A/N: Happy New Year! Thank you for your patience once again! Back to this one and it's going to be something! Amsterdam ;) I can't wait to read your reactions to what I have planned for them. This one is just a start though. I hope you enjoy it. I'll try to update the next one as soon as possible. X Milou.
Forty-one: Sea-Tac - Schiphol.
Terminal four.
The last time I was at this exact spot, I was with a man who I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with. Our destination was the Bahamas which he'd let me choose as a wedding present. It seemed to be the perfect honeymoon destination at the time.
It was, only the husband I'd chosen was completely wrong, only I didn't want to admit that back then.
Standing at terminal four now is in complete contrast with that day. Right now I'm counting heads with my colleagues, in my hand a paper to see which names we're still missing. Heads of young adults that are excited about their trip to Europe without their parents.
In contrast to the students who all look excited, their parents look nervous. Especially the mothers, who are watching their kids with tears in their eyes. I can't even count the times I've heard phrases like 'be careful', 'stay with the group', and 'text us when you land' in the past ten minutes.
Every time I look at the paper in my hand, my eyes involuntary drift to one name in particular. One name whose head I haven't counted yet. A part of me is happy that I haven't, another part wished I already had.
Just like the other students, I expect him to be accompanied by the persons who are responsible for him, in his case his aunt and uncle. And just like I did with any other parent, I'm expected to introduce myself.
I'm dreading the moment like I haven't dread anything ever before.
"Ten minutes until we're checking in," Lopez, who has taken the role of leader the moment he walked in the terminal, informs.
Of all the colleagues that are joining, he is the oldest, and therefore he thinks it automatically means he is the designated person to lead the trip as well. José, who obviously and unsurprisingly finds himself more suitable for that job, isn't happy with Lopez at all.
Kate, who is standing next to me, pokes me in my side with her elbow while she nods at José. "That's going to cause some trouble, mark my words."
She is voicing my thoughts, and therefore I nod in agreement. "Tell me about it. Let's hope the bomb doesn't explode while we're on the plane."
Kate snorts and opens her mouth to react to me, but is stopped by something that happens behind me. I can't really read her expression, but the amusement from seconds ago is gone. When I turn around, I'm faced with the reason, and while it's highly inappropriate considering who is walking on either side of him, my heart jumps at the sight.
He is wearing a black leather jacket with one of his signature sweaters underneath it. It's a white one this time and as always the hoodie is covering his head. He is also wearing black sweatpants and I can't help but notice how they leave little to the imagination.
I usually hate it when men wear sweatpants outside of their house or the gym since they always show a little too much. Seriously, what do you want to prove? But now that he is wearing them, along with his white Nike Airforce, I'm suddenly not as negative about the piece of clothing.
He is pulling his blue suitcase behind him with his right hand, the other one hidden in the pocket of his sweatpants. He looks completely relaxed as he talks to the woman to his left. They're laughing at something, the man to his right also joining.
Both of them look as if they are in their fifties. The woman has brown hair and her makeup is done neatly. She is wearing a white flared pants with heels and a dark-blue long coat is making the outfit complete. The grey-haired man is wearing a fitted dark-blue suit, a crisp white blouse underneath it. They are matching completely, almost as if they want to show everybody they belong to each other.
When they reach the group his eyes still haven't met mine. I'm not sure if he deliberately avoids looking at me, or if he simply didn't see me yet, but I find my eyes glued to him in hopes he feels it and just gives me one glance.
He animatedly greets John and Dave, who are standing at the end of the group with their parents, with a friendly hug and what seems like a customized handshake. The adults seem to know each other too since they greet each other in a familiar way while they talk with smiles on their faces.
"Do you want to go or should I make up an excuse for you so you don't?" Kate asks, her voice low so nobody else can hear us.
I smile at the sweet gesture but also shake my head. It would be unprofessional. Besides, introducing myself to them is inevitable since I doubt they'll leave before we're properly checked in and ready to go behind customs.
"I'll join you," I tell her determined before we follow Lopez and José, who seem to be in a little contest on who will be the first one to introduce himself.
As I watch Lopez win and introduce himself to the grey-haired man, I feel his eyes finally on me. Without any doubt, I move my gaze to him as well and when my eyes lock with his, everything that happened the last few weeks, including the ones after that night at Lake Washington, flash through my mind.
After I told him that we had to stop it, he has been a complete asshole. He has shown me the true meaning of a terror student and he has proven to be worthy of being a part of the trouble maker group.
He's been pushing my buttons to the extreme; I've had to kick him out multiple times. Sometimes he crashed my classes completely, demanding all the attention of his fellow classmates by being loud and despicable. Other times he kept provoking me like he did when I first started at Port Bellevue.
