ELIZA

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT: FLIGHT

Yes. I betrayed myself. I said something I had promised myself not to say. But I didn't want and couldn't make him think I didn't care.

I ran out of the car like it was racing. I grabbed my suitcase from the trunk and rushed to check-in.

I couldn't see much of what I was doing or where I was going through my tears. Fortunately, the airport was well marked, there were English signs everywhere.

Could that one word of mine make a difference? No. Not any more. I was at the airport and he was still in the car. He was wanted, I was abducted. This is how the story was supposed to end.

The flight wasn't a peaceful one. There was a lot of turbulence like never before and I remember thinking, how grotesque it would be if the plane crashed and I never made it to my country.

Passengers were jerked like puppets, I heard disturbing whispers and squeaks. The woman next to me was already professing her love for the man of her life, but strangely enough, most people sat, unmoved. There were also those who played on their mobile phones and even had dialogues laughing. In the face of danger, everyone behaved differently.

And I? I just closed my eyes and remembered happy moments in my life. These were all those with Tom. But he wasn't in charge here. The moments with Cosmo definitely took the upper hand, I can't deny that my heart bled after our breakup and instead of clinging to Tom, I preferred to scratch fresh wounds like a masochist. Whenever I thought about the joyful moments with Cosmo, I returned like a boomerang to today's goodbye, and it was by no means happy.

The turbulence lasted fifteen long minutes. In the air, the imagination works at increased speed, one deviation from normality is enough to sit on pins and needles in fear for your life. However, I treated these turbulences differently. As if trembling on my body about what will happen in my country, I transferred the tremors to the entire aircraft.

After a few hours we were already landing, the plane touched the ground without any problems, limiting the speed to an unnecessary minimum. We left the sleeve. I still had to wait for my luggage and I was free. But what next? Where was I supposed to go? To my apartment, to Tom, or maybe to the police?

My luggage was one of the last to land on the conveyor belt. So I had to wait a good few minutes. With an agile move, I took it off and, without waiting for the rest of my travel companions, I moved forward. I didn't have to look at anyone anyway, not only were most of them long gone, but the woman and man who sat next to me on the plane, were cuddling to each other next to an empty tape, and didn't even notice when I said a curt "goodbye" to them.

I also passed passport control quickly. I don't know how much Cosmo paid for the false documents, but no one even stopped me, although I was very afraid of it.

Every time I leave the arrivals hall for the airport hall, I look at the faces of people who are waiting impatiently to see their loved ones, even when I know that no one is waiting for me. So instinctively today I looked at the people I didn't know, but what a stupor I was when one face didn't belong to them.

"What are you doing here?" I approached the man.

"I'm waiting for you," he replied.

He smiled at me and extended his hand. I hugged him, inhaling the familiar scent.