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Nothing.
I look at the tracker on my wrist. Alicia seems to be somewhere around 42nd street and Lexington Avenue. That’s fine. I’ll head straight into Midtown – I’ll probably be dead by the time I hit the ground though if this fucking parachute doesn’t open up soon.
I only have a few more seconds. After that it won’t matter when I open the parachute – it won’t do enough to shield my fall.
I close my eyes and see the buildings approach. This is the last chance I have. Otherwise, I might as well make my peace with this life and hope that Alicia is able to find love without me.
I pull the cord.
The parachute deploys and I immediately slow my descent.
Fuck. That was a rush. My hearts beating in my throat.
But the hard part isn’t over. It’s just barely begun. I look at my tracker, trying to pinpoint where Alicia is. It begins narrowing down her location, telling me where I should aim to land.
I finally see the coordinates she’s heading towards. 42nd Street between Lex and Park.
Fuck. Not there. Anywhere but there.
But the tracker doesn’t lie and I angle my body to start navigating the towers of Midtown.
This is going to be fun.
Alicia
“One way to New Haven, please” I say to the ticket agent in the Main Concourse. I’m standing in Grand Central, and I’ve packed as much as I need for maybe two to three weeks on my own. Jenna was nice enough to let me crash at her parent’s place while they’re away and it’ll be good for me to get away and clear my head.
I’ve left the News of the Times. I don
’t know if they fired me. I didn’t resign. I just left. The newspaper came out, I read it at my desk, and then I packed my desk and put everything into my bag and walked out.
On the way I saw Danielle and Mike. They both smiled at me and nodded. I gave them a tight smile as I left.
“Round trip or one way?” the station agent asks me again.
I sigh. As much as I told my Mom and the King, I don’t think I’m coming back to New York City for a while. Too many painful memories. But I have enough in my roller-suitcase and handbag for clothes to last me at least a month.
“One way,” I tell him.
I heard from Mom that Derrick went straight to his plane from Court and he was headed back towards St. Livy.
I can’t go there. But from Connecticut I may think of moving off myself. Maybe Los Angeles? Boston? London?
Anywhere to get away from my broken heart.
The agent hands me the ticket and I thank him, walking down the Concourse. I look up at the windows to Grand Central. It’s lovely – one of the enduring and iconic views of New York City.
I pause for a second to look at the beauty of the terminal Concourse and reflect on the city I’m leaving behind. But every street, every avenue, and every building seems somehow intertwined with Derrick. And it’s just too much to bear knowing that the love of my life is gone.
I turn around to walk towards my train gate when I hear something.
At first it’s just a low hum. But it sounds out of the ordinary. And somehow it’s seems to cut through all the other sounds of the city.
I frown and look around. I don’t see anything.
But the sound keeps getting louder.
That’s when I see something from the corner of my eye. I look up.
