It turned out that next flight was even more costly than this one.
For the first half hour I had no idea what to do. I paced around the airport wishing this was a nightmare I'd wake up from, before I got tired and found myself on the floor of the airport.
I'd never been more envious watching couples and families laugh as they headed to their gates. Ready to have the time of their lives and together.
This was why Kegan should have been here. My fiancé would have known what to do, and if not at least I'd have someone with me to take away some of the shame I felt here.
My throat closed up. I'd have to go back home now, probably by hitchhiking. My family would be so disappointed in me, how was I going to tell them I wasted all this money?
Cold tears ran down my cheeks, and once they started they couldn't stop. They were like a salty waterfall, never ending and hopeless. I was hopeless.
I pulled my knees to my face and buried it in them. God this was embarrassing, crying in public. But I had nothing else to do. I was drained of anything positive.
"Why are you crying?" A voice spoke, toneless and deep. It wasn't real, I thought until I lifted my head. Blue eyes. Sober expression.
His hands were in his pockets. His height had doubled from my place on the ground, so much that he was all I could see.
Eyes wide, I sniffled my nose. "What are you doing here?"
Leo stared at me and I could see the raging conflict in his eyes as if he was fighting a war with himself. "I asked you something."
My voice was shaky and I tried hard not to sound weak and emotional, though it failed. "I missed my flight."
A furrow formed between his brows, and he remained in thought for a few seconds before-
"Stand."
My brows lowered. I opened my mouth to speak but when he said "now Alex" I had to comply. I lifted my bag from the ground and stood up, feeling even more embarrassed now that he'd seen me cry.
"What are you even doing here?" I asked. He narrowed his eyes slightly in thought, reached into his pocket and pulled something out. My hair tie.
I blinked, before slowly taking it. He came all this way to drop my hair tie off? One that I didn't even notice was gone?
"You came here because of this?" I raised an eyebrow, almost amused. "Or did you want to say goodbye after all?"
"Come on." He said bluntly, ignoring my question and signalling for me to follow him. When he headed towards one of the staff my eyes widened.
"What are you doing?"
As if I hadn't even spoken to him he stopped at the counter. I stayed behind, not being able to make out his low words but knowing that this wasn't good.
He finally turned to me. "Your flight takes off in five minutes. Get your stuff."
"Huh? But where?"
Continuing his habit of ignoring me he headed towards the wall of windows that showed the runway and I had no choice but to follow him.
"What are we looking a-"
My words came to a halt when I realised he was looking at the small jet standing outside.
I looked at him with denial, there was no way I'd accept this. "No." I started to shake my head. "This is too much, I can't-"
"Fine. Then wait two weeks for your next flight and beg for table scraps.."
His words made my lips press together. I looked at the jet again, seeing the tiny men in the distance start to pull out the stairs and prepare it and I let out a sigh.
I couldn't believe this.
"Thank you." I finally spoke, trying not to smile. I didn't expect him to walk away before I opened my mouth again. "Wait."
My hand reached around my neck, pulling off the silver heart shaped locket I wore. His eyes remained on me almost with concern as I took his large, tattooed hand and put the locket in it.
Something inside my chest pulsed heavily. "Something for you to remember me by." If he even wanted to remember me.
He blinked at me like I was pathetic, but then an unknown emotion flashed through his dry stare.
The gold chain slipped between his fingers before he put it in his pocket and as he walked away, my smile beamed at him. I started to waving at him frantically the further he got and amusement played in his eyes.
I could still feel the tickle in my stomach from hearing his laugh before, feel the burning from his grip on my hand, and as I sat in a luxury jet, flying farther from my home country, I prayed that the fire inside me would distinguish by the time I landed.
————————————————-—————————
When Kegan picked me up from the airport, I was bursting with joy. New York was so busy with different people and buildings with vibrant lights, it was beautiful.
He drove me to our new home, an apartment in Brooklyn we managed to get on a lease. I told him all about what happened with the car crash, but he started getting concerned about the cuts and bruises on my face and didn't hear the rest of it.
Kegan was slightly different than when I last saw him a few months ago. His voice was less enthusiastic about life, tension was all over his face and his hair was shorter, but the blonde still as shiny.
We ate takeout, planned the small wedding and I had the best sleep I'd ever had.
————————————————————————
The past 2 days me and Kegan had been planning the wedding. We weren't going on a honeymoon, neither of us could afford it so we decided to just explore New York instead, though it had been terribly rainy.
Good thing I loved rain.
My lips pressed together to spread the layer of red on my lips, contemplating what kind of place Kegan would take me to. He'd been saving up from working and was going to take me out for dinner.
