Return to Me (h.s)

Chapter 1

"You'll call won't you?" My mom cried into my shoulder.

"Mom, of course, we'll be together again before we know it. I'll call all the time." I said trying to hold it together.

I needed to be strong, but inside I was fighting a storm of nervous and fearful tears, willing them to wait until I was alone. I'll miss my mom, but I needed her to know I supported her and her choice to travel and help people around the world in her nursing career.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn't let her turn down because of me. So we decided i'd visit my dad in London, with his new wife and her son. And that's where i'd spend my senior year. I hadn't seen my father in years and we had minimal communication other then the usual happy birthday call if that.

"Please be safe honey, and come back home to me in one piece. I love you baby." She said while wiping away her tears.

"I love you too mom." I smiled to try and calm her nerves.

The final call for my plane to London sounded through the speakers and I gave my mom one last hug goodbye before walking to my designated line.

I boarded the plane and searched for my seat. I looked around and found #64. There was a young man sitting next to my seat and he looked to be about 19. He had light brown eyes and dark brown almost black hair. He looked pretty tall and very well built. He lifted his head from the book he was reading and smiled at me. I felt heat rise to my cheeks and I looked down. He's definitely very handsome.

After struggling to get by without falling on the poor guy I got into my seat by the window. I started taking deep breaths to try and calm myself down. I'd never been on a plane before and was hoping to keep it that way.

"Are you all right?" I heard a voice ask.

I turned my head and saw the young man looking at me sympathetically.

"Just nervous about the flight." And about seeing my dad for the first time in years. I added silently in my head.

"It's a long flight, but I think we'll live,"He said laughing ,"I'm Jake." He added with a smile.

"I hope so, and I'm Leah, Leah Stone." I said smiling back.

"So why are you headed to London?" He asked

"Visiting my father to finish my last year of high school. And you?" I responded

"I'm actually going to be attending college in London." He said

"Well that's wonderful." I said

"Leaving your boyfriend back in the states?" He asked cheekily.

I immediately started coughing on the water I was drinking. That's the first time someone's brought up River in weeks.

"Oh my, are you okay. Did I say something wrong?" He said while patting my back.

"No, no i'm fine." I replied trying to gain composure. "And no,I uh just got out of a relationship."

"That's a shame." He replied solemnly.

I nodded. Even though i knew it wasn't a shame, breaking up with River was one of the best choices of my life. River had cheated with my best friend Brenda. And I hated him and her for it. Call me bitter, but what they did tore me apart. I was depressed for weeks. I'm just done with guys who use girls.

"What about you? Have a girlfriend your meeting up with in London?" I tried to spark a conversation

"Nope. I'm single and ready to mingle." He said with a wink.

I started blushing and smiling while looking down at my hands.

"So how old are you beautiful?" He asked me

"I'm 17. How old are you?" I said trying to hide my blush

"I'm 19." He said smiling goofily

I asked him about his family and he told me he had a little sister. I could tell by the way he spoke about her that he absolutely adored her. I told him about my mom and how much I missed her already. The rest of the flight was a blur of clouds and pointless conversations until we fell asleep.

I awoke to the sound of the flight attendant telling us we'd be landing shortly.

I looked over at Jake and he smiled at me.

"We lived." He said laughing

I smiled, "Yeah we did"

"I don't want our friendship to end here.. Do you uh think I can have your number?" He asked nervously

"Of course." I said grinning.

As we got up we exchanged phones and I typed in my number.

We walked off the plane and collected our luggage, then it was time to part ways.

"Bye, Leah. I'll stay in touch & Call me sometime. Maybe we can hang out" he said and hugged me so my face was directly into his chest due to the height difference. I couldn't help but smell the amazing scent of his clothes. Then he leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"Bye Jake. I'll call& I'd love to hang out" I said with a huge surprised grin. We waved goodbye and walked in opposite directions.

I looked around the crowded airport searching for my dad. I looked around for about 15 minutes and then called him. Twice with no answer.

Call it what you will fate or destiny, but by some off chance I bumped into the only person I knew in London. Jake.

"Leah! What the hell are you still doing here?" He said smiling

"Jake oh my gosh. I'm so glad I ran into you! Can I catch a ride with you by any chance? I practically begged. Because if he said no I was screwed.

"Yeah sure don't stress. My rides outside." He replied

His hand was on the small of my back leading me outside while I trudged my suitcases along.

When we got into the car, the taxi he'd arranged for, asked for my address and then typed it into his GPS.

"Lucky for you it's only 15 minutes away." he said while grinning and I let out a sigh of relief.

He drove for a bit and turned a few corners and then parked in front of my new home.

"Thanks so much again I don't know what I would've done without you.." I said whilst getting out of the car and reaching for some cash to hand to the driver.

"Don't even think about it " Jake laughed as he moved my hand away. "Letting me take you out will be more than enough to repay me"

"I'll think about it." I said and laughed back with him.

"Please do, & I hope you have a lovely evening." He said and waved goodbye.

I waved back and watched the taxi drive into the distance. Then turned around and was faced with something I was dreading to do all day. I walked up the steps to my dad's large house and rang the door bell.

Home sweet home