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The second time I saw her was in a bar, the night before Christmas Eve. I was in New York to visit my family during the holidays. When my sister told me about this new bar which had opened just down the street, I thought it right to go and check it out with her. Even though I ordered myself a mere glass of plain coke, I still enjoyed the vibe of the place.
My sister and I were never close growing up. She was five years older than me, but she liked to act as if she was the one who raised me. Carla and her friends had always picked on me when we were younger and didn't know any better. I was the nerd for them, always huddled up in a corner and writing in my journal. I had hated my sister then.
However, as we grew up, we both distanced ourselves from each other. And that distance ironically brought us closer.
"It's your turn, loser."
I sighed. Some habits always stay the same.
I looked at the pool table and studied the placement of the balls. Aiming my cue at the solid four ball, I hit it with a force strong enough to send the ball into the hole. I smirked at my sister.
Carla growled at me before contemplating her next move. I took this time to chalk my cue stick for better aim. I was about to put the chalk back into its holder when someone near the bar caught my eyes.
And then I saw her.
She looked different, much different than the last time I had seen her. In her defence, it had been two years since our first encounter in the airplane. Her blonde hair was shorter now, barely touching her shoulders. This time she was wearing a plaid t-shirt and washed out blue jeans, instead of a white dress. I wouldn't have recognised her if she hadn't been chugging the alcohol in her glass like her life depended on it.
I couldn't help but smile as she turned to the bartender and ordered another drink before looking at the girl on her left and laughing along with her.
"Who are you creepily staring at?"
I rolled my eyes at Carla before turning to face her. I jerked my chin slightly in Beth's direction.
"That's her. Beth," I explained to the confused expression of my sister. She widened her eyes before staring at Beth.
"Whoa," she whistled. "So that's the airplane chick?"
I nodded with a warm feeling in my heart. After I had exited that plane two years ago, I had run to the platform to search for her. I had almost got pulled over by the authorities since my behaviour was quite suspicious according to them. I had still searched for Beth everywhere, but to no avail.
It had taken me about a month to get over Beth, which sounded stupid since I had only known her for what, six hours? Beth intrigued me and I had wanted to get to know her better. If only she didn't run away from everything in her life.