After taking a quick look at my red dress in the mirror, I grabbed my purse and hurried out of the bedroom, running back in when I realised I'd forgotten my hair tie.
The same one Leo had returned to give me. It was stupid, but I couldn't go anywhere without it and I didn't even know why.
Kegan was waiting at the door, and slipped his phone into his pocket when he saw me. I could tell he was still mad at me because of the argument we had last night, even though I said I was sorry.
My smile was small and hopeful. I waited for him to say something about my dress, or me. I spent hours getting ready, and this dress was my favourite.
He scratched his head. "I thought you were gonna wear the black one."
Disappointment stung my chest, but I kept my smile. "But I like colours, black is boring-"
"I don't care, I like the black one." He gritted, annoyance prominent on his face.
"But-"
"Go change. Now."
I stared at him with disbelief, but wasn't surprised. I thought he'd let it slide just once now we were in New York, but changing cities doesn't change who you are.
I returned in the black dress, which was extremely tight and short around my waist. I think that was why he wanted me to wear it, the red dress was a little longer and appropriate for dinner, but the black one probably attracted him more. How could I blame him?
He love me that much, he couldn't hide his desires.
———
"And then I looked up and it was him! Even though he didn't know me he let me use his private jet to-"
Kegan put his fork down. "Can you talk a little quieter, everyone's looking at us."
My jaw snapped shut. Chatter, and the sounds of forks and knives clanking together filled the tense quiet in the restaurant. "Sorry." I said lowly. Sometimes I got carried away, but I just wanted conversation.
Kegan hadn't spoken to me the whole time. He just typed on his phone and and even made phone calls while I silently ate my steak. What made it worse was that the steak wasn't even good.
———
My heels clicked against the wooden floor, the sounds of tv and cheering muffling from behind the wall as we walked in from dinner. Our neighbours were incredibly loud, but I liked it.
I sat on the couch, watching Kegan walk in and put his phone on the table. "You gonna wash the dishes now?"
My eyebrows lowered with irritation. "Really? That's what you say to me?" I stood up, heading towards the bedroom before stopping. "You didn't talk to me all day Kegan. Why do you always do that when you're mad with me?!"
I spun around to look at him, annoyance flashing through his green eyes. I didn't know what I did to make my own fiancé this mad. "I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to push you away but I was tired and I didn't feel like having sex with you while being half asleep Kegan!"
My breathing grew heavy from my quick words, my feet glued onto the ground. I stared at him as he exhaled and hung his head.
"You're right." He slowly approached my and slid his hand onto my jaw as I tensed, already knowing what he was planning.
His forefinger ran over my lower lip. "You can make it up to me can't you?"
I shook my head, desperate for him to show affection to me, to love me. I'd been without any intimacy long enough.
He pressed his lips against mine, carried me to the bedroom and with sweetness, he showed me how much he loved me. But when I woke up the next morning, the void in my chest grew deeper.
I came to a conclusion I should have come to years ago - his sweetness wasn't enough.
~Leo~
My fist slammed against the bag, every punch releasing more and more anger. Punching something was one way to help a mood, the other being sex.
I wasn't even fazed by the footsteps heading towards me. "Let me guess, they ended up stealing the stock?"
I continued punching, sweat beading on my forehead and glossing my body. I was fucking furious, even chopping their heads off with an axe didn't ease it. Nobody stole from me and fucking lived to tell the tale.
I stepped back finally, breathless but still seeking vengeance. Dante handed me a cloth which I ran over my face and tossed it aside.
His eyes widened on the slash on my chest. "Fuck....They did that to you?"
"You think I'd let them? This was a bear."
"Jesus, a bear." I started punching again and he sat on the bench knowing I'd be here for a while. "All that to get laid by Gia."
"I didn't get laid. Ended up sleeping in a fucking forest with the biggest spitfire out there."
"A whole night and you didn't fuck her?"
"You're an animal."
"I'm just saying, spitfires are the best in bed."
"You'd fuck anything with a hole, best not talking about this with me. Now get back to what I told you to do."
"Get surveillance on the same woman you fucking hate? Sounds logical." He got up, walking towards the door before pausing. "Brunette...Is she at least hot?"
My eyes shot to him in a way that made him snap his mouth shut and walk out. Fury slammed into the bag, eventually softening to nothing.
I sat down, took my gloves off and ran a hand through my hair. I didn't give a damn about her, but when I got back to Sicily I still did a background check on her fiancé. She told me everything about him so it wasn't hard finding him.
I tossed the gloves onto the floor and threw my water into my mouth. His record was clean, but that didn't satisfy me enough to let it go.
It was frustrating, fucking enraging. She was an annoying girl, one that irritated the hell out of me with her rambling and touchy hands. But I didn't let it go.