Aaron had just completed his pre-flight check list when Cadence caught up to him. Somehow, he had known she was coming, despite the fact that her IAC was off, and there was no other way he could have known; he just knew.
Part of him had hoped she would miss him, that he'd make it off the ground before she arrived. But now that she was here, he was also a little relieved. Better to get this conversation over with now than to let it continue to linger.
She hadn't wasted time with a helmet. She brought the bike to a stop, stepped off, and entered the hanger. The sun was beginning to send streaks of red and pink over the horizon. Subconsciously, she noted it would be easier to see the mountains in the daylight.
She stopped a dozen feet away from him. He was writing something on a clipboard. "You flew yourself here?" she asked. She hadn't realized he was a pilot. She wondered what else she didn't know.
"Yep," he replied, placing the clipboard back in its proper position. He continued to focus on the airplane, waiting for her to say whatever it was she had come to say, hoping she would get it over with quickly.
Cadence waited patiently, wondering why the airplane was so much more important than she was. When it became clear he wasn't going to volunteer his attention she said, "Why did you do that?"
He stopped his fake inspection of the airplane for a second, but only long enough to let her know he had absorbed the question. Resuming his forced activity, he responded with a question of his own. "Why not?"
She gasped. "Why not? I can think of a hundred reasons why not!" she shot back.
"Well, I don't really have time for you to list a hundred reasons, so if you could just pick out one or two really important ones..."
Clearly, he was being sarcastic, and she didn't appreciate it. "Really, Aaron? Could you stop for a minute and look at me?" He didn't. In a fit of frustration, she decided to do what he asked. "Fine. You want some reasons why you shouldn't have kissed me and walked away? Uhm, maybe because I don't deserve for you to continue to treat me like crap! Maybe because it might have meant absolutely nothing to you, but it meant a whole hell of a lot to me! Maybe because you are the most selfish bastard I have ever met in my entire life, and I'm sick of your shit! Does that answer your question? Are those good enough reasons why not?"
She had his full attention now. He turned and looked at her, his arms crossed in front of him. She was crying again, tears of frustration, hurt, and anger streaming down her face.
"Are you finished?" he asked, that calm tone that was so very helpful in battle annoying the hell out of her now. She swiped absently at her tears, wishing to God that she could just stop crying over him. She nodded.
He didn't' say anything for a moment, prompting her to ask, "Why are you always so damn calm?"
He laughed then, shaking his head and focusing on the ground in front of his boots for a moment. "I'm not, Cadence," he said, though his tone seemed to prove otherwise. "That's why I kissed you. That was an emotional response to a stressful situation. It shouldn't have happened, and I'm sorry."
She considered his words, but she still found herself just as confused as she was before. "So, when you said you were sorry, is that what you were apologizing for?"
"No," he scoffed, shaking his head. "I was apologizing for the reason you wanted me to. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that I didn't believe you. I'm sorry that I chose Eliza over you, and I'm sorry there's nothing I can do to take any of those things back."
Cadence stared at him in amazement. She had been longing to hear those words for so many months. Now that she had, she realized he was right. It didn't really change anything. She nodded in acceptance and then silently pondered what needed to happen next. Despite hearing exactly what she had requested, she still felt burdened by the anguish she had carried around all that time. "I just... I don't understand how you just let me go.... You didn't ask me to stay..."
"You didn't let me," he reminded her.
Her eyes widened. She knew she had left without saying goodbye, but she was reluctant to let him off the hook so easily. "But before that, you knew I was leaving... you said I should go..."
"I wanted you to be happy."
"But I haven't been..."
"Then you should come home," he replied. Though his tone was still calm, there was a hint of longing and sadness in it as well.
"But... I can't..." she found herself saying, though she wasn't exactly sure why.
He sighed. "Then I don't know what to tell you, babe."
Suddenly, she was very aware of the gap between them. "I just feel like... sometimes... I mean, it's like you don't even care.
"I'm sorry you feel that way."
"Do you?"
"Care about you? Yes, of course. I always have."
The way the words came out, she wasn't sure she understood. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, hoping for some kind of clarification.
He sighed again and retreated a few steps until he was leaning against the plane. The symbolism was not lost on her. Yet, she was surprised by his response. "What did you wear to school the first day of your freshman year in high school?" he asked.
Cadence furrowed her brow in confusion. "What?" she asked.
"Your freshman year. What did you wear on the first day?"
She shook her head. "I have no idea..."
He nodded. "It was a blue dress with matching leggings that hit just above your knees. You wore it with your Converse. The next day, everyone was wearing dresses with tennis shoes. You didn't even notice."
"How do you..."
"When you were seven, your grandma came to visit and took you and Cassidy to the park. You both got a balloon. Yours was orange. She told you to let her tie it to your wrist, but you refused. A few minutes later, you accidentally let it go. You cried and cried until she finally bought you another one. Do you remember what color the second one was?"
Cadence recalled the incident. She remembered watching that balloon fade into the sky, wondering why she hadn't listened to her grandma. "It was red..."
Once again, he nodded. "Do you remember the time when you were four and your parents took you to the zoo? Your mom was very pregnant. When that goat started eating your shoelaces, she couldn't get there in time. You didn't cry, though. You laughed and laughed. Your dad called you Goat Bait for the rest of the day."
She was baffled. Did he really care so much about her that he had, had these conversations with her friends and loved ones? To the extent that he could recall specific discussions and events that accurately? Then, suddenly it dawned on her. There was only one explanation for how he could possibly know all of that information in such detail. "You were there!" She felt a shiver of chills go up her spine as the words escaped her lips.
He nodded and watched her bewildered expression shift to acceptance before he continued. "Cadence, this whole situation has been... very confusing for me." He saw the acknowledgement in her eyes. "I don't know if we can figure this out or not. It might not be possible. But, there is one thing you need to be very clear about--I have always loved you. Please, don't ever stop believing that, no matter what happens, no matter where you are, I do love you." He was no longer interested in fighting back tears and let them roll down his face, fully aware that she was crying as well. After a moment, he pulled himself back together, his calm façade etched back in place.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked at last.
"I promised I wouldn't," he admitted. "But I talked to Janette earlier this week, and she said maybe it was time for you to know."
Cadence nodded. Janette was her grandmother, the same one who had bought the balloon. She had been the Hunter Leader at one point in her life, the last one, before she retired. The spot had remained vacant ever since.
Wiping away her tears, she realized she had a lot to think about. She could see he was growing impatient again, wanting to take off. She didn't blame him. Cadence felt as if she had just detected an iceberg, the oblivion below the surface still hidden beneath a pristine sea. "I'll let you... get back to headquarters," she said. She had almost said, "I'll let you go," but that didn't quite seem right.
She closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him, unwilling to let him go without doing so. He returned her embrace, unsure of whether or not he had made the right decision in uncovering the past.
"Be careful," she said, releasing him but not quite stepping away.
He nodded. "You, too."
"Let me know when you get there?"
"Sure."
She backed away then, giving him one last look before collecting Aurora's bike and heading back to the hotel. The sun was fully above the horizon now, and a new day had begun.
