Boston, Massachusetts Saturday, June 29th
I finish packing my last suitcase and drag it downstairs with my other two. I have my headphones in trying to listen to the music but I keep thinking about Hannah. I close my eyes and remember Monday night at the restaurant.
~~
"ZACK!!!" I open my eyes and see Hannah.
"Hannah?" I ask. I quickly rub my eyes and when I open them back up she's gone and I'm alone again.
~~
I haven't been able to stop thinking about her, I keep thinking back on childhood memories, I can always picture them so vividly but nothing has come close to what I saw that night. I told my mom about it and she told me that she still sees Dad sometimes when she thinks about him hard enough but that I would get used to it and know it's not real. I knew she was right but it just felt so real.
Ten minutes later that taxi pulls up in the driveway. I grab the first two suitcases and I see the trunk pop open. I put the two in the trunk and go to grab the third with my carry-on backpack. I shove the third suitcase in the backseat with my backpack. I get in the passenger seat and smile at the taxi driver as I put my seatbelt on.
"Logan Airport?" He asks me.
"Yes" I say quietly putting one headphone in, trying not to be rude but making it clear I was not in the mood for conversation.
I pull out my phone to send a quick message to mom.
Mom
Me:
Leaving the house now for the Airport.
I'll call you when we land.
Mom:
Okay, sweetie! Love you.
Have a safe flight
Me:
Will do. Love you too.
I hit send and check the time, 4:53 pm. That means we should arrive at the airport right at 5 pm, giving me an hour and twenty-five minutes to get through security and check in. I put my phone back in my pocket. I close my eyes and just get lost in my music.
I open my eyes when I feel the car pulling to a stop. I look out the window and see we're at the doors.
"Thank you" I say unbuckling my seatbelt and getting out to grab my things. out of the back seat. I put it on the curb. I then grab the two suitcases out of the trunk and set it next to my other bags. I go up to the driver's window and hand him a Twenty and a Ten. "Keep the change" I tell him.
"Thank you" He says and then drives off.
I walk over and grab a cart for my bags. I load everything in, throwing my backpack over my shoulder.
"How can I help you?" The lady at the ticket desk asks as I walk up. I open my phone to the QR code with my ticket on it and show it to her.
"Just checking in" I say as she scans the QR code.
"Perfect" She says and turns around to the printer. "Here you are sir" She says handing my tickets to me. "And 'you'll be at gate 8 down to the left" She said pointing down the hall.
"Perfect, thank you" I respond and start walking to my gate.
When I get to the Gate I sit down and look at my watch, it reads 5:50 pm. I sigh, I still have a half-hour before they start boarding. I put my headphones back in and listen to my music, closing my eyes.
"BOARDING FOR DENVER COLORADO" I wake up to the sound of the flight attendant yelling. I quickly stand up and get in line. The line starts moving as the flight attendant takes people's tickets. I look down at my ticket to see my seat number, 4A, a window seat, perfect, i think to myself. I walk up and hand her my ticket and smile at her. She smiles back and I walk through the door down the hall onto the plane. I quickly find my seat and put my carry-on under my seat and sit down. I put my seatbelt on and stared out the window waiting for the flight attendant to go over the safety rules.
When they're done with the safety protocol I put my phone in airplane mode and put my headphones back in. I put on my downloaded music and closed my eyes.
"ZACK!" I hear Hannah Yell. I turn around and see a young Hannah, probably nine, on the ground. We were playing tag. I run up to her and squat down to her.
"What's wrong?" I ask. seeing her start to cry.
"I fell and hurt my knee" She cries out and points down to her leg. I look down and see it bleeding.
"You're okay" I say sweetly and grab a napkin out of my back pocket from lunch earlier that day. I wipe her knee and then bend down.
"What are you doing?" She asks wiping a tear.
"Kissing it better" I say as I put my lips to her knee and kiss it. I look over to her and she giggles.
"Thank you, Zack, it already feels so much better" She says pulling me into a hug. We both giggle as I fall on top of her.
"I'm glad it feels better" I smile looking at her, our faces just inches apart. She pokes my nose.
"Tag, you're it" She says to me.
"Oh, you're going to get it!" I say and start tickling her. She laughs loudly as she kicks and swings her arms.
"No! Zack stop!" She yells as she laughs. I stand up and brush the grass off of my knees. Laughing I offer my hand to help her up. I look at our hands and It's much bigger than before. I look at her face confused and see a much older Hannah.
