Chapter 26 - Departures and Arrivals

---Then---

Robert woke up alone in his bed early the next morning. The numb, empty feeling that had come over him when he realized Georgie was leaving him was gone, and in its wake was devastation. The only thing he was certain of – he didn’t want to see her. He knew if he did, he’d either lose control over his anger or fall completely apart. He dressed quickly, deciding he had no choice but to leave his house. When he walked out of his bedroom, he was relieved to see the door to the girls’ room was closed. That meant she wasn’t on the couch. He went downstairs, put on a jacket, and left.

He wandered around aimlessly for a while until he got hungry, then spent time in a coffee shop nursing a cup of tea and staring out the window at nothing. After that, he headed to the library since it had started raining. Just after noon, he rang Darrell, hoping to catch him on his lunch break.

“Hey, Robbie. What’s up?” he said when he answered.

“D’you mind if I stay at your house tonight?” Robert asked.

There was a long moment of silence, before Darrell asked with shock, “Did I hear ya right, Robbie? You want to stay at my place?”

“Yeah, you heard right,” he muttered.

“Holy –! Robbie, what the hell’s going on?” Robert sighed deeply.

“I – I can’t talk about it right now. I’ll tell you tonight when I see you, alright?”

“I, uh, dunno,” Darrell hedged.

“Y’know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” Robert said, hardly able to disguise the pleading tone.

“Yeah. Alright,” he said, giving in with a sigh.

“Cheers, Darrell,” Robert said with relief. “I’ll meet you there, yeah?”

“Uh, that’s not such a good idea. I’ll pick you up on my way, alright?” Darrell said quietly.

“I’m, uh, not at home. Can you pick me up at the library?”

There was another moment of silence before Darrell said quietly, “Yeah, I’ll ring you when I get there.”

Not long after that, Robert’s mobile started vibrating and he checked the display. The call was coming from his house. He tried to decide if he should answer it or not, uncertain if it was her or his mum, then he realized no one knew where he was.

“Hello?”

“Robbie, where are you? Are you alright?” his mum asked quickly, the worry evident in her voice. He immediately felt guilty. He should’ve left a note for her.

“Yeah, I’m alright, mum. I’m at the library.”

“Georgie told me. I’m so sorry, Robbie,” she said sadly, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he suddenly felt a terrible ache in his chest. Somehow hearing his mum say it made it more real.

“I’m going to stay at Darrell’s tonight so I’ll see you later, alright?” he said quickly, desperate to end the conversation.

“Oh. Are you sure? Don’t you –.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll talk to you later. Alright, mum?” he said quickly.

“Well – alright. Good bye, Robbie. I love you,” she said sadly.

“I love you too. Bye,” he said quietly, the ache in his chest even worse.

When Darrell picked him up later that evening, they didn’t say much and the ride to his house was silent. Darrell lived not far from Robert’s neighborhood in the same tiny semi-detached one story home he’d been living in when they first met. Darrell parked in the street and got out without a word. Robert followed him silently to the front door. As soon as it was opened, Robert could hear a football match playing loudly.

They walked into a warm and slightly stale smelling sitting room with papers, empty takeaway containers and beer bottles scattered about. Robert saw Darrell’s dad sitting in a recliner in front of an older model TV with a bottle of beer in his hand. He looked much older than the last time Robert had seen him. Most of his hair was gone and he’d gained weight.

Darrell didn’t say anything as he walked past his dad on the way to his bedroom. Robert followed, feeling uncomfortable.

“Oi! Who the hell are you!” Darrell’s dad shouted suddenly.

Darrell kept walking but Robert stopped, not wanting to be rude. He wasn’t surprised Darrell’s dad was questioning him, it had been quite a few years since he’d been over.

“I’m, uh, Robbie,” he said while Darrell’s dad squinted at him as if he wasn’t sure about him. Then his face changed.

“Oh, yeah. I remember,” he said, his lip curling a little. “The skinny one – with the hair.”

Darrell grabbed Robert’s arm and pulled, muttering, “C’mon, Robbie,” still not looking at his dad.

“Wait! Don’t go, lads!” he said loudly, suddenly sounding excited. “Grab somethin’ cold from the fridge and have a seat! The match just started!” At that point, Darrell’s grip on Robert’s arm got tighter and he pulled more insistently.

“Uh, no, thank you,” Robert said, as he let Darrell pull him towards his bedroom.

“No, don’t leave!” Darrell’s dad shouted angrily. “You’re a right twat, y’know that? You’re no better than your mother, you miserable little –!”

