I awaken to the sound of insistent knocking at the door. Checking the time and finding it to be too early to get up, only in fact 6am, I head to the door with a huff to tell whoever the arsehole outside is to fuck off!
I wrench the door open about to give this inconsiderate shit a piece of my mind. Taking a deep breath to allow me to unleash the tirade of abuse on my tongue I look up into the eyes of the unwelcome visitor.....
"Noah!" I choke
"Hi Sydney. We need to talk. Meet me downstairs in the restaurant, we can talk over breakfast. Nobody will be suspicious if they see us together, and since I know you are scared of me I thought that having people around might make you feel a little safer? I promise you Sydney, I am not dangerous!" he begs.
We do need to talk, and as he says, I'll be safer with other guests and hotel staff around. I look behind me at a still sleeping Yanni and then back at Noah with a small nod.
"Alright, I'll meet you in 15 minutes." I announce, then close the door and lean back against it. Am I mad? What am I doing? I should wake Yanni and take him with me..... no, he deserves to sleep and besides, maybe Noah isn't involved? Why put a strain on a relationship as good as theirs if there's no need. No, I'll go alone, but I'll take my phone and record the meeting.
THE MESSAGES!
I forgot about the messages. Thank god I haven't seen Ferdi yet to hand over my items, including my phone! I rush to my hold-all and pull out the small plastic bag containing the relics of Billy's assault on me, tangible evidence of the reality of it as quietly as possible, every tiny rustle amplified in this early morning silence.
Taking it into the bathroom with me I inhale deeply then hold my breath and open the bag, the smell last time I did that still lingering in my nostrils. I pull out the phone and reseal the bag, dropping it beside the toilet. I give my teeth a cursory brush and pull my bed hair into a half up messy bun, leaving a little length to frame my face and soften the look, surely a style created for moments just like this.
I open the wardrobe and pull out the first things I touch and pull the items on, not even bothering with underwear to save a few more precious seconds of time..... time I need to be able to listen to as many of Noah's messages as possible before I meet him.
I didn't do too badly in the outfit stakes as it happens, tight black skinny jeans, a simple black long sleeved open neck shirt and some black leather boots. I wonder what Noah is so panicked about? Why is he so concerned about me meeting with Harry? What does he know? HOW does he know Harry, and if he has been spying on me, then why?! Does he know what Harry's plans are for me? I don't think he truly understands how dangerous Harry really is!
I am not the only one in danger!
I grab the phone and the key card and creep out into the hallway, praying I'll be back in our room beside Yanni before he even notices that I'm missing.
As I reach the lift I decide that I'll take the stairs down, after all, I don't want to arrive too soon, and there will be no signal in the lift to hear the messages. Shit! What if the battery is flat? I hadn't thought of that.
I enter the stairwell and begin my descent whilst pulling the phone from my back pocket and pressing the power button. I sigh with relief when it powers up, surprisingly almost fully charged, just taking a few seconds to find the home screen.
I go to messages and scroll through until the date I flew back to the UK.
*Voicemail one:
"Please tell me you haven't been stupid enough to go to London Sydney?! You have haven't you! Fuck, I should have seen that coming. Jesus Christ. Right, ok, ok... that's ok. Listen, please call me as soon as you get this message. There are things I need to tell you. Sydney.... I'm sorry!" Sender: Noah
The only message I had listened to on the plane! Why 'stupid' for going back to London?
*Voicemail two:
"Sydney, please call me. Don't ask me how I know this, but London is not a safe place for you right now. Please... call me back as soon as you get this!" Sender: Noah
Why is London not safe for me particularly? What does he know that I don't? Voicemails three through to eleven are all basically the same message repeated, one message almost every 15 minutes. He really did want to speak to me.
I continue down the stairs paying no attention at all to anything around me, completely engrossed in the messages.
*Voicemail twelve:
"Please answer my calls, or text me back if you don't want to speak to me, but please for the love of all that is holy.... DO NOT meet up with your ex husband while you are there. At least do that for me Syd... yeah!? I know you have no reason to trust me, fuck.... I'm such an idiot. Please forgive me... when you find out what I've done please forgive me.... and stay away from Harry!" Sender: Noah
I look up as I hear footsteps entering the stairwell from the lobby... I finally made it. I'll have to look at the texts and listen to the rest of the voicemails after I meet with Noah, but what I've heard so far has given me many questions to ask him. I tuck the phone into my pocket as I make my way down the final few steps to the ground floor and raise my eyes, a friendly smile freezing on my face at the sight before me.
"Hello Mrs Hartwell"