Catch Me If I Fall

So this is goodbye

1 week later:

It was the day after graduation and the night before Brodie left. With so much happening all at once, no one had been able to process the fact that they had graduated from secondary school, especially not Adelaide. The last week and a half had been very emotional and she felt like everything in her life was changing and falling apart right before her very eyes. She hadn't spoken to Brodie properly since they broke up. They had the odd small conversation in school but mainly tried to avoid each other. She didn't want to talk or think about him. It was the only way she felt she could handle the break up.

Adelaide sat on her bed, in her pajamas with a hot water bottle.  She just wanted to focus on herself for once. She was typing away on her laptop when she got a Skype call from Oscar. She hovered her finger over the answer button and hesitated before she clicked accept. An image of Oscar popped up on her computer. He was sitting in a familiar background, Adelaide couldn't put her finger on where though.
"Hey"
"Hi Oscar" she said with a sigh. Oscar gave her a weak smile.
"How are you?" He asked.
"Fine, where are you?" She quizzed, quickly dismissing his question. He gave her a look as if to say "please don't avoid my question."
"You know, and I'm not saying this to upset you!" Oscar started. She held her breath waiting for him to finish his sentence.
"Brodie is leaving tomorrow evening.."
"Yes. Oscar. I know" she snapped.
Oscar hung his head low, unsure of what to say.
"It's just. Your going to let him leave? Without saying goodbye?"
"Oscar..." she then realized, just as Oscar turned his head that the familiar background was Brodie's living room.
"Are you in Brodie's?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.
"No"
"You are!" Adelaide hung up the call and shut her laptop down furiously. She flung herself back, her head resting on the pillows. Had Brodie asked him to call her? Was he listening to the call? With anger bubbling up inside her she took out her earphones from her bedside cabinet and connected them to her phone. She turned down the lights, ready to slip out from reality and into a dreamlike state that was only achievable by listening to music. She shuffled her playlist waiting for it to play but felt a pang of sadness as "Let's hurt tonight" by OneRepublic played. Brodie's favorite song.

"Do you want to go out later?" Adelaide's dad asked from the kitchen of his new apartment.
"No, I'd rather just stay in and watch a movie dad." She called back.
Adelaide's dad wandered into the living room and sat on the sofa next to her. He sighed before turning to her and placing his hand on her back.
"You seem really distracted today." He looked concerned.
"Great observation" she replied sarcastically. Her father furrowed his eyebrows leaning back into the couch.
"What's wrong?"
Adelaide sighed. She had briefed her dad on her and Brodie's break up a few days ago but didn't go into too much detail.
"Brodie's going back to Australia tonight." He sighed, nodding his head. She hesitated,
"I just don't really know what to do." Her dad sat there for a moment before saying,
"What do you want to do?"

Adelaide thought about it for a second. She didn't actually know what she wanted to do. She had considered speaking to Brodie before he left but it was all so awkward. Eventually she thought she would just write and send him a letter. Seeing the confusion on his daughters face, he spoke up.
"Have you thought about speaking to him, calling him? Before he goes?"
"Well. I don't know. I guess it's bad of me if I don't give him a proper goodbye."
"I think if you just let him leave, you might regret it."
She hesitated, thinking about everything that happened in the past few days.
"I don't think I have much to say to him anyways."
Her dad rested his hands on his knees and shook his head, laughing to himself.
"Your just like me you know Adelaide." Adelaide turned to face her dad.
"You avoid confrontational situations" he said throwing his hands up sarcastically.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" She asked angrily.
"You feel like you don't have anything to say to him, right? But yet, you're also telling me how you feel like you should say goodbye."
She sat there listening.
"You know what I regret the most about your mum and my relationship?" She rolled her eyes.
"Not telling her how I felt, ignoring confrontational situations so that I wouldn't have to deal with all my emotions." He admitted. Adelaide hung her head low, taking in her dad words. She thought about the last time she spoke to Brodie, it was the night of the graduation and he had given her a kiss on the cheek when they had all received their certificates.
"Well his flight is in a few hours anyway, he's probably at the airport so I can't do anything now." She said sadly.
"It's never too late!" He said standing up, he ran into the kitchen. Adelaide waited on the sofa for him to come back but instead heard the jangling of keys. In confusion she walked into the hall.
"We're going to the airport" he said holding his keys and wallet.

