Chapter 2

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For the second time in about 2 years, Natalia was gazing at the entirety of her life stuffed into two suitcases. She was getting quite adept at it too. She made a mental note to limit her purchases this year whilst she was away so the return trip would be as easier.

She was staying with her brother, she had put her two-bedroom flat up for rent and the new tenants had already moved in. An agency was going to take care of property management whilst she was away. Everything was coming together quite nicely. Now all she had to do was get on the flight.

"Are you all set and ready to go?" Her brother asked, popping his head around the door.

"Yeah." Natalia smiled back at him. Whilst they weren't the best of friends, her older brother was always there when she needed him. This time in the form of a place to stay and a ride to Heathrow.

Plus, it always depressing leaving home without anyone to say goodbye to. It always summoned a lump to her throat. She'd done it countless times when she worked abroad. She was glad that she had at least made up with some of her family. It had been a harrowing couple of years. She'd hoped she was over the worst of it.

She watched her brother load up his car, a sleek navy blue BMW with her suitcases. He was doing well for himself. Last year he had quit his job as a registrar doctor to take his health-tech startup to the next level. He was very modest about the whole thing but his name had been featured on Forbes, the Financial Times and the Economist several times.

"A cheeky Nando's before we get to the airport. what do you say?"

"I thought you'd never ask. Let's go."

They settled in the car. Natalia looked sideways at her brother and wondered if he'd give her the aux cord for the journey. They lived in the North West of London about an hours drive - if traffic was moderate - from the airport - plenty of time to belt out her favourite tracks.

Her brother resembled her somewhat. They shared the same warm sepia-coloured skin tone and curly hair texture. His was cropped closely with a sharp shape-up, whilst hers fell to her shoulders in tight, multi-toned brown corkscrews. Their eyes had similar almond shapes. His was a dark brown and hers was a lighter tawny brown.

All of her family were tall, except Natalia. She came in at barely 5'5. Whilst her brother could eat what he pleased and never gain a pound, Natalia only had to imagine food and she was piling the stones on. Her saving grace being that she occasionally made time for the gym and ate healthily-ish. She wasn't happy with her body and curves but she was learning to love herself.

Ashley pulled into the parking lot of the multiplex shopping centre, that had a Nando's conveniently located inside. It was on the way to the airport just off the entrance to the main road, A406 also known as the North circular that connected much of North and South London.

Once they had ordered, and Ashley had done the obligatory sibling mickey-taking about her white-girl taste buds that couldn't tolerate anything spicier than mango-lime flavoured chicken, they sat down to eat.

"So, Natty - you're running away abroad again," Ashley commented coolly regarding her from downcast eyes.

"I know. I just -" Her throat constricted. "I don't know how to live here without him. I see him everywhere..."

"Natty, hear me now," Ashley started sternly, the patois twang in his accent becoming prominent. "What happened to Nick was not your fault."

"I know that logically...but he was my twin. I should have known something was wrong. I should have been there..." The tears poured, not even bothering to roll down her cheeks, they just splashed on the table like big fat sad droplets of rain.

"It wasn't just on you, I was your big brother. I should have been there for you both. I'm sorry. It's nobody's fault."

They held hands across the table. A couple of years ago, hell a couple of months ago this conversation wouldn't have been possible but now it was all out in the open. Her twin brother's untimely and unexpected death had ripped a hole in their family eight years ago that was slowly beginning to scab.

"FaceTime me at least once a week..."

"And if anything happens I will call you, day or night. I know. Thank you."

"I didn't think I'd say goodbye so soon again." Her brother was suspiciously close to tears. She'd never seen him cry. Not even when Nick died.

"It's just for a year. I'll be back soon." Natalia smiled. It was so good to be on good terms with her big brother again. It was still painful to look at him, with how much he resembled Nick but it brought her comfort too and she focused on that.

"Are you going to think about what we talked about?"

Natalia rolled her eyes. "I'll think about it. That's it." Now that they had made up, Ashley had become their mum's biggest advocate. He was trying to talk her into visiting their mum in Jamaica since she'd be closer to her in the States. But there were certain things Natalia couldn't bring herself to forget.

They parted ways at the security gate for departures after Natalia had checked-in her bags. He gave her another crushing hug. When they pulled away her cheeks were wet again. She was grateful she wasn't wearing any makeup or she'd be looking like a very pitiful raccoon.

She decided to FaceTime Lima as she waited in the queue.

"Shlonach," Lima answered in local Dubai slang, smiling widely her pearly whites shone against her brown skin. "Today's the day." She sang.

She was in the grocery shop, Natalia spied, wearing her hair in a turban with wisps of her baby hair flying around the edges of her face. "Keffak habibti," Natalia said, asking her how she was.

"I'm good, you good - hey did you buy the sheet masks and the hair mist I told you to?"

"Yes, Lima you do realise you're asked me a dozen times?"

"Well I'm sorry for taking your skin and hair hydration seriously, somebody has to!" And the thing was, Lima was deadly serious. Natalia's hydration levels really kept her awake at night.

