Invisible String

Chapter 26 - End Game

I shook my head. "Not with everything that's happened. Especially with my Grandpa. I couldn't have." I bit my lip to try and prevent myself from crying.

Alex wrapped his arms tightly around me, and my face was up against his chest, blocked from his bareness by a thin shirt. "You are strong. That's one of the many things that I love about you. You don't even realize your own strengths."

I snickered. "Strengths?"

He pulled my chin up again so that he could look into my eyes. "Hannah, don't you see what kind of power you have over those around you?"

My head jerked back slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He smirked. "What I mean is, you have a pull that drags us in and makes sure that we never want to leave. I would follow you anywhere. Can't you see that?"

My eyes glazed over this time. Nothing could stop it. I looked down at his chest and rested my forehead against it. "I don't understand why."

He kissed the top of my head and squeezed me tightly again for a moment. "I don't fully understand it either. But I know it's true."

I rubbed my fingers on his back. After a moment of holding onto one another, I pulled away and wiped tears from my cheeks.

"I love you," I said, looking up into those eyes again.

He smiled and leaned forward, kissing me on the lips.

We crawled into the bed, moving my suitcase to the floor, and then quietly, we made love. No longer did it feel just like sex, because it wasn't. I felt a pleasure I'd never felt before that night, and it felt like I was whole, even if just for a minute, but a minute was more than I could've ever asked for. It was like, for that moment, I wasn't me. I didn't have the saddest day of my life just days ago. I wasn't leaving my family soon. I wasn't having trouble with my career. I was fine. I was perfect. I was complete.

We woke up early the next morning to say goodbye to my sister and her husband before they took off back to California, and afterward, we went back to our room and grabbed our luggage. I hesitated with the statue but ultimately decided to bring it with. Once my suitcase was zipped and ready to go, Alex took them out to the rental. The last item on the agenda was to say goodbye to the rest of my family.

"I love you guys," I said as I hugged my mother and father. While still close to both of their ears, I said, "I really will be around more this year."

When I pulled back, my mother looked me in the eyes and smiled. "Good, you have no idea how much we miss you, honey."

They both hugged Alex, and my dad said when pulling away, "Thank you for being so understanding and helpful during this time. We appreciate it."

Alex wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "It's okay." He looked down at me and said, "I love her. I'd do anything for her." He kissed my forehead, and I looked back to my parents, eyes wide.

Had they ever heard a man declare his love for me before? The expression reflected on my parent's faces indicated that they hadn't. Alex looked up as their faces relaxed.

My mother, smiling widely, said, "We're thrilled that she has you." She reached down to my father's hand and visibly squeezed it.

Just then, my nieces came over, the younger one, Madison, a little slower. She was just learning how to walk and talk. "Up," she said, looking at me.

I picked her up while Alex hugged Rebecca and quietly told her that they were his favorite little girls in the whole world. She smiled brightly and said, "Can we be your flower girls when you marry Aunt Hannah?"

My eyes widened once again as I shot a look at my brother and his wife. She quickly retrieved their children. They all laughed, even Alex, but my body was hot as fire. Why was I reacting to that so strongly? I loved Alex. I should be happy the rest of my family liked him. But it felt like they were taking away from me something that I had just grabbed onto, something that I was actually happy with right now. And I was afraid that I'd lose it if we all held on too tightly.

Alex leaned over in front of me, pulling me away from my fears for the moment, and shook George's and Julie's hands.

While walking over to the car and opening the door, I said, "Goodbye, see you guys over the summer." I got into the passenger seat of the rental while Alex got into the driver's side. My family waved to us as we exited the driveway and drove off towards the airport.

A small sigh of relief escaped my lips, but Alex noticed. He reached out and put his hand on my own, with one hand still on the wheel. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I shook my head, conflicted. "I mean, I think so."

He rubbed his thumb on my knuckles. "It's okay to be sad about leaving."

"It's not just that. I mean, I'm happy to go back home, to my home, you know? But at the same time, this was nice, even if it was sad. But I missed them. A lot more than I realized."

He looked over at me quickly. "You sure you're okay? We can stay longer if you need to."

"No, no, that's not necessary, I'm just feeling a mixed array of emotions, I guess."

He smiled, "I get it. It's the burden of being an adult."

I laughed. "Yes, that sounds about right."

The drive wasn't very long, as the airport wasn't too far from my parent's home. We returned the rental car, then checked ourselves in. After half an hour of running through the airport and then going through security, we made it to our gate. The plane hadn't started boarding yet, so we sat over by the windows.

About ten minutes in, a teenage girl recognized Alex through his sunglasses and black baseball cap and quietly crept over to us. Her parents observing, making sure Alex wasn't a creep.

She sat beside him and asked him if she could have an autograph. He smiled and complied with her request. She reached into her carry-on bag and found a notebook. Alex and his bandmates were on the cover of it, and he smiled as he signed for her, then took a discreet picture with her. Only a few older people noticed what was going on, but none of them bothered to ask questions, and I thanked God for that. Alex had wanted a peaceful experience at the airport, and this was a blessing.

The girl went back to her family, smiling and giggling, happy as can be. Alex smiled and kissed me on the cheek. He really did love his life.

After a while our plane boarded, and we hurried along to the first class seating area. We were directed to our seats and set up our bags in the overhead, and I sat on the outside since I'd more than likely have to pee more than him.

It didn't take long for the plane to finish boarding, but last-minute, someone walked past me, and as he turned around to put his stuff away, he caught my gaze. A smile slowly crept over his face as he shook his head.

I closed my eyes and silently pleaded with God for this to be a dream. But of course it wasn't.