to lose you now. I told
you, I’m not going to live with that kind of regret.
I’m coming with you, and that’s that.”
Somehow I dropped my hands from my hips, flung them around his
neck, and kissed him. I was turning girly again.
“Go pack,” he said.
“But this isn’t safe. What if I go down on the
plane? You’ll go with me. I couldn’t live with
that.”
“Your birthday isn’t until tomorrow,” he said.
Those emeralds of his were shining.
I hadn’t told him it was my birthday. “How did you
know?”
He winked. “Well, it’s in the letter from your
mother, but Natalie mentioned it last year.”
“And you remembered?”
“Well, yeah,” he said.
I was grinning stupidly. “I’ll go pack.” This
boy could end up being a keeper.
Maybe he couldn’t smell the man repellant.
I ripped the room apart, grabbing whatever I could stuff into a
carry-on. There wasn’t a lot of time so I figured packing
light was best. I grabbed my papers, ID, and some clothes and
stuffed them into a backpack. While I packed, Chris made
arrangements for the flight. It was leaving in five hours.
I looked at the clock. It read twenty minutes after eleven.
It didn’t give us a lot of time. Officially, my time of
birth was noon. Since, according to my birth records from Joan, I
was born in England, I would turn twenty-four in just over nineteen
hours from now.
After that, I didn’t know how long I had to live.
Chapter 9
We rushed to Chris’s place where he grabbed a few items,
shoving them into a backpack of his own. We didn’t want to
waste time with baggage. He’d already called to arrange an
air taxi to pick us up so we didn’t have to wait once he was
ready.
When we got to the airport, I stopped Chris at the door.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
He squeezed my hands, confidence set in his eyes.
“Couldn’t be more sure. And you can’t do this
alone.”
I returned his squeeze, and then we swept into the airport.
I hadn’t flown since my trip to England at the age of
sixteen. Chris, who flew frequently for work, seemed to know his
way around well enough. He got us through the terminal and checked
in without a hitch.
I was a tad nervous. My stomach was feeling it while we waited.
I was never a big fan of heights, hence the balcony of
my apartment rarely saw any use. I was also a little anxious about
going to England, in general. It had been years since I’d
seen him, but this unexpected trip was also resurfacing memories of
my first love. Memories I’d rather leave buried.
The flight departed on time, thankfully. Had it been delayed, I
somehow imagined us being over the ocean when my birthday struck.
All I could picture was an albatross getting sucked into the engines
mid-flight and us screaming to our deaths as we plunged into the
ocean.
I was quiet during the ascent, trying to avoid looking out the
window. It was like going up a rollercoaster ride that just kept
climbing.
When we reached cruising altitude, Chris leaned over. “Why
don’t you try the earrings again?”
I gave him one of those sidelong glances that asked him if he
was mildly insane.
“Nothing will happen,” he said. “I’m
right here with you. And if anything seems strange, I’ll take
the earrings off and wake you up.”
I pondered the thought for a moment. It would give me something
else to think about. Maybe if I was lucky the flight would be close
to over by the time I woke up.
There was something inside me that suggested I should do this; I
was meant to learn something from this. I wasn’t sure what.
There’s nothing like watching your predecessors die horribly.
But then again, my birthday was coming fast, and unless I figured
out what was going on, the next death would be mine.
I nodded, but I was scared. “Promise me you’ll wake
me.”
“I’ll be right here the whole time.”
I took the earrings out and hooked the first one in. I looked at
Chris. He squeezed my leg.
Then I put the second one
you, I’m not going to live with that kind of regret.
I’m coming with you, and that’s that.”
Somehow I dropped my hands from my hips, flung them around his
neck, and kissed him. I was turning girly again.
“Go pack,” he said.
“But this isn’t safe. What if I go down on the
plane? You’ll go with me. I couldn’t live with
that.”
“Your birthday isn’t until tomorrow,” he said.
Those emeralds of his were shining.
I hadn’t told him it was my birthday. “How did you
know?”
He winked. “Well, it’s in the letter from your
mother, but Natalie mentioned it last year.”
“And you remembered?”
“Well, yeah,” he said.
I was grinning stupidly. “I’ll go pack.” This
boy could end up being a keeper.
Maybe he couldn’t smell the man repellant.
I ripped the room apart, grabbing whatever I could stuff into a
carry-on. There wasn’t a lot of time so I figured packing
light was best. I grabbed my papers, ID, and some clothes and
stuffed them into a backpack. While I packed, Chris made
arrangements for the flight. It was leaving in five hours.
I looked at the clock. It read twenty minutes after eleven.
It didn’t give us a lot of time. Officially, my time of
birth was noon. Since, according to my birth records from Joan, I
was born in England, I would turn twenty-four in just over nineteen
hours from now.
After that, I didn’t know how long I had to live.
Chapter 9
We rushed to Chris’s place where he grabbed a few items,
shoving them into a backpack of his own. We didn’t want to
waste time with baggage. He’d already called to arrange an
air taxi to pick us up so we didn’t have to wait once he was
ready.
When we got to the airport, I stopped Chris at the door.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
He squeezed my hands, confidence set in his eyes.
“Couldn’t be more sure. And you can’t do this
alone.”
I returned his squeeze, and then we swept into the airport.
I hadn’t flown since my trip to England at the age of
sixteen. Chris, who flew frequently for work, seemed to know his
way around well enough. He got us through the terminal and checked
in without a hitch.
I was a tad nervous. My stomach was feeling it while we waited.
I was never a big fan of heights, hence the balcony of
my apartment rarely saw any use. I was also a little anxious about
going to England, in general. It had been years since I’d
seen him, but this unexpected trip was also resurfacing memories of
my first love. Memories I’d rather leave buried.
The flight departed on time, thankfully. Had it been delayed, I
somehow imagined us being over the ocean when my birthday struck.
All I could picture was an albatross getting sucked into the engines
mid-flight and us screaming to our deaths as we plunged into the
ocean.
I was quiet during the ascent, trying to avoid looking out the
window. It was like going up a rollercoaster ride that just kept
climbing.
When we reached cruising altitude, Chris leaned over. “Why
don’t you try the earrings again?”
I gave him one of those sidelong glances that asked him if he
was mildly insane.
“Nothing will happen,” he said. “I’m
right here with you. And if anything seems strange, I’ll take
the earrings off and wake you up.”
I pondered the thought for a moment. It would give me something
else to think about. Maybe if I was lucky the flight would be close
to over by the time I woke up.
There was something inside me that suggested I should do this; I
was meant to learn something from this. I wasn’t sure what.
There’s nothing like watching your predecessors die horribly.
But then again, my birthday was coming fast, and unless I figured
out what was going on, the next death would be mine.
I nodded, but I was scared. “Promise me you’ll wake
me.”
“I’ll be right here the whole time.”
I took the earrings out and hooked the first one in. I looked at
Chris. He squeezed my leg.
Then I put the second one
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