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Swallowing down the thickness in my throat, I force a smile on my face. “Can you tell me where early registration is?” I glance at the time on my phone and see it should have started ten minutes ago. He tells me where to go and that the person handling registration is a woman named Micki. I head in the direction he points and search around for any sign of my asshole ex, pulling my bag closer to me.
When I enter the room I see lots of people walking into, I pull up my email on my phone and walk toward the woman sitting at a long table, holding a clipboard. “Are you here for early registration?”
I nod and tell her my name. She finds me on the list resting between her fingers. “Everything seems to check out, Theo. I hope you have a great time.”
“Thank you, I’m sure I will.” As long as I have zero encounters with Isaac. He didn’t even want to come, yet the jerk is here anyway.
Dragging my bag behind me, I quickly head for the hotel exit to prevent my day from getting any worse. Sitting on one of the benches, I contact a car and search for any other hotels in the area. When I find one with available rooms, I book the cheapest one. The driver arrives by the time I’m done entering my payment info and I slide into the back while telling him the address.
“Yeah, I know that hotel.”
“Great.” I close the door and he drives off. Settling against the seat, I search around us. “Are there any fast food places nearby?”
He names all the ones he can think of and it isn’t hard to choose once my mind is set on a large cheeseburger after passing an advertisement on a billboard. Pulling off the highway, he drives into a McDonald’s and I order a Big Mac and fries, ready to have the saltiness melting on my tongue. It’s been so long since I last had something to eat; I didn’t want to eat anything before reaching my connecting flights due to feeling queasy from nerves.
I eat my food on the short drive to the hotel and get out of the car as soon as the driver stops in front of the entrance, still chowing down on my fries. I thank the driver before closing the door and am on the verge of crying when he leaves me all alone. Because that’s what I am. All alone and definitely in no mood to go anywhere but to bed.
After checking in, I go straight to my room, seeing my life flash before my eyes when the elevator shakes on the way up and makes a loud, terrifying scraping sound.
Rushing through the opening doors, I make a note to take the stairs tomorrow. Please let the resort have a room available tomorrow. The yellow paint chipping on the hallway walls only leaves me in a more depressed state on my long walk to my room. The red-and-beige patterned carpet looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in years. Standing in front of what I think is the right door, I adjust the tilting room number. This very likely will be my home for the next few days, so I might as well get used to it.
Sighing in defeat, I open the door with the key card and enter the small hot space. It feels way better outside than here. My bag hits the bed with a plop as I toss it down and I walk over to the air conditioner to flip the switch on. Checking my phone again, I frown when there are still no new messages from Finn. Where is he?
A loud clack sounds around me when I set my phone on the nightstand and I finish my fries before walking into the bathroom. I start the shower and adjust the water’s temperature until it’s warm enough. Hating how my clothes suddenly feel too tight on my body, I strip out of them, not caring where they land on the floor. The water feels so heavy on my skin when I step into the shower.
Grabbing one of the small washcloths hanging above the toilet, I cover it in hotel soap, too tired to get mine out of my bag, and scrub my skin until the ache overpowers the stabbing pain in my chest. I don’t bother washing my hair before stepping on the cold tile and shutting off the water. Shivering, I wrap a large white towel around me and dry myself on the way out of the bathroom.
Wrapping the towel around my waist, I open my suitcase and pull a pair of pajamas out. The light blue silk pants match the top and have white doves in different poses. Some are flying and others are sitting or pecking at the ground. I haven’t had the chance to wear them around Finn yet. Would he think they’re silly? One good thing about him not being here, I don’t have to find out if some of the small parts of me I haven’t shown him would push him away.
After I’m fully dressed, I dab my hair with the towel again and check my phone. My heart sinks lower than before when I still have an empty inbox. Is he having second thoughts after spending most of the day without me? I crawl under the covers and exhaustion weighs heavy on me. The remote to the hotel T.V. rests on the nightstand next to the white-and-gold lamp. I reach for the control and turn on the T.V., then flip through the channels, stopping when it lands onGolden Girls.
The room gets cold quicker than I thought it would and now I’m missing the heat from before. Turning off the lamp, I bury myself under the covers and leave only my head sticking out. Staring in the direction of the playing show, I watch the screen until my eyes grow heavy enough to pull me away from my awful day and into the welcoming nothingness.
I show up at the resort with my luggage in tow after checking out of the place I stayed at last night. I quickly jumped from my bed and got dressed after waking up to a phone call about a room coming available. It’ll be easier to attend events and have somewhere to go to hide from Isaac in between. I can’t avoid him forever, but it doesn’t stop me from trying anyway. I rush up to the front desk, ready to toss up my credit card in exchange for a key card.
The same lady from registration peers up at me from the desk, smiling. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I got a call today about a room being available. My name is Theo Vasquez.”
She lifts a clipboard and nods. “I see a note here about it. Let me double-check in the system and we’ll get you all squared away.”
“Sounds good.” I tap my nails against the counter, growing more flushed with nerves when she tilts her head in confusion. “Looks like that room has been claimed and I’m not seeing any other availability.”
My hands press harder into the counter and I’m so close to booking an earlier flight home. This trip isn’t going my way. Why did I think I’d actually be able to have a good time coming alone? “But I got a call there was one.”
She frowns, tapping her pen against the keyboard. “Someone must have missed the note and gave the room away. I’m so sorry.”
I hunch over with a sick feeling settling in my stomach. What a nightmare. Can this week get any worse?
“Okay, thanks anyway. I guess I’ll go back to another hotel after attending today’s event.”
“I have your contact information here and if anything becomes available, I’ll call you myself. I really am sorry about the mishap.”
“It’s okay. I know these things happen.”
As I’m turning away from her sympathetic smile, I run chest first into someone bigger and bulkier. “Watch where you’re—”
The guy’s words are caught in his throat when I glance up at him. Panic rises in me when a familiar smile plays on his lips. I didn’t run into some guy. My body collided with my ex-boyfriend’s.
