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Chapter 1 | ❝ Why would she be mad at you? ❞
Sunday, November 11th, 2018 - 3:50 p.m.
❝WE ARE NOW inviting passengers with small children or any passengers requiring special assistance to begin boarding Flight 2301 at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready at the gate. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes. Thank you," the monotone voice over the airport intercom announced.
The West family, who was currently sitting in a few cramped chairs with whatever baggage they had not checked beforehand, looked towards the boarding gates of their flight in regards to the new information given to them. Hayleigh had insisted on bringing her small bag full of her belongings on the plane with her since she did not want to risk any of her stuffed animals becoming frightened in the cargo hold.
"Flight 2301—that's us!" Mr. West exclaimed while double checking his ticket.
His wife seemed to be just as enthusiastic as the middle-aged man. "Alright. Let's go before we get trampled over!"
Since the Wests had both a passenger who required special assistance and a small child who was rather hyper, they easily qualified for the early boarding opportunity. In fact, Hayleigh by herself would have been enough to take advantage of it.
"We aren't going to get trampled over," Zach laughed almost to himself.
His mother turned to look at him teasingly. "We will if you keep sitting there and letting your sister play that guessing game with you over and over again," she joked. "You two can play on the plane for the hour-long flight."
"It's an hour?!" Hayleigh wailed louder than she meant to.
Needless to say, the entire airport looked her way and the little girl blushed out of embarrassment. She cautiously went to hide behind her mother until the waiting area went back to their conversations and preparations for their own flights.
Mr. West nodded. "Yes, Hayleigh, it's an hour, but that's actually a short flight."
"But that seems like forever!"
"You know what, Hayleigh?" Mrs. West asked her daughter metaphorically. "How about when we get there and check in to the hotel, we go out and have a nice dinner. Does that sound good?"
Hayleigh began bouncing up and down on the airport floor. "Yes, please!"
"Does that sound good to you, Zach?" the mother inquired to include her son as well.
Zach's nonexistent field of vision rose from the floor and to his mother, who was looking at him expectantly. "Oh, uh, yeah," he replied, being caught off guard. "That sounds good to me."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," he fibbed through his quiet lips, which had felt entirely different since his debacle with Kelsey at the airport.
If the very crucial detail of Jaylen still being in the picture was not relevant, it would not have been a debacle at all, for that matter. It was such a moment that Zach never would have expected in his lifetime, which was probably a bit of an exaggeration, but now that it had occurred, he felt...different. In a way, he felt like he was betraying Jaylen, even if he did not appreciate him as a human being.
Luckily, no one knew about the secret kiss shared in the airport except for him and the girl he shared it with. "I wouldn't have wanted it with any other person," he thought silently to himself.
But if this moment was so grand, why did it feel like a bullet through the heart?
"Zach, we need to hurry for boarding," Mrs. West prodded him. The rest of the family was already standing and waiting for the teenage boy to follow.
The boy nodded, his black bangs bouncing a bit along with his movement. "Right, sorry," he apologized rather quickly. "Hayleigh, could you help me out a bit, please? I don't know where to go."
"Sure!" Hayleigh chirped while grabbing her older brother's hand and dragging him to where the family needed to go.
Zach, Hayleigh, and Mr. and Mrs. West made their way to the boarding gate of their flight rather fast. True to Mr. West's words, he disliked being late, so he attempted to always be early for those types of scenarios. The father of the group also had their boarding passes and his identification out ready for the person who would be letting those on the plane.
The receptionist eyed the family of four before asking for their boarding passes and identification, both of which Mr. West had prepared. Once both were confirmed, the family made their way through the gate, down the hall, and towards the plane.
It was an understatement to say the new sounds, surroundings, and people bunched together were overwhelming to Zach. He thought school was a nightmare, but the airport during rush hour was much worse. The plane they were taking to Orlando seemed to be completely crammed full, but to be honest, Zach or his family did not mind. It was too important for them to.
As they approached the plane, Hayleigh tugged Zach to a stop and warned, "There's an uneven area here, so be careful."
"Thanks, Hayleigh." Zach took his time stepping into the plane.
With caution, they made their way to their seats, which were near the middle of the plane itself. The plane was packed like a tin of sardines, but without the atrocious smell, to be quite obvious. On the way to their seats, Hayleigh decided to speak up.
"Can I have the window seat, please?"
Zach nodded in response. He knew there was no point if he were to have it in the first place. "Yeah, of course. There's no reason for me to take it anyway."
"Yay, thank you, Zach!" Hayleigh cheered while waddling towards the seat.
"Hayleigh, wait," Mrs. West intervened, which caused the small girl to skid to a stop. "We need to put your suitcase in the top compartment."
"Oh, right!"
The eight-year-old was not looking forward to letting her stuffed animals be without her for the brief hour they would be on the plane. Regardless, she let her mother place her bag in the topmost compartment after telling her best friends that they were supposed to take a nap while the airplane was in transit from Point A to Point B.
