I'm Nothing Without You

I glanced out the plane window and into the darkness. I watched as city lights slowly crawled by and wondered briefly if I should have told Brendon I was leaving. I quickly shook the thought out of my head and focused on the tiny TV that was on the back of the woman’s seat in front of me. The screen showed a tiny simulation of our plane flying over New Mexico. I glanced at the time of arrival and realized we still had eight hours until we were to land at the McCarran International Airport. I sighed, laid my head back on the seat, and quickly fell asleep.

I was woken by the loud ding of the seatbelt light and I yawned loudly, stretching my arms over my head. I glanced out the window and sighed realizing we were about to land.

“Everyone please fasten your seat belts and prepare for landing. Thank you for flying Delta and we hope you have a wonderful stay in Las Vegas, Nevada.” The thin flight attendant chirped into the intercom. I cringed at her overly enthusiastic tone.

I wrapped the worn down seat belt around my waist and watched as the ground became visible beyond the fog.

“This is your captain speaking. It is sunny and 90 degrees here in Las Vegas. We will be landing in approximately ten minutes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the landing.” His deep voice echoed throughout the cabin. I glanced behind me and quickly noticed that I was one of the few people on this flight.

The sun shone in on my face as the plane started to rock. We soon landed roughly onto the runway and I let out a sigh of relief. Once the plane was docked, it didn’t take very long for everyone to exit the plane and enter the breeze way. Bag in hand, I walked into the throng of travelers and scanned the airport for Uncle Kale. Over top of all the moving heads I saw a sign that read, Camellia Smith. I smirked and shook my head as I made my way over to the sign.

The person holding the sign wasn’t Uncle Kale. The petite brown headed girl stood about three inches shorter than me and she tucked the sign underneath her arm. She smiled brightly at me and stuck out her hand.

“I’m guessing you are Camellia, my name is Kara.”

When she noticed I was still just staring at her she added, “Your Aunt Rae and Uncle Kale’s next door neighbor!”

I smile and shook her hand. “Where are they?”

She tucked a piece of hair behind her double pierced ear and glanced around the crowded airport.

“Kale had to go into the hospital early this morning and Rae had to get to the café early too, so here I
am! I was glad to do this for them, they have been like second parents to me ever since me they moved in a few years ago.”

I smiled at her and said, “Oh, well it’s nice to meet you Kara.”

Kara looked to be a few years older than me and looked vaguely familiar. “Have we met before?” I asked examining her features. She had dark, chocolate brown eyes and a fairly large nose that accented her face beautifully.

She shook her head and continued to look around the airport. “I don’t think so, are you hungry?”

I nodded and she took ahold of my arm. “There is a great burger joint here in the airport, let’s get there before it gets too crowed.”

We weaved our way in and out of the crowd and after what seemed like hours, we finally made it to Jack’s Burger Joint. The mouthwatering aroma of burgers hit me in the face as we entered the restaurant and Kara must have noticed I was starving because she quickly waved down a waitress.

“Table for two?” The waitress asked with a smile on her face. Her short blonde hair was pulled back in a small pony tail and she had a small tattoo of a bird on her left wrist.

Kara glanced over at me and said to her, “Can we sit at the bar? We are both of age.”

I smiled at her, silently thanking her for the suggestion. The young waitress led us into the small bar and placed our menus in front of two bar stools. We thanked her and I flipped through the menu absent mindlessly.

Kara waved over the bartender and ordered us both a Tequila Sunrise. I didn’t mind that she had ordered for me, I didn’t know much about alcohol.

“So tell me, why did you decide to come to Nevada on such short notice?” Kara asked, fiddling with the small beer bottle shaped coaster in front of her.

I shrugged, not wanting to continue this conversation. “Oh, just wanted to visit while I can.”

She nodded slowly, obviously wanting more information but not wanting to pry. “Well, I’m glad you came. It was getting a bit boring around here!”

I glanced around the bar and smiled at the bartender when he set the orange drink in front of me. I took a sip and cringed as the alcohol burned down my throat. “So, you said you live with your parents?”

