Rick's POV
Speeding up in a desperate mood was something I had promised myself I'd never do again. Not after the last time, when I almost lost my life.
I tried to slow down, to drive more carefully, but I couldn't. It felt like something precious was being ripped from my arms. Like I was about to lose it.
No! I couldn't even describe the feeling.
I felt different, like a strange chill running down my spine as I kept speeding toward the nearby airport.
Then my phone beeped, breaking the moment. I slowed down a little and glanced at the screen. A sharp feeling shot through my chest.
It was Catherine!
"Am off to The City's airline. I'm sorry it's coming late, but I have to leave."
My heart pulled instantly. I held my arms over my chest, turning my car without thinking back in the direction of the airline she stated.
No, you can't leave. Not now, not soon.
My heart was in chaos as I gripped the steering wheel, firing the engine, driving with nothing but the desperate desire of seeing her again.
My thoughts hovered in circles.
My eyes stayed glued on the car screen, my hands trembled on the wheel.
Moments later, I reached the airport. I rushed to the check-in counter without wasting a second. The line was long, filled with restless passengers, the noise filled the air, but I barely noticed.
I looked everywhere, desperate, trying to spot her, but the crowd and noise made it almost impossible to see clearly from the distance.
Pushing through the crowd, I reached the counter, ignoring every rule and shouts behind me.
I had to see her. I had to be sure she was here. Even though deep down, I felt like I was already too late, I forced that thought away.
The woman at the counter looked up, and I quickly gave her the little description of Catherine from her resume.
She nodded and turned back to her computer, typing as she searched, her eyes glued to its screen.
I grew more and more impatient. Then, over the airport speakers, I heard the announcement: Flight 24 has departed.
I froze. Something inside of me quickened. Then I looked at the attendant, who raised her eyes to meet mine.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but she's on flight 24. You can't go in. The plane is about to take off," she said.
My eyes widened in shock, my heart beating hard as I stared first at the flight gate, then back at the attendant.
"But something can be done. Please, I want to see her, it's urgent," I pleaded.
"Sir, that's the rule, you can't…"
I didn't let her finish her words. I was already pushing past the barriers, racing down the hallway, ignoring the guards shouting behind me.
I ran faster, increasing my pace, my heart racing with each step, scanning every corner until I saw the plane.
The engines were running, the wheels spinning, but the plane was still.
"Catherine," I screamed over my voice, hoping she could hear me from the distance. Hoping fate could grant me one last chance to see her, to hold her arms again, to have her turn around, look into my eyes, and whisper those sweet words into my ears.
I kept running and shouting her name at the top of my voice, even as the security guards chased me. I didn't care. Nothing mattered without her.
But then, the wheels began to roll, and the plane started moving slowly.
I got closer, hope flickering in my heart. but it faded as the plane continued moving faster, rolling further and further down the runway.
"Catherine," I screamed, taking another desperate step, but the strong arms behind held me firm, securing me in place.
"Let go of me," I yelled, my heart already breaking, my eyes held a line of tears that slipped off immediately.
I could only watch as the plane lifted into the sky and soon vanished. I had wanted to stop her, to tell her the words I'd kept buried in my heart. To tell her how she made my world brighter, in the shortest time frame.
Her soft smile, her brave heart, and those piercing deep brown eyes were stuck in my heart, like thorns pressing deep into me.
"You need to leave now, sir," one of the guards said, but the words meant nothing. All I could see was the distant plane disappearing into the clouds.
Feeling defeated and lost, I was led back to the main entrance.
I kept glancing back at the doors that led to where the plane had been, my entire body aching with pain and regret.
I slumped onto a nearby bench, resting my head on my arms.
A deep, painful groan escaped my chest. It felt like my world was falling apart. It was crumbling. She was gone, just like that. But how?
My thoughts conflicting. But then it struck me hard, and I slid up, pushing myself forward towards the counter.
"Ma'am, can I get which country she is heading?"
She shook her head firmly.
Sir, I'm sorry, but we don't disclose customers' information to strangers," she replied.
Stranger? Did she really call me that?
I bit my lip hard, feeling numb as I walked back to my car.
Before I even realized, I collapsed onto the car seat. My heart ached so much, it felt like it might stop. I swallowed the lump in my throat, though it burned like fire down in my stomach.
I love her so dearly. I want her so bad. I had never felt this way all my life. Desperate, empty, lost, came the feelings rumbling in my heart again.
But what could I do now?
I was still drowning in my thoughts when someone knocked on my car window. I ignored it.
What was in my heart was too heavy for me to care about anyone outside. But the knocking didn't stop, so I finally turned.
Two men dressed in black were standing by my car, their expression unreadable, but hard, fierce.
Somehow I thought about ignoring them, but my hand moved on its own, lowering the window.
"Who are you, and what do you want from me?" I questioned hastily, my words creeping over in disgust.
They stared at me, and for some unknown reasons, I felt a nervous sweat trickle down my face. They appeared neatly dressed in a black fitted suit that hugged perfectly to their huge muscular figures, only suggesting that they were guards.
"The boss wants you in his car now," he spat, more like a command than just a request.
"Who's your boss, and why would he want to see me?" I questioned, flickering my gaze at them.
But before I could say another word, one of them grabbed the car door and shoved it open.
I wanted to speak, to argue, but my words remained glued in my throat the moment I saw the pistol han
ging around their waist and the small knife in their arms…