Page 29 of The Loathing

Shaking my head from side to side, the bright lights of the terminal hurt my eyes and I blink a few times to let my eyes adjust to the fluorescence. I stand, just watching the absolute chaos that is playing out in front of me. Dropping my chin, I head for my check in desk and ignore my palpitating heart that is currently dancing around in my hollow chest.

The line is fast moving and after a little while I move forward towards the young woman sitting there with a permanent smile on her face.

“Good morning, sir,” she holds her hand out to take my passport, her eyes glance over it before putting it under a little scanner. “Boarding pass?” I hold up my phone and she scans it. “Perfect. Welcome Mr. King, I can see you are sitting in our business class area, you’re in seat 4A, and flying into London Heathrow,” she is still smiling as she taps her long, fake nails on the keyboard and prints out my tickets. “Pop your cases on for me, I’ll tag them,” she hits another button on her keyboard and prints a tag out, wrapping it round the suitcase. “Place your other bag on, your backpack is okay to go on the plane with you,” she taps the same button and wraps another tag round. “That’s all done for you, if you round the corner then head for the business suite, you can sit there until you’re called for your flight,” she passes me my passport and tickets.

“Thank you,” I give her a curt nod and take my items. Following her instructions, it’s a short walk-through security like a breeze, I continue forward and see the business lounge. I hand over my ticket to the guy at the door as they inspect it before he waves me through. I feel myself relax slightly knowing that I’m here now, the stressful side of it is done.

I take a seat, placing my backpack on the empty chair next to me as I reach for my phone.

“May I get you anything?” a young girl asks; she looks around Arizona’s age. Her eyes are wide with hope and have a glint of pride coursing through them. She is upbeat, her hair perfectly styled and tied in a high ponytail, and she is dressed impeccably. A rarity in the younger generation.

Fuck. That makes me sound old.

“A black americano please,” I say softly, my deep voice seems to echo round the large room, I keep my eyes on the menu as I scan it for food. “And I’ll take two slices of toast.” I hand her the menu.

“Certainly sir, I’ll get that sorted for you,” her skin reddens over her cheeks, and I clear my throat, looking away quickly.

I open my emails and sigh when I see my once clear inbox now heaving again. Most of them I’ve been copied in on and aren’t for my attention.

My phone vibrates in my hand and I smile when I see Arizona’s name pop up as a notification. Ignoring everything I was doing, I click on her message and my heart warms.

Arizona

Safe flight daddy, I miss you already. Come home soon xo.

My heart thumps in my chest, nausea rolls my stomach and I have to swallow down the lump that begins to form.

Titus

Not as much as I miss you, I’ll be home as soon as the job is done. Love you X

Closing the messages, I reach for my laptop and pop my earphones in. I decide to lose myself in some work before my flight, the minutes are ticking by too slowly.

I don’t look up as the young waitress places my coffee and toast in front of me, but I do give her a soft nod, so she doesn’t think I am a rude asshole.

Because I’m not.

Well, I don’t think I am.

Sitting back, I bring my coffee cup to my lips and take a small mouthful. My soul instantly happy from the grouchy bear it was a little while ago. I survive on coffee and to not have one this morning threw me a little. I have a routine I stick to at home but this morning I broke it.

I grab a slice of the buttery toast and take a bite, forcing myself to eat something. I want to crack on with work on the plane then read through the file Xavier sent over again so every single detail is planted in my brain. I don’t want to risk missing anything, even though I think that Xavier hasn’t told me everything.

Once finished, I have another cup of coffee and consume myself with my work until I am called for my flight.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

AMORA

Today’s the day.

The day my babysitter comes to stay.

As much as I am against this, I am going to try and do right, at least for my father’s sake. To see my father slip away in front of my eyes is enough to make me want to shut up and just follow the instructions.

It’ll be a couple of months, if that.

If it’s going to make my father happy and make him feel a little more at ease knowing that someone is always watching me, then I am happy.

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