Passion Beyond Illusion
Chapter 2
My timing was quite efficient, it had taken me just twenty-three minutes to arrive at Cherry Capital Airport as opposed to thirty like I originally anticipated, normally I did reach my destination in less time than expected, it was strange since compared to Starlene, who drove like a bat out of hell, I drove like a sweet old grandmother. I took a deep breath and pulled into the parking area of Cherry Capital. Here I go, on my way to Vegas I thought to myself as I pulled the key out of the Impala’s ignition and sighed once more to myself. Get a hold of yourself I scolded myself mentally though I ultimately failed as my tears betraying me, ratting me out. She’ll be okay, she’ll be okay I told myself still trying to deceive my brain into truly believing that Nadiya was okay, though in reality, I had absolutely no clue and I was worrying myself sick over it. I unbuckled my seat belt, dug into my bag for a bit and got out the money I would need to park my car. Cash in hand, I grabbed my “suitcase” and stepped out of the Impala, locking the door behind me. After paying the rate for five day parking, I slowly stalked into the airport, part two of my life changing journey was just about to begin and I wasn’t the least bit thrilled.
Cherry Capital was a lot more mammoth than I remembered, of course it had been five years since I’d last been here, but it still shouldn’t have looked like fifty-thousand football fields can easily fill the area. Damn, was that airport ever huge. I had apparently gotten lost in my thoughts because the stout, middle-aged man behind me snapped his fingers in front of my face, taken me surprise, my face not ashamed to show the look of confusion plastered on my face. “It’s your turn,” he said kindly after taking note to my expression. “Oh uh…thanks,” I laughed, embarrassment taking over my voice as I handed more of cash to the lanky, red-haired lady at the desk, “I need one ticket for the next flight to Las Vegas, please,” I dictated hoping that I wouldn’t have to wait too long, time wasn’t something I didn’t have much of, I needed to get to Vegas ASAP.
“Okay sweetie,” she announced in reply, punching the request into her computer, I could here the ding when it went through, “Your plane begins boarding at two-twenty,” she handed the money and smiled “Have a safe flight.” “Thank you,” I said as I took the ticket, forcing a smile, then made my way to the security check, the most horrid part of traveling by plane, the part I dreaded the most.
I made it through the security check detector without any problems at all, which surprised me quite a bit, I had expected my septum piercing to set the suckers off from more than a mile away. I guess piercings must not interfere with airport security and that was totally okay with me, I had more than enough issues for one day and I certainly didn’t need any additional ones. The hardest part of my journey to Vegas was over, although I still had an annoyingly long flight and many horrible days ahead of me.
It might not be as bad as you think I told myself repeatedly but didn’t believe a single word of it, now I felt like I was just repeatedly lying to myself, I really felt that this would be the worst possible occurrence in my entire life and that I wouldn’t make it through without having a mental breakdown first. At least I didn’t have to bicker with the security guards, my boots and bag had passed through the scanner with flying colors, as did my septum piercing which still surprised the hell out of me. Sighing to myself, I pulled my boots on over my mismatched socks and headed towards my airplane’s gate. It wouldn’t be long now, I just had to wait for the plane and I would be well on my way to the fabulous Las Vegas, that’s what they called it at least. It didn’t seem to fabulous to me at the moment. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about renting a car, Starlene said she would be my driver for the time being, that was one easy way to save money, seeing as I was very limited anyway. At least I had enough to get me by for the next few days.
I sat there in silence, just letting my mind wander the rolling hills of Tennessee, praying that my tears wouldn’t betray me once more.
I must have been out of it pretty deeply because I literally jumped out of my seat as soon as my boarding call rang through the loud speakers. To make matters even worse, the rest of the passengers boarding my flight looked at me like I had just started the next world war and if that wasn’t bad enough, my face turned brighter than Ronald McDonald’s hair. Boy, did I really know how to make a fool of myself in public, I was very adept in that, a master, I should make a career for myself in that. After managing to recollect myself after that little absurdity, I grabbed my bag, this time throwing it over my one shoulder and walked towards the entrance of the massive freaking air vehicle. I presented my ticket to the handsome middle-aged man and walked on through. It was at that very moment that I realized I hadn’t even looked at where I’d be sitting, so I did that now. I was in row 13A, thank the heavens I had a window seat and it was off by itself to boot, I didn’t have to sit directly next to any of my fellow passengers and I was more than grateful for that.