"Honestly, between you and my brother—"

"—and how is your dreamboat of a brother?"

"Lima—eww." Natalia scrunched up her face at her outspoken friend as she took her shoes off in the queue for security gate.

"What? I can look!" Lima laughed. "Let me tell you, Sis. You leaving has really ruined my life. I'm cooking for Mo tonight and I'm stuck." She said referring to the guy she was currently dating.

It was around the fifth date and everything was going smoothly so far. Lima claimed that she didn't like him that much, but Natalia knew she was in denial. She was already exhibiting classic self-sabotage traits such as talking to other potential men as a distraction from him.

"Order in from that cute Ethiopian place in Deira. He won't know the difference." Natalia offered. Her friend couldn't cook if her life depended on it. She had done most of the cooking when they lived together.

"You're right. He won't know. Fu—fudge cooking I'm going to get a facial and a manicure." She almost swore but caught herself. Teaching middle school and living in a conservative Muslim country had reformed Lima's language — public at least.

"Okay, let me know how it goes. I'm going through security now, I'll text you before I board."

Security didn't take that long. Flying before rush-hour during a weekday had its perks. Natalia ambled through duty-free waiting for her flight to board. She had gotten to the airport with just enough time to spare.

She laughed at a cluster of Texas memes Lima had sent her along with a detailed in-flight skincare routine and threats if she didn't carry out the exact instructions. She didn't know how Lima could follow through on her threats but she wouldn't put it past her. Anything was possible with that girl.

Finally, it was time to board. Natalia cast a glance down at the twinkling lights against the backdrop of a darkening sky as the plane glided higher and higher up into the sky; the outline of the River Thames disappearing below her. "See you in a bit, London." She whispered.

Stepping off the plane, she was tired and sore, but at least Natalia's skin and hair were moisturised. That crazy girl she called a friend was onto something. Flying long-haul was her least favourite thing to do especially if it wasn't with one of the slightly more luxurious economy airlines like Etihad.

Immigration had been interesting considering all the Middle Eastern countries she had been to. They let her go after an extended interview when they were satisfied she had only been to Jordan to see the lost city of Petra and not for some other nefarious reason.

Fishing her phone out of her bag; Natalia connected to the free airport WiFi to let her brother and Lima know she had safely arrived. She had also been in touch with Ella her boss via WhatsApp in the past few weeks and shot off a quick message to her too.

She got a litany of emojis back from Lima. She smiled and then frowned at the incoming call from an unknown number.

"Is this Natalia?" a deep male voice asked. The way he pronounced her name caught her interest. Was this the famous Southern drawl? She was starting to see what the hype was all about.

"Yes, this is she," Natalia said and quickly berated herself for the flirtatious tone.

"I'm waiting outside by a green pickup." Click.

No help with her bags? So much for that famous Southern hospitality. Natalia shrugged and walked towards the exit with her bags in tow. She was grateful she had managed to pack light and only bring two suitcases. As it was, the heat and the exertion was making her sweat. She wasn't used to such weather. It had been 18 degrees Celsius in London and google had told her it was in the upper thirties in Austin.

She had dressed in leggings and a drapey oversized long-sleeved t-shirt still in the habit of dressing modestly after living in the Middle East for 8 years, with some sandals on her feet.

She fixed some sunglasses on her face so she could clearly see in the midday sun. Natalia looked around for a pickup. Everyone drove pickups in Texas it seemed, with no concern for things like Global Warming. She caught sight of a dark jewel green one. A man was standing outside of it with his legs crossed staring at his mobile phone with stern set to his handsome face.

He had dark hair, that was longer on top and short on the sides with strands falling on to his forehead. A long sharp nose, defined chin and a strong jawline were softened by generous pink lips.

Was this him? With a beautiful face to go with that voice. She was surprised by how attractive she found him. She normally didn't consider White men in that way but holy shit — all those memes Lima had sent her were definitely right. They did make everything better in Texas.

She approached him cautiously, "Hi, I'm N —" She hesitatingly started. Speaking to attractive strangers always gave her anxiety.

"Yeah, hop in." He grumbled with no pleasantries or niceties.

"Um, okay."

She wheeled her bags to the back of his truck, waiting for him to open the back. When she stared at him expectantly, he lifted both of her bags onto the truck's bed with little effort, barely breaking a sweat.

She followed him into the car, sliding wordlessly into the front. She assumed it was okay.

"You're late." He commented as Natalia put the seatbelt on.

She glanced up at him askance. He was pretty, she'd give him that but he had no manners or people skills.

"Sorry, it was courtesy of your xenophobic immigration control." She shot back before she could really think about the first impression she was making.

"They're just trying to keep us all safe." He said looking straight ahead.

"And who keeps everyone safe from the Americans?" Natalia asked, not one for avoiding sticky political chat.

Her new 'friend' didn't say anything and it was then that she noticed the US Marine Corps insignia hanging from the rearview mirror.

Awkward.

Maybe it was for the best that she kept quiet for the rest of the ride. She had no idea what kind of person she was riding with or their political affiliations, all she knew was that he was inhumanly attractive and rude.

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