Break Your Little Heart

The captain’s cheery voice woke Chloe from her restless sleep. At first she thought she was still dreaming, especially when Baltimore was mentioned. She simply shifted onto her opposite side. A pressure shook her shoulder lightly.

“Alex.” Chloe whined without opening her eyes. “I don’t want to go to school today. Let’s go to the park. Jack won’t have a chance to come with us and you can play me your new song...”

Chloe’s sentence had gradually gotten more garbled until it was indistinguishable from her soft snores. Without warning, the plane hit a patch of turbulence, sending a jolt through Chloe’s body. She woke with a start, eyes darting around as she tried to place her surroundings.

“Miss?” Chloe’s head snapped to the left. A flight attendant was smiling at her softly. “We’re beginning our descent into Baltimore.”

Chloe nodded dumbly, still somewhat foggy with sleep. The attendant returned her nod and walked away. With stiff limbs, Chloe unfolded herself from her seat. She took a deep breath and slowly lifted the window cover. The city was sprawled out beneath her, the roads and buildings growing closer with every passing second. She couldn’t bring herself to look away. Her breathing sped up, fingers clenching and unclenching against the edge of the armrests. The wheels bumped along the tarmac as the plane finally landed. Chloe closed her eyes. The captain’s voice came through the speakers again, but Chloe couldn’t make out anything he was saying. It was as if her ears had been submerged underwater. The plane came to a stop. Chloe’s eyes snapped open. The smiling flight attendant came by again, her lips moving around words Chloe didn’t understand. The people around her were moving about. She followed their lead, one of the first to exit the aircraft due to the fact that she had no bags. The crew crowded around the door, grinning and thanking her. She shot them an uncomfortable smile in return and then drifted her way through the airport, coming to a stop in front of the baggage claim carousel. Suitcases had already begun rolling along the conveyor belt, but Chloe made no move to grab hers. It wasn’t until strong arms wrapped around her small frame and lifted her off the ground that Chloe finally snapped out of the dream like state she had been in. A scream tore its way out of her throat and her feet were immediately back on the ground. She turned on her heel and came face to face with her favorite cousin.

“Jesus Christ, Zack you scared the shit out of me!” Chloe scolded, slapping his shoulder.

“Sorry Bo.” Zack grinned. Chloe managed her scowled for exactly one second longer before a massive smile broke through and she was throwing herself into his arms.

“I missed you.” She whispered into his neck, voice thick with unshed tears. Zack’s arms tightened.

“I missed you too, Chlo. I’m so happy that you’re here.”

Chloe didn’t respond. Zack released her, ignoring the obvious reasoning for her silence. Chloe offered him a small smile, slipping her hand into his. He placed a kiss against her temple. Her bags popped up behind them and Zack quickly reached his free hand out to grab them.

“Shit, Bo, what did you put in this thing?” His eyes were wide as he gripped the same suitcase Holiday had struggled with earlier. Chloe giggled.

“Well I got some new clothes in LA…” Zack shot her a look that said he obviously wasn’t buying whatever story she was about to spin. “Fine. You caught me. It’s my shoes.”

Zack shook his head, chuckling under his breath. Chloe stuck her tongue out at him and took the smaller bag before heading towards the exit. Zack caught up quickly enough, the pair lapsing into their familiar, comfortable silence as they made their way towards his car. Chloe’s phone went off just as she was clicking her seatbelt into place, Oli’s name flashing across the screen. Zack smirked at her knowingly.

“Shut up.” She grumbled.

“I didn’t say anything.” Chloe rolled her eyes at his response before returning her eyes to her phone and accepting Oli’s call.

“Hi, Oli.”

“Ello, love. Yer planes landed then?”

“Would I be answering your call if it hadn’t?”

“Smartarse.” Chloe laughed.

“You’re the one who asked the question.” Oli mumbled something intelligible eliciting another laugh from Chloe.

“I miss hearing yer laugh all tha time.”

“So stop leaving me.” Chloe’s voice was blunt and emotionless.

She’d heard Oli say the same exact thing so many times before it had lost its meaning by now. In fact, if anything it annoyed her. Oli was the one who was constantly gone, not Chloe. It was his fault. She heard him take a breath but a voice sounded in the background and he let it out in a huff that had Chloe automatically knowing who it was.

“You’d better go see what Sheep wants.” Oli sighed sadly.

“I love yeh.”

“Call me later if you’re not too busy.” Her tone was just the tiniest bit snarky, but Chloe didn’t bother apologizing for it.

“Chloeh…”

“Have a good show.”

She ended the call without waiting for a reply. The silence in the car turned awkward, and Chloe could feel Zack’s eyes burning into her skull. Pointedly, she turned her head to gaze out the window.

“Go ahead and defend him if you want, but I’m not taking any of it back.” She said without looking at her cousin.

Zack knew better than to say anything. Chloe had never dealt Oli’s tour schedule very well. Zack didn’t think she ever would and he had a sneaking suspicion that at least a part of that steamed from her relationship with Alex all those years ago. Luckily it was only a few seconds before Zack was pulling into the driveway. Chloe smiled in spite of herself at the sight. This had been her sanctuary for years, the one place she could go at any point in time and know she was home. Zack caught sight of her face and smiled as well. The front door flew open before the car was even fully stopped and Chloe was unbuckling at once, flying out of the car and into her aunt and uncle’s waiting arms. Zack parked, shutting off the car and gathering Chloe’s bags from the back seat, before approaching the steps where Chloe still stood wrapped in his parents’ arms.

“It’s so good to have you back home, Chloe.”

Chloe disentangled herself and beamed at her family. Carla ushered her inside, promising she would make Chloe’s favorite food for dinner and then sending her off to her old bedroom to rest up because she was looking a bit pale. Chloe did as told without complaint. She had actually missed her aunt’s constant concern and babying. Chloe took in everything about the house she hadn’t seen in five years as she walked down the hall. Not much had changed, but a few things had been added. There was a framed copy of each All Time Low cd cover hanging on the wall as well as some articles. Chloe’s eyes slipped over them quickly, but then caught on another photo that hadn’t been there before. It was the same one she had as her the background of her phone, except none of the boys had been cropped out. She stood, frozen, barely breathing through the sudden blockage in her throat. Without realizing it, her fingers had unlocked her phone and placed a call to the one person that would make everything better. He didn’t answer, she knew he wouldn’t, but his voice was enough to sooth her.

“Yeh've reached Oleh Sykes. Leave a message and I'll call yeh back if I want teh.”

Her message was simple, the words flowing freely and taking the tightness in her chest with them.

“I love you.”

Chloe hung up and blinked, the picture blurring just enough for her to turn away and escape into the bedroom that hadn’t changed one bit since her departure. The bed was just as welcoming especially with the fatigue now washing over her. She collapsed on top of the sheets and had just enough time to recognize the faint smell of Alex still on her pillow before surrendering to sleep.