew I wouldn't be able to force her onto the plane and just leave her.

I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tightly, not knowing what else to do. I was afraid and almost unwilliing to let her go, because I had to face the fact that I may never get to see my mother again, but when she made some sort of noise of protest, I took a step back.

"Sorry."

"Archer..." Mom reached out to place a hand against the side of my face. "You act like you're saying goodbye."

"No," I disagreed, remembering what I'd thought the last time I had seen Hadley. "Not goodbye. Just a see you later."

"Okay," Mom said, nodding, rubbing at her cheeks. "Okay. Just...just be careful. I want to see you again soon." 

 "Soon," I said, attempting a smile. "Of course."

"Girls!" Mom turned back to April, May and June, who were still squabbling with one another. "Girls, let's go! We've got a plane to catch."

 The girls crowded around me to say goodbye, and I hugged them all as tightly as I could before they started protesting.

"Stay out of trouble, all right?" I told the three of them quietly while Mom was distracted with her bag. "And look after Mom."

 "Don't be such a baby, Archer," April said with a scoff. "Of course we'll look after Mom."

"Good. I'll see you all really soon, then."

"Will do, brosky," June said, slapping me on the back. "Watch your back, all right?"

If only, I thought with an eye roll. 

The girls started ushering Mom towards the security line, complaining about not wanting to miss the flight. Mom turned to give me one last lingering look, gave a small smile and then slipped into the security line, quickly disappearing from sight.