It didn’t take long for everyone to be seated despite the fact that there were far more people on the freaking flight than I even knew in my personal life. Yay, I just won another socially awkward point, might as well add that one to the resume too. The two seats aside of me had filled in, so I decided to check out who was sitting there. It appeared to be a younger couple, possibly going on their honeymoon, at least I didn’t have to worry about giving a little old couple heart attacks. I was very aware that my appearance was frightening in some people’s eyes, some would even dare to say I worship Satan, due to my look (which I’m not, just for the record.) Regardless, that was my style and I wouldn’t change for anyone, that only calls for more trouble, a lesson I learned the hard way after a rough breakup with one of my exes. Before I knew it, the stewardess was making her way to the front of the aircraft. A very pretty woman, short blonde hair, green eyes, it was really a pity that she worked on a plane. The woman, named Claudia went over the required aircraft demonstration and told us to call her if we needed anything. The estimated arrival time for Las Vegas was 5:32pm (8:32 Michigan time) so the flight was a few minutes shy of being six hours long. It was only a matter of minutes before the plane left the ground and took off, it had been taxiing the runway this whole time anyway so it wasn’t that surprising. As our elevation increased, I stared out the window at the now fading city of Transverse City, Michigan, I couldn’t believe I was really leaving this place, it may have only been for a few days, but I didn’t get out much so this was a fairly big deal, for me it was anyway.
I had to wait quite awhile before turning on my I-pod, I had to wait until we reached a certain elevation, I can’t even remember what the exact number is anymore, but I did know that I couldn’t wait. Fortune enough for me, that didn’t take as long as I initially expected it to and I could blast my music through my ears. Music had always worked miracles in putting my mind at ease, that’s why I was anxious to listen to my music. I turned my I-pod on shuffle and just back and relaxed as one of my favorite bands, Celldweller pumped through my ears, just relaxing my entire body, allowing my mind to roam free like the wild horses on Assateague Island. Apparently my mind must roamed a little too far because, Claudia was tapping my shoulder before I even knew it, pulling out my earbuds, I turned to look at her. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked me, a warm smile lingering on her face. “Um…yeah, I’ll have a Ginger Ale please,” I responded returning the smile as she poured the soda in cup and handed it to me. “Thank you,” I cooed taking the drink gratefully. “You’re welcome, Sweetie,” she replied as she walked off passing me. What is it with people calling me Sweetie today? I thought to myself before drinking some of my ale and putting my earbuds back in. About five songs later, I could feel my eyelids starting to droop, they were getting awfully heavy, as if there were ten ton bricks attached to them. Yawning, I decided it was best not to fight them and I let them drop, the last song that blasted through my ears before falling asleep was “Love Song” by The Cure.
Not only did I doze off, but I apparently must have fallen totally asleep, dead to the world(no, not literally) seeing as the next thing I knew, Claudia was shaking me awake. “You have to turn that off now Sweetie, we’ll be landing soon,” she told me softly. “Okay,” I said rather sleepily, rubbing my eyes and turning my electronic friend off, then putting it back in my bag. She smiled at me and with that, she stalked back off. I couldn’t believe I had really slept through the entire flight. I sure as hell hope I can still sleep tonight. Normally, if I dozed off during the day, I wouldn’t sleep a wink at night, it’s just how my body worked. I looked out my side window to see the world around me and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was still daylight. With a six hour flight, I would have anticipated it being late at night when I arrived. ]I]They’re called time zones, genius, I chided myself mentally, I could be a complete idiot sometimes, I really could. It was only a brief matter of time before I could feel the plane’s descent and we were taxiing along the runway for a near ten minutes. Come on you damn aircraft enough with the taxiing, some of us have emergencies to attend to. I yelled mentally at the huge piece of flying junk I was still sitting in. Finally, the motion of the plane came to a cease and we could all get off and move on with our lives…er, vacation I mean. Wow, I was such a genius in times like these, I’m surprised I haven’t won an award for my intelligence yet. As soon as the passengers in front of me progressed closer to the exit, I stood up with my bag and filled the empty space between us. Starlene would be waiting for me in the airport so all I had to do was look for her. At a rather moderate pace I shuffled through tunnel leading into the airport.
