Time Is Nothing (John Frusciante)

Chapter 19

"Okay, honey. Take care, yeah? Call me as soon as you get home in Los Angeles," Cecilia's dad hugged her even tighter than he did only a few seconds ago, smiling at his daughter after she was finished with her check-in.

"I will, I promise," Cecilia nodded and smiled, then picked up her hand luggage bag and got ready to head towards the gates.

"Hopefully we'll see each other soon. In a couple of months perhaps?" Matt grabbed his daughter into his embrace once again, having a hard time accepting the fact that the two and a half months he had spent with his daughter were finally coming to an end.

"I think so too," Cecilia nodded again and laughed, "I really have to get going now, dad. Granny Esther will take care of you when I'm gone."

"Not as good as you, but I guess I'll have to settle," he chuckled, "But anyway, you are right. Get going now, I don't want you to miss your flight."

"See you in a couple of months, papa. Bye," Cecilia smiled at her father as she waved him a final goodbye and reached her gate, providing the flight attendant her ticket and passport.

Everything in order, she moved on into the airplane and took her seat, about to leave the idyllic comfort zone that was her childhood home and return to the reality that was Los Angeles. She still felt conflicted over whether she actually wanted to go back and even more conflicted over the exhibition of her work that she was really returning for. Regardless of literally everybody telling her that it was an excellent idea and that her work deserved to be introduced to the greater public, Cecilia herself highly doubted that.

Of course, she understood how great of a career opportunity it was, but she still had no idea how all of this would or even should work out. Her ex-boyfriend that in Cecilia's mind wanted no affiliation with her whatsoever, was still one of the main subjects of this whole project. During the entire month that she had tried to mentally prepare herself for going back to LA, she had tried to avoid thinking about him. She had no idea how John felt about this exhibition and even as Anthony told her that she had nothing to worry about and once again, everybody in the band were all for it and super excited, she couldn't help but to wonder if that meant John as well. She still hadn't forgotten about the way he stared at her or the way he spoke to her, so the idea of him caring about anything considering her just wasn't something Cecilia allowed herself to believe.

And the fact that her returning to Los Angeles happened to coincide with the Red Hot Chili Peppers finishing their tour in Europe and also coming back home didn't help either. During the entire plane ride Cecilia could feel her anxiety kick in and take over. She knew she couldn't get away from John's shadow no matter what she did or where she went, considering the fact that her best friend dated his bandmate, who also happened to be one of both of their best friends. The possibility of running into him just about anywhere or as little as only hearing something about him absolutely terrified her. What would she say or how would she react? The less she knew about him the easier her life was, yet she couldn't deny the fact that she was almost dying to know what he was up to.

And overall, Cecilia wasn't even sure what she was planning on doing once the exhibition was ready. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to stay in Los Angeles after that. She had grown to appreciate her tiny childhood hometown during the couple of months she had stayed there even more than she did before. She loved how remote it was from all of the issues tormenting her, how calm it was compared to LA. Of course, she would miss Jessica and her family and she had no idea what she would be doing over there, but she was sure she could find herself something of her interest.

Cecilia spent all of her time on the airplane so zoned out in analyzing every aspect of her life that she hadn't even noticed how quickly the time had passed. Soon enough, they were set to land in Los Angeles and she would have to accept whatever it was expecting her there. The weather was sunny, a light breeze welcoming her as soon as she exited the airport — the type of weather she loved the most. She successfully found herself a cab and started her ride back to her tiny apartment, actually excited in a way. She had feared that once she landed she would be struck with an even bigger wave of anxiety, but to her surprise, she felt calm and unbothered. While riding through the city, she did feel like she had arrived back home. She hadn't realized it in Oklahoma, but she had missed Los Angeles. A lot more than she had expected.