bad habit

Justin stared at the man before him. He felt as if he had just run a marathon through jagged rocks and was left bleeding on the dirty ground. The older man grins, extending his hand, “My name’s Al Rowden. I’ve been friend’s with your Uncle Rich since high school,” he starts to laugh, “Sorry if I freaked you out there. I do that sometimes.” Justin could only nod. Clearing his throat, he asks, “Um… so what was true?” Al stretches his arms above his head, “I love flying. I’ve been doing this for years. I flew your father once. I wasn’t kidding when I said he was an ass,” he then stops himself, “Er, yeah, well, sorry he’s dead though, I guess.” Biting his lower lip, Justin frowns. How could this man be friend’s with his uncle? Al smiles, “Rich and I went to Darmouth together, we even got to be dorm-mates. We both were studying international business, and then I fell in love with flying and your uncle fell in love with France…among other things.” Shrugging, he continues, “I’d fly and see him from time to time. He’s like a brother to me… one he actually likes, er liked, I suppose. Sorry to hear they’re dead. Your mom was nice. I met her once, she was nice. No fuckin’ clue what she saw in your dad, but they say love is blind.” Justin realizes he’s still biting his lip and stops when he starts tasting his own blood. “So my mother called you?” He shakes his head, “No, she called Rich. He called me and told me to haul ass and pick you and your sister up before you ended up like everyone else: dead.” Swallowing hard, Justin tries to clear his throat but it feels as if a stone is lodged in his breathing pipe. Closing his eyes, he just nods. “This must be hard for you, kid. Sorry you’re going through with this shit.” Al pats Justin on the thigh before asking, “You wanna learn how to fly this thing?” Justin shakes his head, slowly standing up and returning to back where his sister was. Molly looks up at him, “What’s going on?” she asks shakily. He forces a smile, “Our pilot is a friend of Uncle Richard. His name is Al.” He decides to keep his personal opinions to himself. “Seriously?” She asks, her thumbnail back in her mouth. Justin nods, forcing his smile to widen. “Everything is going to okay.” Molly nods. She doesn't exhale a sigh of relief, nor does she smile back at her brother. Instead, she turns her attention to the window and stares off into the clouds. Justin sighs softly, sitting down beside her. “It’ll be okay, Molly. I promise.” She nods again, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Justin’s heart was breaking. “I miss them too,” he forced his own tears not to fall. “I wish no of this ever happened. I wish we could go back to how things once were… but we can’t. We can’t go back, Molly.” She closes her eyes, letting the tears spill down. Rubbing his face with his hands, Justin takes a deep breath. “I promise I will make this right. You will be okay, Molly. We’re going to be okay.”