All About Me (25 page)

I scream and then do something completely unexpected. I jump towards Dora and lift her above the ground, hugging her.

“
Fuck, Oliver, put me down.
”

“
Yeah, man, she
’
s my girlfriend.
”

I ignore both of them and spin Dora around before pulling away. She looks pissed, but she can
’
t hide that smile on her face. I feel fucking fantastic.

“
Dora. So am I going to Sicily with her? Is it all arranged?
”

“
Technically speaking, yes. At the moment, India is packing her suitcase, thinking that we are going away together. The problem is that we haven
’
t thought about how we
’
re going to do this?
”
 

I have been thinking about this long and hard. Dora is right, and knowing India, she won
’
t go anywhere if she smells a rat. I can
’
t even think straight after she tells me that this is not the end yet. We brainstorm some ideas and finally, I tell Dora that she has to play this game until the very end. She is going to go home and pack. Then, once she gets to the airport with India, my plan is going to be simple.

I have some contacts in Student Union. A few guys owe me a favour, so they can cover for me. No one needs to know that I
’
ll be coming until I
’
m sitting next to India in the plane. I can already picture her beautiful face once the plane takes off. There is a lot that might happen after that. She might want to go back home straight away, after cursing Dora off and killing me straight on. When I think about this more and more, my stomach churns. I
’
m fucking scared that something might go wrong.

But Dora doesn
’
t let me doubt myself, leaving shortly after we discuss the details.

“
Remember, Oliver, you will have five days to convince her to trust you again. I don
’
t even know why I
’
m doing this for you. I swear to God if you screw up and ruin our friendship, I
’
ll never forgive you.
”

“
Dora, chill. This is going to work. I
’
m telling you. Sand, sun and me. We are going to come back like there was nothing ever wrong with our friendship. Yeah, because that
’
s what I
’
m after.
”

Jacob leaves with Dora and I storm back to my room to check the email that I got from her. There is a plane ticket and the list of places that our group is going to stay. The group is going to go to the airport in the bus that leaves from campus. I make a few phone calls and once I get through to Michael, I tell him about my secret plan. He is reluctant to keep my name secret from everyone else. For the first time in my life I have to really work hard, and I bribe him with some cash. In the end, he agrees to keep my name off the official list.

The rest of my days pass with so much excitement that I can barely contain my short outbursts of mental laughter. I do some research about all the places we are going to cover. I need to be prepared. India won
’
t want to have anything to do with me. It will take me a few days to break through to her. I have to be ready.

Chapter Twenty-four

Let
’
s get to work.

Present

Next morning I pack my bag and call up my mother. My nose still hurts and I have to keep wearing that stupid bandage. It
’
s the first time I have to work hard without having my looks at hand. Mum doesn
’
t approve of my methods and I don
’
t blame her. I intentionally made Evans question India
’
s feelings for him. Morals are fucking important, but I warned him before that she was off-limits and he didn
’
t listen. She needs to see that I can keep my hands away, that I can control my anger when I need to.

“
Right, so let me get this straight. India is going away with you to Sicily, but she won
’
t know about this until you are sitting next to her in the plane?
”
Mum asks, sounding angry.

“
Yeah, this is my master plan to make her trust me again. I have five days to fix what I screwed up with her.
”

“
I don
’
t know, Oliver. She might hate you for it.
”

“
I know, but then she will love me, so it
’
s all good,
”
I assure her and then hang up. Mum might be right, but I can
’
t start worrying now. Everything is ready. I can
’
t get back to sleep planning and wondering if there is anything else that I can do. I
’
ll have plenty of opportunities in Italy. She gave me an ultimatum. Things between my mother and me are much better right now. There is still work to do, but I have forgiven her.
 

I have apologised to India a million times, but she seems unbreakable. It was easy to be that horrible bastard and it took me a long time to realise how much I love her. The question remains. Does she still love me the way she did before I hurt her?

When the day of our departure arrives, I can
’
t seem to stay in one place, waiting for a text message from Dora. Jacob is going to take me to the airport. Everything has to go according to plan; otherwise, I can forget about India forever. The girls are getting to the airport in the bus. Then Dora is going to lie that she has forgotten her passport. I had to pay Michael again, so that he would keep Dora on the list, so this whole shebang looks legit. In the end it
’
s all going to be worth it.

I can only pray that India will be sitting in the plane and by the time she realises that Dora is not going to make it, it will be too late for her to leave. That
’
s where I have to jump in. Yeah, to save the day.

I
’
ve got my own passport, but I
’
m anxious to check everything multiple times, stressing over Jacob
’
s inability to keep his thoughts to himself. I
’
ll be a little less nervous once I
’
m in the plane sitting next to India. Jacob isn
’
t too happy with me at the moment. I made him go to the store three times today, and in the end he lost his temper. He plants doubts in my head even when I don
’
t want to hear his shit.
 

“
Are you sure you want to do this?
”
he asks.
“
Man, she won
’
t forgive you that you manipulated her into this trip.
”

“
Can you shut your mouth for now? I can
’
t think straight when you keep yapping about this all the time,
”
I tell him, thinking that he is worse than Dora and my mother. He needs to chill out.