Moments later, the four of them were settled in their seats and waiting for the flight to begin shortly. Hayleigh and Zach continued their guessing game until the mandatory announcements played over the loudspeaker before the flight would have begun. Zach already knew for a fact he would be taking a nap quite soon.
Nevertheless, something, or someone was hoarding Zach's mind enough to keep him awake.
Zach's imagination replayed to the very moment he had pushed her away. He did not mean any harm—in fact, he meant the opposite. Even though Jaylen was not a favorite person of his, he did not want to jeopardize any chance he had to make amends with him. Zach might not have been able to see Kelsey's face when he declined her gesture, but from the hushed tone of her voice, the battering of her heart against his, and simply the aura, he could have told she was hurt.
"God, I hope I didn't upset her," he anxiously thought.
Hayleigh gently tapped Zach on the shoulder as he zoned out. "...Are you okay? You haven't guessed what animal I was thinking of yet and it's been...a while."
"Huh-?" Zach questioned almost to himself before snapping back into reality. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking. Yeah, I'm okay."
"You look nervous," she commented.
The teenage boy gave her a little bit of a shrug. "Flying in an airplane isn't exactly the calmest feeling in the world."
"That's true."
Mrs. West tapped her daughter on the shoulder, reaching over Zach a little bit since she was on the opposite side. "Hayleigh, I think your brother wants some quiet time, so how about you watch a movie on my phone? I have a couple of your favorites downloaded."
"Oh, okay!" Hayleigh was not one to argue. She smiled when her mother handed her the phone along with headphones. "Thanks, Mom!"
While Hayleigh got situated with her movie, Zach found himself delving deeper and deeper into his thoughts, which were an endless rabbit hole at that point. He knew deep down that his intentions were all in good nature, but the majority of his mind thought he had devastated whatever friendship he had with Kelsey. Hopefully not all tethers would have been untied.
Zach guessed he would find out when he called her upon his departure of the plane.
Luckily for him, the whirring of the plane's engines let him coast out of his imagination and closer towards the realm of sleep, which was exactly what he needed at that point. Zach's thoughts exhausted him both physically and mentally, and he wished that his brain had an on and off switch that he was able to control. Luck seemed to be on his side, though, as he drifted off to sleep while the plane began its voyage amongst the clouds.
Before he knew it or was able to count to ten, a thud jostled Zach out of his light slumber. His eyes flew open due to the sensation of the plane hitting the runway beneath its wheels and the sensation of his ears popping was unpleasant. Zach painfully rubbed his right ear due to the abrupt change in "scenery," or the sensory impact on him, more likely.
Zach was unsure if it were his head or his heart that pounded harder as the rather large plane continued to skid to a stop on the runway. He clenched his forehead with care in hope to rid it of the painful ache from both sleeping in an odd position and being on a plane for an hour.
"Finally, you're awake!" Hayleigh loudly exclaimed which caused Zach's head to throb even more than it did prior. "I lost count of how many times your head hit my shoulder!"
"Oh, sorry...," Zach trailed off before letting out a yawn.
"It's okay!" the small girl told him. "I got to watch most of my movie anyway!"
"That's good, then."
Mrs. West spoke up from beside him, "Zach, Honey, are you doing okay? You look awfully tired and I know you just took a nap, but still."
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied despite the buzzing feeling in his head. "I just have a headache."
"Do you need some medicine? I brought some."
Zach shook his head, ignoring the sensation of his sinuses shifting around that the movement gave him. He did not want to burden his mother, especially on a bustling and stuffy plane even though she would not mind at all.
"Can I actually have some when we're out of this place?" he suggested instead.
Mrs. West nodded. "Yeah, of course. I have some in my purse."
"Thanks, Mom."
The family then waited patiently for the correct time unboarding would take place. Since the plane was nearly full, it was quite difficult to get where they needed to go whenever they needed to. Hayleigh had asked her brother to play the guessing game with her again, but Zach politely declined, saying he had too much of a headache to participate. Hayleigh understood, resorting to a couple of games on her mother's phone.
Eventually, passengers exited the plane, including Zach and his family. With care, he, his sister, and his parents exited the plane with the very few bags they had taken aboard with them.
The airport around them was crowded and full of hustle and bustle, but due to the echoes of sounds and the amount of fresh air in the building, Zach was able to tell it was much larger than the airport in North Carolina. Zach enjoyed the roomy feeling that the endless ceiling and open lobby of the airport gave him. It was a nice contrast to the plane.
Hayleigh gawked at the skylighted ceilings of the Orlando airport along with the decorations of palm trees, restaurants, and stores, including the Disney store, which the small girl physically hopped up and down for. She tugged on her mother's arm
"Mom! Mom! Can we go to the Disney store before we leave for home?" she asked enthusiastically, pointing in the direction of it.
Mrs. West smiled at her daughter. "Of course we can."
"Yay!"
"We should probably get our bags from baggage claim," the fatherly figure suggested before looking at Zach and Hayleigh. "If you two want, you can roam around in the Disney store while your mother and I get the bags."
