Leading Her from the Darkness

CHAPTER 2

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PRESENT TENSE

After a very long, drawn out goodbye from my parents and my sister, I grab my bags and head inside the airport for baggage check. My dad always insists that arriving 2 hours before boarding is mandatory.

"You don't want to chance it, bud." I hear his voice ringing in my head.

However, it's 5:00 AM on a Tuesday with no big upcoming holiday. And this is the Indianapolis Airport, which is famously known for being one of the most organized and easy airports to maneuver in the country. There are no trains, only a couple entrances and two, count them, two concourses. A and B. Easy. This is coming from someone who has gotten lost in almost every airport I've ever been in.

The shops aren't even open yet. Only two cafes and the bar which I'm sure has highly overpriced alcohol and is accompanied by very judgmental stares if I even dared to sit and order a drink this early in the morning. I opt for heading over to the small café and order a large coffee and an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. I may as well get Lily's since I can bet everything I own, that she is running late as per her usual track record.

I head back over to gate B6 and set down my carry-on bag in the seat I have claimed for my ever so tardy friend and practically inhale my breakfast sandwich. I obsessively check my watch, seeing that there's only one group left to board ahead of us. I wait for what seems like an eternity, but I'm sure in all actuality was only just about 5 minutes. While I watch almost all of our flight's passengers go through the line to board onto the plane, I hear a familiar high-pitched shriek off in the distance.

"Austyn! Wait for me! I'm here," Lily calls after me.

My head whips around at the noise and my eyebrows shoot up as I watch her scramble towards me in a panic, nearly face planting in the middle of the airport after catching her left foot on her other foot and then immediately after tripping over someone's suitcase; using a little boy who just so happens to be the unlucky bystander in her direct line of fire to break her dramatic fall.

"Bitch, you are a mess. Way to wait till the last possible minute to make it to our terminal. Group 9 boards next," I roll my eyes, laughing at her sweat that is accumulating on her forehead and her heavy panting, as she tries to catch her breath.

She pulls her disheveled blonde hair into a messy bun as it is now starting to stick to her face and neck. Her big blue eyes are full of terror after her near catastrophe of a fall. She doesn't even acknowledge the kid she shoved to the ground.

"Let me guess. Your dad dropped you off at the airport insanely early, to make sure you didn't miss your 7:00am flight? No one is here! What did you do for the remaining hour and 45 minutes after checking your bags and going through security, hmm?" She hums while straightening out her shirt that was previously riding up her slender torso.

"First off...you're right about my dad. He worries. Second, you just tripped over yourself, someone else's suitcase and body slammed a little boy to the ground right in front of our terminal. All of which were within a matter of seconds of each other. All because you showed up here obnoxiously late. And third... I got you a coffee and a breakfast sandwich because I knew you wouldn't have enough time, what with that grand entrance and all." I smile at her cheekily, knowing damn well that she knows's I'm right.

She ignores my snide remarks and throws her arms around me, wrapping me in a strangling hug. "Awe Benny! I knew you loved me." She claps excitedly as she bounces up and down on the balls of her feet before reaching out her tiny hands to receive her goodies.