Olivia tentatively pressed the on button and watched as her phone lit up in response.
Message from KateBFF
Message from Mum
2 messages from Kyle Brother
Her eyes were glued to the screen, watching as the notifications piled up, one after the other. Friends and family wishing her safe travels and welcoming her home. Companies spamming her, hounding her to buy their products. But nothing, not a word, from Jacob.
She stuffed her phone into her bag and bit back the urge to scream.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, the seat belt sign is now off and we are ready to disembark from the aircraft. We wish you a pleasant onward journey, and from everyone here at Virgin Atlantic, thank you for travelling with us and we hope to see you again soon.’
‘Not bloody likely,’ Olivia spat, standing up and pushing herself out of the narrow row of seats.
‘Never say never.’ A jolly man behind her laughed as they walked down the aisle.
‘Yeah?’ She whipped her head around as the exit came closer. ‘And what the hell do you know?’
*
It had to be said, it was slightly awkward standing opposite the man she’d been so rude to as they waited for their bags to arrive. He kept looking over at her as though, at any moment, she was going to shout her apologies across the conveyor belt. Instead, she kept her eyes glued to the revolving train of luggage that snaked in front of them at a painfully slow pace.
Why was everything taking so long?
The lack of sleep was starting to kick in now, exhaustion weighing her down, burning through the final reserves of her patience, and leaving her prickly and frazzled.
‘Excuse me!’ She elbowed her way forwards, spotting her lumpy backpack emerge on the belt. ‘Can I come through, please? That’s my bag.’
‘Which one, sweetheart?’ a bulky, tattooed man asked. ‘I’ll get it for you.’
‘No, thank you,’ she snapped, ‘I can do it myself. I just need you tomove.’
Olivia launched forwards, almost toppling over and on to the belt herself. She grabbed the straps of her bag and hauled it off, struggling to maintain both her balance and her cool whilst doing so.
‘These young people,’ the man commented to his wife. ‘Think they can do it all.’
Fury erupted inside her.
‘These old people, always thinking they know best.’ She tutted, swinging her bag on to her back and marching off towards the exit.
Her heart was pumping ferociously in her chest, the sour taste of her outbursts coating the inside of her mouth. She needed to get out of this airport and straight back to her flat, dump her godforsaken rucksack, and have a long, hot, relaxing bath—
‘WELCOME HOME!’
Something had been unceremoniously shoved in Olivia’s face, forcing her to stop dead in her tracks. A young family almost crashed into the back of her, narrowly avoiding the collision by millimetres.
‘What thehell?’ She felt the explosion building, the incandescent rage about to erupt from within her, when she noticed just who and what was standing in front of her.
There was Kyle, grinning from ear to ear, holding one end of a large, hand-drawn sign. The other, of course, was held by Kate, who was open-mouthed and shouting in celebration at her arrival.
‘SURPRISE!’ Kate squealed, letting go of the sign and rushing to greet her.
‘I don’t …’ Olivia faltered, still standing frozen in place. ‘I don’t understand.’
Kate wrapped her arms around her. ‘We’re your welcome home party, silly.’
‘But …’
