Meant For You

forty-four.

Miles Dempsey

JT and I show up at Nola and Ember's apartment around 4 in the morning. Our flight leaves at five but the airport isn't too far from here so I'm not worried. I had JT come with me to take the BMW back to the house. If there's anything I hate, it's leaving my car at the airport when I'm out of town. I trust the kid enough to use it for a couple of days, I guess.

I wait in the car while JT helps Ember get her things into the trunk of the car. My eyes still feel heavy since I didn't get much sleep. To make things at the airport easier, I'm having JT drive us there so I'm currently in the backseat of my own car. "Let's get on the road, kids!" JT says, hopping back in the driver's seat.

"Should we stop by a gas station for snacks?" Ember turns around to look at me. Her big, brown eyes are widened and I almost ask how she has so much energy at 4 in the morning but decide not to. "We'll just get them at the airport," I tell her. She frowns a bit. "Those are expensive."

JT pulls out of the parking space and taps her thigh at the same time. "Don't worry, Em. He's got you on this trip," he says with a boyish grin. Ember's cheeks turn red and she looks at me. JT's not wrong. It's not like I mind. She's Nola's best friend. "We'll get them there," I repeat.

She nods hesitantly before turning back around. The rest of the car ride is pretty quiet. The kid and Ember talked quietly occasionally but I tuned them out and rested my eyes. Falling asleep on planes doesn't come to easy to me so I try to get all the sleep I can on the short car ride.

I'll try and get more at the hotel but by the time we get them Nola's competition will be only hours away.

JT drops us off and we make our way to our gate. It's pretty packed since boarding is only less than an hour away. My hoodie is lifted over my head and I have sunglasses on. Not the best costume but it works most times. Ember and I sit down in two available seats after buying our snacks which she bought a lot of.

She poured her snacks onto the cashier counter and I turned to look at her kind of surprised. I had only gotten a pack of gum, a water bottle, and some Timmies. Her cheeks turned a light pink color. "What if there aren't any yummy snacks in Stockholm?" she said. My gaze stayed on her and I thought, what a perfect match for the kid.

"We can share," she added when I didn't reply the first time. I gave her a nod and she smiled as the cashier proceeded to scan the items. It's not like I was going to tell her no. I was just shocked at her assortment. She doesn't pick snacks like her best friend does that's for sure.

"I had to put the posters in my suitcase. I hope they aren't ruined," she starts. I take a swig from my cold water and shake my head. "I'm sure they'll be just fine," I assure her. She nods, wrapping her arms around herself. She's surprisingly quiet for the rest of the time we're at the gate.

I take advantage of the quietness from her too much because once we're sitting next to each other on the plane, she starts talking about all kinds of things. You'd think I'm her best friend by some of the things she was sharing with me. Ember and I haven't talked much before today. She's a sweet girl, I know that much but we aren't best friends.

I can definitely tell why JT has taken an interest in her though. She's like the female version of him. That much makes me grow a bit fonder of her. I love the kid so it would be weird if I didn't like her.

She took a nap about two hours into the plane ride but I stayed awake for a while longer. There was a bit of turbulence that had me fearful for my life. Ember had slept through all of it though. Once that was over, I was able to fall asleep.

When I woke up however long later, Ember was awake playing some game on her phone. "Morning," she cheered, not looking at me but at the game. "Hi," I say. The flight time on the screen in front of us says we still have about six hours to go. I kind of wish I could have slept more through it. Long flights give me anxiety.