By then they were in Darrell’s bedroom and he slammed the door shut, cutting off the rest of the insult. They stood silently for a moment while Darrell faced the door breathing heavily. Then, without warning he kicked the chest of drawers next to it so hard it moved across the floor a few inches. Robert felt awful. It suddenly came back to him why he’d avoided going to Darrell’s home for so many years.

“I’m sorry, Darrell. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have –.”

“It’s alright, Robbie!” he said firmly, cutting him off.

While Darrell took a moment to calm down, Robert gave him his privacy. He looked around the small bedroom while he waited. It was nearly exactly the same as he remembered. Even the posters of motorbikes and footballers were the same. He was surprised by how tidy it was, it had been much messier when they were younger. Even the bed was made. It suddenly occurred to him that Darrell had made it that morning, never expecting he’d have company.

As far as Robert could tell, the only thing Darrell had added since he’d last been there were the small photographs pinned to the wall near his pillow, pictures of Betsy and the two of them together. He didn’t know why exactly, but seeing them made him feel sad.

“I should throw the tosser out on his ear,” Darrell muttered darkly, getting his attention. “It’s not like he pays for anything anymore – except his beer.” Robert didn’t know what to say so he kept silent.

Darrell turned around with a sigh. “What the hell’s going on, Robbie?”

Robert slumped and looked at the floor. He’d rather have another pass through Darrell’s sitting room than talk about it.

“It’s –,” and then he had to stop to clear his throat. “It’s Georgie. She’s leaving,” was all he could manage to choke out before his throat closed up entirely and the ache in his chest became unbearable. He willed himself to stay in control while he looked at the floor, swallowing against the tightness.

There were a few minutes of silence, then Darrell said quietly, “I’m hungry, Robbie. Did ya eat dinner yet?” Robert shook his head, still unable to look at him.

“Right. Let’s go.”

When the two of them walked back through the sitting room, Robert didn’t bother to stop when Darrell’s dad shouted, “Where the hell are ya goin’ now?”

They didn’t talk as they walked through a misting rain to a nearby pub where they each had a pint, a burger, and chips. They stayed there a while, watching the same match Darrell’s dad had been watching, then silently walked back.

When they were ready to go to bed, Robert insisted on sleeping on the floor. Darrell’s bed wasn’t any bigger than his at home and aside from the awkwardness of the situation, both of them were too damn big to be able to share it. Darrell went out and grabbed the cushions off his couch for Robert to sleep on and they were soon settled with the lights out.

It was a long night in which Robert slept very little, partly because he felt so desolate, and partly because Darrell’s dad spent much of it shouting drunken insults at the footballers on his TV. Early the next morning, Darrell dropped him off at his house on his way to work.

“Y’know you can stay again tonight – or anytime ya want, Robbie,” Darrell said sincerely, before Robert got out of the car.

“Cheers, Darrell. I appreciate it. I’ll let y’know, yeah?”

But he didn’t sleep at Darrell’s again. When his dad saw him a little later that morning before he left for work, he told Robert how Georgie had woken them with a nightmare. Seeing the haunted look in his dad’s eyes when he said, “I’ve never heard someone scream like that before, Robbie,” let him know he was screwed. He was going to have to stay home, at least during the nights, to keep her from waking his parents again.

The week he waited for Georgie to leave him was one of the worst of his life. It was like torture being around her, knowing she didn’t want him anymore. And it wasn’t helped by the fact that every time she got him alone, she’d launch into her reasons for why she was leaving him. He didn’t give a fuck what the reasons were. To keep her from bothering him, he spent most of the daytime hours out of the house, either walking or drinking endless cups of tea in coffee shops. If he was home, he kept to his room with the door closed.

But the nights were the worst. She slept in the girls’ room where the walls were thin enough, and he was sleeping so poorly, he’d hear her before she started making enough noise to wake his parents. Once he’d shaken her awake and returned to his room, he’d lay in bed, feeling utterly desolate as he listened to her cry, sometimes for hours, before she fell asleep.

The night before her flight his mum came to his room. “I want you to take Georgie to the airport, Robbie,” she said while he stared at her, open mouthed with shock.

“No! Absolutely not!” he shouted with outrage as soon as he’d recovered the ability to speak.

“Robbie, listen to me,” she said quickly, putting her hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down. “She’s going to be at Heathrow – alone,” she said with meaning. “If she can’t –. Well, I think you need to be there. Maybe you can convince her not to leave or – be there to work things out with her.”

