I stood there by the entrance to the security line, watching all of the families, couples and individual travelers hustle around me as if they were trying to beat each other to their destinations. I love traveling and I love airports, but not like this. Not when everything is so hectic that there's not enough time to take in your surroundings- to live in the moment. Plus, I really hate traveling around holidays, but I don't really have a choice. Well, I did, but what to choose was a no-brainer. "Okay kiddo, do you have everything?" My dad asked, coming back from the security desk that was stationed in between both security line entrances.

"Yes, sir," I replied, looking at him. He was wearing his service C uniform. He looked so professional, so clean cut...even with the slight hint of five o'clock shadow stained against his tan face, and the lack of light his eyes usually held. His uniform helped for the most part. He always looks so strong, so unbreakable when he wore it. He did in his civilian clothes too but unfortunately, he won't be wearing those anytime soon.

"You've got your carry-ons? Your ticket? Your ID, both military and drivers license? Your-"

"Dad, I've got everything," I said, cutting him off. "It's all right here in this little trust 'unaccompanied minor' lanyard pack they gave me." I picked up the black pack that had the American Airlines logo printed on it with unaccompanied minor underneath it in bold red letters. "I'm all set."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes and for a moment, I thought he was going to let his wall down and show his emotions. But he didn't, and he hasn't since it happened and the few days after it. I just wish he would, cause I'm trying so hard to be strong for him by burying my feelings and showing that it doesn't hurt. But God it hurts, it hurts so fucking bad. "Hailey Collier?" A young woman wearing an American Airlines uniform said, walking up to us. "Are you Hailey Collier?"

"Yes ma'am, I am," I said, turning to her.

"I'm Alyssa, I'll be with you through your flight," she turned to my dad and extended a hand. "and you must be Mr. Collier. It's nice to meet you, Lieutenant Colonel Collier."

My dad seemed a bit caught off-guard that she could read rank, but nonetheless, he shook her hand and gave her a polite smile. "It's nice to meet you too Alyssa."

"We have to get going soon, but I'll let you two have a moment." She smiled, stepping away towards the man who was standing at the front of security.

My dad and I turned to one another and he sighed. "I'll call you and let you know when I get to our base camp. You call me or text me when you land and when you get to Owen. I know how you teenagers feel about calling but-"

I cut him off with a hug. "I'll call you." His arms reached around me and pulled me into a tight embrace. "Be safe. Promise me you'll be safe." I whispered, hoping he'd hear the hint of hurting in my voice.

He ran his hand down the back of my head and held me a little tighter. "I always am." He felt distant at this very moment. He was there physically, but emotionally he was long gone. He always did this when he was gearing up for a deployment, ever since I was little and could remember him leaving. But I guess I was hoping that he wouldn't distance himself...just this once. He pulled away and kissed the top of my forehead. "You be good for Owen okay? He's got enough stress going on right now, he doesn't need your wild antics."

I smiled softly. "He loves my wild antics. He's where I get them from."

I swear I could see a glimpse of a smile on his face, but it soon faded and he just cleared his throat. "Grandma and Grandpa will be picking you up when you get back. When school starts back up-"

"Don't slack, I know." I could see Alyssa coming to fetch us and I looked back at him. "I love you."

He gave me a small, sad smile. "I love you too kiddo. Have a good Christmas break."

"Okay, are you ready to go?" Alyssa smiled, looking at me.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay great!" She turned to my dad and gave him a smile. "It was nice meeting you Lieutenant Colonel. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and thank you for your service. I'll make sure to take good care of Hailey."

"Thank you, Alyssa, and Merry Christmas to you too."

Alyssa and I walked towards the security line where we got to go through the quick line, all thanks to my dad's reward points he's stacked up throughout the years. "Just go ahead and put your bags up there, you can keep your shoes on. I'll meet you on the other side, okay?"

I nodded as she walked ahead of the few people in line and politely went through the x-ray machine. I'd been in airports many times- which is why I love them. I love people watching and the feeling of adventure you get when you're in one- like you have any destination a the palm of your hands. Dad would always take us on family vacations in the summer and sometimes Christmas from when I was young up to now, which I guess is where my love for traveling came from. I placed my backpack and carry-on suitcase onto the conveyer belt, staying by them until it disappeared behind the black flaps the covered the entrance to the luggage x-ray machine. Once they disappeared, I stood behind the elderly man in front of me, waiting my turn to step into the x-ray machine. I looked behind me to see my dad still standing there on the other side of security, talking on the phone. He was waiting to see if I got through alright. I smiled to myself at his gesture, maybe he wasn't completely distant.

