Perfectly Damaged

The trunk slammed banging hard against the suitcase that took up the entire space. Passport? Check. Boarding Pass? Check. Wrap? Check. Currency? Check. She had everything she needed. The sun was just setting as Pen set off to Los Angeles International Airport with her parents. She took a deep breath to calm herself. The flight was long but this was the start of the rest of her life and she was excited. Nervous, but excited. 

The traffic was heavy, bright lights shone off the gleaming cars as they made their way along the freeway towards the hub carrying people to the places they did or did not want to go. Her parents didn't talk much. Her father was focused on driving and her mother seemed conflicted. Sad that her only daughter was going so far away, but excited for this new chapter in her life. Pen wondered what her parents would say if they knew the truth. They believed her when she said that she was going to stay at a friends home for a month. They didn't know she would not be coming back. That on the other end of the journey was a man, waiting for her. Pen took another deep breath, trying to calm herself. She didn't know if she was brave or stupid for leaving everything behind and starting fresh someplace else. Someplace where, in reality, she knew no one. A place she had never been, or even planned to go. 

Pen's father pulled the car over to the loading zone and got out to help her with her bags. Her mother got out of the car to wish her well and give her a hug. Pen knew that her parents loved her and pushed the guilt of lying them down into the pit of her stomach. She couldn't turn back now, nor did she want to. Hugging her father she gathered her things and told them both that she loved them before turning and heading through the sliding glass doors into the lobby. 

Religion, morality, and just plain sanity poked at the back of her brain as she handed her luggage off to the attendant and checked in at the kiosk. Still, she had made this choice and now she was going to have to live with it. The risk was immense and she knew that it could go one of two ways. Really amazing or a complete disaster. 

Pen walked towards her terminal and found a place to wait. Finally getting settled she pulled out her phone and saw that she had a ton of missed messages from Blake. She opened the app that they used to communicate, an online chat service so that they would not have to pay the expensive international texting fees. She read through them quickly, half expecting for him to tell her that he had changed his mind. Instead, she found that he was telling her that he was leaving to travel to the Glasgow hotel he would be staying at, waiting for her. He ended telling her that he had made it safely and that he loved her. Pen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. So far so good. No disasters. She sent him a message letting him know that she was at the airport and waiting to board the plane. She had dressed comfortably and found it easy to get comfortable on the uncomfortable chairs in the terminal waiting area. She had very little data left on her phone and so pulled out a book to read and quickly became engrossed. She had read Harry Potter many times before, but for some reason, this time, it felt more magical than ever before.