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Chapter Forty-seven
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2024-11-30 12:18:55Chapter Forty-seven
Sam
Looking around the airport, I take a drink of my coffee, waiting for the caffeine rush to kick in. I need it. It’s going to be a long night. There were no direct overnight flights to LA from Chicago tonight, so I’m landing in Texas, changing planes, and will get to LA early in the morning. It’s the fastest way I can get to Chloe, and I cannot fucking wait to pull her into my arms and tell her the good news.
I feel a little bad that I didn’t call Chloe when I was leaving the hospital, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep this from her, and I know how much she’ll enjoy the surprise. I was able to get the next two days off and then work an overnight shift on the third. As long as I’m able to sleep on the plane, I’ll be fine.
I take another drink of coffee and lean back in the uncomfortable chair, fighting off the urge to fall asleep. I’ll close my eyes as soon as I’m on the plane, but I don’t want to take the risk of missing my flight if I fall asleep now.
My phone vibrates with a text, jarring me awake for half a second. Setting my coffee in the cupholder attached to the chair, I dig my phone out of my hoodie pocket and see Mason texted me.
Mason: I see you have some competition. Don’t fuck things up apparently again. Which is still a story I want to hear.
He sends a screenshot of a different article about Chloe and Charles being “back together” than the one I read this afternoon.
Me: You know they’re just friends, right?
Mason: I’ve always known that.
Me: How the fuck would you know that?
Mason: The same way I knew you were in love with her but were too much of a chicken shit to do anything about it. I’m still waiting for my thank-you gift for being the final push, you know.
Me: Don’t hold your breath. Wait. Actually, do.
Mason: Hah. Is it weird seeing her in the news like that?
Me: No. I think it’s weird people care so much about strangers’ love lives, but I trust Chloe and know fans of the show like to ship her with Charles.
Mason: I’m surprised you know what “ship” means in this sense. You are old, and speaking of you being old, I’m surprised you’re up. Working the night shift?
Me: Not tonight. I’m at the airport. Going to LA to surprise Chloe.
Mason: By showing up at her house at 3AM?
Me: I wish I’d get there ate 3AM. It’ll be around 9 by the time I get to her house.
Mason: Safe travels, brother.
I put my phone in my pocket and am called to board the plane not long after that. I get a window seat and settle in, trying to go right to sleep. You learn to sleep when you can, where you can when you work in emergency medicine, yet it still takes me a while to fall asleep, but I’m able to stay asleep for most of the flight to Texas. My next flight takes off right on time, and I watch the sunrise from the air.
I’ve never landed at LAX before, and I feel like I’m wandering blindly about trying to find where I need to go to get an Uber to take me to Chloe’s house. It’s bright and sunny already and I can tell it’s going to be a warm day. I can definitely tell why Chloe likes it here so much.
Finally, I get an Uber and have quite a way to go from the airport to Chloe’s house. I anxiously look out the window, heart hammering in my chest the whole way. Chloe isn’t a morning person, and she doesn’t have any meetings today, well, none that she mentioned. I’m really hoping she’s home, because if she’s not, I’ll be sitting outside her house like a creep until she arrives back.
“I can’t get you any closer than this,” the driver says when we pull into a cul-de-sac. There’s a closed gate at the end of Chloe’s driveway, but Chloe told me the code.
“It’s fine, I got it from here.”
“You sure you’re supposed to be here?” The driver looks at me skeptically.
“Yes, it’s my girlfriend’s house.”
“I can’t help you if you get arrested for trespassing,” he goes on.
I grab my bag. “I won’t. Thanks,” I say and get out, having already tipped and rated him on the app as we drove. I stop at the gate, looking at Chloe’s house. It’s up on a hill, and is large and impressive, looking exactly like something you’d imagine when thinking of a celebrity’s house in the hills.
My pulse picks up once I’m through the gate. The house is quiet and still, and since it’s daylight, there are no lights on inside to help me figure out if she’s home or not. Still, knowing I’m this close to seeing Chloe—the love of my life—makes me elated, and it takes everything in me not to race to the door, calling her name. I can’t keep the smile off my face when I ring the doorbell. The shadow of a person appears behind the frosted glass in the door. The closer they get, the more I realize that’s not Chloe. I am at the right place, aren’t I?
A shirtless man opens the door, and I recognize him right away: it’s Charles Baldwin.
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Backup Plan Chapter Forty-two
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