by Alexa Davis
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Everyone has been busy. I’m sure things will pick up.” I didn’t let her see, but I did cross my fingers for her behind my back.
“Hello, girls.” We spun around to spot our first customer of the day, Mrs. Almased, walking through the doors. As she glanced up to see us both, her face turned a funny shade of white. “Oh, I’ve come in for my appointment. But please... don’t do my hair like that!”
We both laughed hysterically at that, realizing how stupid we looked, before setting back to work. As Laynee’s hair wasn’t quite as bad as mine, she took over the appointment and I got myself a little bit organized. I had to force my hair back into a bun just to keep it out of my face, but at least it didn’t look quite as bad as it had before.
Then, I finished uploading my ad about the cabin to a few more websites with the hope that at least one of them would work out for me. I figured that the more I got the word out there, the more hope that I had of someone booking it.
I hoped that this would be the start of a brand-new chapter of my life – one that would be much more successful!
Chapter Five
Milo – Thursday
I looked at the website of the hotel that Justin had suggested to me with mild disdain. I wasn’t sure why, but the whole idea totally bored me. I stayed in hotels wherever I went; I’d been to some of the best places in the world.
What I wanted from this vacation was something different, a real breath of fresh air. Florence itself actually looked all right; I just wanted something a little unique to go with it.
Wait! Just as I was about to give up, I stumbled across something that caught my eye: a small log cabin on the outskirts of the town. One with peace, quiet, and most importantly, space for Veil to run around in. It would give me access to the town without putting me right in the center of it.
Yes, I might have been bored of the quiet at home, but my trip to Vegas had shown me that I wasn’t yet ready for the noise, either. This would be different anyway – this would be me choosing the silence.
Annoyingly, there wasn’t an option for me to book online, so I grabbed my cell phone and called the number before I could change my mind. I needed to do this before something cropped up and distracted me from my plan.
“Hello?” Admittedly, I was a little taken aback by the very friendly young voice that answered the phone. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t that. “How may I help you?”
“Erm, can I book out the cabin? Starting Saturday?” There wasn’t much point in hanging about now.
“The cabin? Really?” she gasped, as if she wasn’t expecting anyone to call her about that. She did put it online, so what the hell did she expect? “Oh, yes, of course, let me just... check my calendar.” As I heard papers rustling around, I couldn’t help but grin to myself. That was so obviously fake; was I actually the first booking ever? “Yes, we can do Saturday. For… erm, for how long?”
“We?” I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like winding her up a little bit.
“Well, yes, me and erm... yes, that’s it. Just me.” She was bristling now, I’d gotten under her skin. She must have been one of those girls who chatted when they felt nervous. “So how long did you want the cabin for?”
How long do I want to get away for? If I was doing this under the pretext of checking out an investment opportunity, then I needed a while. Plus, there wasn’t anything holding me back. “Two months,” I eventually replied decidedly. “I want to stay for two months.”
“Wow, that’s quite... That’s something. We, I, can definitely do two months.”
“The price isn’t an issue.” I suddenly felt the need to reassure her, just in case that was worrying her. “But I do have my dog. You didn’t mention pets on your website; will that be an issue?”
She was silent for just a beat too long, proving that she wasn’t too keen on the idea. The only problem was I had my heart set on it now. “Veil is very well trained. There won’t be any issues,” I reassured her. “If it helps, I will pay you double what you’re asking for.”
“Oh, wow, well, I... I might just need to think about it. Maybe I can get back to you once I’ve taken a moment to think...”
“How about I triple the price?” I shot back wryly. There wasn’t any way that she could refuse that. “I want to stay at your cabin, and as I’ve already assured you, Veil won’t be any issue. You won’t even know that he’s been there.” I patted my dog’s head as I spoke to her, knowing I was telling the truth.
“Okay,” she eventually replied, albeit a little reluctantly. “I guess I’ll see you on Saturday, then.”
“Seven a.m. sharp,” I told her smilingly. “And, I will pay you when I get there. Thank you. Oh, and before you go, what is your name? Just so I know who I’m looking for when I get there.”
“Eliza,” she said back quietly. “You know where the cabin is, right?”
“I do, and my name is Milo.”
“Well, Milo, I look forward to seeing you on Saturday. Goodbye.”
As I hung up the phone, I felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. There was nothing like a vacation to make a person feel better, and to know that I was escaping my real life was a relief. I needed that.
In all honesty, there might have been another reason why I was so down, why I couldn’t yet get over being ill and move on with my life, but this was something that no one but me knew about. Not being able to talk about it was part of the reason it had all stuck on my heart quite so painfully.
About six months before I got sick, I had met a woman. Of course, that was always how these awful stories started – with a woman – but this one was incredible. I couldn’t have even begun to imagine it would turn out the way that it did.
Veronica was her name, and my goodness was she beautiful. She had long, wavy platinum-blond hair, bright-red lips, and legs that went on forever. When I first spotted her across the bar in a rival casino, my heart flip-flopped in my chest. She was my one for the night, that much was obvious. I would have done just about anything to get her in a hotel suite with me.
