Chapter 97

Liliana's pov

"Is that everything" Derek asks as he puts my last suitcase into the trunk

"Yeah, that's everything" I nod. Even though Jackson is against me going to D.C., I still decided to stick with my decision to go and today Derek and I are leaving.

"Okay, well you ready" he asks

"Almost, I just have to go say goodbye to Jackson" I say

"Okay, I'll wait in the car for you" he says

"Okay" I nod before walking into the house.

"I'm about to leave" I say walking into the living room where Jackson is sitting

"Okay" he says not bothering to look away from the television

"Jackson" I sigh

"What" he frowns

"Can you please acknowledge me" I ask taking the remote and flipping off the TV

"Fine" he sighs standing up

"Look I know that you're upset that I'm leaving, but I need you to understand that I need to do this and that this isn't permanent. I'm coming back" I say taking his hands into mine

"I know" he says

"Can you at least pretend to be a little happy for me and the fact that I'm taking this time for myself" I sigh

"Why? I'm not. You're my wife and you're leaving me. That doesn't make me happy at all" he frowns snatching his hands out of mine

"You talk like I'm leaving permanently when I'm not. I'm coming back" I remind him

"You shouldn't be leaving period" he sighs in frustration

"Jackson, I love you and I don't want to hurt you or disappoint you, but I need to do this. I hope that eventually you'll understand why I'm doing this. That it's not only for me but also for you, so that I can be the wife that you need" I say

"I'll never understand you leaving" he shakes his head

"I'm sorry if I'm hurting you. That's not what I want to do at all. I love you" I say

"If that's what you say" he sighs

"I do love you and you know that. No matter how upset you are with me, don't ever question that" I say gently caressing his face

"Don't you have a plane to catch" he asks

"Yeah, I do. I guess I'll text you when I make it to D.C." I sigh

"Okay" he says

"Well goodbye, I love you" I say

"Bye" he says sitting back on the sofa and turning on the TV before I walk out of the house. I take another look at the house before getting into the car. Hopefully when I return I'll return a better happier me.

"You okay" Derek asks as we drive off

"No, but I will be" I sigh

"Was Jackson still upset" he asks

"Yeah, he feels like I'm a horrible wife who's abandoning him. He doesn't understand that I need to do this and that I'm not doing this to get away from him, but so that I can be the best me I can be and like the woman I was when we first got married" I say

"I know he doesn't get it right now, but give him some time and he will" he says

"I know, but I just hate that he's so mad at me and that my decision is hurting him. It makes me feel guilty" I say

"Lily, you aren't trying to hurt Jackson. You're rebuilding yourself, you shouldn't feel guilty for that" he says

"That's what I keep telling myself" I sigh. We spend the rest of the car ride in silence. Partly because I'm upset over everything happening with Jackson and also because I'm nervous for the flight. After my past experience with planes I'm still not fond of flying at all. Once we get to the airport we go through the check in process before waiting for our flight. Before I knew it, it was almost time for us to board the plane. I leave to purchase a bottle of water before taking an Ambien, so I could sleep through the flight. I've only been on a plane one other time since the plane crash and that was for my honeymoon and taking Ambien was the only thing that got me through the flight, because it caused me to sleep through pretty much the whole thing and even when I was awake I was to drowsy to panic. I returned to my seat beside Derek and before I knew it, it was time for us I get on the plane.

"You okay" Derek asks as the plane takes off

"Extraordinary" I yawn closing my eyes

"You're surprisingly calm. I thought for sure you would freak out once the plane took off" he says

"One word. Ambien" I say

"Of course, I should've known there was a reason you were so calm" he laughs

"Yeah, you really should've" I laugh. A short while later I start to doze off and fall asleep. The flight lasted around 6 and a half hours, which actually felt really quick to me because I spent so much time sleeping. Once we get off the plane we go to baggage claim to grab our bags and I text Jackson to let him know that I made it, before going out front to leave the airport.

"This is us" Derek says as a nice car pulls up in front of us and the driver greets us and begins putting our bags in the trunk.

"You have a chauffeur?" I smirk

"The president has a chauffeur that he insists picks me up everytime I fly back in" he says

"That is so cool" I smile excitedly making him laugh. We get into the car and the chauffeur finishes putting our bags up, then we leave for Derek's house.

"Oh my gosh, it is so beautiful here" I say looking out the window during the car ride

"It is. Tomorrow I'm dedicating the whole day to taking you on a tour of the city" he says

"Derek, you don't have to do that. I know you need to get back to work. I can get a cab and go take myself on a tour" I say

"No way. I've been wanting you to visit since I've moved here. Now that you're here I'm going to make this trip one you'll never forget. We're going to make so many memories that by the time we finish you're going to have to get another photo album just to fill with pictures from D.C." he says

"Well if you insist" I smile

"I do" he smiles

"You know I really appreciate you letting me stay in D.C. with you, I need this" I say

"I know you do, that's why I suggested it. You're my best friend I just want to see you in a happy place again and I'll do anything I can to help you get there" he says

"You know I'm really lucky to have a best friend like you Derek. You're always there for me no matter the situation" I say

"That's what I'm here for. We're always there for each other" he smiles

"Yes, we are" I smile. I continue glancing out of the window at the scenery until we make it to Derek's house and we bring our bags inside.

"I am so exhausted. Flights always make me tired"  I yawn