He couldn’t believe he’d been so thick he hadn’t thought of it sooner. His mum was right. She wasn’t leaving him, she wasn’t going to be able to. For the first time in nearly two weeks he felt a bit of hope. If she couldn’t leave, she’d have no other choice than to work things out with him.

“Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll take her,” he said.

The next morning, Georgie had a small suitcase waiting by the front door when Robert came down the stairs, ready to take her to Heathrow. He stood by avoiding looking at her while she nervously went over her tickets and passport with his mum, making sure she had everything in order. When it was time for them to leave, his mum started crying and he could tell Georgie was about to. He took her suitcase out to the car, not wanting to be around it. Once he’d put the suitcase in the back seat, he got behind the wheel and waited for her, feeling angry. It was obvious she was still intent on leaving him. How the hell were they going to repair their relationship when she still felt this way about him?

It wasn’t long before she came out. She didn’t saying anything when she got in the car and he didn’t either when he started driving. She sat with her head turned away from him, looking out the window and he kept his eyes on the road ahead as they rode in silence.

After a few minutes, he felt her warm, soft hand take his and hold it, surprising him. He quickly glanced at her, but she was still facing away from him looking out the window. His first instinct was to pull away, not wanting her to touch him, but he hesitated. Did this mean she was reconsidering? Was this her way of showing she wasn’t going to be able to be separated from him? He let her hold it.

When they were parked at Heathrow, he got her suitcase out for her and she took the handle to pull it. When they started walking towards the exit of the car park, she slipped her hand in his again to hold it, and he let her. Once they were inside, she located the ticket counter without asking for his help. While they waited in the queue for her to check her suitcase, neither of them said anything. The closer they got to the ticket counter, the more Robert began to feel a sense of dread. Even though she still held his hand, she wouldn’t look at him.

When it was her turn, she momentarily let go of him and he took the opportunity to walk away from her, leaving her go to the counter alone. He stood some distance away with his back to her and after a few minutes, she appeared in front of him. For the first time, he looked at her. Her blue eyes were sad as she looked up at him, her face grim. Then he looked down. The suitcase was gone, she’d checked it. He suddenly felt sick and looked away from her.

“I think I have to go this way,” she said quietly but he didn’t look to see which way she was pointing. She began walking and after a hesitation, he followed behind her. When they were close to the entrance of the security screening, he stopped. As soon as she realized he wasn’t following her, she walked back to him, looking at him with confusion.

“I don’t go any further, Georgie. You go the rest of the way alone,” he said pointedly, looking at her. A look of fear and pain briefly crossed her face, and then it was gone as she looked like she was steeling herself.

She was really going to fucking do this, he thought suddenly, and the realization hit him hard. He looked over her head and concentrated on his breathing, fighting to stay in control so he wouldn’t completely fall apart in the middle of the fucking airport.

After a few moments, she said sadly, “You know I love you, right? I’ll love you forever, Robert. That’s not going to change.”

He swallowed against the tightening in his throat as he looked over her head at nothing. There was another minute of silence between them.

“Can I give you a hug?” she asked almost in a whisper. He shook his head without looking at her.

After another pause, he heard her say quietly, “I’m so sorry,” the words cutting away everything.

Then she turned and walked away from him. Once she was in the security queue, he looked at her. She turned and their eyes met. He shook his head slowly at her, willing her to realize what a terrible mistake she was making, willing her to come back to him, but she broke eye contact and turned away. As she slowly made her way closer to the metal detectors, he kept his eyes on her but she wouldn’t look at him. He watched her take off her purse and cardigan and put them in a bin to be x-rayed.

While she was waiting for her turn to go through the machine, she finally turned and looked at him. When their eyes met, he silently begged her to come back to him. Then one of the officers got her attention, telling her it was her turn and she stepped through. When she was on the other side and had collected her purse and cardigan, she stepped aside so others could pass and turned back. It took her a moment to find him, and when she did, she slowly put her hand up. She didn’t wave exactly, just held it up, looking at him with her sad blue eyes.

Please, God. Don’t do this to me, Georgie, he thought desperately.

Then she dropped her hand and turned away. Within seconds she disappeared into the crowds, leaving him in the dark as a heavy bleakness descended over him.

The next thing he knew, he was turning off the car in front of his house with no knowledge of how he got there. Once inside, he went directly up the stairs, hearing his mum call out, “Robbie?” from the kitchen.

