Through his lens

Flying home for Christmas

'If you keep on frowning like that you'll give yourself premature wrinkles.' Taliah joked. How she knew I was frowning whilst wearing a sleeping mask was witchcraft.

I sighed, rolling my eyes but did in fact try to relax my face.
'It's giving me a headache is what it's doing.'

As if she heard me an air hostess floated past offering me some juice from her tray. I took it gratefully and gulped it down within a few seconds.

I'd been going over and over what happened yesterday in my head and the more I thought about it the more nervous I felt telling Harrison. What made it worse was the fact that I hadn't seen my sister since it happened either. Some people would be relieved they were no longer seeing their sister's ghost but I just couldn't get rid of the image of her heartbroken face.
Why was it every time I was on a plane over the Atlantic Ocean, I felt happy leaving the UK behind but nervous for what lay ahead.

'I know it's hard but try not to overthink it.' Taliah said as she pulled the mask off of her head.
'You're working yourself up and there's no point because you're stuck on a plane for another 4 hours.'

'Maybe I should've told him before we left?'
I'd been thinking this over since it happened but even I knew it wasn't a good idea having this kind of conversation over the phone.

'No, you're doing the right thing. It's better you tell him face to face.'

I nodded in agreement but still didn't feel any more relaxed.
'I should never had gone for a coffee with him in the first place.'

As much as I knew Harrison would never tell me who I could and couldn't be friends with, he made it clear that he wouldn't have been thrilled if I saw Adam again. And what did I do?

Taliah unbuckled her seat belt and turned to look at me with a determined expression on her face.
'You went for a coffee because you ran into him and you felt bad for him. Not because there were any feelings there. You ignored him when he messaged you after winter wonderland so I think that shows you had no interest in seeing him again. Stop beating yourself up about it. Any normal person would've done the same thing.'

'I suppose you're right.'

'I am right. And I know you don't like the sound of this but part of me still thinks it might not even be worth telling him.'
Taliah and I had gone back and forth with this yesterday evening. I wanted to tell Harrison to get it off my chest, but at the same time in the grand scheme of things it was more of a peck than a kiss. I pushed Adam away before it became anything more. After a long discussion I decided I just couldn't live with keeping something like that from him. We have a trusting relationship.

'Hear me out.' Taliah said, leaning over the divide between our two Tardis like plane seats.
'You have no intention of seeing Adam again, nor do you want to be friends with him, right?'

'Correct.'

'You made it very, very clear to Adam that you have a boyfriend and you pushed him away when he tried to lay it on you.'

'Correct again.'

'Then I don't think it's that much of a big deal. I would class that as a small white lie. I know it sounds shitty but sometimes we lie to people we care about to protect them.'

I could see where she was coming from but having withheld the truth from Harrison before and both of us ending up in pain because of it I think I'd learnt my lesson.

'Just think about it.'

'I've done enough thinking for a life time.' I groaned.

'Great then watch a movie with me.' Taliah said excitedly. I guess someone's fully woken up then.