James woke up to the sound of Kevin's mom vacuuming the room next to him.
He sat down on the couch, and steepled his hands over his head, remembering yesterday. He didn't mean anything he said to Jen.
Kevin randomly walked into the room and turned on the TV.
"Hey." James said, "Thanks for letting me crash here last night."
"No problem bro," Kevin said, chewing on a few grapes. He tried to pass the bowl to James, but he declined it.
"Oh by the way, Kris and I are going to get a drink later. We weren't going to invite you, but if you want to come..." Kevin said.
"No, I'm fine." James shook his head.
"Oh. Are you just going to stay here or--I mean, you're welcome." He said.
"How are you and Jen doing?" Kevin asked, making James look down in shame.
"I was trying to reach her yesterday, but she wasn't responding," Kevin said.
"I'm a fucking idiot," James said under his breath.
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked.
"Jen is leaving for Denver. She's probably at the airport right now." He had his hands held in a praying position as he put his head down.
"What? What the fuck is in Denver?" Kevin asked as he sat a few feet away from James on the couch.
"She got an invitation to some music program, and she accepted it." James nodded his head.
"Oh I see." Kevin said, "How long is she going to be there for?"
James shook his head, "I don't know. But she had everything packed. So I'm guessing for a while." He frowned.
"Oh." Kevin said, "She already left?" He asked.
James shrugged, "I don't know what time her plane is taking off."
James was in a lot of pain. He had told the one girl that he genuinely grew to care about that she meant nothing to him. It was far from the truth, but he had no choice. He would eventually have to accept it.
That's the last scene she will remember him. She probably hates him. He thought about texting her this morning, but how could he switch from "you're a pathetic roommate", to "Hey, when are you going to board?". He'd come across as a narcissistic socially ill asshole.
But he needed to know. He had a strong urge to drive to the airport and find her.
"We should go see her before she leaves," Kevin said.
"I don't think she wants to see me. I fucked up yesterday."
"Oh. I see now." Kevin nodded.
It was a sudden change in events. He knew Meg handled the 'people' concern, but she could have at least told him. Or arrange the flight for another date? Why did they have to leave now?
Instead of being in his dorm room with Jen, he was manspreading on the couch with his pal Kevin, having the most awkward conversation ever.
"But I'm sure she'd still want to see you," Kevin said, grabbing his bag.
"I told Kris I'd go see her. Are you sure you don't want to come?" Kevin asked.
"Nah. I'm good." James said.
Kevin grabbed the keys to his car.
"BYE MA! I'M LEAVING!" He heard Kevin yell before he walked out the door.
James waited a few minutes before he said bye to Kevin's parents and sat in his car. He looked at his messages, to see one from Meg.
Meg: We're still at the airport if you want to see Jen
He didn't think. James pulled out of the driveway and drove to the airport...just to hit traffic. Fuck.
James was inching the car little by little. He grabbed his phone and texted Meg.
James: How much time do I have?
Meg: like 30ish minutes
James: Okay thank you
He then checked the route to see why it was so held up. Apparently, there was a car accident further up. Dammit, James could have avoided this, why didn't he use his GPS? James hit his head on the steering wheel, making the loud horn go off.
He was watching the clock like a viper. He assumed that if he looked, maybe the time would go by slower, and he would be able to see Jen before she took off.
After James got out of that hump of traffic, it was 10 minutes later. He was a 5-minute drive away from the airport when his car ran out of gas.
"Fuck." He said as he pulled the car over. He still had a 5-minute drive and a call for the company would take about 30 minutes. So the best option? Run. He ran in the cold, wearing the shirt and shorts he wore to bed, to the airport. He played on the track team in high school. He just imagined that 15-year-old he used to be and Genesis was the finish line. Genesis was the prize.
He grabbed his phone and called Jen while he ran.
She didn't answer. Her phone must be off. James was running up to the airport now.
He left a voicemail as he swallowed his breath, trying to sound as understandable as possible. "Jen, it's me, James. I want to support you in going to this program, but I need to tell you something before you leave. I messed up. You don't need to forgive me, but I need to tell you something that I couldn't tell you on the phone. I'm at the airport right now. Please call me back." He said as he looked around.
Suddenly his phone dinged to see a message from Meg
Meg: We are going to be in component E if you want to see us before we leave.
James ran to component E, but when he got there it was full of people that weren't Jen. He looked around, and back at his phone, to see that Meg sent that message 15 minutes ago.
Jen was gone. She was on the flight now.
James walked up to the nearest desk lady. She looked at him weirdly. Maybe because he was sweating.
"I need to get on the nearest plane to Denver," James said.
"I'm sorry sir but the next flight with available seats to Denver will be tomorrow morning. Is that okay?" She asked.
No, it not. He needs to see her now.
James grabbed a few hundred dollar bills from his pocket.
"Can you do it today?" He asked her. She looked at the money and thought.
"Hm. I guess I can squeeze you in." She smiled before she quietly took the cash.
He was going to get her back. James could not screw this up.
YOU ARE READING
Going After The Wrong Guy
Romance[COMPLETE] Genesis Munroe, a virtuoso college freshman has always been the shy type, the good girl, the smart kid who sat in the back of class and practiced classical piano after school. So rooming with a male was something different. She came to co...
