Chapter 23
BIX
Though the combination of Champagne and the white noise of the plane should send me to a quick slumber, I can’t sleep.
I change into the silky robe Pierre must have laid out on the bed, but every time I close my eyes, I see Slayer. The way he moved through the private airport lounge…all lean muscle and powerful grace.
The way conversations stopped mid-sentence as he passed. The way women pretended not to stare while staring anyway.
The way he mostly ignored me.
I roll to my side in this ridiculously comfortable bed, bunching the pillow under my cheek. I shouldn’t be thinking about this.
I should focus on the opportunities that lie ahead. The people I’ll meet. The experiences I’ll have.
The big bucks they're paying will help get rid of my school loans.
Just when my eyes finally close, I awaken with a start when the plane drops.
What was that?
Before I can gather my thoughts, a shudder rocks through the aircraft. The engines whine, sounding higher and more strained than before. My heart hammers as the plane lurches again.
Oh my God. Something’s wrong.
I sit up, clutching the sheets to my chest as the cabin lights falter. Outside my window, lightning illuminates angry clouds for a split second before plunging us back into darkness.
We’re going to crash. My heart hammers, not just from the drop, but from the terrifying thought that we might die out here over the Atlantic, before I have any chance at a music career. Before Slayer and I finish what we started.
I throw back the covers just as the plane drops again—what feels like ten feet of freefall that sends me stumbling toward my door. In the hallway, I fight my way to the front of the dark, silent cabin.
“Help!” Another lurch bounces me back to the white sofa.
Pierre rushes out from the front.
“Buckle up, miss,” he says, kneeling by my feet and strapping me in. He smiles, but I see the worry in his eyes. “We’re fine. I’ve been through worse.”
Still, he looks concerned.
“Just relax. The captain needs me now. You’ll be fine.”
“But where are the others?”
“In their rooms. I made sure they’re all strapped in.”
“A lot of good that’s going to do them when we crash.”
“Don’t say that,” he says, tapping my hand as a bell sends him rushing back to the cockpit.
As soon as he disappears, the vibrations come quicker.
Everything rattles.
Oh my God.
And then the lights go dark.
“Help,” I say weakly, knowing there’s no one here to hear me. Or help me. “Help.”
But then I see her. Hilary. In the darkness. Coming toward me.
Despite my terror, I’m startled to see she’s wearing one of the Chanel suits Antoine chose for me.
She always made fun of that brand, and here she is rocking it in the afterlife.
But wait. If I’m seeing Hilary, maybe I’m already dead? Or will be soon.
“Are—are you coming for me?” I ask. I’ve heard that when people die, a loved one reaches down to lift them up to the heavens…
For me, of course it will be heaven. I’ve been a good girl. Maybe a little too good.
Instead of answering, Hilary smiles, snaps her fingers like some TV witch, and disappears into thin air.
Typical Hilary.
“Wait! Don’t go!”
A door creaks open in the darkness. I smell him before I see him. A delicious scent of musk and some spice wafts toward me.
Then a dark figure appears. He’s practically floating, though the plane still swings back and forth.
“Are you all right?” Slayer says, sitting beside me. His black silk robe seems less like Slayer's armor and more like something Sam would wear in his private moments.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “No, I’m really not.”
He wraps his muscular arm around me, and suddenly I feel safe. Secure. Protected.
“Have you felt this level of turbulence before?” I ask.
“Of course,” he says. “I travel all over the world.”
He pulls me closer, and I snuggle in.
“I...saw my twin a moment ago,” I say. “You remember I told you about her.”
“What did she say?”
“It wasn’t a conversation.”
We fall silent. I rest my head against his chest and feel myself relax as the vibrations in the plane level off. My eyes slowly close.
Sometime later daylight breaks through the plane’s windows, and I smell the aroma of fresh coffee. Where am I? Suddenly I remember Slayer was here. His arm around me. Now I’m alone. He’s gone.
“Bix, you survived,” says Milo, coming toward me with a cup of coffee. “You’d better freshen up in your room. We’re landing soon. St. Tropez awaits!”