Justin parked his mother’s car outside Brenna’s house a few days later and hopped out. He had dropped off Trace and Kate at the airport that morning and spent most of the afternoon packing. At seven o’clock, there was still plenty of time before Brenna and his flight left but Brenna had wanted to stop by her father’s gravesite before leaving and he wanted to give her plenty of time to do that.
Justin walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. Elizabeth Michaels opened the door a few seconds later and ushered him in.
“Hi, Justin. Brenna’s just checking her room again to see if she forgot anything.”
“Did you guys already ship out her things to my house?”
“This morning. She just has the one suitcase to take on the plane.”
“Okay.”
Brenna came up from downstairs with a couple books in her hand. “Almost forgot these,” she said, kneeling down by her suitcase to put them inside.
“Is your mom taking you two to the airport?” Elizabeth asked as Brenna straightened.
“No, I’m driving there. She and Dad are in Memphis at some benefit dinner so they’re supposed to meet us at the airport later.”
“I see.” Elizabeth turned to Brenna. “Well, Brenna, I guess this is it.”
“Yeah.”
Justin stood to the side as Brenna and her mother hugged. He knew how hard it was to leave family and didn’t say anything to interrupt them.
After a few moments, Elizabeth pulled back and smiled. “You be good.”
“I will.”
“Call me when you get there.”
“I will.”
Elizabeth came over and gave Justin a hug as well. “It was good to see you again, Justin.”
“You too.”
“Take good care of her, alright?”
“I will,” he promised. He leaned down and picked up Brenna’s suitcase as Brenna hugged her mother again.
“Have a good time, Sweetie,” Elizabeth said as they went to the front door.
“I will. Bye, Mom.”
“Bye. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Justin waved to Elizabeth as they left the house and went over to the car. He threw Brenna’s suitcase into the backseat and then got in, moving his things off the passenger’s seat so Brenna could get in.
“You okay?” he asked, seeing her subdued expression.
“Yeah. It’s just hard to believe I’m actually leaving Shelby Forest. Reality’s kind of setting in.”
He put the car into reverse. “Yeah.”
“What time are your parents meeting us there?”
“Eleven.”
She nodded and then fell silent as he drove down the road. The graveyard was just a few minutes outside of Shelby Forest and the drive there was mostly quiet. It was obvious that Brenna wasn’t in a talking mood so he let the quiet music coming from the radio fill the silence.
When they reached the graveyard, Justin parked and turned off the engine. “Did you, um, want me to come or…”
She shrugged. “You can if you want.”
He got out of the car with her and followed her as she walked through the headstones. He stopped when he saw the one she was heading for and opted to sit on a small stone bench a bit away instead of going right over to it with her. He sat and watched as Brenna stopped in front of the gravestone and sank to the ground, tucking her legs under her. She sat very still for a while and made no noise. Eventually he watched her lower her face into her hands and he could make out the muffled sounds of her crying. He wanted to go over but decided she probably wanted to be alone. Besides, he wouldn’t know what to say and it would just be uncomfortable.
He sat there for a long time before Brenna raised her head. Almost an hour had passed since they had first arrived and she had hardly moved an inch the whole time although he had been shifting a lot, uncomfortable on the hard stone surface he was sitting on.
He watched her stand up stiffly and he got up as well, waiting as she made her way over to him. His heart flopped in his chest as he saw her red eyes and tearstained cheeks. She stood still as he gave her a hug.
“Are you alright, Bren?”
She nodded slightly and he pulled away, leaving his one arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against his chest as they slowly walked back to the car. Neither said anything.
For the first time, he truly realized just how much of her life he had missed while he had been in Orlando and LA. He had had no idea of everything that had been going on in her life and to see her at her father’s gravesite just made him realize that. He kept wishing he could go back in time and never have lost contact with her. But he couldn’t, so he was determined to make the time up now.
“Do you want to stop somewhere and eat?” he asked after they had been driving for a few minutes. “We have lots of time.”
“Sure.”
He turned onto the highway that led into Memphis, determined that by time they finished eating, he would have her smiling again.
* * *
Brenna had been contently sleeping for a couple hours when someone shook her awake. She slowly blinked open her eyes and lifted her head from the back of the airplane seat.
“We’re almost there, Bren,” Justin said, turning back to the window.
She yawned and nodded, stretching her legs out in front of her. “What time is it?”
“One o’clock LA time. Four am Tennessee time.”
“Oh my gosh,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She yawned again. “I’m so tired.”
“Better wake up. Going through the LAX when you’re half asleep is no fun.”
The plane dipped a bit and she looked out the window. All she could see were some lights from the city. “How much longer?”
“Couple minutes. When we land two of my bodyguards, Mike and Jeff, are gonna meet us. The airport won’t be as busy as it is during the day, but you never know who’ll be there. They brought one of my cars, so just stay right with me and we’ll get to the car quick.”
“What about our luggage?”
“Mike or Jeff will take care of it. Your name’s somewhere on your luggage?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. They’ll take care of it.”
“Okay.” She looked out the window again into the dark night. A few minutes later the plane landed smoothly and taxied to the gate. As soon as the plane stopped, Justin stood.
“Come on.”
She grabbed her things and followed him off the plane. They quickly reached the departures gate and Justin grabbed her hand.
“Just stay with me.”
She nodded and they went into the main part of the airport. Brenna hadn’t expected so many people to be around at one in the morning and she was glad Justin had a firm grip on her hand as he weaved through people. He stopped when they reached two impossibly huge men. There was some sort of brief introduction that Brenna almost missed and the next thing she knew, Justin was pulling her behind him again while one of the bodyguards followed behind her.
Only about five minutes passed in between when they had stepped off the plane to when Brenna was in the passenger’s seat of a car and Justin was in the drivers.
“Aren’t they coming with us?” she asked, looking at Jeff and Mike standing on the sidewalk.
Justin checked over his shoulder and pulled out of the parking spot. “They have another car. They’ll get the luggage and then drop it off at the house.”
“Oh.” She fell silent as Justin left the airport and pulled out onto a highway. There were cars everywhere and every place was lit up. It was a huge difference from Shelby Forest and a bit much to take in.
“Welcome to the city,” Justin said with a grin. “Damn, I’ve missed this place. Missed all the action, missed the people, missed the ocean. How long has it been since you’ve seen the ocean?”
“I’ve, uh, never seen the ocean.”
He looked over at her. “What? Serious?”
“Well I’ve seen it on TV and stuff but never in real life.”
“Then we’re gonna go see it,” he said, switching a couple lanes.
“Now?!”
“Sure.” He moved the car onto an exit and slowed his speed. “You can’t go another day without seeing the ocean. It’s essential to your survival.”
She smirked. “Oh, is it?”
“Yep. And there won’t be any people around so we’ll have the beach to ourselves.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“Definitely.”
Five minutes later, Justin was parking the car in a parking lot and turning off the engine.
“Come on.”
She got out of the car and the smell of salt water immediately hit her nose. She pulled her jacket closer around her to block the wind and followed Justin onto the sound.
“Wow,” she breathed out as she saw the ocean. The water was black except for the breaking waves and the moon was reflecting on the water and creating distorted patterns. “That’s so cool.”
“I know.” Justin walked towards the water and breathed in deeply. “Mmm. I love the smell of the ocean. It’s so refreshing.”
“Mm hmm,” she agreed. She leaned down and scooped up a handful of sand, letting the grains slip through her fingers. “You are so lucky to live right by the ocean.”
“Well now so do you,” he replied.
She smiled. “I guess I do.”