It was all horrible, but the worst was when he just sat in the back of the class, looking at me with a gaze that sometimes scared me to the bone. The look in his eyes that promised everything would be even worse, but not told me when the bomb would burst.
It's like walking on pins and needles.
"Kate Kavanagh," Kate introduces herself by shaking first the woman and then the man his hand. She then steps to the side a little to give me room.
I take a deep breath and force a small smile on my face as well, my eyes now solemnly on the woman. His gaze was too intense, and even though I'm still very much aware of it now that I'm looking at his aunt, it's still better than looking at him directly.
"Anastasia Davies," I say while I grab the hand his aunt offers me. I can't help but notice the big smile on her face, and for a moment I'm confused.
"Grace Grey, Christian's aunt. Oh, it's wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Davies," she beams, the name Davies rolling off her tongue as if it's a sanctuary, and I can just suppress the urge to roll my eyes.
"Likewise," I smile before I turn to his uncle, avoiding Christian's eyes again. "Anastasia Davies," I introduce myself once more, this time while shaking the hand of the grey-haired man.
"Carrick Grey." Unlike his wife, Carrick nods professionally, a small, polite smile covering his face.
I nod and offer him a smile as well before I, with all the power and strength I have in me, make eye contact with Christian. His eyes immediately hold mine hostage and almost make me forget what I wanted to say.
Almost, but not quite, and so I strengthen my shoulders as I say, "Christian, welcome. Do you have any hand luggage that needs a tag?"
His eyes discretely move up and down my form. The action is so fast, I doubt anyone has seen it, but I felt it like an electric shock. He then nods his head once. "Yeah," he mumbles before he takes the black bag from his back. "This one."
I nod and give him a tag and a pen. "Please fill this in."
After Christian took the items from me, he immediately busies himself with the task which gives me the change to talk to his uncle. "Can you please check if all the information I have here is correct?" I ask while I hand him the paper I was holding.
After I've given the papers to Christian's uncle, Christian offers me my pen again. When I take it from him, our fingers lightly brush against each other. It's the first physical contact I've had with him since that weekend, and although it was just a small, innocent touch, it does much more to me.
It causes me to shiver and it gives me goosebumps all over. It makes me want to throw my arms around his neck without any care in the world. It makes me want to kiss him, just so I can remember his taste.
But most of all it makes me want to tell him that I'm sorry and that he was right.
The past days I've had time to think about what happened between us and what it actually meant to me. I can't say that I've completely figured it out but I do know that he started to mean more then what was planned and that that was, along with the whole getting caught thing, what forced me to stop it.
My life at this time is a whirlwind of emotions that I'm probably only going to process when it's all done. The situation with Colton is working towards a climax pretty fast now. I don't know when, but I know that he will strike soon.
After Taylor called me, he immediately called Benson and Fordham to inform them about the situation. Two days later, they got a letter from Colton's lawyers in which he summoned his terms, or rather term.
His insane term.
He wants to stay married for at least another year before he will accept a divorce at all. I have no idea why, but he claims it's because it will damage his image if we're divorcing now. It's his only term and after I've fulfilled that one, he'll divorce me just how I want it.
Taylor thinks there is a huge catch. A reason why. And I know that too. There is a reason why he wants to stay married to me, and therefore, my lawyers haven't reacted yet. We're first going to try to figure out why he wants to stay married to me that desperately. It sure as hell isn't because out of love.
Taylor and Luke have hired people who are meant to find that out. Discreet people, who can figure things out without being seen. They haven't told me much about that, and I think that's for the best right now.
I've settled with the fact that the divorce won't be smooth and fast, and for the sake of being able to keep it quiet, I just let them do what they think it's best for now. They promised to tell me if when they have new information, and I trust them.
You could say that this trip was coming just in time. It's the break from Colton and all the drama that I desperately needed. It just sucks that it automatically brings me closer to another drama and at this point, I'm not sure which one is more dangerous.
"Everything you have on there is correct." Carrick Grey pulls me out of my thoughts by handing me the papers back.
"Perfect," I nod.
"We can check in at desks seven to twelve. Please, say goodbye now and then follow me." Lopez is holding his papers in the air as if he is leading a tour while he motions the students to line one by one.
Behind me, I hear Grace and Carrick Grey say goodbye to Christian, and although I act as if I'm not paying attention, I listen to everything they say.
"Be careful and have fun. Be thankful that you can join, Christian. Behave." Grace's voice sounds pleading and worried, and I honestly understand. I've finally had the chance to read Christian's file, and it must've been horrible for her to hear some of the things he has done.
"And let us know where you are once in a while, okay?" Carrick adds. He sounds less worried, but the plea is also there. "Have a good time."
"Thanks, I will. Bye." Christian's goodbye is everything you would expect of an eighteen-year-old, but it's not how I have become to know him. He sounds emotionless and cold, and it makes me realize how little I actually know about him and what he has been through.