"Zack! You have to help me!" She screams at me and then flies at my face. I fall backward.
I wake up breathing heavily and look around. I'm still on the plane and the woman next to me is snoring. I slowly catch my breath. 'What the fuck was that' I think to myself.
For the rest of the flight, I couldn't stop thinking about that dream. I kept feeling her hand on mine, it felt so real. I think back to what my mom said about her seeing my dad after he passed and I just kept telling myself that's all it was.
When I got off the flight I headed over to the car dealership attached to the airport.
"Sorry sir, you have to be twenty-one to rent a vehicle in Colorado" The woman at the desk says to me.
"Shit" I say under my breath.
"I'm sorry?" She asks me.
"Nothing, I just didn't think about that, Thank you" I say grabbing my bags and walking out. I open my search engine and look up any buses that will take me to Atwood. I find one that leaves in twenty minutes. 'Perfect!' I think to myself as I roll my cart over to the bus stop. I wait for the bus to pull up.
"Good morning!" The man driving the bus says to me as I get on.
"Good morning" I respond dropping the money in the machine. I walk over to a seat towards the back and put my headphones back on. I close my eyes again knowing that it will be at least two hours until we get to Atwood.
"I open my eyes and see the bus stop at a stop I recognize. We're two stops away from Atwood. I send a text to Mark.
Mark
Me:
Hey, about ten minutes out.
I'll check into the bed and
breakfast and come see you?
Mark:
Hey, No I'll meet you there.
Assuming Mama G's?
Me:
The one and only. Are you
sure?
Mark:
Yes, House is a mess.
See you soon.
Me:
See you soon
I think Mark not wanting me to come over is a little weird but maybe he's just embarrassed by the mess. But he knows I wouldn't judge him for that, he definitely has an excuse. I put my phone back into my pocket just as the bus stops in Atwood. I grab my bags from the shelf above me and struggle trying to get them all out. I look around as I step off the bus and think how weird it is to be back. I wait for the bus to pull away and then walk across the street to Mama G's dragging my suitcases behind me.
"Oh, Zack!" Mama G shouts as I walk in.
"You remember me?" I ask.
"Oh Zack, as if I wouldn't remember you and little Hannah chasing each other through my place" She says walking up to hug me. I hug her back.
"I remember those days, you used to give us fresh bread and tell us to 'fuel up' before we kept playing" I smile at the memory and pull away from the hug.
"Oh I'm so glad you remember" she says wiping a tear away from her eyes.
"Of course I do" I say as I smile back at her feeling my eyes start to water again. I blink the tears away trying to hold myself together.
"Well come, let's get you to your room" She says grabbing one of my suitcases.
"Thank you" I say following her down the hall.
"I put you in the first room so you'd be near the bathroom and the kitchen, now you just make yourself at home, let me know if you need anything and you can stay here as long as you like sweetie" She says to me as we enter my room. She looks at me and smiles.
"Thank you Mama G" I smile back and hug her.
"Alright, I'll leave you to get settled" She says and walks out, shutting the door behind her.
I start to unpack my suitcase putting clothes in the closet and in the dresser that's in the room.
When I finish I look around and see the full-size bed in the middle of the room. I sit on it and think about the last time I was here. It hasn't changed at all. I look at the dark green wallpaper with the shapes of flowers in it. The dark wood flooring and dark wood furniture. I look at the dresser next to the closet, The two end tables on either side of the bed and the full-size mirror on the opposite wall as the dresser. It's a small room but I'm not complaining. I started thinking about Hannah and I running through the bed and breakfast, running from room to room, bothering the guests who were passing through. Seeing Mama G's husband who passed away shortly after I left from old age. I remember Hannah telling me about his funeral over the phone. I let a tear fall before I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath. I need to hold myself together for Mark I think to myself. Just then I hear a crash from the front entrance. I quickly step out of my room making sure Mama G is okay.
"Mark!" I yell, running over to him. "Are you okay?" I ask, trying to help him stand up from the floor.
"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT CALLING ME MARK?!" He yells at me, pushing me up againt the wall and putting his forearm against my throat.
"Mr. Wellington, I'm sorry" I say, trying to catch breaths against the pressure of his arm. I grab his arm trying to pull it away. The smell of alcohol overwhelming my senses. "Mr.-" I started to say but he pushed his arm further into my throat.
"MARK!" I hear Mama G yell, but my vision starts to go fuzzy. I see Mama G standing behind Mark with a pan. I feel myself fall on the ground but then everything goes black.