And You Let Her √

Part One

Authors Note:

Rewritten.

***

With my bag hanging off my shoulder and my arms crossed and resting against my chest, I stared at my reflection through the airport window; which overlooked the tarmac and large international planes. I smiled to myself at the thought that I would be boarding one of those planes soon. I would finally be getting away from my past, allowing this town to be nothing more than just a distant memory. I turned away from the giant window and follow the sea of people to an unoccupied seat near a deserted coffee shop, the strong smell of coffee hitting me as I got closer to my destination.

My eyes wandered vacantly around my surroundings. My gaze jumping from person to person. I watched the emotions that covered each of their faces, intrigued by the story that appeared behind every emotion. A lady, who I assumed to be in her early sixties, held onto her son in a tight embrace. She pulled back and her pale hand grasped his, her face full of sadness, tears filling her eyes which threatened to spill. To her right was a young family, whom I assume were going on their first family vacation, the smile on the tallest child face gave it away. She kept swaying back and forth on the heels of her feet, her eager eyes meeting the screen of the television attached to the north wall, which informed all travelers of the time of departures, every ten seconds.

 But what made me let out a small gasp and stumble to my feet was the tall, dark headed man walking towards me. His determined, but familiar eyes meeting my own, and I knew in that moment my past had caught up with me.

I knew that I should have been looking for an escape route, a place where I could have run to. But I couldn't, I was rooted to my spot. I felt paralyzed. I could feel my anxiety starting to build up inside me, starting in my stomach and slowly creeping its way up to into my chest. I felt like I was eight years old again, lost in the big supermarket, desperately looking for someone like my mum to save me. I needed her with me, now. I needed her support before the walls I had built so high came crumbling down. I took in a slow, deep breath whilst I tried and keep my anxieties down.

In and out.

In and out.

I turned to face my past.

My head slowly lifted up, taking in all the details of his features, comparing the old images of him in my head to what I saw now. He had changed significantly since the summer of 2008, the boy with chicken wings for arms, the boy who cringed at the idea of playing sports, the boy who would rather read a book, then go outside; that boy I grew up with was not the man standing in front of me. He had grown into his body. He was at least a head taller and was still as handsome as ever.

"Hello, Lottie," he said pleasantly, his deep voice awakening me from my train of thoughts,

"Mitchel?" I asked, faking recognition.

"The one and only," he answered with a smirk. I let my head drop and I looked down at my fingers, picking at my pearl coloured nails, trying to figure out a polite way to ask him 'why he was here,' "You okay Lottie, you seem a bit out of it".

I frowned, my brow furrowed at his words. Why does he get to pretend that he cares?

"No, I'm fine." I replied. "But what are you doing here? Why are you here, in this airport, Mitch?" I could feel my cheeks pinking at the words that had just escaped. Pure embarrassment rushed through me. I wanted to smack myself in the face, why couldn't I think before I speak?

"I'm off to see Maddie's family" Mitch answered coldly, the smile on his transforming into a frown. I could feel my heart freeze at the sound of her name. I was shocked at his tone, but hearing her name, it brought back rough memories of my ex-best friend.

"Sorry Lottie that came out harsher than I meant it to," He must have seen the hurt flash through my eyes. He always did say that my eyes were a gateway to my emotions. He once knew me better than I knew myself. "Where are you off too?' he asked, his arms motioning towards the airport we were in.

"I – it's fine." I stuttered. "I- I'm, uh- I'm actually moving to London." Shock and disbelief covered his face. I could tell he thought that I must have lost my mind. The once shy, stubborn, timid girl he once loved would never have dared dreamed of doing something crazy like this, but then again, I'm not that girl anymore. I haven't been 'her' for a while now.

"London! Are you crazy? What about your mum and dad? What about Anna? Why in the world would you leave them? It would kill them" Oh my god, he doesn't know. My stomach began to turn. How does he not know? Why hasn't Maddie told him? Oh my god why hasn't she told him, my family was like his adopted family. She was there at the funeral. How could she not have told him? Oh God, I feel sick. She didn't even have the decency to even tell him, what a bitch.

I took a slow, deep breath and closed my eyes. I let my head drop, my caramel hair hung as a curtain, shielding the tears that I try to hold back.

"You.." I took another deep breath, "y– you don't know?" My voice mumbled by the hand that had risen to my mouth, trying to hold back a sob.

He stood up."Know what?" He asked timidly. He looked torn, torn between curiosity and the fear of the answer he was going to receive. I looked out the window watching his confused face through the reflection. I thought back to that day, back in late July nearly two years ago, where the stupid drunk driver missed his red light and drove straight into our car, where my life changed dramatically for the worse.

"Mitch" I said gently, raising my hand to rest it on his, "Mitch they are dead."

Authors note:

Cover made by me.

Thank you for reading. Do let me know what you think.