Despite the fact that she was very aware of his hand on her arm, she regained her focus and her argument, stating, "Aaron, losing Drew was one thing. But, if I lose Jack, too, I don't know how I'm ever going to get through that. I can't imagine having only a stranger and Elliott to help me." She spat his name out as if it were a swear word, hoping he could see just how adamantly she did not want this particular Guardian to come along.
"I understand," Aaron replied, his hand sliding down her arm and grasping her slender fingers. "I honestly do; you know that." She met his eyes for a moment, realizing just how much truth his words held. He had gone through a similar experience when he had lost his wife, Aislyn, to illness many years ago. "Cadence," he said, fully enveloping her hand in his, "trust me. Please. I know what I'm doing."
She peered into his eyes then, allowing herself, momentarily, to contemplate all of the things that had attracted her to the Guardian Leader in the first place. Cadence knew she could trust his judgment. Not only would he do what was best for the team, he had her best interest in mind as well. She slowly began to nod her head, "Okay," she said, squeezing his hand. "I trust you."
Aaron nodded along, sighing in relief. "Thank you," he replied quietly. They sat in silence for a few moments, still holding hands, before he added, "We should be landing in a few moments. When are you going to check your messages?"
Though she really didn't want to, Cadence let go of his hand and rested her head in her hands, her elbows digging into her knees. She knew she was going to have to listen to those messages eventually. Slowly, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and was relieved to feel Aaron's arm slip around her shoulders. Despite the fact that the plane had not landed, she changed her settings, taking the device out of Airplane Mode and dialed her voicemail. Intently, she listened to each of Taylor's messages, taking in each word, bracing herself for the inevitable as each call became more and more intense. When she finally got to the seventh and final message, all her friend had said was, "Cadence, call me. Now. Please."
Shaking her head, she looked at the phone in disbelief. "She didn't say," she reported to Aaron, bewildered. "She just said to call her."
Aaron looked a bit puzzled himself. "Well, call her then," he replied, giving her permission to break the cardinal rule of airplane cell phone use. The plane was descending, and there was no possibility that the call would need to be transferred between towers at this point, nor was there a realistic possibility that it would interfere with the performance of the plane.
Again, Cadence hesitated but knew he was right. She would just have to make the call and get it over with. Once again, she pressed the button to dial, this time selecting Taylor's name off of her list of recent calls. Her friend answered on the second ring, and it was quite obvious she had been crying.
"Cadence?" Taylor asked, her voice shaking.
"Taylor," Cadence began. "I'm so sorry. I just got your messages. How… how is he?"
"Where are you?" Taylor asked, not yet ready to answer her question.
"I am on a plane. I'm landing in Kansas City now. Is Jack okay?" Cadence braced herself for the reply, very thankful that Aaron's arm was still around her.
Taylor began to sob. "No, I'm sorry, Cadence. He's not," she replied.
Cadence caught her breath, a lump forming in her throat. "Taylor?" she probed, cautiously. "Is he…."
The sobs on the other end of the line grew heavier as the young girl attempted to state the unthinkable. "I'm so sorry, Cadence. He died. Jack. . . died, early this morning."
Tears were falling from Cadence's eyes before her friend even completed the sentence. "Oh, God, Taylor," she replied, her hand over her eyes in a failed attempt to keep herself from sobbing. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there."
"I know," Taylor admitted. "We are all sorry that you weren't here." There was some hesitation before she added, "He asked for you. We told him you were on your way, but then, he slipped into a coma. We don't know if he thought you were with him when he passed, but I'm sorry you weren't. I know how much you wanted to be."
"I did," Cadence exclaimed. "God, I can't believe he's gone, and I didn't get to tell him goodbye!" She barely felt the jar of the wheels making contact with the runway as the plane touched down.
"When will you be here?" Taylor asked, a pleading tone to her voice.
Cadence looked up, suddenly aware that the plane was taxiing now. "We just landed. I should be there in less than two hours. I just have to switch planes, and I'll be there." It was taking every ounce of concentration she had to keep herself from completely breaking down, and were it not for the comfort of Aaron's arm around her, she was quite certain she would be hyperventilating by now.
"Okay, good," Taylor replied, catching her breath. "We need you here with us, Cadence," she affirmed.
"I know," Cadence stated. "I want to be there with you. I should have never left. I should have been there."
There was another catch in Taylor's voice. "It just went south so quickly. We didn't know . . . we weren't prepared. It's not your fault."
"Still," Cadence argued, "I should have stayed there, with him, until he was better.”
"What's done is done. But, we need you with us now," Taylor continued. "Because Jack is gone."
"I know," Cadence replied. Then, she allowed herself to say those words for the first time. "I know. . . Jack is gone."
"No, Cadence, you don't understand," Taylor explained. "Jack is gone."