Chapter 1 - Nora
The lull of the sound inside the airplane is enough for me to shake off some of the stress I have been feeling over the last few months. It is the perfect hum, combined with my favorite music by Hozier, that allows me to drift off to sleep. I recline my seat back, all the way back, kicking my feet up and laying almost flat.
For the first time ever, I was selected to move up to an opening in first class. I was apprehensive when the flight attendant told me when I arrived at the gate. But I guess maybe good things were finally coming my way. And it was just the thing I needed right now.
The only thing disturbing the moment of peacefulness I feel, is the reminder of where I am heading, and the darkness that will be lurking over my shoulder the entire weekend. I managed to swap one of my nursing shifts last minute to allow me to take this extended weekend, and attend all the events for my childhood best friend’s wedding.
I finally finished the clinical hours needed for my next nursing certification, but I still had the exam to take on Monday when I returned home to Boston. For now, I am headed to Manhattan. I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing this for Liam. He doesn’t realize the depth of the shadows I will be facing, but I would do anything for him, just like he would do anything for me.
Our friendship was the deepest bond I have ever experienced. It started in second grade, after my family moved to the much smaller town of Epsilon. Leaving the life we knew in southern California, and moving to the midwest so that my Father could head the newest location of his tech firm, was definitely a disruption to our family. But we settled into our new quiet neighborhood in the town of around 7,000 people.
My parents always preferred living in a more quiet neighborhood, so that meant they both commuted almost an hour away from their work. My siblings and I became independent pretty quickly, and threw ourselves into our own interests. My older brother, Xavier, was in 6th grade, and my little sister, Jules, was in Kindergarten when we moved.
This being our only move, I remember being a bit nervous having to go through the process of starting over at a new school. But from the very first day at recess, I already felt like I was back home. I joined a group of boys playing my favorite basketball game, Bump. I made my first shot, and got the boy ahead of me out.
There was shock on his face as he turned around to face me, but it quickly faded into a big grin as he introduced himself. From then on, Liam and I were inseparable. Through elementary and middle school, our friendship was easy, and we always got along. Liam’s family only lived a couple blocks away from our house, so it made it easy to spend time with each other outside of school.
Even though Liam was a grade ahead of me in school, we did everything together. We challenged each other with every sport and game we could play, and most important of all, we always had each other's backs. I would stick up for him when he was being too nice, and he would make sure no boys stopped me from playing with them. When we got a bit older and couldn’t be on the same sports teams, we still practiced together, and pushed each other to get better.
Even though both of our parents thought for sure that we would be the ones getting married one day, I never felt anything for Liam in a romantic sort of way. He was a brother to me, my closest friend. And his parent’s, Gary and Beth, were like second parents to me. They were there for me, and I spent a lot of time at their house.
My Mom, Carmen, worked long varying hours as a nurse, and my Dad, Robert, traveled a lot for Tech conferences. Xavier was out of the house, off to the Navy by the time I got to high school. So mainly it was just me and Jules at home. But we were both involved in our own activities.
High school changed some parts of mine and Liam’s relationship. We still spent time together around our practice schedules, but didn’t see each other as much as before. When Liam began dating, it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. Living in a small town, everyone at our school knew we were just friends. But, that didn’t stop them from whispering.
I didn’t date anyone. For several reasons. First I was way too focused on being successful, because I knew from a young age that I had big dreams. I put all my time into not only my studies, but competitive cheer and softball. I was determined to get a scholarship to a college far away.
Another reason I never wanted to date was because the boys I grew up with were immature. I didn’t see a point in just dating someone when I knew I would be going off to something bigger. And besides, I had enough time navigating my body changing, without having to worry about what boys thought.
I was always one of the smallest girls. I tried to put on weight, but nothing would work. Eventually, I gave up trying to change myself, and accepted my toned small frame. Being barely over five feet, meant that I was the flyer in cheer. And all the sports I had played, fueled my body with strength. I focused everything into being competitive.
I was tiny but mighty. And Liam even called me his tiny little firecracker. Just ‘Tiny’, as we got older, but he knew I would pop off when I needed to. I didn’t let useless comments bother me. I was used to the mean girls, they were jealous. They became malicious with their comments in order to make themselves feel better.
Always calling me a lesbian because I played softball and didn’t have a boyfriend. And of course I must be because Liam didn’t want me. No, I definitely preferred men. I was just happily waiting to get out of this town to find a man. I continued to ignore the girls, they weren’t worth my time. The only girl I ever had a friendship with was Jules. But—I still couldn’t tell her everything.
