Trying Hard to Ignore You

"If somebody murdered him one minute from now, I would be happy."

We sit in silence.
One minute feels like an hour.
After fifteen minutes, he picks up his radio.
"Marley, I need you to turn flight 762 around, bring them back to the airport, and load the gate with Air Marshals."
"Now?" She asks.
"Yes! Right now! And do not tell the passengers!"
"Yes sir."
He turns around in his chair.
"It's going to be okay you guys. She's on her way back. It's going to be okay."
"I'll believe you when she's in my arms." I say.
"Understood." He stands up. "You're a good man in a storm, Spencer."

***

Sitting at that gate was the hardest thing I've had to do.
I had to sit there and wait.
Air Marshals sat and waited, and police officers dressed in every day clothes.
After almost five hours, a plane rolls into the gate.
"Okay. This is Audrey's plane. Nobody make many movements. Nobody get up until you see her, okay?"
We all nod.
My heart is pounding in my ears.
I have no idea what is going to happen
People know there's a missing girl on the plane and they're all sitting around to see what's going to happen.
My hands are in fists so tight, my knuckles are white.
People start filing off the plane.
"Spencer, nod your head once when you see Audrey, okay?" The lead officer says. I nod.
The police officers and Air Marshals and everyone are tense.
We all are.
I pray that we turned the correct flight around.
Everyone files off, and after almost a minute, Ashton walks off.
He's holding Audrey's hand.
I see her eyes searching around.
Ashton says something to her.
Everyone is staring at me, waiting for me to nod.
But I don't.
I can't.
In seconds, I'm on my feet. My vision is red around the edges and I have never in my life been as angry as I am right now.
The Air Marshals and police officers stand up.
I reach my girlfriend and bitch ass Ashton in four strides.
I grab the back of his shirt. He lets go of Audrey's hand, whipping around.
I swing with every single ounce of strength I have in my body.
My fist connects with his face, and he slumps to the ground, unconscious.
His jaw is contorted in a weird way. I think I broke it, and he has a cut by his eye.
I look at Audrey.
"Bloody hell!" She says. "You knocked him out with one punch!"
She's smiling.
"Jules." I say, strained. I reach out, gently touching her face. "My beautiful Juliet."
I feel like I could cry as I reach out, pulling her into my arms. I pick her up off the ground, hugging her, hard. Her legs are around my waist, her arms around my neck.
I stand there, my eyes squeezed shut, holding my girl in my arms.
After a while, I set her down in front of me, sniffling. I'm sure my eyes are red.
"You're safe now."
"Spencer." The lead officer says behind me. "That was not a nod."
I swallow.
He looks down at Ashton.
"Too bad he's still breathing." He looks at Audrey. "Are you okay, Audrey?"
"I'm okay." She says.
"Can you tell me everything?"
So she explains how they broke up and everything.
He writes in his notepad for a while while she talks, and then he puts it away when she's done, and he hugs her.
"I'm glad you're okay. Don't worry, this case won't even go to court. There's no lawyer good enough that can fight textual evidence, and any judge would snort at this case. He's going to jail, and I'll make sure he gets with the worst people possible, and I'll make sure he goes for life."
"Thank you." She says.
"You're a smart, resourceful girl." He says. "And you have a very good boyfriend."
"Yes I do." She says, smiling at me.
Her hand in mine isn't enough, so I put my arm around her and pull her closer.

Audrey

I was okay until I got back to his parents house.
Everyone was talking and we went to get food and back to the house and I showered and now we're just sitting around, and I'm scared.
I thought he was going to rape and kill me, and then go after Spencer.
"You know," Spencer starts. "If he came in here with a gun, Jax would have attacked him."
He's probably right.
Everyone is talking and I stop, and I'm just silent, staring at my hands.
I cheated on Spencer. I kissed Ashton and that means that I cheated on Spencer.
I feel sick. My chest feels heavy and I feel like I'm going to explode with tears.
Silently, I get up and rush outside, and start running down the street.