The tears dripped from Jane's eyelids and slid down her face. She bit her lip tightly in an attempt to hide any sound that wanted to escape from her mouth. There was no one home, but she didn't want to hear her own ugly sobs. She had to hide her tears for the entire day; at the library, in the bus... And luckily Cate knew how to distract Jane, but as soon as she was home, she began to cry.
Jane entered her bedroom. She grabbed the trolley from under her bed and threw it on it. The tears wouldn't stop flowing. She wiped them away and took a deep breath. She only packed the most essential items, she hoped she would be back in a couple of days. And she had clothes - warm clothes that were made for Iceland and not Italy - at her home.
Just when the tears stopped for a moment, they welled up again and made the vision she had, swimming in front of her. Jane threw her shoes in the trolley and sat down on the edge of her bed. The lump in her throat developed into a knot. Her lungs screamed for oxygen, making her loudly gasp for air.
All she wanted was to go home home, to her mum and dad. Italy was her home, but her home home was in Iceland with her parents.
Jane shared the status of the current situation with her parents after she filed charges, she said they shouldn't be worried about her and that she would update them if something changed. Her parents wanted her to be home, or they wanted to go to Italy, but Jane didn't want to bother them; she was an adult after all. But even then, everyone wants their parents when something happens.
She dried her cheeks and sniffed. Jane called her dad and waited impatiently for him to answer the phone.
"Hæ," her dad said when he picked up the phone.
"Dad?" Jane said and swallowed hard, she was tired of crying again.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
The muscles in Jane's chin started to tremble like a small child. Her eyes became glazed with a glassy layer of tears. "I'm coming home," she said and a sob left her mouth.
A soft, but relieved sigh rolled over his lips. "That's okay," he softly said. "When will you be leaving Italy?"
"This afternoon. I don't know," she cried and took a deep breath. "I don't know if there are tickets left. I don't know if I'll have to go via Amsterdam or Copenhagen or a direct flight." She blinked. "Can I borrow some money to buy a ticket? I have to pay the rent tomorrow and I will get my salary on Friday."
"Don't worry about that, darling," her dad said and opened his laptop. "You don't have to worry about that. Have you already bought a ticket?"
"No, I'm gonna do that at the airport."
"There's a direct flight leaving at 17:00, can you still make that?"
Jane looked at the time, it was 1 o'clock now. The flight leaves at 17:00, boarding closes at 15:30, the train leaves at 13:30, and I have already packed my bag. "I should make it..." If the system doesn't fail again...
"I'm booking it right now," dad mentioned. "I will end the call now, so you can pack your stuff. And make sure Luna doesn't stay on her own. Leonardo probably won't do anything, but just to be sure."
"I will."
"Alright, sweetheart. Message me when you are at the airport. I will pick you up in Reykjavik."
She nodded. "Dad?"
"Yes, Jane?"
"Thank you," she softly said. "I love you." Jane bit her lip as soon she felt her lip tremble.
"I love you too."
The call ended and Jane shook her head. The tears wouldn't stop. For some reason, she was so emotional. Going home was probably the best for now. Jane grabbed the last things and called Marcus at the same time. There was a chance he wouldn't pick up his phone, but she didn't want to tell him over a message she was leaving Italy. Just like she expected, he didn't pick up his phone.
The front door opened and Luna entered the apartment. She placed her bag on the table and removed her AirPods. Her eyes fell on the passport that was laying on the table. Her eyebrows were raised and she looked up. Is Jane leaving?
"Jane?" Luna walked to Jane's bedroom, someone was walking around in that room. "Hey," she said when she opened the door. "Are you okay?" Jane didn't look too good, she looked lost. Luna's eyes fell on the trolley, she is leaving. "Are you leaving?"
Jane's eyes met Luna's eyes, this was the first time she looked her in the eyes since that evening. "I'm going home," she whispered. "It's probably for the best."
Luna nodded and showed a weak smile. "It is, babe," she softly said. "Do I need to help you with anything?"
"No, thanks. I'm almost finished," Jane breathed and dried her eyes again. They were red from crying and drying it over and over again. "You should go home too... Just to be sure."
"Yeah, I already packed my bag. I was gonna ask you if you would come home with me, also to escape this environment, but going home is better," Luna admitted and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "When are you leaving?"
"In five minutes."
"Okay." Luna walked over to Jane and hugged her. "You're strong, I'm proud of you."
