Taken Away

It had been one of those summers that seemed to go on forever and not in a good way. Alex closed his eyes and laid his head back against the seat. Flying had never sat quite right with him, it always gave him a queasy feeling that nothing seemed to fix. He just took another deep breath in through his nose and out of his mouth. His stomach would settle down eventually. He opened his eyes slightly as someone squeezed his hand gently; his mother. He tried to smile but it ended up being more of a grimace.
“It’s only one more hour, sweetheart.”
His mother grasped his hand again. Alex faked a yawn and pretended to get more comfortable in his seat. He gently slipped his hand from his mother’s grip. He had no desire to speak with his mother or think about his impending arrival back home and he really didn’t feel like being touched or comforted. He pulled absently at the collar of his shirt, a habit he’d developed since what his parents referred to as “The Accident”. Alex rolled his eyes at that. It hadn’t been an accident. Though, Alex was the only person who knew that. The only person she had told. They’d been in England all summer, spending time as a family, thinking that by getting Alex away from everything they were helping him. Alex wasn’t so sure it had helped at all, but he was also pretty sure it didn’t matter where he was, he would have suffered no matter where he was. She was the only thing that mattered and she wasn’t here anymore and he regretted that more than anything. He must have drifted off into sleep at some point.
“Alex, honey,” His mother gently shook his shoulder. “We’ve landed.”
Alex took a deep breath and stood up slowly. His head felt cloudy and his stomach was still unsettled. He followed his parents off the plane slowly, suddenly wishing he was back in England. He couldn’t for the life of him remember why he’d convinced his parents to come home sooner. He was lost in his thoughts when his mother tapped him on the shoulder, pointing toward a small group of people. Alex hesitated when he saw them; he wasn’t expecting to see his three friends waiting in the airport for him. He hadn’t even told them he was leaving. He’d just packed and disappeared for the summer in one night. He’d probably confused the shit out of them but they all knew now. They would know about the accident and her. Jack was the only one of the three friends he’d spoken to at all and that was only because Jack was the only one who kept his world together, his best friend and there was no way he could shut him out. But they were there, all three of them. Jack, with his skunk hair, grinning out of the crowd at him. Rian, a head shorter, with his mop of curly brown hair looking pleased to see him. And last, but certainly not least, Zack. He’d been less muscular the last time Alex saw him and he’d changed his hair but he was still very much Zack. Standing less than 10 ft from him and looking at him in a way that Alex could not decipher. They’d been through so much and Alex had run away, but Zack didn’t know everything. Zack was the problem. If not for him she would be here.
And suddenly the queasy feeling in his stomach intensified and had Alex was running toward the airport bathrooms.