"Come on, Ana. Let's do this thing," Kate says while she grabs my arm and pulls me in the direction of the desks as well. "I hope we can still get seats next to each other."
God, I hope so too. I not sure if I would survive sitting next to a student for ten hours straight. Now that I think about it properly, I suddenly feel the huge need to push everyone out of my way to check-in first.
Fucking great. It's been fucking ten minutes, and I'm already starting to think like an adolescent.
"Can you stand for a moment? I want to stretch my legs."
José nods and then unfastens his seatbelt before he stands and moves to the aisle, giving me the space I need to leave my seat. When I'm within reach, I feel his hand on my back, escorting me until I'm on the aisle. It was completely unnecessary.
Kate and I managed to get seats next to each other, and we were ecstatic that we had. But then Lopez once again acted as the leader and came up with the idea to sit according to the groups that Mr. Brown put together. José, who was determined to take over the lead just moments before that, nodded his head in agreement while he almost looked excited.
The students loudly protested and I had to hold myself back from joining them. Spending ten hours with not only José but also Christian that close in such a small space was not something I wanted to deal with.
Kate and I tried to reason with them, just like a few other colleagues but in the end, the yes won it from the no which is why I just had to ask José if he could stand.
José has been trying to talk to me ever since we've departed. He's been asking questions to get to know me, and I keep giving short answers in hopes he gets the messages. So far, no such luck though; he only started talking about himself when I didn't really elaborate on my yes and no answers.
We are sitting on the last row of the plane which happens to be just two chairs instead of three. He insisted on me having the window seat, even though I told him multiple times that I was okay with the aisle seat as well. I would've actually preferred that since that would give me freedom, but José was determined.
The group of the six students that are under our watch is sitting at the three seats to our left and the three seats in front of us. Christian is sitting all the way to the left, with Sara next to him and John next to her. In front of us, are Shailene, Max, and Luna.
As José sits down on his chair again, I steal a quick glance at Christian. He is wearing his headphones and his head is leaning back, eyes closed. Sara is sleeping with her head on his shoulder, her whole body turned to him.
It's a sight that I didn't expect to see and it makes me feel both jealous and hurt. I fucking hate that it makes me feel like that.
I always thought that Sara was one of the students out of the terror class that was okay but now my opinion has changed entirely.
Just as I'm about to look away, Christian's eyes open, almost as if he feels that I'm looking at him. It all happens fast, but in the brief moment before I turn around, our eyes meet and a small smirk appears on his face.
It's the smirk that I've seen a lot during class lately. It's a different one than the one he had when we first met. It's daring, hard and serious. Not at all how I saw him that weekend.
After I've turned away from the sight, I walk straight to the lavatories, where I find Kate also waiting. It's perfect timing.
"How are you holding up?" She asks as she leans against the wall next to the door of the toilet which is occupied.
"Fine," I sigh. "Although I really don't like sitting next to José. He is so weird, Kate." My voice is low, and it feels as if we're gossiping.
"I know but trust me, he is harmless. Just four hours left. I fucking hate Lopez too for deciding this. I'm stuck with those nerds Enzo and Leon so I feel you. They've talked about the universe and how it works for three hours, Ana. And to be polite they tried to involve me. I'm teaching fucking Economics for fuck sake. My head is still buzzing."
I can't help but giggle at Kate's expression. Enzo and Leon are the two smartest seniors on board. They will graduate cum laude, and they wouldn't hurt a fly. I can understand why Kate finds it a challenge. They seem a little socially awkward.
"How's Grey?" She mumbles after a few seconds, immediately reminding me of how he is snuggled up against the blonde bimbo.
"Cuddled up with Sara fucking Wellington," I reply without thinking, making Kate snort.
"This will be the longest four hours of our life," she responds.
Although Kate her opinion about me and Christian hasn't changed, she's stopped telling me it since she knows that I already know everything. I can't change what happened, and Kate knows that as well. She's now just letting me talk to her sometimes, and it helps.
"It will. Thank fuck we share a room."
It's the only thing that seems to save this whole trip right now; the fact that Kate and I share a room.
"Hell yeah. Still can't believe that I'll sleep with Anastasia Davies," she wiggles her eyebrows.
"Shut up, idiot," I giggle just as the door of the toilet opens. After the person has walked out, I nod my head. "Go and be quick. I have to go too."
As Kate moves into the lavatory, I turn around so I'm facing the seats again. From my spot, I can just see the top of Christian's head, along with a mob of blonde hair. It seems like he is resting his head against hers now, and it makes my blood boil.
He is doing this all on purpose. I know he is. The smirk just now told me it. He is once again provoking me, trying to hurt me because I ended things with him. Right now though, he actually succeeds in hurting me a little more than before.
And I can't help but wonder how far he will go to hurt me like this a little more.