I’ve got to say McCarran International Airport was one big ass airport and everywhere I looked, someone was finding someone else. Girlfriends running and hugging their boyfriends, children crying and hugging their parents, everyone seemed to be meeting someone and here I was looking like an idiot, not even attempting to locate my sister yet. Sighing, I began to scan the airport and my eyes instantly fell onto that unmistakable rush of cyan blue hair. “Eris!” the blue haired figure screamed running cheetah fast in my direction and throwing her diminutive yet muscular arms around me, pulling me into a tight, sisterly hug. I could tell she’s been working out since I’d last saw her. “Stalene,” I said quietly, as if I hadn’t uttered her name in years. “I’m so glad you came,” she blurted out, “I couldn’t handle this all by myself.” She didn’t need to say that twice as I knew it all too well. “It’s no problem, really,” I insisted “As soon as I heard about Nadyia I knew I had to come.” Smiling, my elder sister let go of me and took my hands in hers. “Thank you so much, Eris,” she whispered softly, speechless I simply nodded to show her I was with her, that it was all okay. After she let go of my hands and joined me at my side, I got a good look at her and immediately recognized something was quite different. It sure as hell didn’t take a rocket scientist to notice the obtrusive bulge under Starlene’s top, my sister was pregnant once again. “Starlene, you’re pregnant again!” I whispered to her, my voice raising a bit as I said the p word. “Um…yeah,” she responded as if she were embarrassed. “I’m four months along,” she added a bit hesitant. I wasn’t mad, just shocked, “Are you still with the father?” I asked, “or at least know who it is.” It was surprising how different we were from one another, I mean this was Starlene’s third pregnancy in five years and I hadn’t even had sex yet. We were only two years apart by the way. “I know who the father is but I am no longer with him,” she responded. That was the answer I was expecting from her so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. At least my sister wasn’t a total slut, she at least knew the father of all her kids unlike some of the other filthy female scumbags I knew who had sex with at least twenty different guys a week, okay maybe I’m exaggerating just a little, but point made. “It’s Jackson,” she said, answering my next question before I even got the chance to ask it., it was almost as is she had read my mind, pretty creepy. Jackson was Starlene’s on and off again boyfriend for the past two years, by the way. “We broke up two months ago and then I found it,” she stated looking down at her feet like a small child who had just been chided and gotten their candy taken away, tears sliding down her rosy cheeks. It was obvious she had regretted the whole situation and wished she could take it back. “It’s okay,” I said softly taking her into my arms, “I’m not disappointed at all, in fact, I’m really happy for you. I mean, I’m going to get another niece or maybe a nephew in a few months,” I consoled her hoping that she would feel at least a little bit better, Starlene went through this every single time she ended up pregnant, it was almost like it the pregnancy caused her hormones and emotions to go all out of whack. “Where’s Julliana?” I asked changing the topic to something a little less awkward. “Oh, she’s hanging out with one of my friends today,” Starlene answered quickly, perking up a little. Okay, so that’s a good thing I thought to myself, at least the water works wouldn’t start again any time soon. I instantly assumed that one of my sister’s friends was looking after Julliana today, due to the situation, a two year old probably wouldn’t understand it for the most part anyway. “Let’s get you to your hotel!” Starlene exclaimed, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the airport’s door. Sighing to myself, I followed her out and into her green Sedan.
We rode to the hotel I was staying at in complete silence, yet it didn’t surprise me.
