Page 39 of Screw Christmas
“Good.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he nodded towards the street through the glass window. “The snow is coming down pretty hard, if you like, I can call you a car.”
“No,” I waved off his offer. “You’ve done more than enough already. My place isn’t far from here.”
“Good then. We’ll see you next week for rehearsals. I’ll have them email you the script for the pilot.”
“Great. Thank you.” I was so happy I felt like hugging the man before me. I didn’t, but it was damned hard restraining myself.
Bursting out through the front doors, the cold night air hit me, leaving me momentarily breathless. I wanted to tell someone—anyone. No, not anyone—Maya. Would Aaron be there tonight? He seemed pretty confident in himself, and hell, why wouldn’t he be? She didn’t know he was a cheating piece of shit. At least not yet. She’d find out eventually, but by then he may have wormed his way back into her heart.
As I turned left and headed down the sidewalk towards the subway, I pulled my hood up over my head protecting myself from the blistering wind. It wasn’t nearly this cold an hour ago when I’d stepped into the building.
Picking up the pace, I hurried my way into the subway station and down the flight of stairs. I’d call my father when I got back to the hotel. Considering he posted my bail, it was the least I could do.
Stepping into the subway car, I watched the stops as they passed by until the one to Maya’s place came up. The doors slid open. It took all the energy and willpower I had in me not to step off and head straight to her place.
But if you do and he’s there, you can kiss your part in the television show goodbye, a voice in the back of my mind reminded me. Your only chance to get her back is to prove you’re not the lowlife criminal Aaron is painting you to be. The voice was right, and for the time being, the role on the show was the only good thing that I had going for me. I couldn’t jeopardize that.
The doors slid closed, and the subway car continued on. Two stops later, I was stepping back out into the night air and making my way back to the hotel. The money I had to pay to stay at the hotel was severely damaging my bank account, but now that I had the part and the papers were signed, I’d be getting a paycheck again soon. I just had to be thrifty until then.
My walk turned to a jog, my breath forming large puffs of smoke as I attempted not to slip and fall on the ice underfoot. By the time I made it through the front door of the hotel, my cheeks and lips felt frozen and there was a chill deep in my core that I feared would never go away.
Heading straight for the set of ten elevators I inserted my room key into the reader that serviced the upper floors of the hotel. The elevator light turned green, and the doors slid open. I was stepping into the elevator when a female voice yelled for me to hold the elevator.
Putting a hand out, I stopped the doors from closing so the woman could slip inside. “Thank you,” she gasped pushing her hood off her head and shaking the flakes of snow from her dark hair.
My finger paused just as it was about to hit the number to my floor. “Doris?”
The woman’s body froze a moment, her brow furrowing as she looked up and our gazes locked. “Dylan!” I’m not sure how long we stood staring at each other, but the slap she gave me right across the smacker broke the standoff. Dammit, that stung. It may not have been so bad if my face wasn’t already tingling from the slow dethaw now that I was out from the frigid cold. “You are some piece of work! You could have killed my daughter!”
I was rendered momentarily speechless. “Excuse me. What in the fuck are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb. I know what you did. Aaron told me. She spent days in the hospital because of you, and she can’t remember the past year. She’s getting horrible headaches and can’t even be left alone. God only knows when they will let her work again! I hope you’re pleased with yourself!”
A thousand emotions began to swirl within me. How in the hell did I even begin to unpack the information she provided me? “Wow…Okay, first off Doris, I didn’t touch your daughter. I was protecting her from the piece of shit cop who showed up on her doorstep drunker than fuck and demanding to see her.”
“Protect her from her boyfriend? Come on Dylan you can do better than that. I know what a hot head you can be. Aaron told me the story. They were having a good New Years at home, watching movies and you showed up, demanding money and a place to stay.”
“That’s a lie! That’s a fucking lie. They haven’t been together for over a year now. He cheated on her with some other cop.”
“I don’t believe you. Why would he lie? Out of this scenario who would have the most to gain by making up this story of yours?”
“You know what Doris, I don’t care if you believe me or not. That’s the truth regardless of what you want to believe.” I had to go see her, even if it meant risking my job. “Check her phone. There should be photos of us together at the Rockefeller Tree and at Times Square at New Years. Check it. Did he delete them?”
“She doesn’t have her phone. It disappeared.” Her eyes, eyes identical to her daughters, narrowed at me. “If these pictures exist then why don’t you have any on your phone? And I spoke to her while she was at the tree, she didn’t mention you being with her, I’d think she would have said something.”
“Fuck!” Running a shaky hand through my hair, I cursed myself for not having pictures. “Because she’s the one that took them. Doesn’t it seem weird to you that she mysteriously lost her phone, so she has to rely on Aaron?” The wheels began spinning in my head as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. “If she had her phone then he’d have to explain why there aren’t any calls or messages between them in the past year. He’d have to explain why she has no recent pictures of them.” Turning from her, I pressed the door open button. “He’s cut her off from everyone who knows better until he can win her back.”
I stepped out of the elevator but was stopped by Doris’s hand grabbing my sleeve. “Say that’s true, why didn’t she tell me they broke up? She’s always told me everything.”
I huffed. “Did you know she had a crush on me and kissed me back when we were teenagers? Did you tell her that you were back with my father?”
Her mouth dropped open. “What are you talking about? She never had a crush on you…Wait, she kissed you? You mean—” If it was a different situation, the look of confusion on her face would have been amusing.
“Just proved my point. She doesn’t tell you everything about her life and it seems you don’t tell her everything either. You’ll have to ask her why she didn’t tell you they broke up when she gets her memory back.” Tearing my hand from her grip I didn’t give her another glance as I raced through the lobby of the hotel to burst out into the snowy street.
The trip to Maya’s place was thankfully short. I wouldn’t be able to think straight until I was about to talk to her and know she was okay. If she didn’t want to be with me or had decided that for some insane reason she wanted to be with Aaron, then so be it, but I couldn’t just let her go without a fight. I wouldn’t.
Bursting into the lobby of the apartment building, I nodded at Kevin as I strode by the security table just to have him jump from the chair and stop me before reaching the elevators, blocking my path.