The security officer waved me through and I walked into the cylinder machine, taking the stance- feet on the yellow footprints and hands above your head. The machine whirled around me and when I got the okay to move, I stepped out of it and collected my belongings off of the belt. I walked a little past the benches where people sat, collecting their items and putting their shoes on. I stood on my tippy toes, hoping to get my dad to see me one last time before I headed for my gate and to show him that I made it through security okay- but he wasn't there. ''Are you ready to go?" Alyssa asked, appearing by my side.

"Yeah, I'm good." I replied, putting my backpack on and pulling my suitcase handle up.

"My dad is a Brigadier General, or he was. He just retired in the spring, but you know the saying; Once a Marine-"

"Always a Marine," I finished, looking at her. "I was wondering how you were able to read rank."

"Yeah, my brothers and I grew up Marine brats. We moved a couple of times before finally settling down here. Did you move much?"

"Only once or twice when I was a baby. Otherwise, Dane county is all I've ever known," We started to walk past one of those small shops and I looked into it just as we were passing the book section. "do I have enough time to maybe scope out a book? I'm about done with the one I brought and I didn't think to pack another."

She looked down at the petite watch on her wrist and nodded. "Yeah, your flight isn't going to be boarding for another 15 or so minutes. I just needed to get you in the vicinity of your gate before-" A small beep and the sound of a radio scratching came from the walkie-talkie clipped to the band of her shorts.

"Alyssa, do you have Hailey Collier with you?" The voice asked.

She gave me a sorry look and picked up the walkie-talkie, pressing the button. "Yes I do, we just passed through security." She replied, releasing the button.

"Okay, Stephen got caught up in an emergency on the other side of the airport with his last group. Is there any way you can meet up with his unaccompanied passengers? They're entering security now."

"Of course. We're just a few feet away from security, I'll meet them on the other side."

"Thank you! They're on the same flight as Collier, so you'll be with the three for the entirety of the flight."

"Sounds good, I'll go ahead and meet them there now." She clipped the walkie-talkie back to her shorts ban and looked at me. "You go ahead and find a book for you to read. I shouldn't take long, but if you don't feel like waiting after you buy your book, just go ahead and get to your gate. I assume you know the airport."

"That I do, thank you." I smiled, as we went our separate ways.

I walked into the small shop, giving the women at the desk a polite smile as I headed towards the book shelves. I absolutely loved reading. I'm more of an English and art kind of student in school, and I think a bit of that bothers my dad because he was such a math, science and history person. My mom was like me, she loved books and drawing. She's where I got my love for reading from, I can draw too, but not as good as she could. She was an amazing artist. In our house on the first floor, just to the right of our front door, there's a curtained off area. This is our library, well it's a room with four bookshelves, two faded Papasan chairs, and a beautifully decorated bay window. One bookshelf held all of my dad's war stories and military books he's collected over the years. Another was dedicated to all of my mom's cooking books, drawing notepads. Another one was a bookshelf that my mom started to fill up for me when I was younger, with books she loved growing up and ones we'd read together. The last one is my collection of books, ones that I found on my own and loved dearly. My mom and I would spend so much time in that library together on even some of the sunniest days, which my dad would always make jokes about. But I know he didn't mind and I definitely didn't mind because it was in that library that some of my most precious childhood memories were made.

My mom always said that books were the easiest way to go on an adventure without even leaving your seat. That the pages you flipped were your transportation to another world, another life, a place filled with so many possibilities. And I think that's what I loved the most about reading. Whenever I was having a bad day at school, I'd just put on some headphones, grab the nearest book and dive into the world it held within its pages. My eyes skimmed the titles in front of me as I looked through the selection. I could honestly spend hours in a bookstore. It was always hard for me to choose a book to read, just because I love them so much. I brought my phone out of my flannel pocket and checked the time. Five minutes had somehow passed and Alyssa hadn't come looking for me yet, but I'd better be safe than sorry and just pick out a book and make it to my gate on time. I looked at the two books I held in my hands and put the one in my left hand back, walking towards the counter with my chosen book.