Page 18 of A New Dawn

Oh god, this guy is trouble.

The flight time passes surprisingly quickly. I’ve relaxed and feel more like myself again.

I don’t want to enjoy Aiden’s company, I really really don’t, but he has a way of melting my resistance.

He’s charming and makes me laugh; something I feel like I haven’t done in ages.

I learned more interesting and very useless facts about beer.

Like beer is good for your bones because of its high levels of silicon. And frosty glasses will cause your beer to foam. And my personal favorite, in the sixteen hundreds, midwives created super-strong beer to ease the pain of labor. I guess getting tipsy could make you forget the ordeal of childbirth.

As we’re nearing Atlanta, the ride is getting bumpier, and Amy checks in on us, requesting that we fasten our seatbelts. The plane is shaking as the skies turn darker outside. I hope this isn’t an omen for my future here.

Aiden has been silent for a few minutes and is fidgeting with his phone. Maybe he doesn’t like flying into bad weather? Who does? But surely this wouldn’t affect him… unless it’s triggering some bad memories. I’m about to ask when he breaks the silence.

“Listen, I’ve been thinking. When we get to Atlanta…”

“…There’s turbulence ahead,” our pilot says over the intercom.

Oh yes. With the way Aiden has been looking at me at times, there is turbulence ahead for me for sure.

Chapter Five

Ella

“Sorryforthebumpyride, folks,” the captain continues just as the jet plunges a hundred feet.

A few loose articles in the cabin, as well as my hair, fly to the ceiling. The contents of my stomach would like to join them too.

Whoa.

The licorice tea in my cup ascends to the heavens before landing all over my lap.

Great. Just great.

Thank goodness it was only lukewarm, or I would have burned my privates.

I look out of the window to see what’s happening, but that’s a terrifying mistake. Lightning flashes all around the plane, and my heart seems to mimic the erratic light show in the sky. I’ve never been in the middle of an electrical storm, and it’s not an experience I want to repeat.

Holy shit!

“Aiden?” I ask, wishing my voice wasn’t hitching. “Why are the wings flapping like that?” I point out the window where the wings are bowing unhealthily, first up and then down.

Oh my god, are they about to snap off? My stomach plummets at the thought.

Aiden looks at my worried expression and then glances outside, rubbing his chin.

“Would you believe me if I told you it’s an optical illusion?”

I stare at the bending wings and then at him. “No!”

“Thought so. Honestly, though, do not worry. I’ve been in worse storms and nothing ever happened.” He leans forward and takes my cold hands in his, engulfing them with his warmth. “Planes and especially wings are made to withstand these conditions. They’re extensively tested. I promise you nothing will go wrong.”

His touch and the conviction in his words are like a soothing balm smothering my anxieties. How strange that he has this calming effect on me, given my earlier reactions to him.

“I just want to be on the ground,” I say quietly. “Preferably in one piece and not scattered into a million bits. At least it would be a quick death.” What a comforting thought—not!

“We won’t die, Sunshine. Not today anyway.” Aiden squeezes my hands reassuringly, and I soak in the calm he seems to transfer into me.

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