He went into his room, closing the door behind him. He climbed in his bed, pulled the covers over his head, and then . . . nothing.

---Now---

Robert wandered into the baggage claim area of O’Hare International Airport pulling on his motorcycle jacket. He slowly wove his way through the crowds of people, his eyes sliding over the faces, not focusing on any of them.

“Robert!”

It was almost a scream that came from behind him. He automatically turned around along with everyone else standing near him. He didn’t even see her before her body slammed into him, knocking him backwards a few steps as she locked her arms around his neck holding him tight, sobbing into the space between his shoulder and neck. He stood there in shock, his arms half way up, not touching her.

The first thing he noticed was her smell. The shampoo she used was different from the ones he’d smelled before, sort of floral, but underneath it he smelled her. And he could feel the heat from her body coming through his t-shirt, going right inside him. Then, it suddenly felt like he’d come awake, as if all his senses had been deadened until now, like his world had suddenly gone from black and white to color.

Before he knew what had happened, his arms were wrapped around her, holding her tight. He buried his face in her neck and closed his eyes as he breathed deeply, taking in as much of her smell as he could. He felt her thick hair under his hands. He’d forgotten it could feel so smooth and silky. One arm moved up on its own, pushing her hair into his face, engulfing him in it.

Memories flooded his mind. So many nights holding her while she clung to him just like this, sobbing into his neck as he comforted her after a nightmare. The shuddering sigh she would make when she finally stilled in his arms, her body relaxing as she molded herself to him. Her lying underneath him, her pale skin so soft, pressed against his while he made love to her. Her body, warm and comforting, nestled next to him afterwards while she slept in his arms.

Georgie pulled away from him, and he immediately let go of her, suddenly angry with himself. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he have done that? Was he really so fucking weak it only took seconds of being near her before he was crumbling? Did he want to get hurt all over again?

She wiped the tears from her face with her fingers and smiled at him, her vivid blue eyes filled with happiness and relief, her face glowing. She was more beautiful than he’d remembered, if that was even possible, and he had to look away, letting his eyes wander, not seeing anything.

“I’m so happy you’re here!” she cried, and lifted her hand to touch his cheek but he quickly stepped back and turned slightly as if he was looking for something, putting a space between them. She put her hand down and turned as well. He wasn’t sure if she’d noticed.

“You have to come meet May and Marianne!” she exclaimed, then practically skipped over to two slightly plump elderly women who looked nearly identical to one another. They had the same short white curly hair and were even the same height, much shorter than Georgie. When Georgie reached them, she turned to wait for Robert, beaming at him. The two women were smiling as well as he walked towards them, but he suddenly couldn’t take his eyes off Georgie. Now that he could see her fully, he was shocked by how she was dressed.

She was wearing a fitted bright blue women’s suit jacket with the sleeves pushed up, exposing her lower arms, the cut of it accentuating the slight curves on her slender figure. She wore it over a shirt that looked like it had a large floral print but it was hard to tell because most of her chest was covered by a fringed pink and red scarf she had expertly draped around her neck. The outfit was complete with skinny jeans and red converse trainers. On anyone else the same combination of clothing would have been garish, but somehow Georgie managed to pull it off.

Robert couldn’t help the image that came into his head of Georgie seven months ago. Sitting at the desk in the flat bent over her sewing in the oppressive silence. Wearing the ugly shapeless shirt and skirt made from the same drab grey-blue cloth, her hair in the single braid she was forced to wear. It was hard to reconcile that Georgie with this stylish girl. Of course that hadn’t been the only change in her over the last seven months, he thought bitterly as he tore his eyes away from her.

When he reached them, Georgie put her arm around one of the women, saying, “Robert, this is May.” He was immediately struck by the woman’s sharp, intelligent ice blue eyes and no-nonsense body language. He could easily see her teaching teenagers in the tough neighborhoods of a big city with no problem.

He smiled and held his hand out, saying, “It’s good to finally meet you, May.”

She took his hand and then surprised him by putting her other hand around his neck to pull him down so she could kiss his cheek. He had to bend down quite a bit since she was so much shorter than he was.

After she kissed him, she said quietly in his ear, “I’m so glad you agreed to come, Robert. This means a lot to us,” in that slightly deep voice with the rich accent he’d heard before. When he pulled away, he could see her tearing up a little. It made him uncomfortable, but he smiled a little to hide it. He noticed her use of the word ‘us’. He knew she was referring to Georgie.

