HIDDEN (Hide Or Die)

Chapter 24

ALBERT'S P.O.V.

The day eventually arrived. The day I yearned and prayed, for so many agonizing nights I spent on the cold and lonely streets of Bluefield. The day that life remembered it was high time it also brought me a little measure of happiness to erase slightly the constant pain and sorrow my heart and body were made to endure. I was finally free! Finally offered the chance to say goodbye to my cursed little town and every little fraction of memory that was found within, for good. Nothing was ever going to bring me back, I would never allow it.

Two days had gone by since Matthew and I discussed letting him accompany me to California. And true to his word, Matthew made every necessary arrangement for the journey without asking a dime off me. I wasn't comfortable letting him take care of everything but truth be told, I had no choice in the matter, I was worse than broke; except I did refuse his help and decide to stay back but let's face it, that wasn't an option to even think of.

When Matthew told his parents about his decision to travel with me for a few days, they didn't even seem surprised or object to the fact that their only child wanted to leave with a weird kid to someplace they had absolutely no idea about. Instead, for some very strange reason, they looked extremely delighted by it.

I stood at the entrance of the airport, shifting from one foot to the other, unconsciously tapping my fingers on my thighs and nervously chewing away the nails from the other hand.

My hands visibly shook, my entire body trembled as I watched Matthew bid farewell to his family's driver. I tried my hardest to control the emotions that were rapidly taking over me but like the other times I found myself in such a situation, there was simply no use in trying. The phobia I had for flying was quickly overtaking my whole system and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.

Thankfully Matthew didn't seem to notice my fidgeting and near-mental breakdown; he suggested I go take a seat while he went in search of a magazine, he said, boring magazines enabled him to sleep while flying before he dashed off.

I forcefully pushed myself through the front doors, sat down on the first seat I could find, and buried my head in-between my thighs. Flying had never been something I liked doing, no matter how many times I did do it. It was always very frightening, each time worse than the last; but Strangely, for someone who had nothing else to lose in life, I didn't think I would feel this way again.

I remember the last time I flew with my family, I could still recall mum's face, how extremely excited she looked that day; her baby brother was finally getting married; little did she know she was going for a gay wedding. I finally understood when we got there, why uncle Vincent never gave mum any heads up about his wedding. Anyway, dad held my hand, and mum sweetly rubbed my back throughout that journey. Their collective effort on that trip drove away the panic attack. That had always been my fondest memory of them but not anymore. I tried not to think about it because, anytime I did, I always turned out a crying mess. It now stood as a constant reminder that I was completely left alone to face my fears, that there was no more dad or mum to help fight away the monsters, that it was high time I finally grew up.

******

The mere thought of humiliating myself in front of Matthew and every other person on that plane frightened me to no end. I knew things were about to get worse; I had half the mind to turn around and just run away, there was no stopping the inevitable at this point, Matthew's dislike for me was going to soon resurface in full force once we got on board that aircraft, it was a complete certainty.

A coin suddenly landed on my lap and I quickly sat straight. I looked up and was greeted by Matthew's smiley face.

“A penny for your thoughts?” he asked as he quietly sat down beside me. I shook my head,