Chapter 2

After an awkward encounter with the hotel receptionist, Ava hauls her suitcase up to her room, 218. She drops the case on the ground and looks around the small room. She flops down onto the squeaky bed as her large wedding dress crinkles under her. She flattens the dress out with her hands and lets out a deep breath. She stands up and walks into the bathroom where she stares at herself. Her makeup is nearly non-existent and her hair is standing up where her veil had once sat. She looks down and slowly begins to peel herself out of the dress and kicking it out of the bathroom. She grabs her phone from her bag and begins to start a bath for herself. She scrolls through the umpteen messages awaiting her from family and friends alike. Not to mention, the hundreds of texts and calls from Rob. Her jaw tightens as she stops the water and slowly climbs in. She looks through her social media as she soaks in the hot water.

Weirdest wedding ever...bride runs out in the middle of the ceremony? #wtf.

Ava mentally groans at the mention of her on her Twitter timeline and she shuts off the phone. She sets it outside the tub and leans her head back, closing her eyes.

****

Anthony sits at his office desk, glasses perched on the end of his slender nose. He frowns at his computer as his fingers rest on the keyboard. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and standing up from his desk. He walks into the break room and pours himself a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, Tony!” a male voice speaks. Tony lifts his head from the mug he’s pouring coffee into and sees an older, chubby man, Mark smiling at him as he makes his way to the doughnuts.

“Hi, Mark,” Tony grins, leaning against the counter and taking a sip of his coffee. Mark plucks a chocolate covered doughnut in a napkin and licks his lips.

“I love Doughnut Day,” Mark says giddily as he hobbles out of the room. Tony smiles and shakes his head as he makes his way back to his desk. Just as he sits down, his office phone begins to ring. Tony looks at it and frowns seeing that his girlfriend, Miranda, is calling. She rarely called Tony when he was at work unless it was important or an emergency.

“Hi honey, what’s up?” Tony asks, his finger tracing the rim of his mug.

“Hi, uh, when are you, erm, going to be home?” she questions in an uncomfortable tone. Tony frowns and looks at the time on his computer screen. 9:30 AM.

“I just got in about an hour and a half ago, babe. It’s going to be another few hours. What’s going on?” he pushes, fearing something bad had happened. He’s now rubbing the stubble on his chin rhythmically.

“Well, it’s just that, there’s...there’s someone here for you,” she continues and Tony sighs in relief, but frowns and rubs his hand across his face once more.

“Who is it? Did they say what they wanted?” he asks, wondering why Miranda would be worried about someone who was at the house for him.

“She just said that she knew you and she wanted to talk with you,” Miranda sighs and Tony shakes his head.

“She didn’t tell you her name? Why don’t you ask her?” Tony laughs and Miranda clears her throat.

“It’s Ava,” Miranda whispers and Tony’s face goes white and his eyes widen. His lips part slightly and he shakes his head and closes his eyes.

“Wait, what?” he exclaims in utter surprise.

“Yeah. I couldn’t keep her out, so she’s just been sitting here for, like, an hour?” Miranda complains and Tony drops his head, closing his eyes and laughing to himself.

“Well f**k, I’ll head home, okay? Just...keep her occupied for the time being,” Tony grumbles, hanging up and looking up at the ceiling, spinning around slowly in his chair. He hoists himself up and walks down the hall to his boss’s office. He knocks gently on the door and his boss, Linda, looks up and gives him a smile.

“What can I do for you, Anthony?” she asks, her eyes darting from him to her computer.

“I gotta head home in about a half hour. Having some problems at home,” he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around the room. Linda glances at him with questioning eyes and she bites her lips.

“It’ll count as an unpaid vacation day,” she explains and Tony sighs with a nod.

“I understand,” he confirms and she gives him a sad smile.

“I hope everything’s okay at home,” she says as he gives her a wave and heads back to his cubicle. He throws his coat and sunglasses on and walks out of the building.

Reviews

[KCthelastboyscout]

Hard to get used to a story where twitter is involved. New characters are introduced.interesting to see where we go now...