29. Oli

29

OLI

The plane circles around JFK airport for fucking ever before it lands.

I'm bleary-eyed through the descent, the flight one of those weird red eyes where it lands still practically in the middle of the night. It's going to be 5am in New York, but my body is all messed up with the combination of adrenaline and exhaustion.

It doesn't matter. I'm going to see Nikos.

The moment the plane touches down on the tarmac, I'm up and out of my seat, clutching my backpack and ready to pull my carry-on out of the overhead bin. But then an air stewardess glares at me, and I sit back down sheepishly. When the pilot comes on the intercom to announce that we need to wait for a gate, I start to get anxious.

I check my watch - it's nearly 5:15am now. I'm going to have to sprint through the airport and pray that I get a cab quickly and that there's no traffic. The morning show tapes live at 7am. I have to catch Nikos before he goes on the air.

I need to tell him that he's safe. That we caught his dad and cornered him. That I have the evidence on my phone, and it's also been sent to Megan's computer and loaded onto her hard drive and a USB, as well as uploaded to the cloud. We're taking no chances with this one. Nikos' insurance is as safe as can be.

The first thing I check on my phone is the mornings news. Pain cramps in my gut as I see that Nikos is set to reveal a big secret live on air today, and all signs are pointing towards an engagement. Half of me wants to die, knowing this is what my presence has pushed him towards. But I know it is the price to pay. If only I can tell him that he is free from his fuckstick of a dad, then maybe he can see that his life is his own to do with as he pleases, with me or not. If this engagement to his co-star is actually what he wants, at least he can make that decision with a clear mind.

There's a heavy weight in my pocket, and I can't wait to get rid of it - the watch I stole from Nikos. His dad was wearing it when we caught him, hidden under the cuff of his janitor's uniform. I bet that he just hadn't had time to pawn it yet. I'm relieved that I'm going to be able to give it back to Nikos and make things right - I didn't end up hurting him after all.

I'm going to fix this whole fucked-up situation.

The way the plane inches to the gate is excruciating. I'm bouncing my leg up and down as if that could make the plane go faster.

‘You look like you're excited for your trip.'

I almost jump as I turn to the old lady sitting next to me. In typical grandma style, she's spent the entire flight knitting an enormous scarf. It's heathered grey and looks incredibly soft.

She eyes me through her thick glasses, her hair pulled back into a fashionable bun. ‘Or, on second examination, are you visiting someone in hospital? Because you look like you're about to vomit all over this plane.'

‘I think I have to go confess my love for a man I met two weeks ago on national telly,' I say without thinking. ‘Before he makes the biggest mistake of his life.'

‘Oh!' The woman puts down her now-finished scarf and pulls out a little notebook and pen. ‘What channel?'

‘Uh, I think it's Mornin' America?' The plane inches forward a little more, and I almost get out of my seat again when I feel it jolt, the plane connecting with the walkway. I bite my lip, looking at my watch again, counting the minutes.

‘Ah, young love,' the grandma sighs. ‘How exciting!'

So exciting that I feel like the vomit emoji personified. Which is really more like abjectly terrified. ‘Yeah,' I manage weakly. ‘Exciting.'

The boarding door opens and people start to get up. Just before I get out of my seat, something warm and heavy lands around my neck like it's trapping me.

‘Everyone about to make a public declaration of love needs a scarf,' the grandma says. ‘It's the law here in the United States, and you know they take their laws seriously.'

She winks at me, and my throat tightens as I touch the scarf. ‘Thank you.'

‘Now go!' she says, making a shooing motion. She stands up, barely reaching the top of the seats. ‘Let the boy through! He has to go confess his love on the telly!'

She screams it loud enough that everyone turns and stares at her. My face is flaming, but I take the chance. I grab my carry-on, sling my backpack over my shoulder, and bolt off the plane.

Getting through the airport was a total nightmare. I get lost twice in the crush of people as my watch edges closer to 6am. I don't even have time to stop in the bathroom to make sure I don't look like a corpse - I dash right through the crowds and to the taxi stand. The line is a mile long, and I practically dance in place with nerves as I wait my turn.

I pull out my phone, which has now loaded the text messages from Megan that were sent during the flight. She must have been up all night. I'm now on a group chain with Selina, the two of them pinging updates back and forth.

I eye the last one from Selina. Bit of a situation. Nikos freaking out. We're off to the studio but it's not going well.

Don't worry, Megan had said back. Oli's on the way.

I am. I get to the front of the line and fling myself into the back of a cab, suitcase and all.

‘Broadway and 44th street, please,' I gasp out. ‘Times Square.'

The cabbie doesn't respond, just pulls out from the curb so quickly that I'm pressed back against my seat. I nervously check how long it's going to take to get to the studio. 45 minutes, fuck. It means I'll get there right as they start taping.

We inch through traffic, which appears to be caused entirely by a truck sitting in the middle of the road, surrounded by cones, with workers holding signs saying slow for literally no discernible reason. By the time we reach the city, morning traffic has started up in earnest, and the number of stoplights we hit and the number of pedestrians we have to wait for makes me want to shake apart.

I've never been to New York City, but I couldn't care less about the view or the sights or whatever. The enormous LED screens of Times Square make me feel like I'm going to have a seizure, or maybe that's just the lack of air from the crippling anxiety strangling me.

I need to get to Nikos. I need to make sure he's alright, because right now, he's very clearly not.

We reach the TV studio and I just about die when the credit card reader takes forever to process my contactless payment. As soon as it clears, I'm shooting out of the cab like a bullet, my suitcase wheels not even touching the street. The security guard looks alarmed and holds out an arm to stop me, but there's a production assistant standing there with a clipboard and a set of headphones on. ‘Are you Oliver Cane?'

‘Yes,' I pant out. ‘I am.'

‘We're rolling,' they say. ‘Come with me, quickly now.'

The security guard relents and the production assistant grabs my suitcase handle, speeding us through the lobby's security barriers with the flash of a badge. We get into the elevator, and head to the top floor of the building. There's a little television inset into the elevator wall, and I see Nikos on it. He's sitting on a couch, looking more terrible than I've ever seen him. Tortured, like everything that's happened has taken him to the bottom of the ocean.

It's ok, I tell myself. I'll pull him up to the surface.

‘This way.' The production assistant grabs me by the scarf and tugs me along, and we're at the side of the stage and Selina is there.

‘Oh thank fuck,' she whispers, hugging me. She shoves some blank cue cards into my hands, along with a marker. ‘They're taping, but for the love of God, tell him how you feel, Oli. Help him find a reason to be his real self. The self he is with you.'

Her eyes are shining with unshed tears, the only crack in her otherwise perfect facade. It's clear that she cares about Nikos far more than just as a client, and I realise that she's good for him. She'll be good for Megan, too.

‘Ok,' I whisper, as I pull the cap off the marker. I put my tongue between my lips, trying to figure out what I say, and then I start to write. And when I'm done laying my heart out, I nod.

‘Go,' the production assistant says, pushing me forwards. And with a deep breath and an arm full of cue cards, I step out behind the cameras to go save the love of my life.