When Liam left for college, everything changed. He went to Pennsylvania, and even with the distance, we still texted and called each other almost daily. During the summer I made my commitments to what college I wanted to go to and accept scholarships to. It was hard to pick between competitive cheer and softball, but I always felt more comfortable on the softball field, hidden behind my catcher's gear. So I agreed to play for North Carolina while pursuing a degree in nursing.
Even with being able to text each other, I missed Liam more than I thought I would. I started to feel alone. Jules and I didn’t do much together outside of our home. So I threw myself even further into my studies and training as a distraction. I did online associate degree courses, earning my CNA, and completing other pre-nursing requirements. But still that connection to someone was missing.
One day when I was out on a run through the neighborhood, I ran into Tyson, Liam’s older brother, while he was out walking his dog. He moved back home after he graduated college, and didn’t have a job lined up. Tyson and I were never close while growing up, he was four years older than me, and in the same grade as Xavier.
When I was in high school, I would see him a couple times a year when he was home on breaks and holidays, but that was about it. We never really talked much, and only interacted if he joined Liam and I playing basketball outside their house. All I knew about Tyson was that he had a reputation of getting in trouble.
He almost didn’t graduate high school, and then almost got kicked out of college for issues. I never knew exactly what he did though. I just figured it was drinking or something stupid. When we ran into each other, we struck up a conversation. Talked about Liam, how his football training was going.
Then the timing of my run, and his walk seemed to happen more frequently over the next few days. Our conversations surprisingly came easy, and we just continued to talk about more than just Liam. Soon he started waiting for me outside of my house so we could jog together. As we started spending more time together, we would want to continue our conversations, and that led us back to his house to hang out. We would watch a movie, or play video games while we talked more.
He asked me about my plans after high school, and wanted to know about what I wanted to do in the future after college. His interest in me seemed genuine, and it was the first time I actually liked the attention. He wasn’t Liam, this was different. And my attraction to Tyson deepened every day. It felt like more than just a crush.
Tyson was definitely more man than boy with his ongoing five o’clock shadow. He shared the same bluish-gray eye color with Liam, and kept his dirty blond hair more shaggy, but his personality was very different. Liam always had this happy-go-lucky energy about him, and was a devoted friend to everyone. Tyson was just intense, his attention consumed.
I waited to see if he would show the temper I had heard about. But, when we were together, he was calm, and I didn’t see his other side. Maybe he had changed as he grew older, mellowed out. Or maybe it was the connection I felt bringing out the best in him. I should have known he was hiding something. Something dark.
One day he finally made his move. I would say I wasn’t expecting it, but he did take his time. The chemistry between us was there, it seemed natural. I was inexperienced, but not naive. At least I didn’t think I was. When he realized I was a virgin, he made a point to go slow, and be gentle. I felt things that I never knew existed, and I thought that I loved him. But boy was I wrong, it didn’t take long for him to show his true self.
The plane hit a bit of turbulence and I am knocked back to my current reality. I check my watch, still half an hour left till landing. Ugh Tyson …the main reason I am not looking forward to attending this wedding. We haven’t spoken for over two years, after Liam’s graduation trip on the yacht that changed everything between us all.
Besides Tyson, attending this wedding means that not only do I have to catch up with some of our old high school classmates, but I also have to spend time with Eliza’s friends. Eliza is alright, but she has the most uppity friends I have ever met. On top of all that, add in having to cram some more studying in before the end of the weekend for my final examination needed to become a lead NICU nurse.
Liam had followed his sports marketing career dream, and had created his own firm that works with various athletic corporations. His bride, Eliza, graduated college with some degree I didn’t pay much attention to, and planned to be a housewife. I don’t really have anything against Eliza, we just don’t have many things in common outside of caring for Liam.
They have been together for around four years now, and I am deeply happy for them both. I can tell that they really love each other. Liam has always told me the good and the bad about his relationships, he can’t hold anything in to save his life. The only negative thing he has ever told me about her is that she won’t play catch with him.
All I want is to be able to get through this weekend, supporting Liam, and then get back to my NICU examinations. I have poured everything into this career, and I have sacrificed a lot to get where I am today. Tyson might be the dark reminder of my past, but I think this wedding might just be a painful reminder of just how alone I am at 25 years old .
One positive thing about this trip is the fact that I didn’t have to pay for any travel or hotel room expenses, thanks to Liam’s connections to a super wealthy family. Liam’s Best Man, Zahir, was his college roommate. Zahir became Liam’s best friend in my absence. And over the years, I had grown pretty close with Zahir as well.
