Chapter 2

Meredith

"Darling, you don’t have to pull the box all by yourself; let me help you," mom called from the bottom of the stairs, watching me drag my box down the stairs.

"I can do it myself. Mum, it’s no big deal," I groaned, punctuating every word at the same time I pulled the box down each stair.

I heaved a sigh of relief when the tyres touched the end of the stairs.

I looked up at her triumphantly.

"There, my box is down," I told her, rolling the wheels as I made my way to the doorstep.

As I walked past her, I looked at her face. It’s hard to miss the tears glistening in her eyes. I quickly wheeled the box into the truck of the airport taxi and ran back towards her, and she opened her arms and engulfed me in a warm hug.

"I’m so sorry, mom," I say, my voice breaking in sadness. I bat my eyelids to blink back the tears forming.

"It’s fine, baby. It’s just that I’ve waited for this moment for so long, and I can’t believe it’s here," she sniffled, and I nodded against her body.

"I’d miss you too, mom; I’d call you every day if I could," I told her, pulling away.

She nodded and used her free hands to wipe off the tears rolling down her cheeks.

The taxi driver honked to hurry me up, and I giggled and waved at her as I walked to the car.

"I love you, mom," I called out as I got into the vehicle.

"I love you too, baby; stay safe," she called back, and I whispered that she should stay safe as well. I planned on being safe in Italy. Then memories of last night flood back into my brain—the dead lady, the man with the build to actually kill. Did he somehow belong to the mafia? I pushed the thoughts out of my head and plugged in my AirPods, playing a song from my playlist.

"Oh God, I hadn’t said goodbye to Jay," I gasped, and I immediately went to send him a text about my leaving. I had to be the worst best friend ever, leaving the party last night without a word and then being about to travel out of the country without seeing him. I roughly typed an apology and hit the send button. The bubbles at the bottom of the screen popped up, and I watched, waiting for his response, but then they disappeared and there was no text sent.

I dragged my palm over my face and looked outside the window, listening to the weekend switch to Drake.

____

In the next thirty minutes, I was pulling my box, and the air hostesses were helping me put it in the locker above my head. Fortunately enough, I’ve been given the seat next to the window and didn't have to bother getting up for the next person to get in.

I looked outside the plane window, leaning my head against the glass. In a few moments, New Orleans would be far behind me.

Soon everyone settles in, including my seat partner, a girl in her mid-twenties by the looks of it. The hostesses hovered around, making sure everyone was in their seats, and asked if there was anything they could get us, and I nodded, asking for a cup of coffee as I’d barely gone over my breakfast this morning.

She nodded, telling me that once we were in the air, she’d fetch it for me. She went to take her seat, and at the same time, the plane's tyres began to glide, rolling over the runway, and moments later, they were in the sky. Just as promised, she returned with the coffee in a disposable cup and handed it to me. Tiredly, I thanked her and drank it all in one breath, as the coffee was barely steaming hot.

Somehow I still ended up sleeping due to tiredness. Yesterday, I could barely close my eyes as I kept thinking about what I had seen.

"Passengers of flight two- zero- zero- one we have now arrived in Italy," the pilot's voice came over the intercom. I yawned tiredly and stared out of the windows in what seemed like early morning hours. Italy was six hours ahead of New Orleans, and the clock on my phone read four a.m. Mom would definitely be asleep, and so would Jay. I'm turning off my aeroplane mode.

He still hadn't texted back.

The plane rolled to a halt, and soon we began to alight. I booked an airport taxi to drive me to my school and spent the rest of the journey to my final destination stopping myself from dozing off and missing the amazing sights of Italy very early in the morning.

"Here we are," he said in an accent thick with French.

"Thanks," I got out, grabbed my box, and settled him before pulling my box towards the hostel blocks. I drag my box down the path between each block identified by numbers until I get to block ‘E, the block assigned to me, and get into the elevator.I was taken to the first floor, and all that is left is to find my room, which, from the numbering pattern, is at the far end of the building. "Who is it?" A feminine voice asked from the other side of the door.

"Your new roommate, I just arrived," I heard her murmur as she came to get the door. When it opens, I’m greeted with the smell of alcohol, and I cough.

"You arrived just in time. I’d be back later tonight," she said, and I gave her a once-over to find her fully dressed. Maybe I was the one delaying her movement after all.

Sure, she said as she breezed past me, and I walked in, shutting the door behind me.

All my muscles wanted to do was lie down and sleep, but I noticed her side of the window opened, and I went to shut it. Just below me, I saw a figure in a suit that looked somewhat familiar, but just as the face whipped around to see me, I jerked back and locked the window.

"What the fuck?"