The Fate of the Muse - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,42
my shoulders. I got up and cleared the counter, “I’d better go get dressed.”
“Me too,” said Shayla, bouncing up to leave. She turned, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder like she was in a shampoo commercial, “Cruz?”
“Yeah?”
She smiled wickedly, “I hope he at least took you out to a nice dinner!” We could hear her snickering all the way down the hall.
When I got back to my room I dressed, packing my things methodically and zipping up my bag resolutely. There was none of the usual excitement or anticipation I used to feel before traveling. I thought about Ethan again, and fished the phone out of my bag to call him.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine… I’m sorry I had to leave so early.” I bit my lip.
“Marina,” he sounded frustrated, “It was Amber, right? I saw her there after you left. Did she say something to you again?”
I felt a twinge of jealousy and paused, feeling ashamed. I looked down at the necklace on my nightstand. What could I say? It wasn’t his fault that I felt this way.
“You did it again, didn’t you? You got all upset and you ran away.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling awful, “I’m really afraid of what might happen.”
“I didn’t even talk to her!” he cried.
I felt like an idiot, “It’s none of my business who you talk to.”
I could hear him sigh in frustration, “When do you leave?”
“Our flight takes off in a couple of hours.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No!” I said, a little too emphatically, “I’m not angry at anyone.” But I wanted to be. I wanted to yell at him, to tell him what she showed me and accuse him of treating me like her replacement. I wanted to allow all the hurt I was feeling to come pouring out. I controlled my voice, “I’m just nervous about what I’m going to be walking into.”
“It’ll be alright… You’re gonna do fine. Just be careful.”
My voice caught in my throat, “I’ll try.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” I hung up and picked up the necklace, holding it in my palm for a few seconds. I slipped it into my purse.
Aunt Evie was all hugs and kisses when Shayla and I crossed the hallway to her apartment.
“Are you darling girls ready for Gay Paree?” she exclaimed.
“Oh, you have no idea,” Shayla laughed, catching my eye.
We took the elevator down to where Boris was waiting alongside a long black limo. There was already a driver inside, and after we climbed in he closed the door and sat up front, giving me a quick wink before closing the tinted glass partition. We drove through town, arriving at the airport.
I sat up and looked around when we passed by the main terminal, “Where are we going?”
“I have a surprise,” Evie smiled brightly, “I finally decided to pick up my own jet… the last two charters I took were absolutely abysmal… And you know, simply everyone has one nowadays.”
I was starting to realize how completely out of touch with reality Evie was.
We pulled up and parked next to a gleaming new jet, with a couple of crisply uniformed pilots standing at attention by the steps. Boris got out and started to unload our luggage from the limo. I looked around the tarmac at the other jets and private hangars, noticing an old blue truck driving along a gravel road behind a chain link fence in the distance. It reminded me of Ethan, and a fresh wave of sorrow and regret washed over me.
The truck stopped and I could see a figure get out of it. The fence was at least a hundred yards away, but I would know that walk anywhere. Without even thinking, I dropped my bag and sprinted across the asphalt, clearing the distance between us in record time.
When I reached him, his face was up against the fence, his fingers woven through the wire. I took his hands and we kissed through the fence, wire pressing into our faces.
He smiled at me, “They wouldn’t let me drive in. I thought I was gonna miss you.”
I didn’t know what to say, and I tried to blink back the hot tears that sprang into my eyes.
“Don’t cry,” he said softly, squeezing my hands.
“How did you find us?” I managed to choke out.
“I guessed… there weren’t any regular flights going to Paris.”
“You didn’t have to come all this way.”
“Yes I did,” he replied, and we kissed again as best we could.