“Don’t try anything,” Price hisses in her ear before heading through the metal detector and agreeing to a pat-down.

She hadn’t planned on it. Not in a crowded airport with officers every ten feet. But then she thinks of Daniel and those last three words he mouthed.

After he left her three years ago, she was certain he’d never forgive her, never love her again. But she was wrong. What else was she wrong about? Lynell realizes she can’t find peace in her Registration until she has some answers.

She goes through the security calmly and when Price reaches out to grab her arm after she makes it through, she grabs his hand instead. He’s about to pull away when she laces her fingers between his and starts walking toward their gate.

“What are you doing?” he whispers in her ear.

She just winks at him and subtly guides them into a crowd.

A bump. “Excuse me.” A suitcase grazes her leg. A mom yells at her children. Shoving. A man speaks over a loud intercom.

Lynell takes the moment to carefully pull his phone from his back pocket and drop it to the ground.

Thankfully, he feels the drop of his phone and mutters a curse as he lets go of Lynell’s hand to reach down and retrieve the phone.

Her heart pounds in her ears. She takes multiple large steps forward, through the crowd, and into a store. She hides behind a bookcase and feels the back of her hands become slick with sweat. She grabs a book, opens it and rests her hot forehead against the pages.

Price doesn’t shout for her, but she sees him run past the store, grab a girl with similar brown hair as hers and turn her around. She yells, and while Price is apologizing, Lynell returns the book to the shelf and slides out of the store, heading back in the direction they came.

An old man sets his bag down and walks to a counter. Lynell grabs the bag and keeps walking. Two gates down, a woman takes off her sweater, drapes it over her seat, and walks to the trash can. Lynell grabs the sweater and pulls it on over her shoulders, quickening her pace. She turns a corner, leans against the wall and opens the bag. There’s a beanie inside she pulls over her head before zipping up the bag, sliding it into the middle of the aisle, and continuing her trek through the airport.

“Lynell Mize, please check in at Gate A12,” someone says over the speaker.

Lynell needs to leave the airport. She stops and glances around. A security guard catches her eyes and starts toward her. She pulls the beanie lower and sees a sign that points her to the exit.

Before she makes it three steps, a hand curls around her arm and jerks her back.

She shouts in protest and turns to yell at Price, fully expecting him to be fuming at her. All the hope she’d felt drips from her body, and rage fizzles at the edge of her mind.