Catherine laid back in her seat terrified. This was her first plane ride since her birthday last year, and this time she didn't have Jackie there to hold her hand. Once the plane took off, she felt relaxed. The ride was a lot smoother than the small plane Jackie took her up in.
Maybe this wasn't so bad after all, she thought.
She immediately grinned knowing Jackie's theory was right. She faced her fear and now the fear had diminished. This just confirmed that even though Catherine was the college professor, Jackie had taught her equally as much in the time they had spent together. Catherine fell asleep after reviewing her notes and by the time she had woken up, the flight was over.
She had survived.
As soon as she exited the airport, she felt the warm California sun on her skin. She didn't even realise how much she had missed this place until now.
****
After checking in to her hotel, she went up to her room to unpack and settle in. She turned the TV on in the background, until she heard the reporter saying
"The stars will soon arrive for the Hollywood premier of Neptune 26."
Catherine immediately glanced at the TV. What were the chances, the day she lands at California is the same day Jackie's movie is premiering. When first being asked to speak at alma mater, of course the first thing Catherine thought about was Jackie. However, just because she was coming to California didn't mean she thought she would see her. Especially since Stanford and Hollywood are a good 5 and a half hour drive apart from each other. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped foot in California, she was reminded of Jackie. They had not spoken since the day Jackie left her house last year.
As much as Catherine wanted to, she needed to put the pieces of her life back together and she also didn't want to hold Jackie back from her dreams. She was a little hurt that Jackie had never made an effort to check in, especially knowing that Catherine was left with a shattered life- but she understood.
After all, she was the one who told Jackie she wasn't worth it and was the one who brought a man home right in front of her. Catherine paced the room for a good 30 minutes until she finally grabbed her phone.
This was Jackie's big day and she wanted to be the bigger person.
C:Â Hi Jackie, it's Catherine. I know it's been a while but I saw on the news that your movie premiers tonight. I just wanted to wish you good luck and hope that you are well.
Catherine restyled this message a handful of times. Making sure not to come off as pathetic.
****
Jackie was sitting in her hotel room having her hair and makeup done for her big premier. Until she heard her phone go off.
"Who is it now?" She asked her assistant.
Her phone had been going off all day with people giving her their best wishes.
"It's a text message from someone named Catherine."
Jackie's heart dropped.
"Give it to me," she replied back to her assistant.
She struggled to look down at her phone through all of the hair that was clipped in front of her face. She opened the message and suddenly felt a surge of emotions running through her body. She could've believe THE Catherine Stark had just texted her. She quickly replied knowing her time was limited.
J:Â Hi Catherine! Thank you so much :) It's so good to hear from you. I don't have much time to talk right now, but we should catch up soon.
****
Catherine couldn't believe how quickly her phone lit up.
She didn't want to sound needy so she decided on a short and sweet message.
C:Â Sounds good. Talk to you soon.
You would think sleep would be an issue that night considering she had just spoken to the girl she had longed for the last year. After the tiring day of travelling that she went through, Catherine passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.
A/n Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