Chapter 1: Fear of Flying

Paige

My best friend was trying to kill me. I clutched the evidence of what would cause a would-be heart attack in my fist and marched into her house.

Rock music vibrated against my chest and rattled Emily's windows. With nods and hellos, I pressed through the crowd deeper into the house, tossing my high school graduation gown along with the others on a recliner. People danced to the music while others mingled. It was mid-afternoon, but the party wouldn't stop until dawn. The scent of tobacco and perfume clogged my throat.

"Congrats!" Tim, my old high school crush, winked with his arm around his girlfriend. He was already in college.

"Thanks." I turned from him, scanning the area for Emily. A prickly sensation hit the back of my neck and I spun. There was a guy leaning against the wall staring at me. His eyes seemed to glow. I blinked to clear my vision when someone bumped into me.

"Sorry," a girl said.

I looked back for the guy with weird eyes but he was gone. My friend Beth waved at me from the other side of the room and I smiled back. But my attention shifted to finding my best friend and finding out why she wanted me dead.

I spotted Emily's brother and made a beeline to him. He'd know where she was hiding. "Congrats on graduating. Emily told me you finished your electrician certification."

"Yup." Derek grinned. His blond curls made a soft halo around his head.

Their parents always lumped their birthdays together on the same day even though they were a year and two days apart. So why would graduation be any different? "Have you seen Emily?"

"She's in the kitchen."

"Thanks. Good to see you."

He nodded and I moved past the mix of high school graduates and Derek's friends into the kitchen.

"Paige," Emily, shouted opening a soda. Her blond hair was twisted into a messy bun and she wore a sleeveless silk top that showed off her tan. "Over here."

"Hey!" I squeezed past two other classmates and waved the airline ticket at her. "What is this?"

She smiled, but her blue eyes pinched at the edges. "We talked about going to Greece months ago."

"That was speculative." I placed the ticket on the counter, afraid to pick it up again and make the trip more real. My voice was shaky, "You know I can't do this."

Her eyes widened. "You're not chickening out, are you? 'Cause you know I brought a tranquilizer gun with me." Her voice sounded on the verge of whining. "I will so tie your ass to your seat on the plane if I have to."

An uncomfortable pain laced around my middle. When I'd opened her gift on my hands shook so bad I couldn't drive for several minutes. My heart had felt like it was going to explode.

Three college girls shuffled into the kitchen and loaded up paper plates with snacks.

"Look, I know." She leaned against the counter, crossing her ankles. Her rainbow-colored shoestrings were bright against her black tennis shoes. "But it's been over two years. You deserve a break, okay?"

My folks and I were supposed to go to Europe that summer but we never did. It had been my dream to become an archeologist just like my dad and visit all the ancient ruins. Now that had been pushed aside for a business degree. How could I dig up fossils around the world if the mere idea of an airplane made me want to vomit?

"God, Emily. Are you sure we have to do this? Why can't we just hang out here?"

"No way, missy." She shook her head. "You swore you'd come with me and the others in Greek class to go to Greece. Hell, you even helped raise the most money selling those damn candles to pay for everything. You can't back out now."

I so wanted to see the Acropolis, Parthenon, Coliseum and all the ancient temples, but the idea of flying and the party music thumping sent my pulse throbbing inside my skull. My skin felt cold and clammy. "I don't think I can do this."

"Sure you can."

Beth called from the living room. "Emily! We got spilled punch on your carpet."

"Be right there." Emily grasped my elbow. "Give me a sec, we're not done talking about this." She let go with a smile and rummaged under the sink for cleaner and a rag then disappeared into the crowd.

The overwhelming sensation to run filled me. If I hurried, I could escape out the back without her knowing. I shook my head. No, that would be a cowardly thing to do and rude. What was going on with me? I felt off and not just from the fear of having to fly. Maybe I just needed some air. I walked to the kitchen's bay window, looking out onto the pool. Floating candles and flowers floated across the surface. A few people milled about but no one I recognized. Then a flash like a camera drew my attention.

That same guy from earlier stood staring at the house...at me. Goosebumps trailed along my skin. I felt drawn to him despite my heart racing like I was approaching a chasm to jump off into an abyss. Who was this guy? Did Emily know him?

Curiosity eating me up, I pushed out the backdoor and into the warm, summer evening. The scent of citronella to keep away mosquitoes was thick and I coughed. Music from inside the house was subdued to the base and a few strands of notes drifting in and out.

I glanced around searching for the guy with glowing eyes. They had to be contacts. From across the pool, I found him staring at me with his hypnotic eyes. I crossed around the pool toward him.

"Hello," I said suddenly feeling unsure. My insides curled but I couldn't move away.

"It's taken me a long time to find you." His voice sounded older than he looked.

