Still Here

The flight from Florence was delayed forty minutes. To Naomi Adler it felt like a sign.

Not a bad sign. Just a sign that the universe had a sense of humor, it was toying with her; after two and a half years of planning this exact moment, it was going to make her sit in a plastic airport chair and sit on her own nerves for a little longer.

She pulled her knees to her chest and watched as the departure board flickered, it was haunting her-truly.

Florence to Miami. Delayed. 9:45 PM.

"Okay," she whispered to herself, maybe a bit too loud judging by the few people who turned their heads. "Okay. You can do this."

She was saying that a lot lately.

The thing about growing up with Kaiden Mercer was that it had never felt like a choice. It felt like... she didn't know how to describe it; other than something that just was, fundamental and constant, like the kind of thing that you only noticed when it's already gone.