Starlene had experienced a really rough day and I was tired as hell from all the traveling,
Jet lag, genius, so it all made sense really. “We’re here,” Starlene declared at last as she pulled up into a parking space near the entrance of the lobby and slammed the breaks on,
causing my body to jolt backwards in motion. I never have liked my sister’s driving anyway. Stepping out of the Sedan, my eyes flashed up to the neon sign on the building, The Venetian , wow I come to Vegas for just a few days and I get the luxury of staying in a fancy hotel, it was pretty nice if I do say so myself. “You like it?” Starlene questioned disrupting my thoughts, awakening me from my day dream. “I made your reservation this morning after I called you.” “It’s really great Star, thank you so much for going through all this trouble for me,” I replied. “It was no trouble at all,” she insisted smiling one of her bright smiles, “now let’s go get you that key” and with that I followed her into the lobby and so began the second part of my unexpected, life changing journey.
Cherry Capital was a lot more mammoth than I remembered, of course it had been five years since I’d last been here, but it still shouldn’t have looked like fifty-thousand football fields can easily fill the area. Damn, was that airport ever huge. I had apparently gotten lost in my thoughts because the stout, middle-aged man behind me snapped his fingers in front of my face, taken me surprise, my face not ashamed to show the look of confusion plastered on my face. “It’s your turn,” he said kindly after taking note to my expression. “Oh uh…thanks,” I laughed, embarrassment taking over my voice as I handed more of cash to the lanky, red-haired lady at the desk, “I need one ticket for the next flight to Las Vegas, please,” I dictated hoping that I wouldn’t have to wait too long, time wasn’t something I didn’t have much of, I needed to get to Vegas ASAP.
“Okay sweetie,” she announced in reply, punching the request into her computer, I could here the ding when it went through, “Your plane begins boarding at two-twenty,” she handed the money and smiled “Have a safe flight.” “Thank you,” I said as I took the ticket, forcing a smile, then made my way to the security check, the most horrid part of traveling by plane, the part I dreaded the most.
I made it through the security check detector without any problems at all, which surprised me quite a bit, I had expected my septum piercing to set the suckers off from more than a mile away. I guess piercings must not interfere with airport security and that was totally okay with me, I had more than enough issues for one day and I certainly didn’t need any additional ones. The hardest part of my journey to Vegas was over, although I still had an annoyingly long flight and many horrible days ahead of me.
It might not be as bad as you think I told myself repeatedly but didn’t believe a single word of it, now I felt like I was just repeatedly lying to myself, I really felt that this would be the worst possible occurrence in my entire life and that I wouldn’t make it through without having a mental breakdown first. At least I didn’t have to bicker with the security guards, my boots and bag had passed through the scanner with flying colors, as did my septum piercing which still surprised the hell out of me. Sighing to myself, I pulled my boots on over my mismatched socks and headed towards my airplane’s gate. It wouldn’t be long now, I just had to wait for the plane and I would be well on my way to the fabulous Las Vegas, that’s what they called it at least. It didn’t seem to fabulous to me at the moment. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about renting a car, Starlene said she would be my driver for the time being, that was one easy way to save money, seeing as I was very limited anyway. At least I had enough to get me by for the next few days.
I sat there in silence, just letting my mind wander the rolling hills of Tennessee, praying that my tears wouldn’t betray me once more.
I must have been out of it pretty deeply because I literally jumped out of my seat as soon as my boarding call rang through the loud speakers. To make matters even worse, the rest of the passengers boarding my flight looked at me like I had just started the next world war and if that wasn’t bad enough, my face turned brighter than Ronald McDonald’s hair. Boy, did I really know how to make a fool of myself in public, I was very adept in that, a master, I should make a career for myself in that. After managing to recollect myself after that little absurdity, I grabbed my bag, this time throwing it over my one shoulder and walked towards the entrance of the massive freaking air vehicle. I presented my ticket to the handsome middle-aged man and walked on through. It was at that very moment that I realized I hadn’t even looked at where I’d be sitting, so I did that now. I was in row 13A, thank the heavens I had a window seat and it was off by itself to boot, I didn’t have to sit directly next to any of my fellow passengers and I was more than grateful for that.
