Worst Impressions

Bonus Chapter - Arriving in Italy

That Beth didn't comment on our chartering a private place spoke volumes about her concern. Not once did she question how much money we'd spent on the flight, joked about whether the upholstery was designer, or asked if there'd be a chandelier suspended over our heads.

The wide-eyed shock hadn't left her expression. I could only imagine that Beth was a tangle of nerves and anxiety about it all. I was worried, and I didn't particularly like Lisa all that much. That Gideon should get his claws into any girl was enough to make me panic. But knowing that it was someone close to Beth made me even more determined to undo the damage. To put a stop to whatever Gideon was scheming before he could hurt Lisa and her friends any more than he had already.

I barely registered anyone else but her until we were on the plane. Once we were in the air, I took off my seatbelt and watched the others. It annoyed Chantelle that we had cut her holiday short and that we were off to see Beth's friends. Despite all her claims that she and Jenny were friends, she'd been quick to distance herself from her since the moment we'd landed in Switzerland all those months ago. There was no pretending that they were anything more than classmates now, and I had to wonder if she would attempt to play the role of a friend once we were reunited.

Charlie wasn't as apathetic to Lisa's plight as his sister. He wrung his hands nervously and stared down at his phone. If he and Jenny had exchanged numbers, then he hadn't found the courage yet to call her. He may well have been checking the time. Fretting, perhaps, that we were taking too long to get there. We couldn't do anything about that. Italy wasn't about to move closer just to speed up our journey.

Mum had settled herself beside Beth's father so that they could discuss their plans. They spoke in hushed tones. Either they didn't want to worry us, or they were afraid that we might insist upon helping them with whatever they'd decided to do. It may also have been to avoid upsetting my sister. Mandy had isolated herself and stared resolutely out of the window since we'd taken off. I couldn't fathom my sister's mind. She may have been frightened to see Gideon again, worried about Lisa, or she might have felt the heavy weight of guilt in her stomach for not being open about the kind of man that he was when she'd had the chance.

If it was the last then I understood.

I, too, felt that same heaviness in my gut.

When I saw how stiffly Beth was sitting, the way she tapped her feet impatiently, desperate to get to her friends and somehow save them all from this danger and heartache, I wished that I'd done things differently. That day when I'd seen her with Gideon, I should have taken her aside and told her what he'd done, that he was a danger to her and her friends. But I'd let my pride stop me. I'd thought that my family was above all that. We shouldn't be scrutinised and gossiped about by students because of the actions of one man. In staying silent, I'd condemned Lisa to whatever her fate might be. Had Beth not gotten over her crush on Gideon so swiftly, I might have forced her into his arms, too.

I reached out to loop my arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently to reassure her that she wasn't alone. That I would face whatever might be coming alongside her. Beth leaned in against my side and I whispered, 'It'll be fine, I promise. We're going to find her.'

It was a promise that I hoped I would be able to keep.

The moment we were off the plane, everything happened so fast. We were rushed through security checks and immigration, and Beth's hand remained in mine. My mother had seen to it that there would be cars waiting for us when we left. Some passengers had tried to hail them as cabs and argued with the drivers, but they were soon chased off upon our arrival. We piled in while our luggage was loaded, and the short but agonising final stretch of the journey began. Beth didn't stare out of the window at the country she'd so desperately wanted to visit, and it made my heart ache for her. This ought to have been a happy day, one that she'd always dreamt of, and here she was scared and uncertain. She stared down into her lap, her feet tapping out their nervous rhythm, and she squeezed my fingers like our contact was the only thing keeping her grounded.