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Adam ran a hand over his face and yawned. Once again, he had that weary, exhausted feeling. But this time, it was due to his extra long flight back home.
What a disaster the trip had turned out to be... There had been a stopover in Chicago, and then when he went to catch his second flight, there had been a four-hour delay due to mechanical difficulties. He had never been one to have a fear of flying, but after learning about that, he'd actually started to!
Now, at long last, the tall blond man had gotten to the airport and was approaching his gate. He tugged on his wheeled suitcase, and visions of his comfortable bed flew through his head when he suddenly heard a voice calling his name.
"Adam! Oh, my God, there you are... Adam!"
He craned his neck to get a better view past the crush of people up ahead. Then, sure enough, he spotted his girlfriend.
Rebecca Winters was smiling, waving frantically at him. Her long, straight dark hair swayed with her actions. She was dressed casually in a white sweater and jeans, with canvas sneakers on her feet.
Adam didn't mean anything malicious, but he wasn't happy to see her. He held the groan he felt building up inside his throat as he approached. Damn it, he was physically and emotionally exhausted, and all he'd wanted was to get home and crash for at least a couple of hours.
"How was your flight?" the young woman asked as he finally reached her. She threw herself in his arms for a hug, and he gave her a half-hearted one with his free arm. She pulled back and peered up into his face. Being quite tall herself at five-eleven, she didn't need to look up too much. "I understand you had a major delay?"
"Yeah, I did," he admitted with a sigh. He was anxious to get out of the airport and to his house. "It was pretty abysmal."
Rebecca smiled prettily.
"Aww... Well, that's a shame," she said. "Anyway, I'm parked in the lot." She pointed in the general direction of it, leading him. She grabbed hold of his hand and tugged him toward the door.
When they reached the area just outside of the airport, the tall blond man cleared his throat to speak.
"Err... I appreciate you coming all this way to meet me. And that goes double for the lift home." He swallowed, wondering how he was going to ask the question, because he knew she wasn't going to be happy hearing it. "Do you mind if I just spend the day alone afterward?"
The dark-haired woman merely turned to stare at him. There was an overt look of disappointment and hurt etched on her face. She was silent as they made the rest of their way to her car.
Adam felt uncomfortable. He knew how his girlfriend had to be feeling and was nearly overcome by the urge to explain himself. He had to break through the tension.
"It's just that I'm really dead on my feet," he said. "The flights were real rough, and I just want to crash."
Rebecca cast him another quick glance as she unlocked the passenger's side door for him to enter first. As he hefted his suitcase up and into the backseat, she went around to the driver's side - and then, he noticed her large valise in the back. Clearly, she'd planned to spend the night, and probably the next couple of days as well, at his place. He sighed before getting into the car.
"Well, I really had my heart set on spending the next couple of days with you."
He nodded dumbly, the feeling of discomfort still with him.
"I know."
"They drove in silence for nearly the entire trip, with only the radio playing. Adam twiddled his thumbs with his hands in his lap, thoughts he'd had for weeks plaguing him. He knew it was inevitable, and he'd have to do it sooner or later.
Once at his house, they left the car, still not speakinig. He retrieved his suitcase from the backseat while the brunette quietly pulled out her bag and swung it over one shoulder. Their eyes briefly met, and Adam was kind of aggravated as he realized Rebecca had apparently made up her mind despite his declaration of wanting to spend the day alone.
He heard his two dogs, Branny and Luger, barking up a storm from inside. His house keys in hand, the Canadian scrambled to unlock the door. The moment he had it open, the dogs jumped up with excitement, happy to see their "daddy."
Adam couldn't ignore the unpleasant sensation in the pit of his stomach as he turned back to Rebecca. She didn't say a thing to him, opting instead to continue giving him the silent treatment as she sauntered away.
Shaking his head and ignoring his dogs for the time being, he followed the woman. Was she going to make things that difficult for him?
"Rebecca... I'd really rather be alone," he announced.
She had positioned herself on his sofa, sitting in the middle of it and crossing her legs. She looked up at him innocently as she grabbed the TV remote and flicked the set on.
"I know," she said. "I heard you before." She turned her eyes to the TV.
The blond man sighed unhappily and stood there, facing her. This was it, the final straw.
"I think we need to talk."
She still didn't speak, but this time her gaze fixed on him and didn't waver.
"I've been feeling this awhile now, but..." Adam ran a hand through his long blond hair and quickly spilled it. "It's not gonna work out between us."
Rebecca still said nothing, but she kept that stare on him. He noticed her eyes filling with tears and felt badly, but he wasn't going to change his mind. This breakup had been awhile coming.
The brunette rose from the sofa and stepped past him, refusing to utter a word. She had such a passive-aggressive personality, and that was actually one of the things Adam felt made them so incompatible.
"Are you... going to be okay?" he asked. He felt like such a jerk for asking that question when he'd clearly just broken her heart, but he still cared enough about her to want her to be all right.
She turned back to face him as she reached for her bag in the foyer. Straightening up and slinging it over her shoulder, she headed for the door and muttered something at him.
"I will be now."
The tall Canadian watched as she exited his home through the front door. He felt badly about hurting anyone, but
he knew he'd done the right thing.