Walking After You | Dave Grohl

seventeen

IT WAS EARLY ENOUGH for the sun to be barely out when the four of them piled into Ginny's tiny car and got on the road. The morning woke up grey and rainy, suiting the sensation of the knot twisting in Nessa's throat.

Ginny and Lisa chatted quietly on the front seats, their voices mixed with the morning radio show playing softly through the speakers. Dave and Nessa were on the back, surrounded by his sparse luggage.

Her eyes were glued to the window, but it was clear she wasn't looking at anything in particular. The vagueness in her eyes showed that her mind was somewhere else, drifting away in thoughts that made her forehead wrinkle.

Dave lightly squeezed her thigh, trying to get her to come back to the present, and back to him, desperately trying to hang on to whatever time they had left. Nessa jumped slightly, suddenly shaken away from her thoughts, and looked up at him.

Dave folded his lips into a thin smile, working to read her through their silence. And Nessa forced herself to do the same, determined to shut her sadness down until he was hundreds of miles away in the air.

She made the move to lean against him, and Dave promptly put an arm around her shoulder, hugging her close. "Nervous?" Nessa asked, noticing he was bouncing his leg even more than usual.

Dave shrugged. "I hate flying," he confessed. "I know planes are statistically safe, but... I fly too much, you know? I feel like I'm defying the odds"

Nessa smiled, tilting her head back on his shoulder so that she could look at him. "It'll be okay. Put some music on and relax. You'll be home in no time"

"Home is here," he whispered but grinned thankfully at her, moving to push one of her curls away from her eyes.

Nessa wanted to tell him that home was wherever he wanted it to be and that he'd been lucky enough to have the world as his home, but smiled sympathetically at him, knowing that being away hurt him too.

The sight of Reagan's Airport coming into view made Nessa physically wince. She closed her eyes the whole way until the car came to a stop in the parking lot and she was forced to face the reality ahead of them.

Dave felt her tense up beside him, and wished he could make it all better. Knowing she was trying hard to relieve him of any feeling of guilt only made him feel worse as he threw the bags over his shoulders and the four of them climbed off the car and walked towards the entrance.

Ginny took a look at the silver watch on her wrist and then smiled sweetly. "Just in time for a cup of coffee," she chirped, guiding the four of them towards the coffee shop at the corner.

"Straight to the veins, please," Lisa mumbled, trying to rub the sleep away from her eyes.

Dave grinned cheekily, reaching for Nessa's hand and interlocking their fingers as they walked, a simple gesture that made her heart flutter. "I don't know, Leez," he teased. "I kinda dig the zombie look you got going on"

Lisa bumped her fist on his shoulder. "I worked late last night, asshole," she shot back, pinching his side and laughing when Dave squealed and jumped.

"Behave," Ginny warned after ordering their drinks, but she was giggling under her breath. She knew it would be at least a few months before she'd have both of her kids together at the same time and wanted to absorb the most out of it.

Dave and Lisa laughed to themselves, knowing there was nothing more to it than typical sibling teasing. They'd always been close, their fights being kept to a brief minimum even when they were kids.

"Thanks, mom," he smiled, accepting the tall cup of hot dark coffee extended his way.

Nessa blushed when Ginny moved towards her, handing her a cup of hot chocolate with milk, the simple act of remembering her drink of choice warming, and at the same time shrinking, her already sensitive heart.