C h a p t e r 4 8

"Nikki, hurry up! We need to get going!" Aunt Crissa emitted in a high pitch tone, which irritated me.

She knew I didn't want to leave. Was it hard to be considerate and minimize the voice, as well as knocking down the excitement?

I grunted inwardly and intentionally kept myself from answering back. Earlier after waking up from a catnap, I was already up finding my way to the bathroom, puking my insides all over the floor which unfortunately made my body deplete. Even when I took an aspirin thereafter, I still felt a bit woozy and crummy. But still and all, I managed to sit right up and prolong my gaze on my phone screen as if I was well.

With my thumb scrolling down on my inbox, I reread the conversations to myself which Chase and I had.

The 'good morning's' and 'I love you's' highlighted through my eyes as they remembered me of how they greeted my day with a smile, but moreover, considering who sent it already completed my day. Our 'good night's', meant it was another hello for tomorrow. While scrolling further, I spotted no good-bye's and presumed it would be it after the sun rises.

I composed a message to him, one last time and tapped on the letters to form the word 'goodbye'. The text was simple as I'd like to keep it low-key with no emojis to exhibit a plain formal one.

The tension soon filled my body when it took me a while just staring at the word on the display screen. Therefore, refraining my thumb on tapping the send button as well. But after a moment of hesitation from what I just thought was a crucial part on my case; I released a heavy sigh then closed my eyes for a brief before blinking them open to press delete.

"Darn it." I grumbled as I flopped my back on bed, facing the ceiling. "Where are the shooting stars when you needed one?" I asked to myself as I glimpsed out the window.

Where is the freaking genie when you needed him.

An extra time was taken and that was when I forced my body to sit back up, foreseeing the outcome if my aunt saw me relaxing on bed. I typed on my keyboard and finally hit the send button.

> Goodnight.

It wasn't the last thing I wanted to tell him, but I guess that would be it.

The door to my room creaks open, latterly. Two familiar concerned eyes peeped in before the person entered in an inchmeal approach.

"Hey, your aunt wants you in the car now." Hailey silently spoke, while she sat beside me.

I locked my phone screen, and let out a small nod before standing up to grab my bag. The palm of my ankle boots met the polished wooden floor, away from the softness of the tufted fabric of my carpet. Hailey helped me with my things and peculiarly picks up her pace, as if implying for me to leave immediately. I closed and locked the door to my room as soon as I stepped out of it.

"Hey, I thought you said you don't want me to leave? What's the rush about?" I queried, seeing her dashed her way downstairs.

"No rush. Trust me."

"Really? Are you sure it's not, 'no trust, rush me', kind of thing?" I argued with my brows knitted in a notch, while I followed from behind.

Hailey stopped and turned around to face me, "Nikki, your aunt says she won't buy me German goodies if I didn't get your butt inside the car in fifteen minutes."

"I hate you." I perfunctorily spoke.

"I love you too, and I'm sorry." She playfully smiled before she continually jogged her way out.

I shook my head with disbelief while I remained on the same spot. The opened door gave me an image in front that flashed before my eyes, reminding me of deja vu. Heaving a breath, I gathered my composure back before walking outside. A chilly wind hits me and my eyes purposely traced upward to see the clouds billowing across the solemnly sky as they blocked a few stars seen.

Meanwhile, a familiar white sedan pulled over, gaining my attention. At the back of my head, I pictured a black Jeep as Chase hopped out of it. Him waiting for hours just to talk to me, and all those sweet or gestures he does with his car involved, has dramatically been put on rewind.

Stephan leaped out of the car and did a friendly wave of a hand, zooming me back to where I stood. "Hey, Nikki!" He grinned before approaching me with Hailey.

"Hey," I greeted back, sending him a small smile.

Stephan was a sweet guy. Probably, sweeter than Hailey. But less crazy, loud, nutty and evil.

"Heard you're leaving?" He half questioned,

Hailey reacted with a groan and a slight roll of her eyes, "It's not really a town's gossip. I'm the one who told you about it."

"Come on Hail, I'm trying to start a conversation here." Stephan shook his head while brushed his hair back.

"And, I'm trying to start an argument."

"Oh, God." I face palmed myself while they threw a glare to one another. "Quibbling at this time?-- Really?"

"Well, it's been a while." Hailey shrugs,

"Don't worry Nikki, I'll make sure Hailey will take her meals, regularly." Stephan chaffed, sending his younger sister a galling smirk.

I let out a soft giggle, "Thank you, I actually do need someone to check on her while I'm away."

"Nikki!" Hailey slightly hissed, while giving her brother a nudge on his forearm with her elbow. "Well, at least I got to know how much my sitter cares. I mean ain't that a cute brotherly slash fatherly gesture of him?"

