No days off
Charlie
A soft knock on my door jerked me out of the dream I’d been having of me and Daniel Craig swimming naked in a lagoon on a deserted island..
My eyes were closing again when the knock came harder.
“Charlie! Are you up?”
I groaned and turned my face into my pillow. The sound of my cousin’s voice was the last thing I wanted to hear before me and Danny got frisky on the sand.
When he knocked a third time, I lifted my head annoyed.
“Go away Mike!” I shouted in the general direction of my bedroom door.
I heard the door handle turn and watched through slits as Mike strolled into my bedroom uncaring that I was in my thin sleep shirt and fleece shorts with my blanket bunched at my heels.
That’s what I get for sharing an apartment with my cousin who didn’t understand the word ‘privacy’ or the term ‘personal space’. But I guess when you had the type of relationship we did, things like that didn’t matter any more.
My parents had died months apart when I was ten. First my mum with breast cancer and then my dad with colon cancer. Then I was taken in by my Aunt Shelly- Mike’s mum who was a single mother. It didn’t take me long to realise that she didn’t have a maternal bone in her body. Aunt Shelly’s boyfriend- David- liked to sneak into Mike’s room at night when Aunt Shelly went to her job at the diner. He had been only eight and immediately after David left his room, Mike would come to mine and cry himself to sleep in my bed.
We’d try to tell Aunty Shelly what was happening, but she just told us we were lying and trying to ruin her relationship. Especially as David kept denying it and made it seem like we were making it up.
Then one night, not long after my seventeenth birthday, David skipped Mike’s room altogether and decided to visit me instead. I’d seen him eyeing my now changing body and I’ll never forget Mike’s face when he barged into my room and jammed the steak knife into his neck before David could hurt me. He died on the spot.
We’d called 911 because that’s what we were always told to do if we were in trouble. After the cops had showed up, we’d explained what had happened. Aunt Shelly had been hysterical and told the cops we didn’t like David and killed him because we were jealous. But they’d taken Mike and I aside, and after they saw the scars on Mike’s body, they chose to believe our side of the story. We were taken into protective custody and stayed in foster care together until I turned 18 and then I left and took Mike with me. We moved from Stoke to London and never looked back. Mike had been at my side through the ups and downs and vice versa. He was my rock. The only one I considered my family and the only person I’d allow to interrupt my precious sleep.
“I need a favour boo.” Mike’s voice was extra syrupy as he sidled up to the bed and lowered himself at my hip.
I sat up in bed with a heavy sigh knowing he wouldn’t leave me in peace until he said what he had to say.
“Fine. What is it?” I grumbled, swiping my loose jet black hair from my eyes and pulling it up into a messy bun at the top of my head.
Mike’s clear blue eyes went all dreamy.
“Josh surprised me with a weekend getaway to Cornwall to celebrate our one year anniversary,” he cooed.
I lifted a brow.
I could practically see the hearts in his eyes that he got whenever he spoke about his boyfriend. Not that I blamed him. I’d spent enough time with both of them to know that Josh was perfect for my cousin. It never failed to send a stab of envy inside of me that my own gay cousin had absolutely no problem keeping a relationship while I could barely stay in one for more than a month.
“But I’m booked on a private charter to Milan and I can’t get out of it,” He turned those puppy eyes on me, “You have to do it for me Charlie.”
I rolled my brown eyes.
Mike and I worked as flight attendants forLumiAirways, an up and coming British Airline, and shared an apartment in Camden to save on rent. We’d been through so much together, it would be strange for us to live apart or at least not be close by.
Unlike me, Mike went against our work policy and took jobs with private charters on the days he wasn’t on the roster to work. He got paid per job and the money he made on one charter was almost as much as he made in a month withLumi. Plus, he had a designer handbag obsession and liked to use them to bribe me- and it worked most of the time. I, however, didn’t like to take any chances on getting sacked. My job was the only thing I really had going for me.
“Please!’ he grabbed my hands in his, giving them a squeeze, “And you can have my medium Chanel Boy bag in Caviar grey.” he fluttered his thick lashes, knowing I’d been discreetly eyeing it since he got it a few weeks ago.
My ears perked up at the offer, then I scowled at his manipulation tactics.
“You know this is my week off,” I told him, my look disapproving but already knowing I was going to give in because I loved them both and wanted my cousin to be happy.
“You can also have the entire earnings from the charter.” he threw in as a sweetener.
I sucked in a breath. I could use the money to buy a few new kitchen appliances that I’d been eyeing. I’d taken a few cooking classes in my spare time and was really enjoying it. The only thing was that good quality appliances and cookware cost a lot of money.
I uncurled my legs and slid off the bed to stretch.
“Do you know who the charter is for?” I eyed him pointedly.
He’d told me on more than one occasion that he had an inkling that the men on these charter flights were Mafia. Not only did they carry weapons and were covered in tattoos underneath their thousand dollar suits, but he had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before every flight. No doubt I’d have to do the same.
He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Renato DeSantis.” he drawled.
My eyebrows shot up again.
“The man you’ve allegedly cheated on Josh with in your dreams?” I asked sarcastically because I knew Mike had a crush on him. He’d done a few charters with him before and always came back home hot and bothered and he’d be locked in his room with Josh for hours.
“The man is freaking gorgeous,” Mike sighed, “Not in a pretty boy way, he’s much too old for that. More of a I’ll-take-you-over-my-knee-if-you-misbehave-way.” he fanned himself, “Those eyes of his are so intense. I wouldn’t mind calling him daddy. He’s just your type.”
I rolled my eyes because Mike knew I secretly liked older men. He often chastised me for trying to date guys my age and concluded that’s why none of my relationships ever worked out. He’d also caught me watching BDSM porn and I’d never heard the end of it since.
“I don’t know Mikey,” I hedged. A plane full of men who probably killed for a living?
“At least you’ll get a night out in Milan out of it,” He added, “Go to a fancy restaurant. Sip wine. Flirt with Italian men-”
“All right, all right,” I rushed out just to get him to stop, “What time do I have to be ready for?”
Mike squealed and threw his arms around me hugging me tight while bouncing up and down.
“You have be at the airstrip in an hour.” he let me go and dashed out the door.
My eyes widened in alarm. An hour to pack and get ready? For Italy?
“Mike!”
My phone beeped with an incoming message.
Picking it up from my night stand, I glanced at the screen and stopped breathing when I saw it was an email from my doctor.
I sunk back onto the bed and opened up the email.
Everything else was a blur except for one word.
Positive.
