Page 84 of Where We Fall

“I can’t take the jet.” I stand in shock as he moves to put his shoes on.

“Why not?”

“It’s too much money.”

He looks up at me with confusion. “Sweetheart, your mom is in the hospital. If it were my mom, I would be willing to pay anything to get to her. Don’t think about the money. Now, get your shoes on. Let’s go.”

I don’t have time to argue. This feels a little extreme, but it will get me to my mom faster. A plane ride from Cleveland to Chicago is about an hour. If we really do hop on in and go, I’ll be there in an hour and a half, compared to five hours.

He insisted on driving me, which was a great idea because now that I know how I’m getting there, and things have settled down, the tears have returned.

His hand rests on my leg. “It’ll be okay. My Ma took a spill a couple of years ago. It was scary. She needed surgery but healed up just fine. I know it’s different with your mom's mental state, but in terms of her body, she can come out of this.”

I know his words are meant to reassure me, but they don’t. I doubt that I’ll feel better until I can see her.

Marcus manages to get us to the private airport within twenty minutes. Since it’s already dark out, hardly any other cars are in the parking lot. As soon as we get inside, the pilot greets us.

“Hello, Mr. Giannelli. We have the jet ready to go. The crew is just doing a quick maintenance check. We should be taking off in ten minutes.”

Marcus shakes his hand. “I appreciate the quick response and apologize for the last-minute request.”

“Not a problem, Sir. Is it both of you flying tonight?”

“It is,” Marcus replies.

“Wonderful. Follow me, and we will walk out to the jet.”

Marcus takes my hand and follows the pilot.

“Marcus, you don’t need to come.”

He wraps an arm around me, instantly making my body feel more secure and safe. "Of course, I’m coming. I can’t let you do this alone.”

I want to cry. When have I ever had someone there to support me like this? Never.

My friends are incredible and would absolutely come if I asked, but they have lives. I can’t expect a mom of two to drop everything with her family to come and sit with me. Chloe doesn’t even live in the same state.

But here Marcus is, completely selfless and putting off his life to come with me.

As soon as we get on the plane, Marcus leads me to the back, where we take our seats next to each other. Being the gentleman he is, he lets me take the window seat.

“There isn’t a stewardess tonight, but I can get you anything you want,” he tells me.

I grab his hand and lean my head on his shoulder. “I just want to be near you.”

He places a soft kiss on my forehead. It always makes me feel precious and adored when he does that.

The plane takes off, and we ascend into the air. After about fifteen minutes, the seat belt lights go off. Marcus unbuckles his belt and gets up. I rest my eyes while he’s gone, trying to focus on the sound of the engines to keep my mind off of my mom.

He comes back holding a coffee cup.

“I made you some tea. I thought it might help calm your nerves.”

He takes a seat and hands it to me.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“How are you feeling?” he asks as I take a small sip.