Falling With Grace

He frowned as I turned to Rosa and gripped her hand with a deep smile. “Where are we going, Rosa?”

“It’s a surprise, Mamá.” He pressed his finger to his lips.

She patted my hand. “It’s a surprise,mi hija.”

I glared at Elias as the involuntary smile caused my cheeks to ache.

It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a surprise.

My stomach roiled as the plane moved down the runway, and it sank when the plane slid into the air with a roar. Nails dug into armrests, my teeth ground against one another, and the urge to pee had me crossing my legs.

It’s only nerves.

Elias sat back as cool as a cucumber, his phone in his hand until we leveled out, his conversations with his mother brief.

“So now that we’re in the air and escape is impossible, can you tell me where we’re going?”

He focused on his phone. “Patience.”

“How long do I need to practice this patience you speak of?”

He tipped his head, his gaze peeling away from his screen. “Two hours.”

I let out a held breath.

That’s not very long.

“And when we get there?”

“You’re fishing, Grace.”

“Just enjoy the ride,mi hija.” She tipped her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes, her hand patting mine.

“I-I need to use the restroom.”

Elias pointed down the single walkway towards the kitchen. “Through the kitchen and room.”

“A room? As in a bedroom?”

“It’s a small bed. I wouldn’t consider it a bedroom. Just a place for you to lay your head on longer trips.”

I unbuckled and grabbed hold of the wall as a bump of turbulence vibrated beneath my feet. Strong hands gripped my hips, steadying me on my feet. “Thank you.”

“Go slow and be careful.”

I gave him a curt nod as his hand slid off my seared flesh and made my way down the aisle.

Javier took up two seats, laying back with a pillow beneath his head and one on top, blocking out the light. Two sat at the table playing a game of chess, and another two watched soccer on the TV.

“The Whites are going to wipe their shoes with them.”

“You’re insane. You’ve lost your mind. There is no way they are better than The Citizens. We have Erling Haaland. You’ve got Jude Bellingham. They don’t compare.”

What the hell are they talking about?

I rolled my eyes and slipped between them and their TV as fast as I could. I went into the kitchen, where the attendant prepared a snack board, and into the small bedroom, which was bigger than what I’d lived in for the last three years.

A single bed sat tucked against the wall with a pillow and beige blanket that shone in the light like silk. There was another blanket folded at the foot of the single-sized bed, this one a shade darker.