The taxi pulls up to LAX an hour and 10 minute before my flight. I get out and the cabbie helps me with my bag. I get the one I brought and bring it over to the counter to pay what I need to. They weigh my bag and I pay them. I only brought one with 2 pairs of cloths and some necessities, like soap, shampoo, a tooth brush, all of that. Everything else I was having shipped.
They direct me to security and I stand in line. After about 40 minutes I finally get though security. I put my belt and my shoes back on and put my laptop back in my carryon. I look down at my ticket to see what gate and flight number. I was gate D and flight 257.
I walk through the airport and stop at one of the concessions to get a coffee. I use the bathroom before I go to sit on the seats in front of the boarding area. After I finish my coffee I get up and throw out the cup. I walk back over and sit back in my seat.
A man walks over and sits down next to me.
"Your leaving someone, aren't you?" The man next to me asks.
I just nod. I haven't been able to get that fight out of my head. Was I being selfish…?
"Can I give you a word of advice?" The man asks again.
I look over at him this time. He was an bigger, older man, probably in his late 40's. His hair was starting to gray and the goatee he had was starting to gray too. He had on a business suit, black with a white shirt and light blue tie. He had these scary ice blue eyes that caught my attention. "Sure."
"I left her to follow my heart. To do what I wanted to do. I put my dreams before her. And the next thing I know, I never got the chance to say goodbye. Listen kid… Having a dream is amazing, it's what we live for. But love and friendship, there is nothing more important in this world. Sometimes it's more important to put people before your dreams because for all you know tomorrow you may not be here, she may not be here. This plane could crash, or something could happen and you won't ever get to say goodbye… Go home kid." He gives me a friendly smile.
"Thanks…" I smile back.
"Gabe. Gabriel Taylor." He extends his hand.
I shake it, "Robbie Shapiro. Now if you'll excuse me… I have to go get my girl back." I say getting up and grabbing my carryon bag.
"One sec." He says reaching into his pocket. "This should cover your luggage and ticket." He hands me a $500.
"No, no, no… don't worry about it." I say trying to hand it back.
"Take it Kid. I've got plenty." I nod and stuff it in my pocket.
"Thank you…" I say and start to walk away. After a few feet I turn back to say thanks one last time but no one was there. There was an empty seat. There was no man in line. There was no man walking away. There was no man anywhere. It was just like he disappeared. He was gone.
I push the thought out of my head and run over to one of the shops in the airport. I grab a single rose and go to the cashier. She takes the dollar from me and tells me to have a nice day. With that I nod and leave. As long as Cat forgives me, it would be an amazing day.
I walk out to the front of the airport and wave down another cab. One stops in front of me and I get in.
"Where to?" The man in the front seat asks. He had black hair that was graying and a goatee. He had on a baseball hat and a leather jacket. His eyes were the thing that caught my attention. They were ice blue. A scary ice blue. It was familiar.
I gave him Cat's address then sat back in silence. Finally we pull up outside her house and I step out.
I walk over to his window to pay him. "Nope. Keep your money." He smiles at me.
"I can't do that. That's $43 dollars. I can't." I say trying to give him the money.
"Keep it. I've got plenty." The man winks.
"Ok…" I say putting it back in my wallet.
I turn to walk away when I hear him say, "You'll get her back. Good luck Kid."
It takes me a second to figure out what he meant when it finally clicks. The man from the airport.
I turn to look back at the man but the cab wasn't there. I didn't hear it drive away and it wasn't down the road.
I walk up to the door and knock on it. After about 10 second I hear footsteps. The door opens and Cat's mouth drops. I hold out the rose and she takes it still staring at me.
"I'm sorry. I need to say that. I was wrong. I wasn't thinking. I screwed up. I followed my dreams trying to make them a reality, when I was missing what was right in front of me. Cat I have never had anyone as important in my life as you. And If I lost you, I don't know what I would do. You mean more to me that any school, anything that's ahead of me. And I'm sorry if I hurt you. It wasn't intended. The fights we got into, you don't know how bad I felt after them. I should have followed my heart. I should have listened to you. There is too much that can go wrong. You may not be here tomorrow. I may not either. I understand if you never want to see me again, I do, but right now I'm begging you to give me just one more chance. One more chance to show you how much I love you. Please." I say very quickly trying to get everything out before she shuts the door in my face.
"Just shut up and kiss me…" She says jumping into my arms and leaning into me. Our lips crash and all of the feelings explode. The fireworks go off as our lips move. She bites my bottom lip, opening my mouth, so out tongues can wrestle. She snakes her arms around my neck and runs her hands through my hair. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her as close as possible, because this time, I'm not letting her go...
The next day I wake up with Cat in my arms. We fell asleep in her bed last night after talking for a little bit.
"Good morning beautiful." I say to her as her eyes flutter open.
"Morning handsome." She says rubbing her eyes.
I turn on the TV in her room and put on the news like I do every morning. I see the pictures and I see the upset look on the reporters face so I turn up the volume.
"Flight 257 coming out of LAX yesterday crashed midway through its flight. Both engines blew up, causing the backup engines to malfunction. The plane crashed right outside of Denver, Colorado in a nearby forest. There were no survivors…" I turn the volume down and look over at Cat. She was staring with her mouth open at the TV.
Whatever the hell happened yesterday… he saved my life… he gave me a second chance.
"Robbie. You said that he said, "I put my dreams before her. And the next thing I know, I never got the chance to say goodbye."" She pauses. "Do you think he's the one who died?" She asks me.
"Are you saying he was a ghost?" I ask her with a chuckle.
"Not a ghost…" She pauses but I know what she was going to say.
"I don't know… but whoever he was, whatever he was, I'm still here because of him… and I'm never going to take that chance again. I love you Cat…"
"I love you too… You're mine forever… remember that?" she smiles and cuddles into my chest and we sit and finish watching the new report.
The End!
Well that's it. Nice little twist at the end right? Lol. Robbie's got his own guardian angel, I guess. Well thanks for all of the reviews! They were all amazing! I really appreciate them. I always do! Well I'm trying to come up with some ideas for new stories. I might have some 1, 2, or 3 shots coming soon but I don't know yet. Thanks again for everything! The support and the amazing review do mean a lot!
FYI If I find out that any of you screw over an opportunity to go to MIT, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Oxford, or any other amazing school for someone you love, I will hunt you down. Lol. It's a story. Haha But no if a love is that powerful, you need to give it a chance. That person may not be