Last Flight Home [completed]

✈ xv.

[ LOCAL TIME 13:52 ]

"Stay awake, Sabrina"

My eyes flutter to the sound of my name, and when they open I see Nathan's bright emerald green eyes staring into mine. For some reason, there's a different element that fills them now. It's not the sadness and misunderstanding and partial anger that flooded them before, but mostly hope mixed with a little fright.

Past Nathan, I see the elevators parted and a small, thin ray of light comes between the doors. As the firefighters pry at the metal that encloses the elevator space, Nathan wraps his arm around my cold body and keeps telling me to stay awake, but I don't remember not being awake. That's probably part of my problem.

The doors budge a little further and a face appears through the light.

"Are either of you hurt?" The guy says, extending his hand.

"Not me, just Sabrina," Nathan starts, shaking me awake and managing to get me to my feet. "She's lightheaded and loss consciousness a few times before, but nothing longer than a few seconds. She also has a large cut on her arm. I tried to stop the bleeding but it won't stop."

The next few minutes come in a blur. At some point, the firefighters get the doors open and they retrieve the two of us out quickly. As soon as my body touches the cold airport floor, I feel a sudden rush of happiness and relief, mostly because I was starting to think I was going to spend the rest of my life in that elevator. Then, a paramedic wraps my arm up and asks me if I want to go to the hospital, but I refuse.

"You should really go," Nathan says as he slips his fingers into mine from where he sits beside me. "That's going to need stitches, and maybe if you're nice they'll get you in and out so you can make your flight in time."

I sit up and take the one of the two candy bars the firefighters retrieved for Nathan and I. When I feel enough strength return to my body, I offer Nathan a smile and try to think through the decision I've been avoiding since I arrived this morning and realized I booked the wrong flight on a holiday weekend.

With me stuck in my thoughts and then Nathan running off to one of the information boards, I try to think through what I'm going to do. As it stands right now, I'm still booked to get on a plane to Boston and then pay for another flight to New York City, which will put me home tomorrow afternoon. However, if I wait until tomorrow night to board a flight and stay in San Fransisco until then, I can save a little money and still be able to buy my family Christmas presents. But then again, they don't really mean anything if I miss the whole holiday and remain miserable as I waste it in the airport.

Nathan comes back with a huge smile on my face, which worries me because the last time I saw that smile he put a stupid video of me having a mental breakdown on his Snapchat story before we lost cell phone service inside the elevator.

"I have good news," He starts, offering me a hand to help me stand on my feet. "Our flight has been delayed until 7:00, so we can get you to the hospital right now and then get you back here and then on the flight and head to Boston."

When I don't respond right away, I see the smile fade straight off of Nathan's face and it literally breaks my heart.

"You're not going to Boston with me, are you?"

[- ✈ -]