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I walk out the door before changing my mind, leaving Jameson leaning against the counter with his arms holding his body up. I shoot Karly a quick text to let her know I'm going to the airport now and won't need her to pick me up and toss the phone back down in my bag.
The Uber ride to the airport is silent, and I make it through security quickly, finding my gate and plugging my phone up to charge. I got here a couple hours before take-off solely because I couldn't stay home.
I try to ignore Jay's text messages, only glancing at them and not thoroughly reading them, knowing I can't go back. The second I do, it will start the cycle repeatedly, and I'll be back here in another couple of weeks. Another tear escapes my eye, and the chair beside me becomes occupied. I turn my head, my eyes landing on Jameson.
I sit up defensively, "What do you want? How did you even get back here?"
He flashes the ticket he purchased with a smirk, "Please don't go."
"I have to. This is slowly killing me. I can't eat or sleep. It's like a constant weight on my chest, slowly crushing me. Maybe we're better off this way."
He shuffles in the seat, pulling a box from his pocket, kneeling in front of me.
"I love you. We're not better off apart. I don't want to ever live a day without you."
He opens the box, my eyes dropping to a beautiful diamond ring, my tears flowing harder than they were before.
Marriage?
"Jameson, I…"
Choking on my words, I gently close the box, his face twisting in confusion. I pull him up to me, and his sobs nearly break me in half as he leans his head into my shoulder.
"Don't leave me," He begs, positioning his hands on my shoulders.
"This isn't the right," I sigh, "it just doesn't feel right."
"It just doesn't feel like the right time," I sigh.
"Are we ever going to tell her?" His voice on the other end of the line is desperate and agitated.
"Of course we will, but we agreed this would be on my terms."
"I need her to know the truth, Hanna. It's getting harder and harder every time we are together."
I don't want to admit it but, he's right. We need to tell Ellie. I am just so afraid that she will be upset or unsure of what to do with her feelings.
I don't respond quick enough, and his voice interrupts my thoughts, "We're about to go on TDY, Han. I can't leave here and not tell her."
What? He's leaving?
"You're getting deployed?" I screech into the phone, my biggest fear coming right back to the forefront of my mind. He's leaving her.
"Yeah, a temporary assignment. It was just confirmed."
"So you're leaving? When?"
"Ten days," he sighs.
"Where? For how long?"
"Tyndall Air Force base in Florida, it's a sixty-day training."
I can feel my heartbeat picking up, "You want to tell Ellie that you're her father and then bolt?"
His voice picks up defensively on the other end of the line, "No, I want to tell her I'm her father and then go out of town for work."
I instantly regret my words, knowing they hurt him, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that."
