Page 66 of Best Friend Burden

Except that wasn't the case. Because Melody did not want me back in her life. Right?

“I guess you're right,” I said, though I didn’t have to like the fact.

“There are billions of other girls on the planet,” he said, half-defeated. The words were true, but they felt empty.

CHAPTER29

***MELODY***

Icouldn't sleep that night, instead spending the time tossing and turning in my bed with my mind racing and wondering what I was even doing. This was all childish. Like it or not, Kiefer was an important part of my life until we went our separate ways after high school. The universe managed to put us back in touch with each other after so many years, and I'd be stupid to ignore that kind of chance coincidence.

Because there was no such thing as true coincidence.

And the universe sent me a baby that was half him and then, because I suppose I wasn't taking the hint, sent Kiefer to the food court to confront me directly.

Or maybe that last part was just Kiefer and not the universe.

But I just blew him off, refusing to let the conversation start. And I lied to him. At the very least, he should know that the baby was his. Then let him make his own decision from there.

That would have been the mature, adult thing to do. I kept thinking I knew what I was doing, that I know what I’m doing, but the truth is I hadn’t the slightest fucking clue. All I knew is that Kiefer was special, and he deserved to know that he has a tiny human that is half his. I should have said that 8 months ago, or at least talking to him tonight. And now Kiefer was leaving for Tokyo, and I had no way to get in touch with him.

Well, I thought,there is one way of getting in touch with him.

I shook the thought away. It was drastic and dramatic and... well, if I ever wanted to see him again, I couldn't count on the universe to make it happen. I would have to do it myself.

He would be at the airport for a flight leaving at four am or so, at Burbank airport. It was just after one am now. If I rushed and hurried over there — and if he didn't get through security too early — there was a chance, maybe only a small one, that I could run into him.

I had faith in the universe. If I did the heavy lifting, it would carry me the rest of the way. All I had to do was get there and hope. And if it was meant to be, then it would be.

Perhaps I should have come to the conclusion earlier, but as I threw my clothes on and ran out of my apartment, I was hoping that he and I were, in fact, meant to be. Once I lifted the stubborn blindfold I'd been wearing all these months and saw him right in front of me, I realized that I wanted him back in my life.

That is, if he wanted me back in his. And after tonight and the way I'd pushed him away, I wasn't sure that he would.

But there was only one way to find out, and it involved getting out to Burbank before he did.

* * *

I was scared of driving too fast. That was tempting fate. With Olivia almost on her way out, I couldn't bear the thought of losing her in a traffic accident. So I stayed under the speed limit and made extra sure when I was merging that there wasn't anyone in my blind spot.

It was a little after two when I pulled into the long line of cars. Burbank was a small airport, but that didn't mean it couldn't have traffic. No, anywhere in the greater Los Angeles area could have traffic if it wanted it bad enough. As I drove through, I looked into the airport windows, hoping to get a glimpse of Kiefer, but I saw nothing. I pulled into the nearest parking garage, grabbing a ticket on the way in, knowing perfectly well that it was probably going to cost me $50 even if all I did was walk into the airport and discover that he wasn't there.

I didn't care. I had to do everything in my power to catch Kiefer before he left or I'd regret it, probably for the rest of my life.

After pulling into the first open spot I could get (mostly ending up between the lines), I hauled my body and a half into the building and waddled past the desks for each of the airlines, hoping I'd see him waiting in line with his luggage.

No luck.

As I continued to run (I guess you could call it that) towards the security area, I saw a large acoustic guitar case on someone's back.

My heart jumped a bit as I looked on in anticipation. The man was halfway through the security line, but I couldn't see his face from where I was standing.

“Kiefer!” I shouted, not even caring about embarrassing myself if it wasn't him.

But it was him. And he turned towards me, looking surprised. He smiled at me and started shuffling back through the line towards me, excusing himself along the way.

He gave me a big hug when he finally made it to me and I held him tightly against me, taking in his scent that instantly brought me back to eight months ago or so when we created Olivia. I didn't know the exact night it happened, but it didn't matter because each one was magical in its own right.

Just like she would be.

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