"Yeah!" Hayleigh chirped. "As long as that's okay with you, Zach."
Zach, who had been quiet once again, nodded towards his sister. "That's fine—just don't let me get lost," he teased, but was partly serious as well.
"I won't!"
"You two be careful," Mrs. West warned her children with a bit of concern in her tone.
Hayleigh beamed as bright as the sun shining through the skylights in the ceiling. "We will, Mom! Promise!"
"If you get lost or anything, use Zach's phone and call me, okay?"
"Okay!"
Before Zach was able to process what was going on, Hayleigh grasped onto his hand and dragged him towards the Disney store, her suitcase briskly rolling behind her. He trusted Hayleigh, though, so he knew he was in good hands with his little sister being the pair of eyes for the both of them.
"Hayleigh, at least let me keep up-!" Zach protested against her quick pace.
The eight-year-old slowed down. "Oh, sorry!"
"It's okay, Hayleigh."
The two siblings entered the Disney store, which surprisingly did not have too many people in the premises due to many passengers enjoying a nice dinner or preparing for their next flight out of the airport to who knows where. Hayleigh kept a gentle grip on Zach's arm so he would not get lost in such a new place. She decided to look at the stuffed animals first.
While the small girl was handling a certain stuffed animal, her thoughtful eyes turned to her brother. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"What do you mean?" Zach asked her with a puzzled expression. "I'm not forgetting anything."
"Yes you are," Hayleigh insisted.
"No I'm not."
"Don't you remember?"
Zach hesitated with Hayleigh's assurance of her own knowledge. He was majorly confused by her questions, especially with the agonizing headache plaguing him. "...Remember what?"
"You were gonna call someone! Remember who?" Hayleigh persisted with a goofy expression on her face.
The teenage boy could not have facepalmed any harder at the realization. How could he have forgotten all about his promised call to a certain girl?
"Hayleigh, can you find Kelsey's contact on my phone, please?" he inquired, taking his phone out of his pocket and handing it to her.
The small girl's smile grew impossibly large. "Yeah!"
Hayleigh took Zach's phone from him and searched through it until she found Kelsey's contact. Resisting the urge to hit the call button and say hello to one of her best friends, she handed it back to her brother so he would have been able to do it himself.
"Thanks, Hayleigh," he replied while attempting to ignore the anxious pang in his overworking heartbeat. "I'm glad you were able to remind me after I told you."
Hayleigh nodded. "Mhm!"
After maybe three attempts, Zach hit the call button and held the phone up to his ear. He waited patiently as the monotonous ringing tone began. As it continued, Zach began to get more confused. Kelsey was expecting a call from him, and she usually answered until at least after the second ring. Why was this time any different? In fact, it should have been the opposite.
The little girl next to him grew more even confused when Zach remained quiet after about thirty or so seconds. "Is she not answering?"
"No, I don't understand why-" Zach began until the voicemail containing Kelsey's voice cut him off.
"Hi, this is Kelsey. Sorry I missed your call. Please leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you when I can!"
Zach sighed, leaving his message. "Hey, Kelsey. It's Zach. Just wanted to let you know the plane landed and everything went well. Please call me back when you can—I mean, if you want to. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks, bye."
"Maybe she's busy?" Hayleigh suggested in order to lift her brother's spirits.
"Probably not. It's a Sunday, after all, like you said."
"That's true," she responded with a shrug, returning to look at the stuffed animals once more. "She'll probably call back later, and besides, it's dinnertime anyway."
Zach shook his head. "I'm not sure about that. She always answers," he sighed, accidentally voicing his thoughts out loud. "I hope she's not mad at me..."
Hayleigh whirled around from the specific toy she was observing and currently cuddling in her arms. Her eyebrows raised in suspicion, almost as if she was completely unable to believe what she was hearing from Zach's mouth.
"Mad at you? Why would she be mad at you?"
"Oh...no reason," Zach fibbed. He put his hands in his pockets as a nervous habit. "I just don't want to bother her."
Hayleigh continued to persuade him, "You wouldn't bother her. She seemed really eager to see you earlier today. Why would you bother her in the first place?"
"I don't know," he lied once more. No matter how much Zach hated to lie, he did so anyway.
"If you're that concerned, maybe call her again?"
Zach did not answer verbally. Instead, he pressed the call button for a second time and held the phone up to his ear. Hayleigh waited patiently while Zach stood in silence. As time slowly ticked on, Zach realized she was not going to answer, and when the voicemail came up for a second time, he simply switched the phone off to end the call.
"She won't answer," he told the disappointed Hayleigh, who still seemed to be optimistic somehow. It was a talent of hers.
"How about we do something to get your mind off of it?"
Zach paused before reluctantly agreeing, nodding his head. Hayleigh grinned brightly in his direction and grasped onto his wrist to pull him somewhere else to browse in the store. Even though Zach smiled in return, an intense underlying worry flooded the back of his mind. The last thing he wanted was for Kelsey to be mad at him for having morals.
Little did he know what was occurring back in the Outer Banks of North Carolina...
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