Page 1 of Ask No Questions

One

I jerked awake, confused. The dream that had been haunting me for the past few weeks began to fade. My therapist told me leaving should help me forget. She also told me I had nothing to worry about.

Just then, two dings rang through the plane, and I remembered where I was.

"Folks, sorry about that little bump. We have begun our descent to John Wayne Airport, where the current weather is sixty-three degrees and sunny. We’ll be arriving at the gate in about twenty minutes. Flight attendants prepare the cabin for arrival, and we would like to thank you for flying with us today…"

Shifting in my seat, I watched out the window as the houses and cars grew larger. The lines of freeways intertwined, interrupting the flat land of shopping malls and houses. I couldn’t rip my eyes from the ocean looming in the distance. It looked so foreign from the city I was born and raised in, without the clutter of skyscrapers.

The plane banked, giving the older lady next to me the opportunity to lean across me and catch a glimpse of the ocean through the window before we landed. I caught a whiff of her perfume and scrunched my nose, trying not to sneeze. Why do all old women smell the same? Was there a specialty store only they knew about? That's probably where they find that oddly unflattering shade of pink lipstick and limitless amount of colorful, stretchy pants.

"Do you live here, dear?” The woman was taking advantage of finally being able to make small talk for the last few minutes of the flight. I had put my headphones on before we left the gate in Chicago and quickly fell asleep after takeoff. Apparently, she didn’t know this was a clear sign of ‘Please don’t talk to me’.

I pulled my headphones off and glanced at the woman. "I do now."

I tried to sit up straight to see the front of the plane, attempting to guess how much longer I had in this recycled air capsule.

"Oh, how exciting! Orange County is such a lovely place. My son and his family live just a few miles from the beach.” The woman babbled on about her wonderful grandchildren all the way to the gate.

When the door opened, allowing the front passengers to make their escape, I prayed for the rows in front of me to move quickly. I wasn't necessarily in a hurry to start my new life, but I couldn't handle the ramblings of this grandma. Not while a hundred thoughts and worries were racing through my mind about the changes in my life that had occurred in the past few days.

How was living with Brandon going to work? Would I fit in here? Was Morgan still thinking about me?

Finally, the row in front of me started forward. I picked up my purse as the granny and I stood up and shifted to side-step our way out of the cramped row to grab our luggage from the overhead bin. A guy about my age standing in the row behind me reached to grab down granny's bag.

She took it from him with a thanks before turning to smile at me. “It was nice talking to you. Good luck!”

I struggled to smile in response before she headed toward the exit.

The guy turned back to me and smiled before reaching for my black bag. It was the last one in the overhead bin and had a dancer embroidered on the front with my name in teal below.

"This one for you... Aubrey?" He asked as he glanced down at the name and back at me with the same smile on his lips. I took in his designer jeans and wrinkled t-shirt and his golden-brown hair. There was something off about his smile, though. It was more of a smirk, the trademark of cocky guys. My eyes dropped to his sandals, and with a furrowed brow I lifted my head to greet him.

"Yeah, thanks for getting that down for me." I struggled to get out of the row gracefully with the boy and the bag now blocking my path. I did my best not to scowl as I reached to meet his hand and take my bag. Mystery boy continued to smile as he held the bag a few beats too long before releasing it to me.

"I’m Tucker, by the way, and it was my pleasure." Still smiling, he picked up his backpack and followed me down the aisle toward the exit door.

I sighed inwardly, noticing him following me closely. I just wanted a few minutes of quiet to pull myself together before seeing Brandon, but I moved here to start fresh with a positive attitude and this was a good opportunity to test it out.

Once we were on the air bridge, I turned with what I hoped came across as a friendly smile and paused to let him catch up.

"So Tucker, isn’t it a little late in the season to be wearing sandals?" He glanced down at his bare toes, then with a lifted brow looked pointedly at the brown leather ankle boots I had paired with tailored pants, a cream sweater, and a fitted blazer. "Aren’t you a little overdressed for the season, Aubrey?"

I smiled to myself at his hint of flirting banter and shrugged as we exited into the airport. "It's September! What do you mean I'm overdressed?"

He laughed at my confused face as he pointed toward the windows where I took in the palm trees and clear, blue skies. "You’re probably used to Chicago weather, but here it’s sunny and seventy year-round. I hope you packed something other than boots and sweaters 'cause you are going to be burning up in a few minutes.”

I rolled my eyes, immediately regretting my decision to be friendly and looked toward the luggage carousels that were coming into view. Panic set in when I didn’t see my ride waiting.

As Tucker and I walked closer, I spotted my brother leaning against a pillar near the carousel. He was taller than the last time I’d seen him. Of course, that was nearly two years ago, so we had both changed considerably. His brown hair was darker than my auburn locks—he took after our father. The sides were cut short, and the top was left longer and swooped over to the side. He wore black-rimmed glasses, similar to the ones he had worn in high school before they were made trendy by hipsters. I grew up watching girls fawn over him and struggle to hold his attention, but he considered himself a computer dork, oblivious to his good looks and charming personality.

A smile broke across his face when he turned my direction, almost looking past me, before recognizing his little sister. His mouth dropped slightly. "Aubrey?" I smirked at his shock as he took me in.

"Is that your boyfriend or something? He's a little old for you." Jealousy streaked Tucker's face as he waited for me to respond.

I’d forgotten he was standing next to me. "No, Tucker. This is my brother. Thanks for getting my bag down and walking with me. Have a great day!"

I didn't let myself look back as I walked away, despite how badly I wanted to see his expression. Boys like Tucker, with their expensive clothes and over-confidence, were what I was trying to leave behind. Besides, I’m pretty sure he would get over it as soon as he spotted another girl to annoy.