It didn’t take long for everyone to be seated despite the fact that there were far more people on the freaking flight than I even knew in my personal life. Yay, I just won another socially awkward point, might as well add that one to the resume too. The two seats aside of me had filled in, so I decided to check out who was sitting there. It appeared to be a younger couple, possibly going on their honeymoon, at least I didn’t have to worry about giving a little old couple heart attacks. I was very aware that my appearance was frightening in some people’s eyes, some would even dare to say I worship Satan, due to my look (which I’m not, just for the record.) Regardless, that was my style and I wouldn’t change for anyone, that only calls for more trouble, a lesson I learned the hard way after a rough breakup with one of my exes. Before I knew it, the stewardess was making her way to the front of the aircraft. A very pretty woman, short blonde hair, green eyes, it was really a pity that she worked on a plane. The woman, named Claudia went over the required aircraft demonstration and told us to call her if we needed anything. The estimated arrival time for Las Vegas was 5:32pm (8:32 Michigan time) so the flight was a few minutes shy of being six hours long. It was only a matter of minutes before the plane left the ground and took off, it had been taxiing the runway this whole time anyway so it wasn’t that surprising. As our elevation increased, I stared out the window at the now fading city of Transverse City, Michigan, I couldn’t believe I was really leaving this place, it may have only been for a few days, but I didn’t get out much so this was a fairly big deal, for me it was anyway.
I had to wait quite awhile before turning on my I-pod, I had to wait until we reached a certain elevation, I can’t even remember what the exact number is anymore, but I did know that I couldn’t wait. Fortune enough for me, that didn’t take as long as I initially expected it to and I could blast my music through my ears. Music had always worked miracles in putting my mind at ease, that’s why I was anxious to listen to my music. I turned my I-pod on shuffle and just back and relaxed as one of my favorite bands, Celldweller pumped through my ears, just relaxing my entire body, allowing my mind to roam free like the wild horses on Assateague Island. Apparently my mind must roamed a little too far because, Claudia was tapping my shoulder before I even knew it, pulling out my earbuds, I turned to look at her. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked me, a warm smile lingering on her face. “Um…yeah, I’ll have a Ginger Ale please,” I responded returning the smile as she poured the soda in cup and handed it to me. “Thank you,” I cooed taking the drink gratefully. “You’re welcome, Sweetie,” she replied as she walked off passing me. What is it with people calling me Sweetie today? I thought to myself before drinking some of my ale and putting my earbuds back in. About five songs later, I could feel my eyelids starting to droop, they were getting awfully heavy, as if there were ten ton bricks attached to them. Yawning, I decided it was best not to fight them and I let them drop, the last song that blasted through my ears before falling asleep was “Love Song” by The Cure.
Not only did I doze off, but I apparently must have fallen totally asleep, dead to the world(no, not literally) seeing as the next thing I knew, Claudia was shaking me awake. “You have to turn that off now Sweetie, we’ll be landing soon,” she told me softly. “Okay,” I said rather sleepily, rubbing my eyes and turning my electronic friend off, then putting it back in my bag. She smiled at me and with that, she stalked back off. I couldn’t believe I had really slept through the entire flight. I sure as hell hope I can still sleep tonight. Normally, if I dozed off during the day, I wouldn’t sleep a wink at night, it’s just how my body worked. I looked out my side window to see the world around me and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was still daylight. With a six hour flight, I would have anticipated it being late at night when I arrived. ]I]They’re called time zones, genius, I chided myself mentally, I could be a complete idiot sometimes, I really could. It was only a brief matter of time before I could feel the plane’s descent and we were taxiing along the runway for a near ten minutes. Come on you damn aircraft enough with the taxiing, some of us have emergencies to attend to. I yelled mentally at the huge piece of flying junk I was still sitting in. Finally, the motion of the plane came to a cease and we could all get off and move on with our lives…er, vacation I mean. Wow, I was such a genius in times like these, I’m surprised I haven’t won an award for my intelligence yet. As soon as the passengers in front of me progressed closer to the exit, I stood up with my bag and filled the empty space between us. Starlene would be waiting for me in the airport so all I had to do was look for her. At a rather moderate pace I shuffled through tunnel leading into the airport.
