Mid-April, 2002

She used to hate the dark.

Actually, it wasn’t the dark itself she hated; it was what’s in the dark that scared her. She didn’t know who or what was lurking in it. She didn’t know if something was going to hurt her or help her. She didn’t know if she was alone or surrounded. It didn’t help that Justin and Trace used to lure her into the dark woods of her backyard and jump out at her, and would successfully scare her.

But right now the darkness was her friend.

It hid her puffy, stinging eyes. It hid the tears that were silently falling down her cheeks. It hid the soft whimpers she let out every now and then. It hid the heartbreak that was written all over her face. It helped that she was currently thirty-five thousand feet in the air. The darkness helped shroud her escape and didn’t leave a visible trail behind.

She wiped the tears off of her cheeks while looking down at the quickly approaching illuminated airport. The fasten seatbelts sign came on overhead as the stewardesses went around waking the other passengers, lifting up their trays and taking their pillows and blankets.

As the plane made its final descent, for a split second she wondered if she were doing the right thing. She nodded a little and convinced herself that it was. She needed some ‘me’ time and if this was the only way she’d get it, then so be it. The guys would understand.

They had to.

There was a slight bump as the wheels touched down on the ground and all of the lights came on in the cabin. She stretched her arms straight into the air, letting out a long yawn. Taking a late flight was the only way she would’ve been able to get out but right now she was kicking herself for it, especially since she couldn’t sleep the entire flight. It was a mixture between a little bit of guilt along with the endless crying baby across the aisle. Usually she loved kids but she had to resist the strong urge to give the baby a “love tap” with her shoe.

Her thin patience grew even thinner at the traffic jam to the exit of the plane. She didn’t care if a little old lady was having trouble with her bags—held, she knock over the little lady if it let her off the plane and away from the pain that was starting to eat her from the inside out.

She bit her lip hard to keep away the tears that were threatening to fall again. She willed herself not to cry anymore. She couldn’t cry anymore. She had to be strong if she wanted to get through the next couple of weeks.

Finally she was able to get off of the suffocating plane and into the brightly lit and scarcely populated airport terminal. She started to walk as quickly as possible to get to the baggage claim but then felt stupid. It wasn’t like he was chasing her. He wasn’t even here. Punching herself in the thigh she slowed to a calm walk. She was surprised she didn’t set off any security guards; by the way she was walking. She practically left skid marks on the ground in her wake.

She grabbed her rolling suitcase and made it out of the airport into the still, warm air. She glanced around to see if anyone was waiting for her before sitting down on a bench. She let out a long breath and tilted her head back, looking up at the sky.

There was no other place like Tennessee to be able to see the stars at night.

She blinked and covered her eyes when beams of bright light infiltrated her vision. A loud, mud covered, black truck pulled up and the driver’s door swung open and slammed shut as a man strode over to her. “Sorry about that,” he quickly apologized, noting her glare. “I got here as soon as I could, Momma wouldn’t let me leave. Are you ok?” He asked breathlessly, pulling her into a hug, noting how hard she was clinging to him. He held her at arm’s length and looked her over, clicking his tongue. “He really screwed up this time, didn’t he?” He asked softly.

“You even have to ask? You know him as well as I do, Trace,” she replied, sniffing as tears spilled over her bottom lids once more.