It wasn’t until three o’clock that after noon that I decided to take a shower. I figured that there were better odds of Christian coming back if I kept up on my hygiene. I lay down on the bed face up, kicking myself for not having been honest and up front with him to begin with. Every once in a while I’d start crying again. I looked over at the digital clock laying on the end table to my right. 5:53 pm. There was a knock on the door. I moaned in protest but got up regardless and sauntered over to the door. There was no way this could be Christian, he had a key. I opened the door and shielded my eyes until they could adjust to the light.
“Abby, we came to talk to you about this,” Mark said and help up the magazine.
I sighed. “Could we please not? I’ve already had it out with Christian.”
Mark and Ste walked in and sat me down on the bed. “We didn’t come to yell at you. We haven’t seen Christian all day and when we asked Joey if he had, he said no and told us it was probably because of this.”
So Joey CAN speak. “Why’d you ask Joey?” I probed. “Joey this, Joey that. Joey hasn’t even spoken to me since we got here so I don’t know why people keep listening to what he says about me.”
“He’s just trying to make you feel at home. He’s sorry about what happened and he doesn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Doesn’t want to make me feel uncomfortable? If he really wanted to make me feel welcome, he wouldn’t stare at me all the time. He woul..” The phone rang. Oh my God, could this be Christian? I leapt over the bed to the desk and raked the receiver from its resting sport. “Christian?” I asked hopefully.
“…No,” the voice said. “Actually this is Darren from downstairs.”
“Oh.” My heart fell. “I’m sorry, Darren…what do you need?”
“We’re just calling to let you know that the other half of your party has checked out.
“The butterflies in my stomach roared to life and I felt faint.” What?”
“A Mister, Christian Burns?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, he checked out as of 4:23 this evening and we were just wondering if you would like to remain in your current location.”
“The reservation isn’t up is it?”
Darren hesitated. “Well, no but-”
“But what?”
“We’re going to have to get some more information from Mr. Burns.”
“Why can’t I answer your questions?”
“The room is in his name.”
“It’s not like he’s paying for it.”
“The company put the bill in their name.”
“And that name is Taylor. My father is the one that owns that company.”
“Well I’m sorry Miss, you were not the specified reservation holder. Mr. Burns will have to be the ruling factor.”
He hung up, just like that. Disregarding me completely. I hung up the phone with a loud, floppy click and gazed into the air.
“What happened?” Ste asked and put a hand on my shoulder.
“He left,” I whispered.
“What was that?”
“He left. He checked out.”
“When?” Mark demanded.
“’Round 4:30.”
“Well, where is he?”
“I don’t know.” Those words hurt me immensely. Christian never left without telling me where he was going. Who knows where he could have been now? Did he go back to London? Go to a different hotel?
“Christian’s not the type to do something like this.” As Marks’s last word was ending, his phone began to ring. He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. “..It’s him,” he said and let out the breath he’d been holding. “Hello?”
I could hear Christian’s rushed voice on the other end of the line and wanted so badly to speak to him. “Yeah,” Mark said and looked at me quickly. “Oh…yeah we’ll do it…yeah. One sec.”
He handed me the phone and told me to return the phone when I was through. He tapped Ste on the arm and whispered something to him and soon they were off to God knows where. “Hello?” I said into the phone.
“I checked out,” Christian stated.
“So I’ve heard. Why? I’m so sorry Christian, you have no ide-“
“Don’t bother apologizing Abby. Don’t bother saying anything. The damage is already done.”
“What about us?”
“ I think you know.”
“Are we still…”
“ I don’t see how we can be.”
My eyes started tearing again. “Please don’t say that. I can’t lose you now. I’ll die.”
“I died when I saw that picture. I die every time I see it but you what’s so messed up about it?”
“That fact that I cheated?”
“So you admit it now.”
“If that’s what you want me to say then I’ll say it. I love you, I’ll do anything.”
“What did I tell you about apologizing?”
“I’m sorry.”
Christian chuckled. “As I was saying. The messed up part is that I never got to kiss you like that.”
“What?”
“I can tell, I know you. You’ve never kissed me like that Abby and now I don’t think you ever will.”
The tears were falling now. “Please don’t say that.”
“You’ve got two days Abigail. The reservation was cut short when I left but out of the goodness of my heart, I’m letting you have to more days to enjoy the States with Chris.”
“Huh?”
“I called your Dad. I told him what happened.”
“WHAT?!”
“I wasn’t trying to get you in trouble I swear it, you know how close your father and I are.”
“But-“
“He said you were goofing off too much when you should be working.”
“The tour hasn’t even -“
“He thinks you’re letting your grudge against Joey cloud your judgment.”
“I haven’t-“
“I’m just the messenger but I think the most important thing is this….he wants you back home. In London. By Sunday.”
Story Tags: Be the first to add a tag to this story
