Page 51 of Falling With a Spin

Hunter and I have to leave in an hour for the airport, and I haven’t packed a single item. When I got home from work, I quickly pulled out my oversized suitcase, which was thirty minutes ago.

“You will be fine without me,” I say, pulling out a pair of shorts and placing them on my bed.

“No, I'm going to die. Who is going to cook me dinner? Make sure I'm up on time for school or work?” A dramatic sigh leaves her as she falls onto my bed.

Walking into the closet, I shuffle through a few of my t-shirts and grab a handful.

I throw a t-shirt at her and drop the rest with the shorts before turning around to go to the bathroom to grab a few essentials. I return to the buzzing of my phone, and I drop my bathroom essentials into my bag. I pick it up to see a text from Hunter.

I'm, in fact, not almost ready.

By the time the doorbell rings, I’m zipping up my suitcase. I yell for Taylor, who is in the kitchen, to grab the door. Struggling my way toward the front door with my oversized luggage, I stop in front of Hunter and move a few pieces of hair that fell from my hair tie and straightening the hoodie I’m currently wearing. When I look up at Hunter, he looks towards the suitcase and then back at me.

“We are only going to be gone for a week. How much did you pack?” His eyes go wide. Back over by the kitchen, Taylor attempts to stifle her laughter.

“Hunter, one thing you should know about Emma is that no matter how long she’s gone for, she’ll overpack. Always.” Taylor looks over at me, giving me a bright smile, and I just roll my eyes at her.

“Jesus Christ,” He whispers as he reaches for my suitcase. “We should probably get going if we want to make it to our flight.” He walks to the door while effortlessly carrying my bag.

“How in the world did- you know what, never mind.” I shake my head, turning and walking over to Taylor to hug her goodbye.

After getting my oversized luggage in the back of his car, we set off to the airport.

Do you have a certain fear, and you try to prepare yourself each time you face it, but nothing works?

Yeah, that’s how I’m with planes; I hate them. They are unpredictable and get you so high in the air that it seems like it can’t be moving. I’ve always had a fear of flying, which is why I rarely go back home. I would rather make the thirty-nine-hour drive over a four-and-a-half-hour flight, but considering we are going to be gone for only a week, this was the easiest decision. But as I sit here, gripping the armrest, the idea of driving actually seems like the better idea. I normally take melatonin when I get on the plane, except I left it under my bathroom sink and didn’t want Hunter to turn around for me just to go and get one measly item.

“Hey, are you okay?” Hunter looks over at me, placing his hand on my thigh and squeezing it. Squinting my eyes open, I turn to look at him. Concern washes over his face, and I swallow my nerves down.

“Have I mentioned that I have a fear of flying?” I ask with a nervous smile.

“No, you haven’t, but it’s only a four and half hour flight at most. Do you need me to get you anything? Let me get one of the flight attendants. They probably have something to help with this.” He starts to get up, and I pull him back down, shaking my head no. “Are you sure?” He asks, brushing a piece of fallen hair behind my ear.

“Y-yeah, I will be okay,” Not sure if I’m trying to reassure him or myself.

He leans back against his seat, knowing he won’t win this argument no matter what. I don’t want to bother the flight attendants when they have more important things to coddle an eighteen-year-old who has an irrational fear of flying.

“Hello everyone, this is your captain speaking. Flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to Phoenix, Arizona will be getting ready to take off. Please buckle up, and it should be a smooth flight from here. We are scheduled to touch down at ten pm Mountain Standard Time. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.”

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Yeah, no thanks.

The intercom disconnects, and the flight attendants make their way down, ensuring everyone is strapped in and the electronics are powered down.

The plane jolts forward, and I squeeze my eyes shut, gripping the armrest even tighter. I feel a hand move over mine, and my eyes jolt open. I look down to see Hunter threading his fingers through mine while resting his head back with his eyes closed. I scowl at how calm he can be right now.

Hunter leans into me and whispers, “Ease your breathing, Love. You will be okay.” He moves away, and I already miss the warmth that he brings when he’s close to me.

I close my eyes as the plane continues to move forward, preparing to take flight. I take a deep breath, and then we are up in the air—many, many, many miles up in the air. I get my breathing under control, and the plane has finally leveled out. I wake Hunter up and give him a rundown of my family.

“Okay, that's everything you need to know. You can go back to sleep now.” I smile and readjust myself, resting my head back against the seat.

His only response is some grumbling as he attempts to get comfortable again.

Four and a half dreadful hours later, we are back on solid ground in Phoenix, Arizona. The warm air hits me when we walk out of the airport, and I breathe in the year-round summer air, which brings a smile to my face. Living here, you never really experience the cold. Which was fine until I moved to Massachusetts, and that's when I realized how much I love snow and the colder months.

I take my phone to text my Dad when I hear a honk from a few cars down to my left and look to see him waving his hand out the driver's window.

“That’s him,” Hunter follows where I'm pointing and grabs our bags, following me.

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