In the car Adelaide thought about every possible scenario that could come out of going to see Brodie. She wasn't keen on having to run through the airport all the way up to his gate, she had been able to look up his flight online.
"Wait, Dad. How am I going to get to his gate? They won't let me through security." She panicked.
"I work at the airport!" He replied trying to calm her down.
"Yeh, as an engineer!"
"That doesn't mean I can't get us through certain parts of the airport." He smiled. He drove around a back entrance that Adelaide recognized.
"Oh my god, we always used to drive down here whenever we were going on holidays! You'd park the car there" she pointed to an indent in the road that allowed a few cars to park there. He laughed at her remembering it.
"I used to love our family holidays, just me, you and mum."
The atmosphere became quite solemn. Her father pulled the car into the side of the road. Adelaide looked at the building. It looked old and the paint on the walls was chipped and peeling off. A certain section on the wall had been graffitied in bright paint. In between the graffiti, there was a grey door. He handed her a pass, instructing her to go through the door of the building. Adelaide hopped out of the car and was about to close the door when her father leaned over the seat.
"Good luck"

She smiled and ran through the mysterious door holding the pass tightly in her hand incase anyone questioned her. To her surprise she realized the door had led her to a point just beyond duty free. Signs were up everywhere pointing in the direction of the gates. Gate 24, Adelaide was looking for gate 24. She squinted trying to see which way she had to go. Suddenly an announcement over the intercom filled the airport.
"Flight 321 to Australia is now boarding. Flight 321. Please make your way to gate 24."
Adelaide's heart started racing. She had made it this far, there was no way she could just let him leave. She sprinted down the long corridor glancing at all the signs as she ran by. Her neck tensed as she continued to run down past all the gates, getting a glimpse from the corners of her eyes of everyone who was boarding their flights. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead and her heartbeat quickened with every step. Gate 24 was right infront of her. She felt weak as she realized she couldn't see anyone there. Had they boarded already?
A coffee stand blocked her view and she limped past it, out of breath from running. She turned the corner.

"Brodie!"
He was just about to walk through the passport control point. He spun around after hearing his name and looked straight at Adelaide. His expression went from confusion to shock. She stood there waiting to see what he would do. He smiled and stepped out of line, letting everyone else go ahead. His father narrowed his eyes as he watched his son put down his bags and walk over to her. He stopped just a few feet away from Adelaide. His smile grew wider and she walked over to him before pulling him into her arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his hand on the small of her back.
"I couldn't let you go without saying goodbye." She whispered, pulling him in tighter.
He burrowed his head into her neck.
"I'm glad you came" he said, looking back at her smiling. They pulled away from each other. But Brodie took her hand in his.
"You know, I haven't been able to process the fact that you actually leaving, still! It took running through the entire airport to realize that...... your moving back home" she held his hand up to her heart.
"Yeh. I can't quite believe it either." He looked down before looking back into Adelaide's eyes. She could never quite get over how blue his eyes were.
"I'm sorry about how things ended" he said sadly. She shushed him and smirked.
"It doesn't matter anymore."

"All passengers boarding flight 321 to Australia, please make your way to gate 24 immediately."
Brodie looked over to the passport check point, where his mum, dad and the stewardess were impatiently waiting. He looked back to Adelaide, then back to his parents. She placed her hand on his cheek,
"It's ok. Go!" She reassured him, her eyes filling with tears. He rested his head into her hand.
"I've never met someone quite like you." He said smirking. They both laughed and gave each other one last hug.
"I'll miss you" she admitted.
"I'll miss you so unbelievably much!" He sniffed, trying to hold back tears.
He pulled away and walked backwards over to the gate, not taking his eyes off Adelaide for one single second. She smiled and waved at him as he got his passport checked, a tear ran down her cheek.
"Text me when you get there!" She called out, he smirked and nodded, indicating he would. "Goodbye" he mouthed, his bright blue eyes were bloodshot and misty. He looked at her as he walked through the gate but walked straight into the pole and hit his head, stumbling backwards. Adelaide gasped before bursting into laughter and Brodie laughed at himself.

They glanced at each other one last time before he disappeared beyond the wall. She gripped her arm for comfort and turned away, walking slowly back through the airport.