The Escape ( Paddock Passion Series Book 1)

Chapter One,

“I have told you NO, I do not want you going away Nathalie”

“Mother, I’m a legal adult, and my ticket is bought!” I exclaimed.

My frustration soon turning into tears. I had been planning this trip secretly with my friend Myla for over a year, saving every penny I could.  I had correctly anticipated this reaction and had put off telling my family until it was too late to cancel.

Turning on my heal I headed out the door of my childhood bedroom, knowing despite my despair, my mother was just being overprotective. Normally I would never enter into such an argument doing exactly what I was told, however, I had turned 18 and needed some freedom to live a normal life.  As the youngest of three children and the only girl, my life so far had been full of love, however increasingly I felt as though it was shut off, not able to do the things most teenage girls could do,  due to the constant worry and threat of unforeseen impending doom the outside world had to offer, conjured up in my mother’s imaginings. I was always chaperoned by one of my parents or my brothers. But It was now time to spread my wings, to do what most kids do throughout their adolescent years.  This was the first time I fought my corner and made my stand. Pangs of guilt grew inside of the distress and untold dangers that I knew my loving, but overprotective mother was now envisaging in her mind’s eye, normally at this point I would give in to the guilt.  Another reason I had booked my ticket in secret, to avoid turning back from my decision.

Sam walked out of his bedroom, smiled at me and winked. “Mam, what if I go with her and Myla? I can book my ticket online tonight, and keep a close eye, its only for two weeks, would that help you feel better?!” I sighed, I wanted, no, needed to escape my cotton wool prison, and having my big brother watching over my every move, was not what I had in mind for my first holiday away from the family.  Sam was my favourite brother by far, at 22 he was quiet, highly intelligent, sensible, the only wild side he possessed was his love of Motorbikes.  He had the kindest heart, and he knew how much I needed to break free, to find myself, and to just be a normal young woman for once, he really did not like Myla, so for him to make this trip for me was a sacrifice. Maybe for the sake of my parents peace of mind, this would be a compromise we could all make.

As I descended the stairs, my father stood at the bottom he reached out to me and held me in a warm loving embrace.  “Just watch yourself Nathalie, I will have a word with your mum, but just be bloody careful.!” 

I blinked up at him, I could not quite believe my ears, Dad was not going to fight me on this, he was on my side.

“Lou” he shouted up the stairs, “the harder you hold on to her, the more she will slip away, if Sam goes along, she will be fine! Stop worrying she is a good sensible girl!” At this point my mother knew she was fighting a losing battle and resigned herself to her imagined impending doom.

“Now dry those big brown eyes of yours, and let me see your smile again Nathalie, we are going to SPAIN!” Sam shouted after me sounding a little more excited than I would have thought.

Dinner was not the happy go lucky event of normal evenings, my mother had accepted that she could not stop me going, and she was not in a good mood about it, refusing to engage in any conversation, and sighing every time Sam and I talked over the holiday Itinerary.  I had called Myla and told her about the addition to our party, she was not overly happy about it, “as long as he doesn’t cramp my style Nat!” she had snapped at me, this holiday for Myla was more of a man hunt than the escape I so desperately wanted.  I on the other hand, I had never felt so happy, in just two days I would be on a plane, flying out to Barcelona, with my Friend, for the first time, even if my brother was chaperoning,  it was still  the best feeling ever.

The next day I happily packed my case, picked up my Euro’s double checking every item.  As the night drew in, I could not sleep for the excitement of what the next two weeks would hold. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours I eventually gave up and decided to re checked my essentials and outfits to fill in the dark hours before my escape.

Myla and I had been shopping for weeks now, our weekends spent visiting the local shopping centre trying on new clothes, what to purchase and what to take, she had talked me into some new dresses for the evening, saying they had better showed off my figure, than my normal jeans and shirts.  “Nat, you have a figure most women would die for, tiny waist and those bangers! you need to show it off more!” she had scolded me as I tried on some of my normal outfit style.  Her glee when I finally succumbed to more figure-hugging dresses was encouraging, however she was disappointed she could not talk me into skimpy bikini’s that covered none of your modesty.

Finally, Morning came, I sat at my dressing table brushing my long hair.  Myla would be here at 8 am when we would set off on our adventure in the Sun.  I skipped down the stairs to breakfast, and my mother looked at me no longer with anger, but with worry.  “Am I aloud to take you to the airport? or are you too big for that as well!” she quipped at me. 

