How to Stay Afloat

~19: Where She Goes for a Drive~

What is he doing?

His hands tugged at my seatbelt as he tightened it further and in the process, his fingers accidentally brushed against the strip of exposed skin above the waistband of my jeans. His head snapped up and his gaze collided with mine. We both froze. We were so close that I could feel his hot breath on my neck, warming my skin.

My eyes followed the movement of his throat as he swallowed.

My toes curled and a foreign ache started to build deep inside me.

Then suddenly Archer shook his head and blinked rapidly as if he were coming out of a trance.

"Sorry," His voice was gravelly when he spoke, "I had to make sure your seatbelt was properly fastened." His gaze suddenly turned serious. "Do you trust me?" He asked softly.

I nodded.

Because it was the truth. I did trust him.

He gave me a wink.

The automatic windows came down slowly. Archer pressed his foot against the accelerator as he revved the engine. The car started moving, at a normal speed at first, and then suddenly his hand closed around the gear as he pushed it forward.

An involuntary scream left my lips as the car surged forward.

Archer's feet pressed the accelerator harder making the car speed up further and for a moment it felt like we were flying.

All I could hear was the roar of the engine and the wind whipping through my hair. A crazed laugh escaped my lips as we drove at full speed on the empty runway, the stars shone above us.

I extended my arm out of the window, my fingers danced through the air.

My heart was thudding wildly in my chest.

It was exhilarating.

I felt invincible.

Free

My eyes widened when I spotted the end of the runway nearing. Archer didn't slow down, I watched as his hand worked the steering wheel. He turned the car rapidly making a sharp turn without breaking momentum.

He did this again and again. Circling the entire runway without slowing down.

And then just as quickly as it had started the car slowed down before stopping completely.

My heart was still beating rapidly. My breaths came out in short gasps.

"I'm sorry, was that too much? This usually makes me feel better whenever I feel frustrated but-"

"Again." I cut him off. I was pretty sure my eyes were dancing from excitement.

His tense shoulders suddenly relaxed.

He gave me a lazy smile before putting the car into reverse gear.

~~**~~

We sat on the hood of the car as we gazed at the sky.

The heat from the engine seeped into my clothes, warming me against the chilly winter air.

"You brought me to an abandoned airport," I murmured.

"Hmm?" He answered absentmindedly, clearly lost in his own thoughts.

My shoulders shook as I laughed.

His shoulder nudged mine. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." I said between chuckles, "Just that  my parents had died in a plane crash and you  brought me to an abandoned airport on their death anniversary."

The color seemed to drain from his face and he looked absolutely horrified with himself.

The look on his face made me laugh even harder.

"Fallon, fuck- I swear I didn't know. I didn't mean to." His eyes moved over my face wildly, his hands clutching at his hair in desperation.

I finally wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes and turned to him. "Archer relax." I told him, "I know."

My voice softened. "And this, what you did for me right now, it was beautiful." I turned to look at him, my expression earnest, "It was exactly what I needed."

"I didn't know it was your parent's death Anniversary today." He said quietly. His hand tucked a loose strand of hair behind my hair. "Is that why you asked me if I was free tonight?" He moved closer to me then, his eyes searching mine.

I swallowed, "I didn't want to be alone."

The next moment his arms were lifting me from the hood of the car onto his lap. His chin came to rest on top of my head.

For a moment we just stayed like that.

"Do you want to talk about the reporter?" Archer murmured.

I exhaled shakily.

"They called us the miracle babies. My brother and I were the only two people who survived that plane crash and no one could seem to figure out how we did. We were an enigma to the world, a puzzle they couldn't solve. To them, we meant conspiracy theories and entertainment. I was just three then, my brother was a little over a year old. Much to their disappointment we couldn't answer their questions. 

My brother was adopted soon after we joined the orphanage, he moved to another city and got a new name and everything. But I had to stay here, where everyone knew what had happened to me." I clenched my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. "I guess that's why I want to leave this place so badly. I don't think I'll ever be able to move ahead in my life if I stay somewhere where my entire existence is defined by a single tragic incident."

I sighed softly. "I remember when I was thirteen, the orphanage allowed a couple of reporters to come in and question me. They probably paid a shit ton of money to the orphanage for that interview. I wasn't even given a prior warning, I was just sent into the room where those reporters pounced on me like vultures. Their cameras started flashing the moment they saw me walk in and they started asking me questions about the crash and my parents. Questions I didn't have the answers to, questions I didn't want the answers to." I took a shaky breath willing myself to calm down.

"I remember, this one reported walking up to me. He started showing me pictures, these horrible gruesome pictures from the crash, of ruined belongings and disfigured bodies and burnt body parts. Maybe he thought it would jog my memory somehow or maybe he just wanted to get my reaction on tape but I ended up having a panic attack. I had to be rushed to the hospital.

I've always avoided reporters after that incident and it usually isn't that hard because it's been over a decade and people have moved on but every year on the day the crash happened some of these assholes try to dig up the story again. Interviewing the lone survivor on the anniversary of the crash seems to be like some sort of golden ticket for them. They tell me they want to honor the victims by remembering them and then proceed to follow and harass me and ask me questions I don't want to answer. Funny how they seem to forget that I was also a victim of that crash."I wiped away the tears that had managed to escape.

Archer's arm tightened around me and for a while, he didn't say anything. We just sat there in silence looking at the stars.

 "I am in awe of you Fallon Chamber's." He finally whispered. "Every day you leave me breathless." I tilted my head up to look at him to find him already staring down at me, his eyes unreadable.

He stroked my jaw with his thumb gently, "You've been through so much. You've seen the worst this world has to offer but every day you get up and you fill this world with sunshine. Despite everything you've been through the light in you hasn't dimmed." He leaned forward so the tip of his nose brushed mine.

"You're the strongest person I know."