Running to the gate with only minutes to spare, I said five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys.
With no bags, I was able to whiz through security without any issues, except one small snafu when the metal embellishments on my belly dancer garb caused the detectors to go off. They cleared me, and I arrived at the boarding area just in the knick of time.
Did I mention I’d never been on a plane before?
TELL ME SOMETHING FUNNY
Every moment of the five-hour flight was spent shaking my knees up and down. I used to think I would be afraid to fly, but I found myself far more fearful of what awaited me on the ground.
Unable to concentrate on anything but Landon, I couldn’t even read or focus on the movie to get my mind off of things.
Once we landed, I asked a stranger for money to take public transportation, which let me off right in front of Los Angeles Memorial Hospital.
I looked ridiculous, with runny mascara and a coat thrown over my belly dancer outfit. Feeling like I was going to pass out from heat, I took the coat off, which meant everyone was staring at me in my beaded bra top. It didn’t matter to me; all that mattered was getting to Landon.
I stopped at the front desk. “I’m here to see Landon Roderick. Can you tell me where he is?”
My heart was in my mouth the entire time the receptionist was searching the system. I braced for her response.
“He’s in Room 410. Take the elevator up to the fourth floor and follow the signs to the East Wing.”
I let out the breath I was holding as a rush of relief ran through me.
He was still here.
He was alive.
Thank you, God!
Having no clue what I was going to say or do, I ran into the empty elevator and pressed the number four button. My heart beat faster with each change of the digits.
Suddenly, my nerves were starting to get the best of me. Unable to fight the tears that were forming in my eyes, I wondered if I was really going to be able to handle seeing him. Or worse, what if he didn’t want me here under these circumstances?
The elevator dinged and opened to Landon’s floor.
I lingered for a moment before taking a deep breath and stepping out.
Unable to remember where the receptionist had told me to go, I must have looked as frazzled as I felt because a nurse stopped to offer me help.
“Where are you headed?”
“Room 410?”
She pointed to a few doors down. “That’s right there, but it’s empty. The patient just checked out.”
“Where is he?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t give you that information. It’s confidential.”
“Was he definitely discharged?”
She hesitated. “I believe so.”
“How long ago?”
“Maybe about twenty minutes ago.”
Swallowing hard, I made my way back toward the elevators in shock. My throat was parched; I hadn’t had anything to drink in hours, and soon I was going to pass out on this floor and need to be admitted myself.
Where was I going next? I had no clue.
As I ventured back down to the lobby, I looked around in vain for any sign of him. It was getting late, nearing midnight, and I needed to find him. Where else was I going to go if not to him? I just hoped the woman was right and that he was truly discharged and okay as opposed to transferred somewhere else. I needed to know for certain that he was going to be alright.
Pushing my way through the revolving doors, I was just about to text him when the world seemed to stop spinning.
I quickly became aware that I wasn’t going to have to wait long to find out what had become of Landon.
The sight of him knocked the wind out of me.
I froze.
I recognized his brawny, tattooed arms from the back immediately. At least, I was ninety-nine percent sure it was him. Landon was standing near the curb as he presumably waited for a ride.
Now that I could see he was apparently fine, I became paralyzed by a new kind of fear.
He hasn’t seen you yet.
There’s still time to turn around and go home, Rana.
Landon reached into his pocket to take out his phone and began typing something for a while. I just continued to stay still, watching him from afar.
About two minutes later, my phone vibrated.
He’d been typing a text to me.
Landon: I know it’s late there. I’m sure you’re sleeping, and technically I’m in the middle of a self-imposed ban on contacting you, but I just wanted to let you know something. Life is fucking short. I’m okay…but I hit my head skateboarding. I got a mild concussion. Spent the whole day in the hospital so they could run tests to make sure my head was still screwed on straight. (Although that’s never really been the case, right?) Anyway, the whole point of this text is to let you know that it would have really sucked if for some reason I wasn’t okay, mainly because I would’ve never had a chance to tell you that I was sorry for hanging up on you. If by any chance you’re up, and you get this, I could really use a little of your crazy right now. Tell me something funny, Rana.
Oh, my God.
Okay, breathe.
Without thinking it through, I just began to type. My hands were shaking.
Rana: I’ve got one for you. It’s a long one, actually. So, I go to text you during my intermission at work, and you write back…except it’s not you. It’s your friend writing to let me know that you’re in the hospital, that you’d hit your head, and that he had no idea how bad it was. What does a sane person do in that scenario? She runs out of work and heads to the airport. I get there, and it turns out—big surprise—my credit card is declined. So, I wasn’t getting on a flight until the old man who’d been ogling me just minutes before decides to pay for my plane ticket. I proceed to kiss him on the lips and run to the gate. Never been on a plane before in my life. Six hours later, I’m at the hospital in L.A., still dressed in my beaded bra and sheer skirt, only to find out you were discharged. Broke, hungry, and dressed like a whore on Halloween, I come outside to find that by some twisted miracle of fate—you’re standing on the curb. So, I stay frozen, right behind you, scared as shit.
I hit send.
My entire body was now trembling as I watched him look down at his phone and read the message.
I waited for that moment, and it came when his body whipped around.
My chest was heaving. Finally, his eyes landed on mine. It was truly the most surreal moment of my life, as beautiful as it was terrifying.
The night wind blew my hair around as Landon slowly approached me. He was even more stunningly handsome in person and up close. His eyes were even lighter than I remembered, the slight bump on his nose more prominent.