"Oh?" I brushed my hair off my shoulder. "Are you friends with Emily's brother?"

"Come with me." He held out his hand.

I stared at his palm, my heart pounding so hard I couldn't think. My mind screaming to run but I'd no idea why. Nothing was making sense. All I could do was move forward and place my hand in his. It felt cold and a shiver ran through me.

"That's right, it will all be over soon," his voice was soothing, turning my mind to mush. "No need to get on that flight you've been dreading. Just stay here with me." Why had I hesitated in doing what he asked? He was wonderful and everything would be fine. With my hand in his, he led me out the side gate. I wouldn't have to get on an airplane, I could be with him instead.

We walked across the front yard toward a shiny, silver Tesla Roadster. When he opened the door for me, the scent of ions charging like just before a lightning storm burned my nostrils.

"Paige!" Emily shouted from the front door and charged out after us.

The guy cursed, pulling away from me. A fogginess lifted off my mind and I stumbled backward as though I was drunk or something.

"What the hell are you doing?" She yanked my arm, dragging me toward her. "Leaving with some guy you don't know just to avoid the flight?"

He chuckled but climbed into his car and sped away.

I turned to her, "Do you know him?"

"No," Emily said with a glare at the departing vehicle. "Must be a party crasher. Come back inside."

For a moment, I stared down the street where he'd vanished. A sense of foreboding pressed across my shoulders like a wet blanket.

Back inside, she hugged me and pushed a soda into my hands which wouldn't stop shaking. What had been up with that guy? Why had I followed him to his car? That wasn't like me at all and now that he was gone any good vibes I'd had in his presence now made my stomach heave.

"Hey, if you really want to call off this vacation, I understand. But jeez, Paige, going off with some guy you just met? He could've been a serial killer or something."

"I know." Hoping it would help, I swallowed down the soda. "I-I don't know what I was thinking."

"Hey, it's okay." She rubbed my back.

"And I am petrified of the flight." I took a shaky breath. "What if the engine fails or there's a thunderstorm over the ocean? What if we crash?" The words tumbled out of my mouth and I couldn't take a deep enough breath.

"Nothing is going to happen. I promise."

I'd signed up for a full load this summer and my courses started in two weeks. I wanted to get college over and done. Darren and Mike squeezed into the kitchen past two girls chatting.

"What's up, Paige?" Darren and Mike asked.

"Hi," I said politely.

Nothing had ever clicked with us despite their jockey good looks. It had been hell in the movie theater with their groping hands. I swore they'd morphed into an octopus during our double date with Beth.

"If you stay, you can always keep the wonder twins company," Emily whispered in my ear as they disappeared back into the living room.

Focusing on my getting my degree was the top priority. Guys were too much of a distraction. I didn't need to complicate my life right now.

"Please come with me." Emily gave me her trademark puppy-dog look that I couldn't say no to. "Listen, I stole two sleeping pills from my mom's stash. You can take one when we check-in and the other if you need it during the flight. Say you'll come. Please, please, please."

"I am so going to regret this, aren't I?"

Emily squealed. "Yes! Let's go before I decide to make you do something even more daring, like streak at our first college football game."

A nervous laugh broke through my lips and I shook my head. Knowing I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I broke my vow and didn't at least try.

Emily pulled out a small, blue container and handed it to me. "Here's the pills."

I shoved the small box into the pocket of my jeans. I'd tried half a dozen times over the years since my parents had died to fly. Once I even got as far as the air terminal, and that was with over a year of counseling first, but I still couldn't get past the check-in.

Emily recited the airline's safety stats while my stomach churned and I worried I was going to throw up before we even left. Fellow graduates wandered in and out of the kitchen, refilling their drinks and getting snacks from the kitchen table.

She held out her hand. "Give me your car keys."

"What...why?"

"Because I'm driving to keep you from conveniently forgetting where the airport is. Or driving like an old lady so we miss our flight."

I grumbled, but dug out my keys and handed them to her.

My stomach rolled at the thought of sitting in the airport, watching the people board and not knowing if our plane would be the one to go down as my parents' had. I could do crazy stuff and even had after their death, like cave diving, running with the bulls in Mexico, and even riding a wild stallion during a rodeo, but get on a plane and trust that I wouldn't die? Nope. I forced my mind to think of the destination: amazing, exotic Greece and not how we were getting there.

"But it's graduation," I argued. "Everyone's here for one last hoorah. Can't we go to Greece tomorrow? Or even better, we can check out that male strip club that opened up downtown. Spend our money there instead."

"No. Now come on." She dragged me out of her house while our friends wished us good luck.

Yeah. Luck. That was absent from my life. For a year, I checked myself out of school while I grieved and didn't leave the house unless I had to. It was Emily who had argued with me that my parents would've been disappointed that I had let the crash break me. I had to take chances, which is why I finally agreed to go with her to Greece.

