Bear Heart (Book 2)

Chapter 27

27. Arrival

KENAI URSUS

We had arrived at the Ronald Reagan airport in Washington. It took a little over three hours of long silences and strangely awkward conversations before we finally got here. I don’t know what exactly made what was meant to be a heartfelt reunion turn so bitter between us. As soon as we got off the plane, we headed towards one of the kiosks, where I asked the woman there where I could purchase another ticket. After she pointed me in the right direction, Clair excused herself to use the restroom. I told her where I would be, and with a small nod she had left.

It took quite a few minutes to explain to the man who I was supposed to buy my tickets from what my situation was. He didn’t seem to understand what I was trying to do, so I had to explain what I wanted about three times before he finally understood and gave me a round trip ticket. Surprisingly, Clair wasn’t back yet. I stood in the middle of the airport, wondering what to do with myself. I guess then would have been a good time to call my parents and tell them where the hell I was. Taking out my phone and dialing my mom’s number, my heart began to quicken its pace in my chest. I was very aware of what I had done. There was no doubt about it, I was going to be in a world of trouble.

“Kenai?!” She answered after about three rings. “Hi, Mom,” I said a little nervously, my voice sounding a bit dry.

“Where are you?! We woke up and you were gone! You could have told us that you were going out.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I swear. I was just in a rush.”

“It’s alright, I guess. Where did you go off to? And who are you with?”

“Well, I’m with Clair.”

“Where with Clair?”

I stayed silent. I was scared to answer.

“Kenai? I said, where are you?”

“Uhm… You’re not going to like this.”

“Kenai. Answer me.”

“It’s actually a pretty long story, and kind of funny if—”

“Kenai. I’m going to ask one more time. Where. Are. You.”

“I’m… I’m in Washington.”

This time, she stayed silent.

“Please tell me that’s a street or a store or something.”

“N-No, Mom… As in, Washington the state…”

“What on Earth are you going in Washington?! How did you even get there?!”

“Like I said, it’s a really long story and I don’t know if—”

“Start talking, Kenai.”

“Alright, fine. Look, Clair is flying to New York right now. It’s kind of personal, so all I’m going to say is that she has to testify in court. And she’s going alone. I’m not okay with that. I didn’t even know she was leaving until this morning. As soon as I found out, I followed her without even thinking. So now, we’re both on our way to New York. We’re just waiting for the next flight, since there was no direct flight from Alaska.”

“I… I can’t even begin to… I don’t know what to tell you. Oh wait, yes I do. You are coming back on the next flight to Anchorage!”

“But Mom—”

“How did you even get to the airport?! Better yet, how did you pay for the flight?!”

“The credit card Dad gave me. I went on my motorcycle.”