constant joy in my life, I’d be left with Harleigh and my motorcycle.
-Slate’s secret thoughts
Slate
The plane ride was the nicest one I’d ever experienced. At least comfort wise.
The plane ride itself still sucked.
After getting onto the plane and leaving Harleigh to converse with the pilots about ‘what that switch does’ and what ‘pulling down on that lever’ accomplishes, I popped a few Dramamine.
Once securely buckled into my seat and backpack safely stowed in the overhead bin, I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down.
I’d never been a good flyer.
In fact, if I had to say anything about all of my flying experiences, it would be that they definitely weren’t something I would like to ever remember.
In fact, I hated them. Hated everything about flying.
Glancing over at the sound of something falling and hitting the floor, I narrowed my eyes when I saw that the seat across the aisle from us was filled with Linc and his wife, Conleigh.
Great.
My biggest fan right next to me for two and a half hours.
I returned my eyes forward, ignoring the fact that the bag Linc had dropped had spilled all out on the floor of the aisles.
Something rolled and hit my foot, and I leaned forward and picked up a bottle of water and handed it to him.
“Thanks,” Linc grumbled reluctantly.
I barely stopped myself from grinning.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I closed my eyes once again and returned to what I was doing before…trying not to freak the fuck out.
I didn’t really know what it was about planes, trains, and automobiles.
I’d always gotten motion sick. In fact, today when I’d learned that the only part of my house that burned was the garage—including the truck and Vanessa’s car—I was honestly relieved. Insurance would pay for the damage of both the house and the vehicles, and I wouldn’t be stuck with Vanessa’s SUV anymore—the one I’d tried countless times to give to my sister who just kept giving it back—making me feel obligated to drive it.
Vanessa’s SUV had been a birthday present for her. A present that was expensive as fuck, and her dream car. She’d been excited as hell at getting it, and she hadn’t even driven it but a handful of times.
I’d finished paying it off while I was in prison—my sister luckily keeping up the payments on it by using my savings to pay for it, and when that had run out, her savings.
Honestly, I should just give the money that I got from the insurance payout to her at this point. It made the most sense.
The seat next to me jolted, and the seatbelt started to clank.
I opened one eye and peeked out at Harleigh.
“You and those ears,” I muttered, closing my eyes again.
“What were you thinking about?” she asked as she smiled at me.
“The fact that I’m going to get an insurance payout for my car and I’m going to give that money to my sister since she was the one to pay for my car and house while I was in prison,” I answered.
“Really?” Harleigh asked. “Why did she do that?”
I shrugged. “She was supposed to sell my bike for me and then use the money off the sale of the bike to pay for the house and car payments. Plus, I had quite a bit in savings. But she didn’t touch any of it. Only worked her ass off to pay for my shit so I’d have a bike when I got home.”
Harleigh made a squeaking sound that had me opening my eyes again.
“What?” I asked.
“That’s so sweet,” she said. “I don’t think my brother would’ve done that for me. He would’ve found a way to pay for it, likely doing what I originally asked, but he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to work extra shifts just to pay for my shit.”
My lips twitched. “My sister’s a sweetheart.”
“My brother’s awesome,” she said. “But he’s definitely not that awesome.”
“Your brother cares for you quite a bit,” I told her. “You should’ve seen the looks I got when I got too close to you. My sister would pay my bills, but she definitely wouldn’t kill anyone if I was hurt in any way. Your brother, on the other hand…”
Harleigh’s lips twitched. “He would do that, wouldn’t he?”
“Undoubtedly,” I answered. “If I hurt you in any way, your brother would fuck me up and still be able to sleep perfectly that night.”
She snickered.
“The last passenger has boarded,” the flight attendant said. “Please make sure you stow