But there was something more there, too, something I hadn’t quite expected. It felt different.
Intrigued, I had spent the rest of the evening buying her expensive drinks and wooing her. Veronica was very responsive; she seemed very into me, making the whole thing so much better. She couldn’t seem to keep her hands off me, which blurred my vision completely. All that I could see was her.
Eventually, we made it to that hotel suite, and we had a drunken night of fun, followed by a week where I fell harder and harder. I’d thought that we were actually going to become something, the sort of thing that I hadn’t even been looking for, and I allowed myself to be open and vulnerable... and then I’d discovered that she was married.
Actually, what had happened was she took a very lovey-dovey phone call with her husband, then when I questioned her on that, she’d dared to suggest that I was an idiot for not realizing earlier.
Of course, she was married; did I think that she was an idiot?
I didn’t tell anyone, partly because I was embarrassed and mostly because I found out a bit later through my own research that he was linked to a large drug gang and was very powerful and violent. I didn’t see the need for drawing any unnecessary attention to myself.
Anyway, I had spiraled from there. I took it hard and went into party mode. I assumed that I could drink my troubles away, which didn’t work at all. I thought a different girl on my arm every night would boost my self-esteem, but it didn’t really. I’d just felt numb.
Then, a few months later, just before everything had happened, she showed up on my doorstep out of the blue, with tears flooding her face. Like an idiot, I let her inside where the sob story all came spilling out. Her husband beat her and mistreated her; he’d taken everything from her so that she couldn’t escape. She’d tracked me down and run to me looking for asylum because she was so afraid.
And like a big idiot, I believed every word. I allowed myself to fall for her all over again – only this time it was so much worse. This time, I let my heart have it. I was scared, too. I still feared that man greatly, but I naively believed that love would conquer all. I thought that, somehow, we would find a way to make it through. In a way, the romance of that notion made it all the more exciting.
After a few passionate and romantic days, she vanished with one little note, a letter explaining to me that she hadn’t meant any of it and she was just bored of her life.
I wasn’t sure what was true. Did she have a crappy life and she was scared, or was she just bored? Only once I’d finished wondering, had I realized what she’d done to me. Twice. Then I got mad and bitter. I got all caught up in my emotions, but I didn’t deal with it. I just felt stuff.
Then I got sick, and my brain zoned in on that.
Maybe the fact that I had nothing left to think about was bringing all those emotions back to the forefront of my mind. That was another reason to get away, to look for someone to move on with my life with. I wouldn’t have ever gone back to Veronica again, not after the emotional pain that she’d put me through, but I did need to get over the damage. There was a scar on my heart that needed to heal.
I thought about the chatty girl from the phone for a second, trying to work out what she might be like. She didn’t sound like the Veronica-type at all, all fake airs and graces. She didn’t sound like she’d come from nothing but had married well; she just sounded normal and quite sweet. If all the girls were like that in Florence, then maybe it wouldn’t be too bad, after all.
I grabbed a few items and started to randomly throw them into a suitcase, deciding to take my car up to Oregon. Yes, it would be a long drive, about fifteen hours, but with Veil for company and a stop along the way, it wouldn’t be so bad. I wasn’t sure that my dog would like flying, anyway. This way would be so much better.
The drive could even turn out to be therapeutic. Maybe by the time I got there, I would have organized all my thoughts about everything, worked out the meaning of life, and then I could just use the two months to totally relax. That wouldn’t be so bad.
This was going to be good for me; it had to be. It couldn’t be much worse than moping around here anyway, and who knew? Maybe this fishing thing Justin had been going on about would be what he’d promised. Weirder things had happened.
Just because I didn’t understand it right now, didn’t mean I wouldn’t see potential when I got there. Maybe it would lead me into a whole new area of business. I still couldn’t see a reason that he would have suggested it if it weren’t as good as he thought, and I had tried.
“Right, what will I need for two months?” I muttered to myself. This whole talking to myself thing was getting to be a real pain. Hopefully, I would get out of it soon enough. “Clothes, toiletries, dog food...” I knew I could get everything that I wanted once I got there, but I didn’t want to be left short. Especially not if I had a long drive to get there.
“Maybe a picnic for along the way.” But as I spoke this time, I wasn’t listening to myself – my brain was buzzing, my ears pumping with excitement, my blood tearing through my veins. I was feeling everything, all at once, and it felt good. I’d been shut off for ages; this was going to be fun.
Probably.
Chapter Six
Eliza – Saturday
Shit.
I jumped up like a bolt of lightning in my bed, my heart racing like crazy in my chest. I kept thinking this whole cabin thing over and over in my mind, planning everything that could go wrong, and it seemed that had infiltrated my dreams. The worst-case scenarios were sickening me, and I was starting to think that this had all been a mistake. I wasn’t yet ready to rent out the cabin. When I’d put it online, I hadn’t expected anyone to call me. Especially not that quickly.
And then the guy with the gruff voice did. God, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to be like. In my mind, I kind of pictured him with dark features and eyebrows that were constantly furrowed. I imagined him as someone older, a little intimidating, possibly with a scar running down his cheek.
