Deep breaths. Head down. Don't look back.
She curled her hand, chipped nails and all, around the handle of her single suitcase. She hadn't needed much, just some clothes, her notebook, phone charger and money. Things that weren't essential were not brought. She didn't even know if her plan would work. She didn't even know if her brother would take her in. She didn't even know if she had enough money for a back up plan. She had saved for 8 months to get this plane ticket, to get away.
"Flight 1561 to London Heathrow boarding now at gate 7," the robotic intercom voice took her thoughts from her. She pulled her case along and entered the airplane.
She wondered if her parents would even notice that she'd gone. She had left a note, but mainly out of courtesy. They would be more concerned about what to tell the neighbours then whether their daughter was alive or not. She knew they would call her selfish but maybe this time she needed to be.
Her brother didn't know she was coming. She hadn't seen Caspar in well over a year. They texted a lot and were quite close, always had been. That's why he was her 'safeguard', at least that's the plan. She plugged in her headphones and shut her eyes. 11 hours and she'll be who she always wanted. The plane took off and she took one last fleeting glance at a life she was leaving behind.
Ready to runaway.
