I attempt to collect a breath through burning lungs but am interrupted by a broken voice. "I hate to interrupt..."
No...No. No. No. Please tell me she didn't hear any of that.
"You don't believe in knocking?" My father snaps, his own voice shaky.
"I um...I did," Brie whispers holding back what sounds like a sob. "Repeatedly actually. You must not have heard me."
"And it couldn't have waited?" He snips again, which forces my face his direction.
"For you to go off in another bigoted tantrum, I imagine not." I turn my attention back to my girlfriend's solemn face. "You alright, love?"
"No," she answers voice still uneven. "I um...I need to go home."
"You don't," I sigh heavily.
"No...I...do. My father had a heart attack and was rushed to the emergency room. He's....He's in surgery."
The dread begins to drown me as I rush towards her.
Rather than allowing me to embrace, she flinches backwards. "I need to go home, Kellan."
"I'll have the jet fueled and waiting." My father rises to his feet. "I'll send someone to collect your things."
"Thank you, sir," Brie whispers before spinning on her heels and dashing out.
I turn and give him a hard look. "This is far from over."
He gives me a slow shake of his head. "I don't think it is."
Without another word, I storm off after my girlfriend, the condition of her father and callousness of mine combining together to create an excruciatingly painful purgatory neither of us deserves to dwell in.
***
The return flight to the states is as agonizingly quiet as the hasty preparation was. Since having interrupted the conversation with the news of her father, Brie hasn't uttered more words than necessary nor has she allowed for me to make physical contact. In fact she's not even making eye contact. It's as if she's lost in her own thoughts with no intent of inviting me in to understand them. While I'm doing my best to give her space and understand where it is she's coming from, there's a lump of trepidation lodged permanently in the back of my throat.
She's just emotional about the possibility of losing her father, right? She's not upset with me. She can't possibly hold me accountable for his hatred, can she?
After the captain announces we're clear to de-board, I quickly stand, and extend my hand to help her up.
Brie rises on her own, causing the lump to swell.
"You should message your mother. See if she needs us to bring her anything on our way to the hospital."
I begin to head for the door when her hand lands on my arm. "Kellan, wait."
When I turn to face her, my relief from her touch is short lived and the dread amplifies.
"The first time we met I never imagined I would see you again. I never thought we'd date or fall in love for that matter. I damn sure never thought I'd end up in your country, experiencing the life you spend so much time running away from." She pauses as if collecting her thoughts. "And I understand why you run. Why you act out. Why you're hell bent on enjoying your time rather than wallowing in the misery looming for you thousands of miles away. It's a burden to be who you are. To be told what to say and taught how to say it. Where to go and when to be there. To fulfill expectations regardless if you agree with them or not. You run because you know someday you're not going to be able to. Someday you're going to have to stop, turn, and face the crowd, not because you want to but because you were born to. You brush off all the aristocratic shit because you hate that you can't alter that reality. That you rely on them to get the things you want to get done, done. You are a duke. A beloved prince. You are an image that cannot be altered simply because it's what you want."
Her words cause my mouth to thoughtlessly tremble.
"You are going to change the world, Kellan Kenningston. You're going to give hope to the hopeless just like your mother did. But in order to do that you need those people your father mentioned. You need your family. And I know you hate your father right now, but you didn't always and you won't always. Both of you are sitting on pain from losing the woman you both loved most. Your family matters tremendously to you. It's the real reason you attend balls and functions hosted by zillionaires. You don't want to disappoint them because you love them the same way they love you. You all want what you believe to be right for one another. And I'm not going to be the reason your family loses another member."