The way he mostly ignored me.
I roll to my side in this ridiculously comfortable bed, bunching the pillow under my cheek. I shouldn’t be thinking about this.
I should focus on the opportunities that lie ahead. The people I’ll meet. The experiences I’ll have.
The big bucks they're paying will help get rid of my school loans.
Just when my eyes finally close, I awaken with a start when the plane drops.
What was that?
Before I can gather my thoughts, a shudder rocks through the aircraft. The engines whine, sounding higher and more strained than before. My heart hammers as the plane lurches again.
Oh my God. Something’s wrong.
I sit up, clutching the sheets to my chest as the cabin lights falter. Outside my window, lightning illuminates angry clouds for a split second before plunging us back into darkness.
We’re going to crash.My heart hammers, not just from the drop, but from the terrifying thought that we might die out here over the Atlantic, before I have any chance at a music career. Before Slayer and I finish what we started.
I throw back the covers just as the plane drops again—what feels like ten feet of freefall that sends me stumbling toward my door. In the hallway, I fight my way to the front of the dark, silent cabin.
“Help!” Another lurch bounces me back to the white sofa.
Pierre rushes out from the front.
“Buckle up, miss,” he says, kneeling by my feet and strapping me in. He smiles, but I see the worry in his eyes. “We’re fine. I’ve been through worse.”
Still, he looks concerned.
“Just relax. The captain needs me now. You’ll be fine.”
“But where are the others?”
“In their rooms. I made sure they’re all strapped in.”
“A lot of good that’s going to do them when we crash.”
“Don’t say that,” he says, tapping my hand as a bell sends him rushing back to the cockpit.
As soon as he disappears, the vibrations come quicker.
Everything rattles.
Oh my God.
And then the lights go dark.
“Help,” I say weakly, knowing there’s no one here to hear me. Or help me. “Help.”
But then I see her. Hilary. In the darkness. Coming toward me.
Despite my terror, I’m startled to see she’s wearing one of the Chanel suits Antoine chose for me.
She always made fun of that brand, and here she is rocking it in the afterlife.
But wait. If I’m seeing Hilary, maybe I’m already dead? Or will be soon.
“Are—are you coming for me?” I ask. I’ve heard that when people die, a loved one reaches down to lift them up to the heavens…