I’ve got to say McCarran International Airport was one big ass airport and everywhere I looked, someone was finding someone else. Girlfriends running and hugging their boyfriends, children crying and hugging their parents, everyone seemed to be meeting someone and here I was looking like an idiot, not even attempting to locate my sister yet. Sighing, I began to scan the airport and my eyes instantly fell onto that unmistakable rush of cyan blue hair. “Eris!” the blue haired figure screamed running cheetah fast in my direction and throwing her diminutive yet muscular arms around me, pulling me into a tight, sisterly hug. I could tell she’s been working out since I’d last saw her. “Stalene,” I said quietly, as if I hadn’t uttered her name in years. “I’m so glad you came,” she blurted out, “I couldn’t handle this all by myself.” She didn’t need to say that twice as I knew it all too well. “It’s no problem, really,” I insisted “As soon as I heard about Nadyia I knew I had to come.” Smiling, my elder sister let go of me and took my hands in hers. “Thank you so much, Eris,” she whispered softly, speechless I simply nodded to show her I was with her, that it was all okay. After she let go of my hands and joined me at my side, I got a good look at her and immediately recognized something was quite different. It sure as hell didn’t take a rocket scientist to notice the obtrusive bulge under Starlene’s top, my sister was pregnant once again. “Starlene, you’re pregnant again!” I whispered to her, my voice raising a bit as I said the p word. “Um…yeah,” she responded as if she were embarrassed. “I’m four months along,” she added a bit hesitant. I wasn’t mad, just shocked, “Are you still with the father?” I asked, “or at least know who it is.” It was surprising how different we were from one another, I mean this was Starlene’s third pregnancy in five years and I hadn’t even had sex yet. We were only two years apart by the way. “I know who the father is but I am no longer with him,” she responded. That was the answer I was expecting from her so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. At least my sister wasn’t a total slut, she at least knew the father of all her kids unlike some of the other filthy female scumbags I knew who had sex with at least twenty different guys a week, okay maybe I’m exaggerating just a little, but point made. “It’s Jackson,” she said, answering my next question before I even got the chance to ask it., it was almost as is she had read my mind, pretty creepy. Jackson was Starlene’s on and off again boyfriend for the past two years, by the way. “We broke up two months ago and then I found it,” she stated looking down at her feet like a small child who had just been chided and gotten their candy taken away, tears sliding down her rosy cheeks. It was obvious she had regretted the whole situation and wished she could take it back. “It’s okay,” I said softly taking her into my arms, “I’m not disappointed at all, in fact, I’m really happy for you. I mean, I’m going to get another niece or maybe a nephew in a few months,” I consoled her hoping that she would feel at least a little bit better, Starlene went through this every single time she ended up pregnant, it was almost like it the pregnancy caused her hormones and emotions to go all out of whack. “Where’s Julliana?” I asked changing the topic to something a little less awkward. “Oh, she’s hanging out with one of my friends today,” Starlene answered quickly, perking up a little. Okay, so that’s a good thing I thought to myself, at least the water works wouldn’t start again any time soon. I instantly assumed that one of my sister’s friends was looking after Julliana today, due to the situation, a two year old probably wouldn’t understand it for the most part anyway. “Let’s get you to your hotel!” Starlene exclaimed, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the airport’s door. Sighing to myself, I followed her out and into her green Sedan.
We rode to the hotel I was staying at in complete silence, yet it didn’t surprise me.
Starlene had experienced a really rough day and I was tired as hell from all the traveling,
Jet lag, genius, so it all made sense really. “We’re here,” Starlene declared at last as she pulled up into a parking space near the entrance of the lobby and slammed the breaks on,
causing my body to jolt backwards in motion. I never have liked my sister’s driving anyway. Stepping out of the Sedan, my eyes flashed up to the neon sign on the building, The Venetian , wow I come to Vegas for just a few days and I get the luxury of staying in a fancy hotel, it was pretty nice if I do say so myself. “You like it?” Starlene questioned disrupting my thoughts, awakening me from my day dream. “I made your reservation this morning after I called you.” “It’s really great Star, thank you so much for going through all this trouble for me,” I replied. “It was no trouble at all,” she insisted smiling one of her bright smiles, “now let’s go get you that key” and with that I followed her into the lobby and so began the second part of my unexpected, life changing journey.