Stephan huffed, and tucked his hands in his front pockets afterwards. "I'm not a dad, and I will never be if it's you." He countered with a grimace, as he recovered his expression on me with a small smile. "So, it's farewell for now?"

I lightly nodded and forced the corners of my mouth, slightly upward. "I believe so."

"Nikki! We gotta go!" Aunt Crissa called from inside the car with the windows down.

I casted a glance behind Hailey's shoulder, "I should be going, now."

"We'll miss you." Hailey pulled me in for a hug, and then whispered, "Talk to Chase before you leave." She created a distance between us to look at my face and profess something. "He loves you, Nikki. I know it--"

I blankly stared at her about to heed of what she told me until Stephan spoke, "Have a safe flight." He placed his hand on my shoulder, before giving me a manly embrace after Hailey.

"Oh, wow, thank y--" I was cut off in surprise of how tight his embrace was. "Oh, God..." I trailed off to chase a bit of an air while I was being squished with his well-developed musculature, which took a few seconds before he pulled away. "Jeez, Stephan, that's really something!" I faked a laugh and then cleared my throat while regaining my posture.

"Thanks, I've been working out a lot."

"Yeah, it wasn't much of a compliment--" I muttered to myself while I had my gaze averted from him awhile, "...Take my opinion though, relax your muscles a bit when giving dolls a hug, okay?"

Hailey silently chuckled, "One reason why he never had a girl friend after La--"

"Shut up," Stephan cuts her off.

The Cambridge siblings left afterwards, and Hailey's last words got me pondering, leaving me guilty on what I did to Chase. I sauntered to the car and opened the back door, before I went inside. Uncle Tony started the ignition and my aunt conversed with him about which road leads to the airport the fastest.

After a few minutes, my eyes began to wander through the dark streets we passed by, and soon recognized a place I knew I've been once.

I was confident with what I was thinking, that it was the same route we took through Chase's house. My eyes never left the outside view as I was familiarizing everything on the road. Suddenly, a fine house touching along the border caught my eye. I traced along the massive gate, through the expanded garage, and to the bricked pathway towards the porch.

"Wait..." I trailed off,

"You're gonna vomit, again?" Aunt Crissa curiously asked, just before Uncle Tony stepped on the brake pads.

"Uhm," I shook my head and glimpsed outside, "I just," I paused to waver in mind. "---Nothing, let's just go."

"Okay." She faintly responded, as we drove off.

I mentally punched myself after letting a chance fly away just like that. Rather than letting myself overthink of how I let myself down, I stretched my hand to rummage my bag for my phone. When swiped my screen on, I saw no replies on what I was hoping. Clicking on the logs, I dialled Chase's number and stared at it while twiddling my thumbs. But then again, the liquor might have taken my guts, which led me resigning on another attempt to speak with him.

After half an hour, we reached the airport. I hopped out while my uncle dropped the bags from the trunk.

"Thank you, Tony. I'll see you again at some time." Aunt Crissa hugged her brother, and added, "Please, take good care of the car, okay?"

"That's it?" He chuckled, as he closed the luggage compartment. "If only I knew, I should have just let you guys take a cab here."

"Okay, I'll send a package..." She trailed off to tease, then continued. "For my niece."

Uncle Tony clicked his tongue and pointed a finger to aunt. "Anything for my son." Then he tilted his head edgewise to face me and said, "Nikki, keep on reminding her about that, all right?"

"Yes, uncle." I genuinely gave him a smile and hugged him good bye.

"Okay, we'll see you again soon, brother! Good bye!" Aunt Crissa bid farewell before we turned on our heels with our suitcases.

My eyes casted another glance on my phone, hoping a text back from Chase, but just locked and kept it in my pocket after seeing none. As I looked forward, I furrowed my brows on the noticeable banner hung across the entrance. It has a print on it, saying 'PLEASE, STAY!' completely in bold letters and black ink.

"So, the airport doesn't want us to... leave?" Aunt Crissa murmured, uncertain of the airport's concept that was being thrown to all goers.

"Maybe?--" I half questioned, and then added a remark. "Well, seems to me like there's some kind of a huge storm coming..."

"What? Shouldn't they be posting the message instead?" She fished in her hand bag for her phone.

Oh, yeah, they would... God, I'm so stupid.

I contracted my shoulders and responded, "I'm just saying."

"Alright, let me just skim online." She said, while we stood on the same spot.

I began to roam my eyes around and to every individuals who were there being dropped by a person they knew or with a cab. But later on, I came to fix my eyes on a man with a silhouette that could compare to someone I fully know. His gaze was downcast as he focuses on the screen of his phone.

Gradually, he lifted his head, and scanned the area. My heart skipped a beat, after realizing it was Chase. I didn't want to believe what I was seeing, but it was already there. He was already there.

