“Home, sweet home,” I joked as I opened the door to my hotel room. “Can’t say it’s as beautiful as yours, but it’s a place to sleep.” I shrugged and tossed my key on the counter. Nick laughed.
“It’s not all about money, Rach,” he said seriously. I frowned in his direction as I put my Styrofoam container in the mini fridge. “What?” His brow furrowed.
“It’s just…you’ve changed,” I shrugged. “A lot.”
“Good change or bad change?” He asked me. His voice seemed to be full of nervousness, just waiting for my answer.
“As of right now?” I thought about it for a minute. “Good.” I nodded and smiled at him. I saw him blush at the thought of me approving of him, and I looked around the small room. Then I realized we hadn’t really made any plans for the afternoon, so I was kind of clueless as to what we were doing. “So, are you going to go back to your hotel now?” I asked him, wondering what he had in mind.
“Oh, uh, if you want me to,” he shrugged and stood up from one of the uncomfortable chairs placed around in my room to simply take up space.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way,” I mumbled as I glanced around the room. I looked down at the phone on the nightstand. The red light on it was blinking, informing me I had a message. “Oh, hold on a second.” I went and picked up the phone, checking messages. It said I had five messages. I began listening to them, starting with the oldest one.
“Hey Ray, it’s me,” I recognized Ryan’s voice. “I’m not too worried, maybe your flight had a delay or something. Your cell service must be off because I can’t get through on your phone. Call me. Love you.” I slapped my forehead. I had forgotten to call Ryan when I got in. Hell, I forgot to call everyone when I got in.
Next message. “Rachel? It’s Ryan. Okay, your plane was supposed to land an hour or so ago. I’m getting worried,” this message was from last night. I hadn’t even gotten to the hotel yet. “Please call me.”
Next message. “Rachel? It’s dad. Ryan called and said he hasn’t heard from you yet. You’ve really worried your mother and I. Please call home, at least.”
I bit my bottom lip. I must have really lost my mind if I hadn’t even thought to call my family or my fiancé. What was I thinking? “Rachel, it’s Ryan,” his voice sounded so hurt and so confused. “Listen, I’m not sure if you’re mad at me or not. I thought we had worked this all out at the airport. But listen baby, I’m really very worried about you and I need to hear your voice. Please call me. I love you.”
I couldn’t even bring myself to listen to the last one. I hung up quickly and looked over at Nick. “I really need to make a few calls. Can I meet you somewhere later?” I asked him.
He looked somewhat hurt and that made me feel bad. “Uh, yeah, sure.” He scribbled something down on a piece of hotel stationery. He handed it to me. “That’s the number to the hotel and then you dial that number for my room.” He explained.
“Thanks for lunch, Nick,” I smiled warmly. He nodded, still slightly disappointed that I asked him to go, but he exited my room. I quickly dialed Ryan’s number, praying he would understand.
Author's Chapter Notes:
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