The eyes of Jane closed, and she rested her head on Luna's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"No, Jane, don't say that," Luna replied and rubbed her back. "We will talk later, yeh? We have to make sure we have to be on time." She pulled back and stroked Jane's arm. "No sweat." Luna pressed a trustful smile on her face.
»
"But I saw you had fun with Robert yesterday," Jane grinned. "It looks like he likes you." She put the trolley on the ground after she stepped out of the metro.
Luna looked down and smiled. "He is kind..." She took a deep breath and looked up. "They're all so kind. I don't want to overreact, but I met them. I never thought I would meet them, especially when they're just themselves, not racing drivers. And now I'm like: why are people always making it so big when meeting famous people? They're just people."
"Yeah, but that's always when you meet famous people."
"I think people forget that, but I have to admit I am the same as them, so..." They entered the right hall. "You already checked in, right?"
"Yep, and I don't have to drop off my baggage."
Luna nodded. "Is there still time for coffee?"
"Absolutely." Jane looked around and noticed she received a few looks from people. She didn't blame them, Jane had to admit she always looked at people when they were injured; she was curious about what happened to them. I guess that's something human... They walked over to the way too overpriced coffee shop and ordered an espresso and latte macchiato.
"Have you called Marcus yet?" Luna sat down at the table.
Jane put some sugar in her latte macchiato and stirred it into the coffee. "Yeah, but he didn't pick up. He's at the factory. I will call him once I'm through customs."
"Hmm-hmm."
"I really hoped I could see him before leaving. I just feel so bad... Everybody had to deal with my ex." She took a deep breath. "I really hope they don't think I'm crazy."
"No, of course not. Are you mental? This isn't your fault, and everybody knows the Esposito's are dangerous." Luna looked supportive of her best friend. "Leonardo was the good in the family at first, until you broke up with him... He was actually the good person."
Jane chewed on the inside of her right cheek. "Apparently not..."
"But this isn't your fault, please remember that. Nobody thinks you are weird."
Jane shrugged and took a sip from her coffee. She looked around her, it was busy at the airport for some reason. It was like the holidays were about to begin, while the holidays just ended. "Jeez, what a people. When will you be arriving home?"
"The train arrives at 4 o'clock in Florence, so probably at five-ish. I luckily can follow the classes from home, but I can't wait to arrive home. Away from the city, entering the quietness and spending time with the fam. Chiara and Matteo are home as well." Luna drank the espresso away.
"Ah, yeah. Tell them I said hi."
"I will."
"But I should go..." Jane took the last sip and got up.
Luna nodded and got up as well. "I'm going to say bye now, I don't have much time left..." She wrapped her arms around Jane. "Take care, babe. I will see you soon."
"Message me when you are home."
"I will. You too, yeh?" Luna let go of her and looked Jane in her eyes. "I love you."
Tears swam in Jane's eyes. "I love you," she whispered.
"It will be fine. You are strong." Luna stepped back and walked away from Jane. "Ciao!"
Jane waved at Luna and smiled. "Ciao!" She waited until Luna disappeared and walked to the customs. She couldn't imagine a better best friend, Luna was the best.
There were 90 minutes left when Jane walked through the customs. Now it was time to shop... A deep sigh rolled over Jane's lips, and she grabbed her phone. She walked over to the massive windows and looked outside, watching the planes. There wasn't much time left to contact Marcus, but she hoped she could talk to him before leaving. Jane called him.
Marcus didn't pick up, was in a meeting. He got touched by Saturday's situation. Someone hit Jane, and that someone was her ex. And then she pushed him away, which was understandable, but he got hurt by it. He wanted to be there for her. However, everybody handled situations like this in his or her own way. Some cry, others act like nothing happened or go to the gym.
Jane waited until she could leave a message. "Hey, Marcus. I...erm..." It made her wonder how much pressure her head could manage, because she was about to cry again. "I'm going back to Iceland for a couple of days, and I... I really wished I could tell you this in person because I really wanted to see you before I would leave." Her voice became thick. "I'm already at the airport, checked-in, and I'll leave in an hour and a half. Uhm... I will call you when I'm in Iceland if we haven't spoken before my departure." Her eyes closed. "I will call you anyway. Okay, erm... Ciao." A lonely tear rolled down her face, and it burned a lot, that was the wrong cheek. She ended the voicemail and put her phone away.