Zahir’s hometown is in New York, but his family is from the Middle East. And Zahir’s Uncle, Sayid, is the richest of all of his family. He had paid for dozens of rooms for the entire wedding party, family, and friends, at the hotel where the wedding reception was also taking place.
I would have figured something out if I didn’t have the room paid for, but it was nice not having one more thing financially to worry about while still having to pay for additional education requirements and certifications. Since I attended college on a scholarship, I didn’t have any student loan debt for tuition when I graduated with my bachelors degree.
With all the nursing courses I took in high school, I had reached my RN while in college, and started part time nursing jobs before graduating early with my BSN. But I still had expenses for my additional program requirements, and room and board. Then one day, it was completely taken care of by an anonymous donor, and I was able to put my remaining savings to my graduate programs and residency.
My parents helped cover some of the costs as I continued advancing in nursing, but I had to take out loans for other expenses. I earned some money, but not enough for the expensive area I lived in when I moved to Boston. I made every penny count, and would have used a credit card to cover this trip.
Zahir told me that Sayid was also arranging transport from the airport to the hotel. The generosity of that man, that I still have not met, gave a tingle in my chest. He had paid for other things over the last few years for Liam, and of course that yacht trip for graduation.
Zahir said that Sayid was paying for the wedding because of how Liam watched over Zahir while he was at college. It was his way of thanking him for all these years of making him feel so welcome. It wasn’t like Liam saved his life or anything, I don’t know why his gesture was so grand. But, I was still thankful for him.
∞∞∞
As I entered the lobby of the luxury hotel in downtown Manhattan, I suddenly felt completely out of place. This is easily the fanciest place I have ever been. Definitely a big upgrade from the motels I stayed at while playing softball. I gave the lady at the reception desk my name, and she handed me a key card. And when she tells me that I am staying on the top floor, a Penthouse suite, I just stare at her until my feet decide I should move away from the counter and leave my brain behind.
I made my way across the expansive lobby, to the row of elevators. I entered into the one that went all the way up to the Penthouse floor. As I ascended up the 20 plus floors on the elevator, I was completely lost in thought. I had heard stories from Liam, and Zahir about Sayid, and the mass of his wealth. I knew that he was beyond rich, and that he was a very powerful businessman, but didn’t know exactly what he did that could afford him such an extravagant lifestyle. And again, why would he pay for all of this?
Not looking up as the doors open, I move to step out, and my foot barely misses stepping onto a pair of gleaming black loafers, polished to perfection. I inhale sharply, as the surprise escapes me in almost a squeak. My cheeks flush with embarrassment, and I slowly lift my gaze to the deep dark eyes of the stranger standing before me.
“Oh gosh, I am so sorry, I should actually look where I am going before I start walking.” With a slightly amused pull to his lips, the stranger carefully steps off to the side and out of my way. The man before me is taller than me, but under six feet. He is extremely composed, and is wearing an impeccably tailored suit. The crisp white of his shirt contrasting against his smooth, sun-bronzed skin.
His gaze lingers on me, and I am suddenly aware of the way his presence seems to command the space around us. The look in his eyes is not that of irritation, but more of a curiosity. I feel my face flushing even deeper as I quickly move by him, pulling my suitcase awkwardly behind me.
“No need to apologize. I should have anticipated someone getting off the elevator, and waited to the side.” His voice is so smooth and composed.
My head drops, and I instinctively advert my eyes to the floor. As I turn my head back slightly towards him, I can barely manage a whispered, “thank you,” before continuing down the hall. My body burns with a tingling sensation as if I can feel him staring at me. I can’t bring myself to turn back and look at him, and focus on looking for my room number.
When I find the door, I quickly slide the key card and enter. I can’t bear the thought of actually glancing back towards the elevator, towards the source of the heat that is now rushing through my body. The stranger's perfectly chiseled face is still running through my mind. The only thing that snaps me away from thinking about him, is the sight of my suite.
Easily bigger than my apartment back home. This is the definition of luxury. Just past a small kitchen area with a table and chairs, is the living area. And the doors off to the side led to a separate bedroom, with a bathroom attached. I can’t decide what I would rather do first, stretch out over the giant king sized bed, and order room service, or soak in tub while blasting the jets.
I decided to move out onto the balcony off of the living room. I took in the sounds of the bustling city below. I liked all of the commotion, it made it easier to calm the buzzing of thoughts in my own head. The thoughts that kept going right back to the stranger that still had my body on edge. I wonder if this is his reality? Because it sure feels like a dream to me.