What We Lost | Fillie

Chapter Seventeen: Calm Before the Storm

Finn sits in his seat for his 7:30 p.m. flight from LAX to St. Louis and immediately puts his headphones on, blasting the Beatles into his anxious head.
   
    Help! I need somebody
    Help! Not just anybody
    Help! You know I need someone. . .

The young actor looks around the first class cabin with steady apprehension. He hasn't seen Millie at all while going through security or at the gate and he knows she's on this flight too.

Where is she? He wonders, before noticing people starting to recognize him as they board. It's beginning to cause a roadblock at the front of the plane so he puts his sunglasses on and his hood up to try and camouflage himself as best he can.

Twenty minutes go by and all passengers seem to be on the plane. The stragglers are running on one by one every couple of minutes, but still no Millie.

     Here comes the sun do-do-do-do
     Here comes the sun and I say. . .
     It's all right.

He feels a slight jarring as the airplane door vacuums shut and starts to think that Millie must have gotten a different flight. That is until he sees a slightly disheveled version of his ex-girlfriend huffing her way down the aisle like she's just sprinted a mile to get here. They must have closed the door just after letting her on.

She stops at his row, looks at the seat number, then to him and a look of horror spreads across her face as she realizes who she'll be seated next to for the next three and a half hours. It is by no means a long flight, but Finn guesses that any amount of time that Millie is forced to spend within ten feet of him is far too much for her.

He is just as surprised as she is to learn who his seat partner is for this flight, although he realizes that he should have known where Millie would be sitting considering all of the other seats in first class have been full since he sat down. Nevertheless, he's taken aback.

"Uh, hey." He greets her timidly, quickly removing his headphones and sunglasses, cutting off the Beatles after the third repetition of sun, sun, sun, here it comes.

She massages her forehead as she mumbles profanities under her breath then plops down into her seat, hugging her purse like it's the only thing bringing her any comfort.

Finn's spirits take a sharp tumble but he reminds himself that he's known what he's getting himself into. This reaction isn't surprising.

"I can try to get another seat." He offers, knowing she probably won't make him do it but he feels the need to show his willingness to appease her.

She whips her head around, "What? Why would you do that?"

His eyes pop open, "Uh, I th—I thought you wouldn't want to sit with me considering. . . everything."

"No, no— it's fine, really." she assures him. "It's just been a long day and I'm so bloody tired." She grumbles, covering her face with her hands then sighs, allowing her hands to fall to her lap, "Don't get me wrong, I was surprised to see you in the seat next to mine, but there's no need to. . . move seats." She gives him a modest smile then sits back to address the stewardess who has been awkwardly waiting to offer her the initial in-flight service for first-class passengers which she politely declines in favor of a nap.

Finn slides his sunglasses back on to try and hide his wandering eyes that keep landing on his ex-girlfriend. Plus, a nap does sound kind of nice and the extra dimming is helpful.

Millie falls asleep almost immediately after they pull back from the gate. She leans her head on her hand that is propped up by her elbow on the armrest that separates her from Finn. Every few seconds, he looks down at her, afraid that he'll see her eyes glaring back at him but is repeatedly surprised by the soft, calm features of her sleeping face.