The Smell of Lilies

Chapter 7

Kel counted the remaining money she had in her pocket from Brandon. He had given her what was in his wallet just before they got to Desmauld's, just in case she wanted something when he wasn't there. She had forty-three dollars. She was sure it could take her to the O'Hare Airport.

Her four boxes were still in Brandon's truck. It didn't matter to her much anyway, there was not much of importance except her clothes and wallet. Her wallet she could do without for now, maybe. If she could manage to get onto the plane, everything would be fine. Although, a new pair of pants and underwear did sound good to her, she knew she would be in California with her sister who had agreed to pick her up there within eight hours. She could manage. She'd been through worse. 

Kel looked out the bus window and watched people go by, bundled up and focused on getting to their destination. Most of them had cold, blank faces on. When she and her sister were young they used to people watch together. They'd make up scenarios and life stories for some of them. So that's what she did on her bus ride to the O'Hare. She made up stories and pretended Leila was there with her. Eventually she made up her own story. She thought about what her life would have been like if her parents were alive - something she had done countless times. She pictured them. Her mother would look like her, with big eyes and brown hair. Her father would be tall with a chin that jutted out. She pictured them together on holidays, sitting together in a family room. She pictured what Christmas would look like as a family. She pictured her and her sister growing up and their parents grew older. Leila and she would get married, have a family. There parents at the wedding next to them. 

Kel had never known what the bond of a family was capable of. Of course, she had felt love from her host parents, more or less, but she always wanted to experience a family. Something she could call her own. She wanted a mother to turn to when she was sad, a father for protection. Her whole life was spent protecting Leila, making sure she was alright under every condition. 

Kel remembered back to when she first met Craig, how much he said he adored her. She wanted that. So she fell into it, and fell hard. She landed flat on her face with that one.

Her fantasies were interrupted by the white stuff floating in the air. She squinted her eyes to see better and saw that it was snowing. Snowing! She had never seen snow before. A faint smile touched her lips as she watched. It was falling everywhere. She couldn't deny how beautiful it was. 

So she sat and watched. Snow, she thought, it's a good distraction.

~~~

Brandon went home. After walking for about ten or fifteen minutes in the direction she had taken, without any luck, he concluded that maybe he should just let her be. He'd already done enough damage.

As he drove, he chewed on the inside of his cheek. It was nervous habit. When he was little he broke the 'no running with scissors' rule and fell, slicing his cheek straight through. He had gotten stitches and tried to chew them out. The habit stuck throughout the years. 

He tried to listen to the radio, but the synthetic pop crap just got on his nerves so he shut it off. It reminded him of Kel's good taste in music from when he first met her. She liked Zeppelin. So did he, he just barely let onto it. 

When he got home he cleaned. He changed the sheets on his bed, tossed the old ones in the hamper. He did laundry and dishes. He even vacuumed. The truth was that he was just trying to get his mind off Kel. Because he was worrying. He hated himself for what he said to her. Why did he say that? Why did he have to be such a jerk? What made him so bitter? He knew what, he just didn't like admitting it. 

But she was gone. Poof, like magic. In an instant he lost her. But it shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? So what they went to high school together? It was one little year. She needed help, and he just so turned out to be her knight in shining armor for the night. Now it's over. She had a flight to catch in a couple hours. She would go back to California and everything would be back to normal. He would be back to normal...searching for a permanent job. Probably try out one of those anger management things, at his friend Blake's suggestion. He remembered what he said a couple weeks ago, when they went to a Bull's game. 

"Smile, man, c'mon. You were never this pissed off," he'd said.

"Sorry to disappoint," Brandon replied.

Blake smirked and sighed. "You're not a disappointment. You're just mean." He meant it as a joke, but Brandon saw it differently. Blake was right. Brandon was mean. He hardly smiled anymore. 

And then he met Kel. He recalled how many times she had said he was 'nice'. It came as a bit of a shock to him. Ever since Heidie ditched him last minute, he had more of a reason to hate the world. 

When there was nothing else to do, he decided to just hit the sack. It was early. Almost ten o'clock. Kel would be on her plane and almost home. So there, nothing to worry about. Tomorrow he had a shift at the book store. Life would go on, and so should he.

~~~

A ringing noise. It was muffled and distant, but it was there.

Brandon groaned as he stretched out on his bed. It was dark cold. Had he forgotten to turn up the heat? Probably. He rolled over when he heard the ring again. His cell phone. 

He stumbled up to his feet reached for it just as the last ring finished. The white light stung his eyes but he managed to see that he had three missed calls and two messages. It was from a random number. 

"...Brandon, it's me Kel...stuck here...terminal alone...snowed in...sorry to bother you so late...if you get this message I'm just...sorry again..." was all he could make out.

Oh God.

From what he could decipher, the plane didn't board. He went to his window and looked out expecting to see the usual street and benches and street lights. But all that was there was white. Nothing but white and wind. He threw her into a blizzard, with nothing more than a hoody and a scarf.

"God damnit," he cursed. He listened to the other message as he got his hoody, scarf and boots. 

"It's me again...bother you...really cold...I'm...McDonald's outside the airport...probably sleeping..." and that was it. 

He was out the door and on the road in seconds.