Page 28 of Aftershock

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“Autumn? Are you okay?”

Snapping my head upwards, I was greeted by Lexi’s concerned face. She was wearing her black hoodie again, probably so that no one noticed her. Her bodyguards were standing about a foot behind her.

“I missed my flight,” I pursed my lips together and shrugged hopelessly.

“Do you want to ride with me? I can drop you off at LAX,” Lexi offered.

Ride with her? Was she serious?

This can’t be happening.

“Wait. Are you offering me a ride on your private jet?”

“Yes,” she smirked while biting her lip. “Get off your ass and let’s go.” Lexi motioned for me to follow her as she turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Rushing to stand, I grasped for my bag without looking behind me.

I kind of figured Lexi and I had become somewhat close when we talked in the bathroom, but I was expecting, like, maybe a few conversations on Instagram or a free ticket to one of her concerts, not a free ride across the country on her plane. This felt like too much to ask for when I had only known her for about an hour.

But she offered anyway.

And despite only knowing her for an hour, it felt like I’d known her for my whole life.

I sped off to catch up to them.

“Are you sure this isn't too much trouble?”

“Autumn, shut up and accept help when it's offered.”

“Thank you. Like seriously, thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Was this just like a common thing for her—taking people on her private jet just for the hell of it?

“So,” I clicked my tongue. “How many other fans have you given a ride to?”

“Zero.”

“Oh. Why me then?”

“Honestly, you remind me a little bit of myself.”

“That is officially the best compliment I've ever received.”

“Then remind me never to call you smart, or amazing, or beautiful—”

“Eh,” I shrugged. “I prefer to be your twin.”

“Okay, Autumn. Whatever you say,” she laughed.

We walked through the airport in silence for the next few minutes as I tried to keep pace with Lexi, only following slightly behind her, so that I could be sure I was going in the right way. I watched as she walked in a stride with her head held high. Her two bodyguards mirrored her strength and confidence. I had no idea where we were going or how to get there, but for some reason, I trusted these two men to guide us. They both looked like they could convince anyone of anything at any given time just by using their words. It wasn’t common to see someone walk around in a way that never made you question them. Even at twenty-one, I still hadn’t learned how to comfortably exist in my own body. Sometimes it felt like I was simply borrowing my current body while a new one was being tailored to fit the image I so desperately desired. In my head, I was a slim model who stood at 5’7 and had legs for days with a thin waist. In reality, I was nowhere near close to that. Looking at Andrew and Brian, I couldn’t help but wonder how they moved around without a care. Somehow, they had conjured the perfect recipe for how to live without shame. Suddenly we were all characters from SpongeBob, and the two of them were Mr. Krabs because they had the secret ingredient, and I was Plankton because I was so desperate to figure out what it was. Maybe it had something to do with them being white males, or maybe it just had something to do with me being depressed. Whatever it was, it sucked. For the first time since meeting them, I finally took note of Andrew and Brian's appearances. Andrew was a few inches taller than Brian and had medium-length blonde hair that combed back into a bun. Brian, on the other hand, was a tad bit more tan than Andrew and had dusty brown hair that was buzzed short. They both wore the exact same suit—a black jacket cuffed at the wrists with a white dress shirt tucked into black slacks. A thin black belt was also buckled around both of their waists, despite the fact that their pants fit perfectly, which was more than I could say about most of the other men I passed today whose slacks looked painfully too tight. As I scanned the room, I saw way too many people to count who were dressed as though they were on their way to a business meeting or maybe even a funeral of their own.

“This way,” Brain said with an outstretched arm.

We took a left and continued making our way through the airport. The earthquake had caused a building that once seemed so large to become so small as people rushed back and forth in a frenzy. For every person that we passed, I could hear bits and pieces of their scattered conversations. Everyone had a distinct voice, so it was easy to decipher one conversation from the next, but eventually, they all started to blur together. After a while of what felt like aimless wandering, I slowly faded out the noise, and my mind became blank. I was simply moving one foot in front of the other without thinking about my past, present, or future. That is, until, in the distance, one person in particular screamed so loudly that it brought me back to reality.

“Oh my God, it’s Lexi Harlow!”

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