Kara took a long gulp of her drink, not seeming fazed and nodded. Her long dark hair fell in her eyes and in one swift movement it was once again tucked behind her ear. “I just had a bad break up with my boyfriend of six years, so I had to move out of our apartment and back into my parents’ house.”

I took another drink of the toxic liquid, this time a little more tolerant of the taste. It almost tasted…good. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Look, I’m one of the oldest of four brothers. When all three of my brothers left home…my parents were devastated. I guess me coming back is like an answer to their prayers.”

I nodded and swished the orange drink around in the glass. “So what are your brother’s names?”

“Matt, Mason, and Bren…“ She was cut off by her cell phone buzzing loudly on the table.

She picked it up and gave me an apologetic smile. “Hey Mom!”

I sat upright in my seat and watched as Kara glanced at her watch. “I didn’t realize the time, yeah I will head home now. Thanks for reminding me!”

She hung up and grabbed her purse from off the back of her chair. “I forgot my brothers are coming into town for my dad’s birthday tomorrow, I need to get home before they get here.”

I nodded and she threw a twenty on the bar. “Ready?”

I smiled at her and we headed out to her black Volvo parked in the crowed parking garage.

-~-~-~-~

We pulled up to a large white two story house with burgundy shutters and rose bushes lining the large wrap around porch. I glanced over at Kara who turned off the ignition and smiled at me.

“It’s beautiful right?” She asked admiring my Aunt and Uncles home.

“Very.” I opened the car door and the front door to the matching house next door flew open to reveal a tall man with dark hair. He looked to be a little younger than me and was an exact replica of Kara.

She ran around her car and jumped into his muscular arms. They embraced for a few seconds and
he put her down with a huge smile on his face. Why did he look so familiar too?

“I thought you were never going to show.” He said shooting her a playful look. She rolled her eyes and turned her head towards me.

“Matt, this is Camellia, Rae and Kale’s niece.”

Matt smiled at me and stuck out his hand. I shook it and shoved my hands into the pockets of my shorts. “It’s nice to meet you Camellia.”

Kara glanced at Aunt Rae and Uncle Kale’s house and then back at me. “It doesn’t look like they are home, you can hang out with us until Rae gets home if you want.”

I shook my head, not wanting to impose and slung my duffle bag over my shoulder. “I think I just want to get settled in before they get here. It will be nice to have a little time to myself.”

She nodded and grabbed ahold of Matts arm. “Okay, well call if you need anything.”

I watched as they walked arm and arm back into their house. The only difference between their house and Aunt Rae’s was that their shutters were a dull shade of gray. I shifted my heavy bag further onto my shoulder and made my way up to the red door. I lifted up the door mat that said, ‘Welcome!’ and picked up the brass key. I unlocked the door easily and stepped into the air conditioned house.

I reached in my pocket for my phone and noticed I had one new message from Ryan

‘I stopped by your house, you weren’t there. Where are you??’

I sighed and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I didn’t want to deal with my problem with Ryan just yet. I walked up the stairs and glanced down the long hallway. Not knowing which room was mine I walked to the end of the hallway and saw there was a sticky note on one of the doors across from the bathroom.

‘If you are reading this then you got here before we did! This is your room! – Kale”

I smiled and pushed open the door. I gasped at how large the room was and I dropped my bag on the floor by my feet. The bed, which looked to be a king, was covered in a pink lace comforter and had pillows upon pillows decorating the top. There was a window seat to the right of the bed and it overlooked Kara’s parents’ house. I walked over to the vanity and ran my fingers over the cheery wood. The smooth, cold texture sent shivers up my spine and I glanced at myself in the mirror. My hair was tied at the top of my head and my pony tail hung down just below my shoulders. Tiny wisps of hair had fallen out from the plane ride and framed my small, tired face. I turned away from the mirror and fell onto the bed easily.

The last thing I remember hearing before drifting off to sleep was the slam of a car door and Matt’s deep voice greeting someone loudly from their front yard. I almost sounded like he said…Brendon.