Knight in Shining Armani

Chapter seven hanging on Ellie Goulding

I drove home fast. I parked the TT in the driveway, the third garage is only going to be installed in a few days. I closed the gate, opened the front door, ran into my room, took out my suitcase and started packing.

I chucked in my passport, my wallet, a light jacket, a few unmentionables, a dress, a swimsuit, a pair of jeans, a sweater, a scarf. I locked the door behind me, I drove to the airport. 'How could he?' I kept envisioning him kissing her. 'No, it is okay. You will be okay. You fell for him in 2 days, you'll get over him in 2 days… 4 days tops.'

I parked my car at the long term parking, made my way to the airport and to the ticketing counter.

"Good afternoon Miss, how can I help you?" the lady asked me.

"I want to buy a ticket."

"Of course, where to?"

I paused. I didn't pack to go anywhere specifically. Thinking of what I have packed, it is the most haphazard and bizarre combination of items. I want to go somewhere cold. I need to feel numb.

"Switzerland please."

I was in the first class lounge when I realised that I haven’t told anyone from the house. 'Great, I forgot my phone, well, on the upside, no one can call me and by no one I meant Lucas Goldstein.'

I used the phone in the lounge and told Mary that I had no school for the rest of the week (which is true), I am going to Switzerland indefinitely and if I am not back by Sunday night, she should arrange some explanation to Ms Cooke. I pretty much know the whole syllabus anyway.

 I was waiting to board when I realised that I have packed no suitable clothing for this trip. I made a short trip to the duty free shop and picked up a YSL ski jacket. Everything will just have to be bought there.

It is the fourth day in the mountains. I have skied to my heart's content. I befriended a ski instructor, Liam. He saw me going down the expert slope, and decided to join me. We were skiing side by side when my mind went abruptly to the dreaded moment of Luke and that girl, I ended up tumbling down the slope and now my neck is in a cast. Liam has been taking care of me since the whole broken neck incident, he felt partially at fault because he thought he was disturbing me on the slope. We were drinking hot cocoa at the lodge I was staying in. He is only a year older than me and he's originally from England but came here with friends for a ski trip, fell in love with the mountains and stayed on. I told him about Luke and the incident.

"Wait you just left? You didn’t give him a chance to explain himself?"  he asked.

"What's there to be explained? His tongue was in her throat."

Silence. Liam knows I am still hurting. I guess it is harder to fall out of love than to fall in love. Four days did not suffice to get over the hurt. I called Mary and told her to go ahead and tell Ms Cooke I would not be back for awhile.

"You should listen to his side of the story," Liam continued to try and persuade me to give Luke another chance.

"Liam, listen, we kissed  two days before and then he kissed her. He was always known to be a player. I guess he just wanted the chase with me. I let my guard down and I got burned."

"Oh, I didn’t know that he was a player," he paused, "Come on, I'll cheer you up."

He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the chairlifts.

"I can't ski Liam," I said while pointing towards the neck cast.

"Who said anything about going skiing?" he grinned as he flashed his instructor's pass to the attendant who let us pass and we both got on the chairlift.