You and I : A Merome Love Story

Chapter 10

I check my phone for what seems like the fifth time in the last minute. Where the hell is Mitch? He was supposed to pick me up at the airport 20 minutes ago, but he hasn't gotten here yet. I know he didn't forget about me, because he texted me not that long ago, saying he was on his way to pick me up.

It's been an hour and a half since I landed in Montreal from New Jersey. After I had hung up from that Skype call with Mitch, I found a direct flight to Montreal that left at 7:15pm. I bought the ticket, boarded the plane and before I knew it, I was back in Montreal at 3:47am. I like Montreal, they have good maple syrup. And poutine.

I continue to glance around the empty airport lobby. I guess everyone else has already been picked up, except for me. Mitch should be here soon, though. Then again, I've been telling myself that for the past 15 minutes.

My phone buzzes, making me jump. I look down at the lit screen, and see a new text message from Mitch.

"I see u."

I jerk my head up, scanning around the room for Mitch. After a few seconds, I see him walking towards me from the front entrance of the airport. I get up and run in his direction, leaving my suitcase behind. Once I reach him, I hug him around his waist and he throws his arms around my neck.

"I'm so happy to see you." Mitch whispers into my ear.

"Me too, buddy." I reply. I can feel him smile.

"Now, Let me see your wrists." I whisper, making sure that if anybody passes by they won't hear us. Mitch releases from the hug and widens his eyes at me in a shocked expression.

"Ummm.... I'm good." He says as he begins to walk towards my suitcase. I immediately chase after him.

"What? No, show me." I pull his arm back towards me. He rolls his eyes as he turns to face me.

"It's fine. They're healing, I swear." He struggles, trying to escape my grasp, but isn't successful.

"I'm not leaving until you show me."

"Fine, I'll show you, just not here."

He rolls his eyes again as I release him.

"Just follow me." He says.

He leads me through the airport, hallway after hallway, until we reach an elevator. He clicks the button and once the elevator comes, we enter and he clicks 'basement'. I don't dare question where he's taking me. Once the elevator squeaks to a halt, we exit and Mitch walks down another series of hallways, deeper into the basement of the airport.

"Mitch, why are we going so far? It's not like anybody's gonna see us. We haven't passed by anyone this whole time we've been walking." I whine. Suddenly, he stops, holding his arms out, and I bump into him.

"This works." He mutters, backing up against the wall of the narrow hallway. Lifting up the sleeves of his shirt, he winces at the pain. I glance around, just to make sure no one is approaching. Once I turn back to face Mitch, his sleeves are up and he's staring at his wrists. I can't help but stare at them too. They look the same as they did a few hours ago on Skype, but a lot more real. It's just sad thinking that my best friend would believe that he didn't have anybody to talk to about stuff like this. Mitch looks up at me and notices that I'm staring at his arms and quickly pulls his sleeves down over his deep cuts, ignoring the pain it's causing him once again. He begins to walk hastily down the hallway in the direction we just came from. He's always been a fast walker.

I rapidly follow him back down the series of hallways and into the elevator, as Mitch clicks the "Level 1" button. He presses his shoulder against one side of the elevator as if to stay as far away from me as he possibly can, crossing his arms in the process. I lean against the other wall of the elevator without saying a word, knowing that he doesn't want to talk right now. Once we reach the first level, Mitch speed-walks out and darts towards the front entrance of the airport as I grab my suitcase and trail after him. Once he reaches his car, he opens the trunk and hops into the driver's seat, waiting for me to catch up. The moment I do, I see his body shift to face the other way. I roll my eyes, placing my suitcase in the trunk, shutting the hatch and entering the vehicle on the passenger's side. I cross my arms on my chest and look out the passenger's window without saying another word.