“
I
’
m just saying. I know her. She was worried about you when Russell beat you up. Maybe you should call this off and talk to her.
”

“
No. I
’
ve put too much work into this. Our trip will clear the air. She will see that I only have good intentions, so please, mate, shut up now.
”

He goes quiet but only for a few minutes, until we get the text message and we leave. I have never been in Italy, but I
’
m excited.

The drive to the airport takes an hour. For about twenty minutes we are stuck in traffic. I keep checking my watch every second, just to make sure everything is going the way it is supposed to. The girls are going to get to the airport after us. I wanted to be early, so I can check in before India. Jacob wishes me good luck, dropping me outside of the terminal. I owe him big time. Every part of me is waiting anxiously, hoping that everything goes as planned. As soon as my gate is open, I check in to get rid of my suitcase. I find a quiet place in the bar, just by the entrance, so I can see who is coming in and out. In about twenty minutes the Uni group will show up and then the situation will get complicated.
 

India doesn
’
t panic; most of the time she is calm and in control. Even when I told her to leave Braxton, she looked me straight in the eye told me that she wasn
’
t going anywhere. Will she panic seeing me on the plane next to her?

To keep myself occupied and alert, I fill my body with an energy drink and double-check that I have everything again. The text from Dora arrives only five minutes later. The bus is running late but they left early, so I don
’
t need to stress. It
’
s easy for her to say.

My heart pounds in my chest when, twenty minutes later, I spot them by the entrance. Michael is leading the group. India looks slightly down and Dora looks around anxiously, probably searching for me. As they come in to check in, Dora starts looking for her passport. Everything goes as it
’
s supposed to. After some time Dora lets out a frustrated sound and grabs India, telling her that she can
’
t find her passport. So far, nothing is working against me.
 

India paces around Dora. She checks the flights, biting her lips, then talks to the rest of the group and they separate. Dora continues to search her bag. We both know that her passport isn
’
t inside, but she is showing off her good acting skills. Another twenty minutes pass by, and Dora leaves. India looks completely lost, glancing back and forth at the door. India knows that Dora has plenty of time to get to Braxton and then get back. I
’
m sweating like a pig, my nerves slowly getting to me. India takes too much time, hesitating just before the main airport security post. I keep watching her, wondering if this whole thing is going to work. Finally, after a long delay I lose her, and I exhale abruptly. She can
’
t notice me, so I wait again and then hand my passport to airport security, wearing a baseball cap. A few minutes later I see the Uni group near the shops. I hide in the bookstore, panicking a little that India spotted me, but after some time I see her having a heated discussion with Michael, who doesn
’
t look too happy, waving his hands around like a maniac.

My pulse races dangerously fast as he points out that she needs to sit down and chill.

I call Dora.

“
What the fuck is going on?
”
I ask.
“
India is talking to Michael!
”

“
I don
’
t know, Oliver. She
’
s freaking out. I
’
m not sure if she will get on that plane without me.
”

“
Please do the best you can.
”

Dora doesn
’
t seem convinced that our plan is going to work. I pace in the shop, thinking about any other options. The next chance I get, I grab Michael by the toilets. So far I haven
’
t been noticed by anyone, but the gate is going to open soon and the boarding will start.

“
What the hell is going on, Michael?
”
I ask, once India is out of sight.

“
She wants to wait until her friend gets here.
”

I grow extremely frustrated, pacing around him like a moron. This whole thing is not going the way it
’
s supposed to.

“
Please, just get her to the plane,
”
I say.

Michael is taller than me, with bushy eyebrows and a heavy jaw. He keeps staring at me blankly. Confusion is written all over his face.

“
I don
’
t get it. Why is this so important?
”

“
Because she
’
s the love of my life and I need you to get her to that plane no matter what. Can you help me?
”

Michael tells me that he is going to try his best, and I stroll back to the toilet wondering if I might have gone too far and fate is simply not on my side. When Michael vanishes to talk to India, my battery goes off and a moment later I have to show up by the gate as the boarding starts.

My heart hammers in my chest. Everything is slowly falling apart. I wait and wait, looking for her outside the gate, but I can
’
t see India or anyone from the Uni group. Sweat covers my back and my head feels like it
’
s just about to explode. I can
’
t wait any longer because the flight attendant will start calling my name to get to the plane before they close the doors completely. India isn
’
t foolish enough to get on the plane when Dora isn
’
t there, but soon I don
’
t have any choice. I have to get on.

If India is already on the plane, she
’
ll see me walking on as one of the last passengers. At the moment I
’
m left with no options. I walk towards the aircraft, making sure that I
’
m moving along at normal speed, keeping my head down. I
’
m fucking anxious as hell. Dark thoughts are crushing me down. When I get to the steps I know that I should be already buying a return ticket. Sicily sounds fantastic, but I don
’
t want to be there without my India. The flight attendant says to take any available seat, so I jump into the nearest one to the window. I have no idea where the Uni group is or if they actually made it. Minutes are passing by and I keep looking for her, knowing that she would have listened to Dora. She is on the plane, she has to be.