“And this is Marianne,” Georgie said, putting her arm around the other woman. She had a kind smile and soft green eyes. Robert immediately sensed a quiet, calmness in her.

He smiled and held his hand out to her, saying, “Pleased to meet you, Marianne.”

He was grateful she only shook it, saying gently, “It’s nice to meet you, Robert. Welcome to America.” He noticed her accent right away. It was the same rich accent as May’s, but her voice was much higher.

Then he realized Georgie still hadn’t told May what had happened. They didn’t know he’d been in the States already as a prisoner. He could feel the anger flare up again even though he knew he shouldn’t let it bother him. If Georgie decided not to share what had happened to her, it was her choice.

They all stood there awkwardly for a moment before Georgie said, “Do you have a suitcase?”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, trying not to look at her, but unable to stop the glances he stole.

“Do you know which carousel it is?”

“Uh, two – I think,” he said, looking around as if he was trying to find it. She turned and then spotted it at the end of the baggage claim area.

“There it is!” she called out happily, and then started practically skipping to it. After a second, he loped behind her more slowly, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. She was irritating him already, being so fucking happy he was here.

As he followed behind her, he realized she’d had her hair cut since she’d left him. Instead of it being all one length, she’d had it shaped and it was shorter on the sides than in the middle of her back. It had been layered as well and all the ends curled slightly, bouncing as she walked, giving her thick wavy hair a life it had never had before.

He couldn’t stop his eyes lingering over her long shapely legs and high round bum, accentuated by the cut of her short jacket and perfectly hugged by her skinny jeans. Then he noticed every other fucking bloke in baggage claim was checking her out as well.

“Georgie!” She stopped and turned around to look at him. “Wait up!” To his dismay, her face lit up and she quickly bounded back to him with her face glowing.

“I’m sorry, Robert! I didn’t mean to leave you behind!” she said happily, smiling at him as she slipped her arm around his waist under his leather jacket so they could walk together.

Fuck, why did he do that?

They walked up to the carousel and of course, it hadn’t even started moving yet. While they stood there, Georgie turned to face him and slipped her other arm under his jacket, looking up at him as she held him lightly around his waist. He kept his eyes on the carousel willing it to turn on. Thank God, it worked, and he started fervently praying for his luggage to show up.

“I like your jacket. Is it new?” Georgie asked, holding his waist a little tighter.

“Uh, yeah – I guess,” he muttered, keeping his eyes glued to the top of the incline the luggage was climbing up before it slid down to the revolving carousel. He considered mentioning that she’d fucking stolen his other jacket but decided to keep his mouth shut.

She leaned closer to him, sliding her arms up his back, tightening her hold as she smiled up at him. “I like how you look in it. You look kind of dangerous,” she said playfully.

He was cursing the baggage handlers now and desperately wishing she’d stop pressing her body against him because of how it was making him feel. She let go of him but just as he felt relieved, she slipped her fingers through his hair as she circled her arms around his neck, leaning even closer.

“Your hair is long again. I like it like that,” she said quietly.

Damn it. He knew he should’ve had it cut before he left.

She got even closer to him, her arms tightening around his neck. “You look really good,” she whispered. When he glanced down at her, she was looking at his lips and he knew what she was about to do.

At that moment, his suitcase miraculously appeared at the top of the incline. He quickly pulled her arms off from around his neck and stepped around her saying sharply, “Luggage!”

Once he’d retrieved the suitcase he turned around, but Georgie wasn’t where he’d left her. He found her a little further away standing next to May and Marianne, who’d reached their side of the baggage claim area. As he walked towards them, he couldn’t help noticing Georgie was holding hands with May. She was smiling a little as she waited for him, but in her eyes he could see how she was really feeling. He saw pain and sadness – and fear.

He looked away as he approached them, trying not to let on how angry he felt, and trying to ignore the guilt.

****

Even though Georgie told Robert she just wanted him to come for a visit, it looks like she’s hoping that something more is going to happen. And just like he’s managed to do so many times before, Robert is giving the poor girl all sorts of mixed signals and mucking things up pretty well. It’s going to be a tough two weeks for both of them as they try to navigate the conflicting expectations and emotions they’re feeling. What will happen? Will they work things out and have their happily ever after? Or will Robert leave with their relationship irrevocably broken? And how did you like the glimpse into Darrell’s home life?

If you liked this chapter, please vote for it. Leave me a comment letting me know what you think will happen, how you feel about Robert, Georgie, or anything at all! When you share your thoughts with me, it helps me write a better story for you! Thanks for reading and enjoying!