“Yes Mam, of course you are” I smiled, understanding how difficult this whole situation was for her, and how worried she was “is Sam ready?”

“Yes, Nat, I am, I have brought down your case, and put them in the car, have you got your hand luggage ready, with your passport and tickets”  we both smiled knowing that would be the next question my Mother would ask. 

“Nathalie” my father’s voice boomed, “Like we have agreed, just watch yourself, okay, no Spanish waiters, and if a man starts saying he loves you, he is just after one thing, and you will be just one in a long line of tourists!” 

“yes, Dad I know, I am not stupid!, I am not going for any holiday romance, I just want to see Barcelona, look at the buildings and have fun with Myla, please don’t worry,” I smiled up at him.

“Myla’s idea of fun is exactly why we worry!” my mother interrupted  I rolled my eye’s, my parents distrust of Myla given her as my Mum put it “Flighty ways” was a constant cause of concern for them, however in that regard Myla and I were worlds apart.

“Guy’s don’t worry, she has brown hair, and tan’s so they will think she is Spanish anyway, and therefore will not be a target “Sam said, again smiling, “nobody will want her” he laughed.  “she may be one of the most beautiful girls around here, but over there she will be just common” he continued all the while smiling at me. I laughed as I remember our family holiday in Majorca years ago how Mam and Sam got bothered all the time ‘Come in here we have nice things’ or ‘Come to our restaurant’ Dad and I were close and we would be walking together being completely ignored until they heard us speaking , then the shock “Oh your English! Come in here we have nice things”

 I loved my brother; his teasing was always in good humour. Unlike Damon our eldest brother, he was living with a girl now, but had always hated me, he found his requirement to watch over me tiresome and a constant spoiler of his own fun.  Sam had told me many times, that he was jealous of the love and protection my mother and father had always given me, which was why he had been so cruel.  It had been a huge relief to us all, when he had moved out two years ago, his constant bullying had all but destroyed my confidence, the battles with our parents often resulted in him braking doors, or windows.  I was glad he was not here to share any of his thoughts, as he would turn this situation into a bigger battle than it had already been.

Myla arrived shortly after, her blond hair was cut in a bob, she was slim build, and very pretty, having had a tough time with her family, she suffered from low self-esteem which manifested itself in the need to be “Loved”.  Sam disliked her, as he had many times told me that to make herself feel better, she would often put me down, and” real friends don’t behave that way.” Myla was boy crazy, had been for as long as I could remember, any man who she took a liking to had little chance of escaping her clutches, often once she had won her prize she would start all over again on another crush, she would start adapting her personality and interests to match with theirs. and this often ended in tears, and gave her the worst of reputations, of being easy or untrustworthy as a girlfriend.  This only made her need to be popular worse.  It did however strengthen my resolve to keep myself pure until I met the right man for me, plus even if I wanted to, there was no way I would have been able to play the field with my protective family . For all her faults, Myla was my friend, I remembered how when we were younger she had befriended me, I had found it difficult to make fit in at school, I was really shy, but she helped me come out of my shell a little, we were chalk and cheese, but it had been 9 years of friendship, and a lot of laughs along the way, as well as a high portion of drama.

We all arrived at Newcastle airport excitement thick in the air around us, I gave my parents each a hug and said my goodbyes.  Sam and I promised to call home every day, as Myla looked on pretending to be annoyed about the extra care shown.  I knew that this annoyance was a result of her parents not being interested in anything she did, and deep down inside she longed for them to take such steps and show so much love. My heart would break a little each time she achieved something great, like the school music trophy, they had not shown up for the presentation choosing instead to book a weekend away together, or when she would attempt to get some attention by doing something outrageous, again they were disinterested to even bother disciplining her. 

We entered into the duty-free area, trying on different perfumes, and make up,

“Nat that shade of lipstick looks great on you, you’re lucky to have full lips which it compliments” she offered,  I smiled at her, this was the side of her people often didn’t see, she could be the best friend ever, however there was another side, routed deep in the need for attention, which had on occasion manifested itself as nasty put downs.

We paid for our purchases, and went to find Sam, who looked extremely bored at our enthusiasm for makeup and perfume.

Finally, the monitor which we had sat beside to keep a close eye changed and announced that we were to go to Gate 5 for boarding, Myla and I looked at each other and together let out an excited squeal.  Sam laughed at us rolling his eyes.