The Road Gets Tough (Synyster Gates Series: Book 2)

Mid-Air Apologies

I had to write and update, I can't stop! Lol. 

Jackie's POV

The turbulence shook the plane as we flew from New York to Los Angeles. I tightened my grip on the armrest, praying nothing horrible would happen. 

Occasionally, the captain would come on the speaker and say everything was going to be fine. But I feared the worst. All I wanted to do was get off the plane before I had a heart attack, or even a panic attack in mid air. 

My brother sat beside me, mirroring my movements of looking out the window to my side. He was becoming a bit annoying so I slowly turned my head, giving him the idea that I wanted him to stop. He shot me a smile, "Imagine this plane just goes down? Mayday, mayday, we're going down." He said, making sound effects of the plane exploding. 

"Why are you even speaking? You always think the worst case scenario is funny. But when it's your turn to experience it, it won't be so funny to you, asshole." I spat, rolling my eyes. 

He smacked his lips together as the stewardesses came to our row, "Would you like any more wine or gelati? Dinner is coming up shortly and the cook is preparing his top of the line Chicken Alfredo." 

"No we're good, but I'll come up on that dinner offer. I'm starving. Maybe I'll have some more wine and your number?" Randy asked the flight attendant who began to blush. It made me sick. 

"What kind of wine can I get you?" She bit on her lip, pulling out a wine menu. "We have a special today on white wine. It's aged beautifully." She said in a seducing tone. 

"Is it called Clorox bleach? Because I'm sure he'd enjoy it." I sneered at her. 

She giggled, pushing her cart up the aisle, "I'll be back with the wine selection." 

"Randy," My mom called from the seat behind us. He turned around, giving her his attention, "Do you mind if I have a quick talk with your sister?" 

He pushed himself out of the seat, exchanging spots with my mom. I didn't want to speak to her or even look at her, let alone sit next to her. I kept my gaze out the window, looking down at the land from above. 

My mom made herself comfortable beside me, scaring the shit out of me when she placed her hand on my hand. It was ice cold...  Like her soul.

"Jackie... Can we speak please?" She asked in a sweet decieving tone. 

I turned to her and nodded, "I guess. I'm gonna be stuck here for another hour. Might as well talk right?" 

She let a soft frown tug at her lips, "If you want to Jacqueline. You don't have to. I could let your brother sit here for the rest of the flight scaring you, or I can sit here quietly. It's up to you." 

Just having the thought that my brother would come back and bug me, made me incredibly thankful that my mom wanted to talk to me. "The stage is your's mother." I released a sigh. 

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." I shifted my eyes in her direction and slowly turned to her.  Was I hearing correctly? "I'm not the best parent in the whole world. That's a fact. But somethings have been happening and it's made me realize a lot of things and I'm sorry." She lowered her voice, "I went to Los Angeles a week and a half ago to give Gena her dress... I saw her put it on and when she turned around to ask how she looked, I lost it." 

"Why?" 

She gave a faint shrug, "Her facial expression was gold compared to the one you had when we tried on your dress. She actually looked happy... You didn't. I- The only reason why I wanted you to be with Jesse and to marry him was because I wanted you to have a good future with a man. Money wise." She said, her voice full of shame. 

"That's why you forced me to marry him?" 

"Yes," She nodded, looking away, "I honestly didn't think Brian was financially stable. I mean, you can't blame me, he's a rockstar. They have a bad reputation..." 

"He's a musician," I corrected her, "Who has got a degree in guitar. He can go far with that."

She was quick to bite back, "I didn't know that. I was so wrapped up in planning your wedding and remodeling the condo that I didn't  have a chance to sit down and look at everything that was happening. I was selfish and I'm sorry. If Brian makes you happy, then I'm going to be there supporting you. I'm putting my pride aside for the moment. This isn't about me anymore. It stops here. It's about your happiness." 

I felt a bit relieved she was apologizing, but something seemed fishy. "Why all of a sudden? Why does it even matter?" 

"It just came to me. The older you get, the more you realize that you're not getting any younger. My days are numbered, just like your's. I just want us to be okay. I want you to be happy and if it's with Brian, then so be it." She did seem sincere about things. 

"I appreciate it mom... But Brian and I are no longer together, so you pretty much apologized for nothing." 

She smiled and took my hand in her's. It was warm now and I was starting to think her heart's warming up to me. "I don't think it's quite over between you and Brian. He told me he says hey and if God perm-"

My heart was racing. It was either the elevation or the fact that Brian told me hello, but it was beating pretty damn fast. "You spoke to Brian?" 

"When I went to Los Angeles. I apologized to him. We're friends now." 

"Oh please say you're kidding. Was he rude? What else did he say?" I asked, talking oh-so quickly. 

"He wasn't rude. He eventually accepted my apology and said he'll see me at the wedding. Then he told me to tell you hi. I don't think he's lost hope in you two yet. Specially if he still has your name tattooed on his fingers." She smirked. My mom didn't know he had the English version of my name on a part of his body. She only knew I had his. "Don't think I'm stupid, hunny. I was a teen once. And I gave you your name. Obviously, I'll know what hope means, right?" 

I smiled, "We did a good job of keeping it a secret though." 

"I'll give you that much credit." She threw her arm around me and hugged me. I hadn't gotten a hug from my mom in ages. It felt amazing. It was so comforting. "I love you Jackie. I'm sorry." 

"I love you too mom. I forgive you." It was an emotional moment and my eyes so badly wanted to cry. But I couldn't let her see me cry. 

My mom chose to go back to her original seat before the plane landed. I was forced to sit with Randy for a whole hour, hearing him speak about tires getting stuck on the runway and the plane going up in smoke. I was scared to say the least and I wished my mom would've just stood there with me. I eventually tuned him out when I fell asleep and woke up to a bumpy landing. 

We went straight to the hotel and stood in a suite. It was nice, near the beach. You could actually see the sun setting in the horizon from our balcony. It was a beautiful view. 

Upon the time to go to sleep, I received a call that made me extremely happy. Marlene called and asked if I would go over tomorrow. I said yes, due to the fact that I needed to get away from Brian for at least another day to think of what I'd say. My mom and dad didn't mind. They'd just tell the Bakers that I was still jet lagged. 

I'd only hoped that things would've been like this from the beginning.