Oh, God, what if he turns out to be a murderer or something? What if he wants the cabin for something untoward? What if...
No, I needed to stop that. I was freaking myself out over absolutely nothing. Everything was going to be fine. Laynee and I had spent the entire evening yesterday cleaning the place up, and it looked good. It was all going to be fine. I just needed to focus on my breathing and sort out my head. I needed some sleep to get ready for my early morning...
“Oh, no,” I groaned lightly as I turned over to see the clock. It was already six a.m., and while I didn’t think that this guy was actually going to turn up at seven, I needed to be there, just in case.
I rolled out of bed and allowed my feet to hit the floor with a thud. Staggering across the room, sleep still filling my vision, I made my way into the kitchen to grab a much-needed cup of coffee. I needed caffeine to get my brain going, but before I could even look at the coffee pot, a cold, wet sensation sank its way through my bed socks.
“Ugh, what the fuck?” I called out loudly, hopping from foot to foot as I grew colder. “What now?” Sure, this place was just about cheap enough for me to live in while also eating and stuff, but sometimes it didn’t feel worth it. One minute the electricity was going, the next moment it was another plumbing issue... And this time, a burst pipe greeted me, and a wet, damp floor.
“Fucking hell.” I slapped my palm against my head. “Not now; this is the last thing I need.” I could have done without this, not on such an important day.
I was absolutely freezing cold, which probably did a better job of waking me up than any caffeine would have done. Now I needed to shower... or at least wash before I met this guy. I had to at least attempt to look professional, like I knew what the hell I was doing.
What was his name again? I probably should have remembered that. Martin? Mark? Something with an M... I would just have to hope that he said it again as we met up.
By the time I jumped into my car, I felt frazzled, not how I’d wanted to be feeling, at all. I had hoped that by getting an early night, I would have woken up fresh and prepared, but, of course, back then I wasn’t exactly banking on a burst pipe.
“Fuck,” I spat out again, just for the hell of it. “Fucking apartment.”
I’d tried to contact my landlord, but as per usual, he hadn’t answered, so I would just have to wait for him to get back to me when he deemed it necessary. It was a fucking nightmare. I needed to get out of there... as soon as I could afford it.
Oh... My... God.
I instantly spotted a very flashy car sitting outside the cabin, which meant the guy had gotten there before me. It was only quarter to seven; I’d hoped that I would have some time to check over the place again and to maybe smarten myself up a bit, but that wasn’t going to happen now.
Deep breath in... deep breath out... now go.
“Hello, there,” I said in a friendly tone of voice, all the while racking my brain to attempt to figure out his name. “It’s nice to meet you in person.”
“Yes, Eliza, right?”
As he neared me, I noticed that he wasn’t what I had expected at all. Yes, he was tall with dark hair, but he was brooding, rather than moody. He had bright-blue eyes that seemed to suggest a twinkle of something, a sense of humor, maybe? He looked more fun than I’d been expecting, and it sent a bolt of... something racing through my body. A weird thrill of anticipation, an unexpected sense of... Well, I wasn’t sure what, really.
“Yes, erm... Yes, I’m Eliza.” Ugh, why do I sound like a nerdy school girl with a crush? I was supposed to be a professional businesswoman here. And, I certainly didn’t feel anything for this man; he just wasn’t what I was expecting.
That was all.
“I’m Milo.” He gave me a crinkly grin before quickly rearranging his expression back to a steely one. “And this is my dog,
Veil.”
I hadn’t been too keen on the idea of a dog, but as I caught sight of the most beautiful husky that I’d ever seen, I felt my icy shell thaw. He was adorable, and I desperately wanted to hug him. As he raced over to my side for some petting, I couldn’t help but give him what he wanted.
“Hello, there, beautiful,” I cooed, tickling behind his ears. “Aren’t you adorable? How do you like the cabin, huh? Plenty of room to run around. I bet you’ll have all sorts of fun.”
“You talk to dogs like my cousin,” Milo said.
“Oh, I...” I started to feel a little silly. I jumped backward and tried to return to the mode that I needed to be in. Ignore your red face. Just get this over with... think of the money. “Well, why don’t I take you inside and show you the place?”
He followed behind me, a little too closely, which made me very aware of him. I felt small and silly next to him, like he could already see right through me and already knew I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t want to bomb my first booking, not when it could boost my hairdressing business – especially when I considered how much money this was going to make me.
I needed to lighten the atmosphere. I needed to make him smile, to try and get him to see that I wasn’t a terrible person who had no idea what she was doing.
“So, how was the journey?” I started lamely. “Much... traffic?” Shit, this is awful. What a terrible start.
“Yeah, you know.” He shrugged, proving he wasn’t much of a talker.
“Erm, yeah, so here is the living room-slash-kitchen, and the bathroom is through there...”
I admired him, without even meaning to, as he walked in front of me to check out the facilities. He had a cute butt, the sort I might actually like to grab...
Nope, stop it, that is ridiculous.
“Erm, and then there are two bedrooms and an outside area...” My ears were buzzing; I could barely hear the words that were falling out of my mouth. I was just saying things to distract myself from those untoward thoughts, just to keep myself going.