“I was referring to his demeanor,” Christine explained. “Brooding, arrogant …”
“And creepy?” Mandy added.
That amused me. “I thought you considered him hot?”
“He is,” she said nodding sagely, “but he is still creepy in a ‘damn you’re dangerous and might kill me but I still want to do you’ sort of way.”
“You’re crazy,” Christine said with a laugh, before turning to me and adding, “Personally, he looks as sharp as a new knife and I don’t think we should underestimate him.”
“I think I can give him the slip.”
“Okay, if you say so. Anybody want a soda?”
Slipping onto the battered stool in front of her laptop, I nodded. “Me. You got a Coke?”
“Of course,” she replied heading towards the open plan kitchen.
I turned my attention to Mandy. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“Yeah, neither did I. How have you been?”
“I’ve been great,” I replied.
“Christine told me about how the two of you met again at college. That’s a long way from middle school.”
“It is.” I laughed. “What’re you up to these days? Are you in college or finished?”
“No.” She shook her head decisively. “I tried it for the first year but then dropped out. Much too expensive and completely unnecessary for what I want to end up doing.”
“Oh, what do you want to do?” I asked.
“I want to be a score composer.”
“A score composer?”
“They create original soundtracks for movies and shows … like John Williams, Hans Zimmer.”
“Oh, that’s interesting.”
“Yup, much better than whiling away countless hours in college learning generic things at best, and earning a degree that is probably not worth much. It made sense to drop out.”
I stared at her. How brave she was. I carried on going to classes I detested because I didn’t want to annoy my father.
“Anyway, I got a job as a waitress and I’m saving up so I can go backpacking next year across the world. I’m planning to visit fifty countries. Much better than being caged up in a boring classroom.”
I completely understood her, and even felt a bit jealous that she could just go ahead to do what she wanted while I was literally in the midst of running away from home like a damn teenager. I took a swig of my drink.
Christine reappeared, fully dressed, with what I assumed were her car keys dangling from her fingers. “You ready to leave?” she asked.
I was suddenly sick to my stomach. I didn’t even say goodbye to Gemma or Nonna, but this was not a decision I could waver or negotiate on. One day when my father had forgiven me, I would come back. Even as the thought appeared in my head I knew it was a lie. Even though I was his only child, my father would never forgive me for disobeying him. He would consider my actions as a dishonor to him and his authority. Both my mother and grandmother got married under similar dictatorial circumstances. This wasn’t going to happen to me. Not while I had life in my limbs. I set the can of Coke down, my resolve strengthened, rose to my feet and looked Christine square in the eye. My voice came out sure and decisive as I said, “I am.”
“All right, let’s go. Hang on, I forgot to ask, where are you going to stay when you get back to England? With Charlotte?”
“I guess so,” I replied. “I’m sure she’ll let me crash on her futon for a couple of days, until I figure out what my next step will be.” Even if she wasn’t around, I knew my way around London and I could easily get a job as a waitress at the café of one of my friends.
“Good,” she said, her gaze sympathetic. “I can’t believe you’re going through all this barely a week after we got back.”
“I can’t believe it either.” To be honest I didn’t feel anything. I was still in a state of shock and would probably start to feel hurt and sad when I got to England.
“Aren’t you traveling with any luggage?” Mandy asked.
“Nah,” I replied. “A suitcase would kind of give the game away.”
Christine crossed her arms. “I really think you should crash here for a couple of days and make better plans. It all sounds so flimsy.”
I sighed heavily. “I wish I could, but after my father assigned the beast out there, I've realized that there is no time to waste. I need to fully escape from the country before I am trapped here forever.”
“When will you return?” Mandy asked.
I could feel my heart sinking. “I have no idea.”
“Hey, you don’t mean that, do you?” Christine asked, a deep frown etched on her forehead.
I forced a smile. “I’ll come back as soon as they come back to their senses. I love my parents and my grandma, and it’s incredibly heartbreaking that this is what things are resorting to. Let’s go. We absolutely cannot fail at this. It might be my only chance. If this goes wrong, I will most probably be grounded until the day of the wedding.”