"What would your folks say if they knew you had this opportunity and were throwing it away?" she asked as we hiked to my car.

I twisted my brown hair in my fist over my shoulder. Anxiety sat like a frozen iceberg in my gut. She was right. They'd be distraught that I couldn't move past this. All my life they'd gone on exotic trips and we'd done fun stuff as a family. I'd stayed behind in order to attend Prom. If Mom hadn't gone I'd have at least one parent left. But she followed Dad wherever he went. Even quitting her job as a lawyer to help him dig in the dirt.

Getting my mind off flying would be better than me obsessing. "Are you going to practice your Greek when we get there?"

"Hell, no." She flipped her blond curls over her shoulder. "You know, statistically, we've got a better chance of dying in a car wreck than on a plane."

"That totally doesn't help me feel any better." I opened the passenger side of my car and climbed inside. "Where's your suitcase"

"Daniel's bringing them with him. He'll meet us at the terminal." She started my old Mustang and drove down the street. "We're only going to be gone six days. And I have yours from last month when I helped you pack."

Right, Daniel. Her boyfriend she'd met in Greek class was going with us and the other members of her class. Emily had insisted I get my suitcase ready early and taken it with her weeks ago, which I'd forgotten until she mentioned it. As my best friend, she knew me better than I knew myself, because I hadn't even thought of packing with all the fear pumping through my veins. That must have been why I nearly went with that guy at the party. My phobia made me choose what it perceived as an escape from flying.

"God, why do airport sections have to be called terminals?" I leaned back in my seat. "Shouldn't we get a ride to the airport so we don't have to pay for parking?"

"Stop trying to stall." She pursed her lips. "My dad and Derek are going to come and pick up the car tomorrow morning."

I slumped in the passenger seat. Would the sleeping pill really help? I still wasn't ready to jump on a plane. No, I had a feeling a dozen pills wouldn't do the trick, either. My head swam in a mix of apprehension and the start of a weird headache.

As we rounded the corner, the guy from the party appeared in the middle of the road.

"Watch out!" I screamed.

Emily slammed on the brakes and any calmness I had fled as we fishtailed.

"What the hell was that? Are you trying to get us in an accident?"

I searched behind us for his body. Had we missed him? There wasn't anything in the road. "Didn't you see the guy in the middle of the road?"

"What? No. God, Paige, you scared the shit out of me." She righted the car and we continued toward the airport.

Every fiber in my being screamed at me to go back home and not come out again.

"Stop freaking out, Paige." She gave me a sidelong glance like she was worried I'd lost my mind and maybe I was. "Nothing is going to happen. I promise."

I fiddled with my seatbelt strap, clutching the material as sweat trickled down my back.

"Dad paid for an upgrade on our tickets. First-class, so we'll be whisked on before anyone else. That way we can board, you take the pill, and fall asleep before we take off."

We took the airport exit and a jet bellowed overhead. Shit! My fingernails dug into the armrest. This was really happening. Oh, God!

By the time she pulled into a parking space, I was hyperventilating. Spots danced before my eyes.

"I can't do this." I panted. "I'm sorry...I just...I can't."

Emily unhooked her seatbelt and took one of my hands in hers. "What did you make me promise when we agreed to this?"

My vision tunneled to a pinprick and I couldn't focus on what she was saying. My chest grew tighter with each breath.

She squeezed my hand gently. "Four months ago, when I asked if you would come with me to Greece, what did you say?"

I blinked, my eyelids were so heavy I struggled to open them. My whole body felt like I was encased in cement. I felt weird...off. My mouth dried and my tongue was too thick. What was happening to me? "You told me to help you get on that plane. Whatever it took. That you'd hate yourself forever if you didn't go to Greece."

Numbness slithered across my body.

"Remember what we swore to each other?" Emily's words were soft and tickled in the back of my mind. "We even joked about knocking you out so you could wake up already there." She took a shaky breath. "Take the pill. By the time you wake up, you'll be halfway to Greece. All you have to do is walk with me on board to our seats. The medicine will knock you out before we ever take off."

"If I don't go, you'll never forgive me, will you?" I unhooked my seatbelt, ignoring the strange headache pulsing through my skull. What about that guy at the party that suddenly was in the middle of the road? Was he my guardian angel warning me not to go?

No, it had to be my paranoia playing tricks on me. People flew all the time. I dug out the sleeping pill and took it with a gulp of my soda. God, I hoped this medicine worked fast.

"We'll always be friends no matter what." She gave me a hug. "But if you don't get on the plane with me, you'll regret it the rest of your life."

"Fine, but if our plane goes down, I'm going to kill you."