28 Going Home (First Flight)

Ash stared at the fresh red wound on her arm.

The violent mark looked almost delicate.

If she stared at it just long enough for her eyes to lose focus, her vision would blur and for a moment the wound would look almost like a stray red thread from her shirt had just clung to her skin. But when she blinked and her vision would focus again, the red thread would be gone, and in its place would be an angry red line---a knife cut from her best friend on her eighteenth birthday.

"It was an accident," she said.

Hunter pretended not to hear. The young driver said nothing.

Ash wasn't really talking to them. She spoke more for her own benefit than anything else. Hunter had already voiced his opinion on the matter: it was not an accident. He had seen Celia raise the knife and he had tried to grab it from her. He believed what he saw with his own eyes.

Ash just didn't want to believe that Celia would ever hurt her on purpose.

"We're here, Sir," the driver said.

The rental car slowed and the engine idled. They were at the unloading dock of the airport. The driver got out of the car and pulled Ash's duffel bag from the back of the SUV. Hunter took the bag from the driver and slipped him a large bill as a tip. Ash got out of the car quietly. She looked dazed.

As the driver watched the young couple walk into the airport, he wondered what happened to them in the restaurant. They had been fine going in, but the boy had called for him much earlier than expected. And when they both came out, the girl inexplicably had a fresh cut on the inside of her left arm and wasn't even crying. "Rich kids," he muttered, shaking his head.

***

Ash had never been on an airplane before, and this was her first time at the airport. She wanted to be more excited about the experience but she couldn't help feeling lost.

Hunter led Ash to the VIP Lounge. He guided her to one of the couches and sat down next to her, setting her bag down at his feet. He had hoped that the mood before their first flight together would have been more celebratory than morose, but there was no getting around the fact that his girlfriend had just gotten knifed by her best friend.

[Am I allowed to call her that? Does she know that I think of her as my girlfriend?] Hunter wondered somewhat absently.

"You have your passport on you, right?" he asked Ash.

She looked at him blankly.

"Right." Hunter cleared his throat and started over.

"I probably should have asked you that before I told the driver to take us here. But I suppose you have it with you, right?" he said, forcing a cheerful tone in his voice.

"Yeah, I have it. It's in my bag."

"That's good."

" . . . "

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Yeah. Just water, I guess."

Hunter went to get her a bottle of sparkling water. He twisted the cap off and handed the opened bottle to Ash. She received it with both hands and she sighed deeply before taking a long swig.

"You know, I wondered something about sparkling water. Did they make this stuff for people who were trying to quit soda to make them drink more water? Is it like the nicotine patch for people addicted to soda?"

Hunter smiled at Ash's question.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked. He couldn't read the expression on her face, but he could sense her sadness. Hunter wasn't sure why, but it almost felt like someone close to him had betrayed him.

"Yeah." Ash bit her bottom lip and fidgeted with the water bottle in her hands.

"Celia will call and apologize to me when she's ready. Maybe she lost her mind, maybe it was an accident, whatever. She's not here anymore and I'll see her again in two weeks."

"It's still your birthday."

"True. And it's my first time flying. So thank you, Hunter."

"Really?" Hunter asked, surprised. Air travel was such an ordinary occurrence for Hunter that he hadn't even considered that someone his age who was also from his school had never even been on an airplane before.

Ash looked down at her hands, vaguely focusing on the water bottle and squeezing the bottle cap between her two thumbs.

"Yeah, I only got a passport 'cause the school needed me to have valid IDs. So I got a student driver's license and a passport. I thought it was crazy that I had to have those when I don't have a car and I can't afford to fly anywhere."

The bottle cap was the only thing keeping the water inside the bottle. It would be such a mess to just spill it all out on the floor. And yet, if she shook the bottle hard enough, would the bubbles rush up and burst through?

"Now it's my birthday and I get to fly with you." Ash smiled.

[That's silly. Only soda can pop like that. Water doesn't do that.]

"Happy Birthday, Boots," Hunter's voice broke through her thoughts.

Hunter kissed her lightly on the cheek. She felt a sudden pop of feeling in her tight chest. Perhaps her heart had soda in it, coz water definitely didn't do that.

Ash leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Hunter put his arm around her. They were 2 hours early for their flight. The two of them fell asleep sitting up on the couch for close to an hour and a half.

***

Celia awoke in the backseat of Isabelle's rented car. Antony, Isabelle's butler, had been called into the restaurant and he had lifted the sleeping Celia from the booth and carried her to the car. Isabelle had not bothered to explain what had happened, and Antony had not asked. Stranger things had happened during his service to the Valois's and he had yet to ask about any of them. The rich had their secrets and those in their employ were bound to them.

"Antony, could you carry Celia to the dorm?" Isabelle asked.

"She's awake, Miss. Perhaps we should ask her before I do that." Antony replied. Celia wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but she could see why the Lady Valois trusted Antony to look after Isabelle. The man was trustworthy and he didn't ask any questions.

"I'm fine, Antony. Thanks. I can carry myself to the dorm," Celia replied, getting up from the backseat.

"Very well, Miss Celia. If the Young Miss agrees, I shall allow you to carry yourself to the Ladies' Dormitory."

"We'll be fine, Antony. I won't be long. I'll walk Celia to the Dorm and then I'll be back."

Both girls were quiet as they walked past the first building outside of the parking lot. When they were halfway to the Dorms, Isabelle broke the silence.

"Do you know what you did, Cece?" Isabelle's tone was neutral. She did not sound angry or sad. She asked the question as though she were asking a student to show how they arrived at the solution on a math problem.

"I . . . tried to hurt Ash."

"Why?"

"Hunter said 'werewolf' and something in my brain just snapped."

"Why?"

"I don't know why, Izzy. It happened that way. But Ash burned my face and then I got a hold of myself."

Isabelle stopped in her tracks. Celia stopped right behind her. Izzy turned around and put her hands on Cece's face.

"Ash didn't burn your face. My hands are on your face right now and there is nothing wrong with your skin."

Celia slapped away both of Isabelle's hands.

"I don't know!" she screamed. "Something touched me and it burned like a cigar on an open wound. I was hearing voices in my head while I was eating a steak and suddenly I was knifing my friend. I don't know what happened, Isabelle!"

***

Ash held Hunter's hand all through their first flight together. They were seated in first class, but Hunter kept apologizing that he hadn't chartered a private plane for them.

"My dad makes me fly first class cause it's cheaper than a private plane. If I'd known that you had never been on a plane before, I would've booked a jet myself. I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Dude, stop it! Flying first class is super cool! This is my first time flying and I'm super excited. I'm already really happy, I promise!"

"A private jet would have been more impressive. It would have been a good birthday present," Hunter said, sulking.

[Is he insane? First class isn't cool enough for him and he thinks a private plane is just a "good" birthday present? Are all rich people crazy?] Ash wondered.

The difference in their perspectives just seemed jarring. She had been at Saint Blaise's for two years and the world of the filthy rich was still so fascinating to her. They were practically from a different world to the one she lived in as an ordinary human. Were-human? Werewolf? The intersections of Ash's life were becoming more complicated then ever.

The "fasten seat belt" sign lit up and the flight attendant's voice came on the public announcement system. They were about to land.

"We're home, Boots," Hunter said as their plane taxied on the runway.

Ash squeezed his hand and wondered what that meant.