Page 87 of Under A Sicilian Sky
Dougie walked with Ruby to departures as far as he was allowed. ‘You take care, lassie. And if you’re ever in Scotland again and need my services, don’t hesitate to get in touch.’ Dougie handed her a card. ‘Now, are you sure you’ll be okay on your own? I can always get a ticket and accompany you to New York.’
She smiled, grateful for his offer. ‘I’ll be fine. Thank you though. I can always ask for help if things get out of hand. But I’ll just keep my head down and in my book.’
Dougie nodded. ‘Well, it’s been a pleasure, Ruby. A real pleasure.’ He held out his hand and she took it.
‘Thank you, Dougie. For everything.’
He nodded again and left.
* * *
Ruby sat waiting to board and her phone buzzed, so she took it from her pocket.
Hey, why did you leave without saying goodbye? I thought what we shared meant something to you. Was I wrong? Just message me okay? I feel like I’ve done something wrong, but I don’t know what. Mitch x
She glared at the screen and scoffed. ‘You don’t know what you did wrong? Are you really that stupid?’ she hissed at the handset.
She texted Kitty and explained everything in as short a message as she could. She expressly told her not to ring, saying she wasn’t able to speak.
Safe flight home, lovely. Fingers crossed this will all go away now. Kitty xx
She too hoped that this would be the end of the mess. Or rather messes, plural. She had managed to get into some dumb situations with no one to blame but herself. She would learn. She wouldn’t let anyone even get close from now on.No more Mr Nice Guy, she told herself. She refused to be crapped on like a seaside pavement. She was better than that. She deserved more.
* * *
The first leg of her journey wasn’t too long at an hour and a half, and she waited nervously in her seat to discover who would be sitting beside her. An elderly lady took the aisle seat and said hello, but then proceeded to read her book. It was strange to be heading in the opposite direction to New York to begin with, but this had been the fastest route to take, and Ruby wanted to get back as soon as possible.
Seeing that her neighbour was focused on her novel, Ruby relaxed and smiled as she sat back to enjoy the flight.
After a short wait at Schiphol, she boarded the transatlantic flight to New York that would take around eight or so hours. She had splashed out for business class seeing as she figured this may be her last opportunity to do so. And she had enjoyed the perks and privacy on the outward journey.
She started watching a movie on the small screen before her but soon gave up. She couldn’t focus, least of all on a romance movie where two unlikely people come together and find love. Perhaps if it had been a movie about a property developer being eaten by a shark, she would’ve enjoyed it.
She was worried about how people would react to her back in the Big Apple. Would there be a mixed bag of those who believed she was innocent, and those too who believed she had said those vile things on the internet? She still didn’t understand how people could think so negatively of her. Especially people who had met her on set, on TV shows, and the like. But she had seen some horrid comments in the press made by those who clearly believed the hype.
Perhaps music was what she needed? She stuck in her earbuds and hit random on the playlist on her phone. The opening bars of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Heading West’ began to play, and she closed her eyes, once more letting the poetry break her heart. Some would call her a masochist, but something about the song touched her more deeply now. The lyrics held so much more meaning. For a brief moment, she was back in the room at Mitch’s house, only this time she was aware of his eyes on her; the dance was just for him. His gaze was filled with adoration as he watched, and at the end, he took her in his arms, kissed her and told her he didn’t care about her job. He’d go anywhere with her. He was hers.
‘Miss Locke? Miss Locke, is everything okay?’
Ruby’s eyes snapped open to see the worried gaze of a flight attendant peering down at her.
‘I’m sorry? What?’ She reached up and touched her face to find it damp with tears. ‘Oh. Gosh, yes, I’m fine. Thank you. Just watched a sad movie.’ She pointed at the screen. It was blank.
The brunette frowned but nodded. ‘Okay. Can I get you anything?’
Ruby shook her head. ‘No, I’m good. Thanks though.’
The attendant left her alone and she gazed out of the window at the clouds highlighted by the moon before dozing off.
Eventually, she awoke when the pilot announced their descent into JFK, adding that it was raining.Fitting, she thought.
And, soon enough, she was out in the wet and chilly New York air again. She was home. Only it didn’t feel like home. She felt like a stranger in a strange land, just like she had when she’d first arrived to begin her movie career. Only this time there was no giddy anticipation, no flutters in her stomach over who she would meet on set.
As she waited for her bags at the carousel, she fired off texts to Kitty and her parents to tell them she had landed in New York, and once her bags were off the conveyor, she exited the airport doors feeling exhausted, but the first person she saw lifted her spirits.
‘Philippe!’ She ran towards him and threw her arms around him, bursting into tears as she did so.
‘Hey, hey, you’re home now. You’re safe, shhhh.’ He stroked her hair and held her until her tears subsided. ‘Come on. Your room is ready. My girls cannot wait to see you. All three of them.’