I don't remember telling him what time we'd leave, but I was actually astonished that he was here. Sadly, only to say goodbye. With the sight of him almost reaching me with his gaze, my adrenaline boosted making me gulp a lump of my spittle from nervouseness. I hastily ran at the back of my aunt with my wambling stomach and a shaky hands, to hide behind her skinny figure.

How am I going to confront him?? I thought, while covering my face with my hands.

"Oh Lord, please help me!" I whined, while Aunt Crissa rotated her body to look and ask me of my sudden weird acts.

"Nikki, what the hell are you doing?"

I removed my palms to my face and looked at her. "Hi," I stopped, "--perventilating." I continued, while forming a fake grin.

"Well, you're not wrong about that."

"Please, just don't move, and let me be here for a while?"

She released a heavy sigh, and scratched her head. "Okay, fine. Just reminding you though, try not to catch the security guard's attention?"

"Yeah, sure." I nodded and smiled with relief, until I heard Chase's call.

"Crissa?" His voice sounded like he was already seven feet away from us.

Aunt Crissa slightly leaped from surprise, and replied right away filled with glee. "Chase? Wow, wha--- why are you here?"

I did not hear a response coming from his lips, though I was sure he gestured his hands to mine.

"Oh, of course!" She turned to me and said, "Talk to him. We still have eighteen minutes." She waved her neck on one side, gesturing towards Chase, before she walked away to give us some time to talk alone.

Chase slipped a small smile, and walked closer to me. "You don't think I know that you're leaving with your aunt, do you?"

"Uhm," I trailed off, biting my inner cheek. "I don't know what you're talking about." I forced a laugh, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

He slightly nodded and placed his hands in his pockets as he glance around. "So, that's it?"

My heart stopped, hearing Chase with a glum tone together with his countenance. I bowed my head remorsefully, and whispered an apology. "I'm sorry."

"No." He simply spoke, which led me looking at him with confusion. "That's not what I want to hear."

As I was about to say something back, our attention has been shifted to someone who were making a scene.

"Marina! Please, stay!-- Please!" An average man in a simply clothing with a cap beseeched a lady, while pulling her away from getting near to the entrance.

"Let go of me, Antonio! I cannot stay here with you anymore!" The lady yelled back a response with a Mexican accent.

"Please! I made a banner for you to stay! Just, please! I cannot live without you!" He begged on his knees while hugging the woman's legs.

"Stop it, and don't be such a baby! I am leaving, and you will get out of my way or I will call the guards!"

Chase and I mirrored the same blank expression to each other, before I hastily thanked God for not making him be like Antonio.

I parted my lips to say something until he leads the conversation again. "Your aunt told me you'll come back."

"She called you?"

He shook his head, "I asked her, but that's not the point, okay? We're talking about you, and me." He bit his lip and heaved a deep sigh, "So, why would you lie?"

"I'm s..." I paused as I tried formulating a different word to say. "Look, I... I thought you'll understand. I thought, if I said it... things will be fine when I leave."

"Well, have you heard what I thought?" He motioned his hand to himself with his brows crimped.

"Please, just understand..."

"Which part of it do you want me to understand? Huh, Nikki? Look, neither of us are happy, neither of us won. All because you did what you thought was good but didn't give any importance to what I feel." He stopped, but I stayed quiet to hear more from him. "You think you're being clever, when you're only turning out to be selfish. --Nikki, sometimes it is ideal to save yourself first, before saving the others."

"We're not having this conversation." I roughly spoke while trying my best to suppress my tears.

"Yeah? Well, if you don't you could just leave like what you plan to do."

"Chase, I know what type of person you are. I knew it when we began to spend some time together. But, what I'm fearing, are the chances that things might fall off if we tried to connect the lines of being in a long distance relationship."

"You don't trust me, am I right?" He asked, as he began to close the distance between us to a foot.

"No, I didn't--"

"Yes, you did." He amended. "--Alright, how about I'll give you a deal? We'll test our relationship, while I keep myself from shaving my beard for you to pluck, or you'll live with the biggest mistake of your life, thinking on how bad you missed kissing me?" He wiggled his eyebrows, while flashing a devilish smirk.

I contained my laugh and just punched him on his stomach instead. "Oww, why would you do that? I'm trying to make a deal here."

Joy filled my insides, unexpectedly as it was. Being separated with someone doesn't always have to end in a bad way. Understanding one another, or even the situation is extremely important to consider. I made a decision because I thought it was for the best, but turns out I was wrong.

I gave Chase a smile and a kiss for goodbye, not because it was over for the both of us. But because, we'll see each other again.

"Win the game for me, then we'll talk." I smiled.

A/N: Okay guys, as the title says, this is NOT THE END! I will be posting an epilogue soon! And after that I will also begin the second book of Falling in fall! Yay, I'm excited. Anyone else?--

And, one last thing, let me tell you that we have a new cover, made by RavishingPoet!! All credits to her! 💛💛