The next hours pass by comfortably in the main, light conversations flow whilst we play card games, although the female steward that I teased by holding Jimmies hand earlier glares hatefully at me when she thinks no-one else is watching, then tops it off by pouring red wine into my lap!! Bitch!
She smirks and then goes into overdrive, apologising profusely and pouring soda water over me because she has heard it helps remove wine stains, although I'm not sure how much staining would be visible on black denim!? I'm more worried about the beautiful white leather chair I'm sitting on!
I'm going to have to change clothes, and my bag is in the bedroom where Lucifer himself is still sleeping!
I tell the giggling guys I'll be back to our game soon and head towards the lions den!
I gingerly push open the door just enough to peek inside and find he is thankfully still asleep. I open the door further and step inside, tip toe across to my bag and then spend the next 5 minutes pulling the zipper open one tooth at a time to avoid any noise. I do not want to wake this sleeping dog!
I pull out some clean clothes and place them on the bed whilst checking again that Yanni is not awake. Finding him still, quiet and snoring gently I decide to quickly remove my jeans before going to shower. I turn my back on him and pull down my soggy trousers, bending down to remove them from my ankles, lifting one foot and tugging firmly.
"Wow! I have slept for a long time.... the moon is out!"
Yanni is not asleep after all and has now had a close up view of my bum. I'm mortified, but worse is to come. I pull frantically at the leg of my jeans trying to remove them as rapidly as possible, whilst also trying to turn around to hide my backside from his view.
Unsuccessfully!
I stumble, fall to my left and hit my head on the bedside table, my trousers caught around my feet. I am vaguely aware of worried voices around me but can't focus my eyes on anyone.
When I next open my eyes I am on the bed, covered with a blanket, my head throbbing, the bright light causing me to close them right away. I attempt to sit up but am held in place by a firm hand on my chest, right between my boobs.
"Keep still Babe. Your head is going to ache for a while, you've been out for over an hour. We've had to use paper stitches to hold the wound closed and you are already sporting quite a shiner there too! You'll have to be seen at the hospital when we land, you might have a concussion and may need real stitches in that wound! You are such an idiot Syd! The press are going to think one of us did that to you as there will be ...."
"SHUT UP J!! Give her a break and be quiet. We'll be landing soon and we can get her straight to the hospital" Yanni barks
A couple of uncomfortable hours pass with Yanni acting as my nurse, keeping me awake, giving me painkillers and making me drink water.
Once we land I am driven straight to the hospital where I'm given a clean bill of health after having 6 stitches in my temple.
My only company during this time is Yanni. He is the only one of the guys who had a proper sleep on the plane and so isn't exhausted like the rest of them.
I can't say I'm happy about the identity of my companion, I'd much rather have had Jimmie keeping me company, I'm sure there would be far less frost in the air if he had.
We sit side by side in a small private room, Yanni exuding boredom and resentment while staring at his phone screen, me chanting 'fuck my life' over and over in my head. We are waiting for the Dr to come and give me the all clear. Apparently after a concussion you need to be 'observed' for a period of time before being considered fit to leave. Strange!
The only person to observe me in the last few hours has been Yanni, and I'm sure I have lost a few years off of my life expectancy due to the hateful glares I've been getting from him. The air in the room feels heavy. Breathing seems to be an effort... something I am having to think about doing rather than it just being a muscle memory, an automatic natural function of the body to preserve life. I'm feeling a little faint but Hell will freeze over before I admit that to him or any of the Drs. I want to leave ASAP! I can't stand this tense atmosphere a second longer!
"Ok! Enough now! Let's get right to the heart of it shall we?" I snap, my voice sharp.
Yanni slowly lifts his head slightly from his phone and looks at me through his fringe, then sitting up fully, stretching his arms above his head whilst the most over the top, exaggerated and loud 'yawn' is expelled from his body.
He blinks twice at me then looks back at his phone!
I really do hate this fucker!
"Well!!? Say it! Come on.... whatever has your knickers in a knot, let's get it out in the open shall we? Hmmm?
What did I do? What was it I wrote that has you so rattled? You know what? I'm going to re-read all my stories to see what it is that has you behaving so pathetically juvenile!"
A darkness passes over his face. His entire demeanour changes from one of smouldering distaste to one of abject revulsion. His eyes darken, his cheeks redden and his lips pale as he presses them together firmly, as if trying to refrain from saying something. He is clenching his jaw tightly and I can feel his hatred for me radiating from his body.
His nostrils are flared as he glares at me, and I can feel my insides begin to quiver. He is incredibly intimidating and I'm actually pretty scared of him right now. He places his phone into the back pocket of his trousers and leans forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, and with his head hanging he rubs his palms together two or three times then begins to chuckle, shaking his head from side to side.
He stands rapidly which shocks a gasp from me and the chuckle becomes a little more sinister in sound, malevolence evident in the coldness of his stare. He bestows the most malignantly cold smirk upon me and I swear my blood turns to ice water.
I can't imagine hating someone as much as he appears to hate me. I am genuinely terrified of him at this point and so move to stand and walk away from him but he pushes me back down into my seat, placing his hands on the chair arms, effectively pinning me back into the seat.
I lower my head and focus on my lap unable to meet his eyes but he grabs my chin and lifts my head to face him, causing me to inhale a short sharp breath of shock, fear and..... and what?!
Whilst I am attempting to process that thought he leans further in towards me, our noses almost touching. We are so close i can see the blazing fire in his eyes, again feel the heat from his face and can almost taste the venom in his voice when he says....
"Now now Sydney! Where's the fun in that? We have LOTS of time to get to know one another. Hey! You can exercise your clearly fantastic journalistic skills to work it out for yourself..... OR... you could just make up some shit to suit yourself."
He lifts a strand of my hair and twists it around his fingers while chewing his lip as I search his features for a clue to his next action. I find nothing useful in his expression but do oddly notice that he has no mole beside either one of his eyes!
I could of sworn he had one. Maybe I'm not as observant as I thought I was.
The door to the room opens and a buxom older woman in a white coat enters, then apologises profusely for interrupting what she describes as our 'intimate moment'
Both Yanni and I laugh loudly at that suggestion and he stands and faces the woman who has introduced herself as Dr Kendall.
"She's fit?" Yanni asks
What a weird way to ask if I'm ok to leave the hospital!
After another set of neuro observations which involve bright lights, many arm and leg lifts and some general knowledge questions I am indeed declared fit to leave.
"Great! I need to get out of here. Let's go!" Yanni says as he grabs my hand and pulls me from the chair, almost dragging me along behind him as I attempt to thank Dr Kendall for her care.