Page 184 of The Broken Note

My throat is dry.

Come on. Come on.

There’s a sudden shriek from the PA system in the airport. The noise is followed by a male voice that sounds nothing like the calm, collected announcers who usually make these broadcasts.

My suspicions are amplified when the speaker clears his throat and mumbles,“Is it on?”

Chuckles erupt from the travelers around me.

I take a giant step forward. Shake my head. Tune out the announcer.

I’m almost there.

One more person before I can get on that plane.

“Brahms.”A dark, rough voice that I haven’t heard in far too long makes my muscles seize.“Brahms, it’s me.”

I freeze and glance up.

“If you’re still here, if you can hear my voice, I want you to know something…”

“Miss.” The flight attendant collecting the tickets gestures to me.

“The first time I felt regret…was after meeting you.”

A knife lodges under my ribs. He… regrets meeting me?

“Miss, your ticket.” The flight attendant frowns my way. “Do you have it?”

“Sh.” I lift a finger.

Her eyebrows twitch and she screws her lips in annoyance.

“I regret the way I hurt you. I regret every time I made you cry. I regret lying to you about that stupid will.”

“Is there a problem here?” A big, burly security officer arrives.

The people behind me are grumbling.

I’m holding up the line.

“Ma’am, step aside,” the security says.

I can’t feel my legs, so I honestly don’t know how I walk. The floor is gone. The ceiling blew off. I’m drifting, floating somewhere beyond this busy airport and the guards who are looking at me like I’m a criminal.

“In front of all these people, I want you to know that I’m sorry. I’m deeply, truly sorry.”

I lift a hand to cover my mouth.

My knees shake.

“Ma’am, are you on any drugs? LSD? Heroin?”

I’d laugh if I wasn’t so blown away. They have no idea who I am. Seeing the way drugs ripped mom’s life to shreds, I’d rather chew a bag of safety pins than get caught up in that life.

“And I love you,” Dutch says.

Gasps break out.

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