Page 5 of A Dead Man's B-Side
The curl of his lips was eerie, and something told me hisextroverted nature was not a coincidence burdened upon me. I didn’t answer, instead looking down at the gold band around his ring finger.
“Sasha. That’s the kind of nickname that belongs to a name like that, no?”
And yet he persists.
I lifted my chin in the hopes that I’d built mental strength off the act alone, and tilted my head, watching as his smile held firm. “You ask a lot of questions.”
“I’m a curious person,” he said with a simple shrug of his shoulders. As if I was not fighting an internal panic at what the next hours would look like.
The flight attendants pulled my attention away from him for the safety presentation, but never fully. I watched him from the corner of my eye as I buckled my seatbelt. When they finished and the plane sped up for the takeoff, I curled my hands into fists, the pressure of the lift off the runway pressing me back against my seat, and the heavy noise filling my ears all at once. It was a strange feeling, one you wanted to end but couldn’t help wanting to remain there, suspended in the moment. The feeling of the plane’s rough ride under your feet before the lift did nothing to ease my anxiety.
It felt as though I imagined myself floating over my seat by only a hair’s breadth. My own version of an astronaut in space.
I let out a sigh and placed my head against the window, looking out, ignoring the growing headache from the turbulence. The night sky, once illuminated by the city lights, darkened with every mile farther up until only the blinking wing-light remained in an abyss ofdarkness. After forcing myself out of the trance, my eyes slipped closed.
“Not a frequent flyer?”
Dread filled me at topics of conversation he’d conjure up whilst seated next to me. I popped an eye open before opening the other and turned to glare, tired of the subtlety. “That’s none of your concern.”
He leaned back apologetically but didn’t look the least bit genuine. “Sorry, just trying to make conversation.”
I heaved another sigh, hoping, praying that he’d get the signal and back off. I unfastened my seatbelt, feeling it suddenly tight around my waist; it was futile to assume I would get scolded when the light indicating as much flickered off only moments later.
It was a trying feeling, for someone who’s spent the better part of their teenage years running, suddenly enclosing themselves within a metal box now soaring through the sky with no way out.
The events of today, waking up to the cold and heavy rain beating against the weak roof of the bus station before conning my way onto the airtrain taking all passengers to the airport, all on minimal food, really washed away any consciousness left in me. It wasn’t long before the adrenaline in my body fizzled out of my system, and my eyes were barely able to keep themselves open.
I was weak to the pull of sleep, and the strange man beside me gave me the feeling I shouldn’t let my guard down. Even with so many eyes around. Especially with so many eyes around.
But for once, I let myself be pulled under. And maybe it wasbecause I was too comfortable. The cabin was warm, and the cushions under me, soft. The fleece blanket the flight attendant placed over me, in my state of limbo I noticed, made it even more perfect.
I knew to keep myself awake, vigilant, but the deep slumber waiting for me on the other side was too enticing to ignore.
Chapter Two
Alexandr Miroslav
1982
“Hey, are you alright?”
The voice was far, almost underwater. Almost unheard amongst the loud chokes of laughter and the push and pull of skin. The slam of furniture against the wall, I couldn’t remember which one.
The far wall? The one with the punch hole?
I could feel hands touching me, suffocating me, and I wanted to crawl out of my skin. “Don’t touch me.”
I woke with a start and sneered with a puffy face at the man next to me. He might have found it comical if it’d shown on his face, but he only watched with a passive expression.
I’d let my guard down too quickly, and my mind was all too ready to unleash all that it’d been holding in, forcing me out of my sleep with a racing heart only a couple of hours later. The adrenaline returning in full force.
I didn’t scold myself for making a show of my faults. I did, however, blame the warm blanket and comfortable seat.
I imagined, if I had been placed with the less fortunate, no attendant would offer me a second glance had I been curling up in amuch smaller seat in a much colder cabin.
Turning toEvan, I found the bothersome fool still watching me. There’s something wrong with his presence. I didn’t know what, but I was hoping to find out before we landed.
I didn’t need anything from America following me to where I plan on remaining very much alive. Throwing the blanket off me in a rush and getting up, I headed for the nearest restroom. I was restless, and I needed a place to think through my thoughts properly.
