Page 24 of Spark

Somehow, Mia had managed to make it to her bed, although she had not managed to get dressed. She found herself still in her towel, wrapped in her sheets. Her ankle hurt but the swelling she had felt was gone, a gently throbbing replaced it. Her head hurt, a mix of hangover and the contusion made her feel groggier than normal. Getting out of bed, she moved towards the bathroom. Her phone lay where she had left it, the screen face down as she approached. She caught sight of herself in the mirror, her bruise purple but not as bad as thought it would be. Phone in hand, Mia made quick work of getting dressed and ready to meet tony for coffee. She checked her phone once she was dressed and found a dozen missed calls and voicemails. Her heart stopped as she read the number, her memory pulling up his face as she registered.

Aurelio.

Heart pounding as she scrolled down the dozens of voicemails and text messages he had left while she had slept off her tumble from the tub. She worried at first it was just a concussion at first, her head still pounding as she hovered her thumb over the first voicemail. Was this real? Was Aurelio reaching out to her afteralmost a month of no communication, besides the email she assumed he had sent.

Trepidation flowing throw her veins, Mia clicked the first message and gently placed the phone to her ear. The familiar husky voice flowed through the phone, his speech slow at first but picking up speed as he apologized and asked her to pick up so they could talk. The message was long, the beep of the end of the recording cutting of the last of his words. She pressed play again, putting the phone on speaker and closing her eyes as she listened again.

“Hello, beautiful.” A deep breath, she could feel his nerves through the phone. “Mia, I need to explain some things. But first, I am so sorry for doing this to you.” Pain, and a touch of anger laced his words. “This,” a pause as he drew another breath. “Situation was not ideal, and I am sorry for any hurt I caused you.” Moments ticked by as his breathing came through steadily. “Please, pick up the phone and let me try to explain. I know I don’t deserve any grace from you, but please. Theres so much I need to…” the beep cut him off and Mia opened her eyes, tears threatening to spill over.

Scrambling with shaking fingers, Mia pressed the next one, his voice filling her space once more.

“Please, Mia. Please pick it up. I need to hear you voice, even if it’s to tell me to fuck off or go away. I just need you.” There was more despair in his words, his pain filling Mia’s bones as her tears fell free. Anger and want raged behind her rib cage, begging her to throw the phone away or pick it up and call him back.

“I don’t deserve your forgiveness I but I promise to do all I can to be worth it.” The beep sounded but Mia felt frozen. There were at least 6 more voicemails, and plenty of texts still unread. Wiping her eyes, Mia walked away from the phone. She pacedthe small apartment, her mind still reeling from the realization that Aurelio had called. He wanted to explain things, but did she want to hear it?

Hands still shaking, tears still slowly falling Mia pulled her back into a low ponytail and dabbed some makeup over the bruise. She eyed her phone, still perched on the edge of the vanity where she had left it while listening to the voicemails. As if it would bite her, Mia gingerly picked it up and slid the screen unlocked. Her mind still enraged, she debated, call him back or continue the charade of being angry and not caring?

Choosing not to choose, Mia slid the phone into the front pocket of her jeans and headed for the door. Preoccupied with her thoughts, Mia didn’t stop to listen in the hallway. Sliding the door open, she was greeted by a few men, two of whom she had never seen before. The third to her dismay was Oliver. The two men she didn’t recognize were deep in conversation with Oliver, one with a tape measure in hand as the other pointed to a clipboard in his. Oliver was shaking his head, his face in a hard line as the conversation continued. Quiet as she could, Mia stepped out and slid her door closed. The loud clicking of the lock sounded and Mia turned back to see all three men staring at her. The one with a clipboard gave her a quick once over before giving a polite wave. He looked to be close to Terry’s age, his round figure shifting as he said, “Morning Ma’am.” The other man was closer to Olivers age, his physic much scrawnier. He gave a little head nod, his features matching much of the older man’s. Mia replied with a polite “Morning” and moved to pass the three men. Oliver gave her his shiny wolf smile and winked; his arms crossed over his chest. Mia smiled tightly and closed the gap.

“Mia, meet Todd and his son TJ.” Mia and the two men gave polite “nice to meet you”.

“They will be installing the keycard doors later this week.” Oliver continued. “They will also be collecting the resident’s information to provide the keycards for entry.” Mia nodded, her eyes scanning the doorway.

“Oh, okay. Well thanks.” She gave Todd another polite smile and moved to leave. “Let me know when you need anything from me, and I am happy to provide it to you.” she added, sliding past them. She felt Olivers hand on her arm as moved to leave.

“Yeah, it will be very important that any guest you have are also in the system.” Olver added, his fingers digging in slightly as she tried to pull free. Todd looked between them, his face shifting as he looked to Olivers hand on her. Oliver, sensing the growing unease it seemed, released her and smiled wide.

“Wait, you want any guest I have over to also give all their information?” Mia crossed her arms, an eyebrow cocking up as a familiar anger began to swell in her belly. “That seems a little invasive.”

“Oh, no!” TJ spoke up behind her, Mia turning to meet his eyes. “You can also request guest keycards if you want.” He gave her a shy smile, his eyes looking away.

“Oh.” Mia said, the anger dissipating. “That’s good then.” She looked back at Oliver, a clear displeasure showing on his features. “Can I request an extra guest keycard at any time?” Mia asked the young man, but her eyes never left Olivers.

“Absolutely Ma’am.” His father replied. “I can put you down for one right now if you would like.” Mia turned to him and smiled brightly.

“I would love that!” she said. “How many can I request?”

“Well,” the man said, looking between her and Oliver. “As many as you like really. We offer 3 free replacements if you lose your keycard so technically you could request 2 extra at no chargeto you.” Mia beamed at the man as she looked to Oliver for a moment. His jaw was clenched once more, the hard lines popping in his face.

“Now Mia.” Oliver said, his voice dangerous. “You don’t want to be handing out the keycards all willy nilly now.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, his hand clenching slightly as it rested there,

“Of course not.” She said, smiling wily at him. “I will be very responsible withmykeycards.” She emphasized the word my, enjoying watching the smirk fall from Olivers face.

“If you would please take a moment then, miss?” Todd asked, holding the clipboard out to her. Mia took it, the form before her a simple sheet requesting her information.

“On the bottom you can check yes for guest keycards and then just right how many you would like next to it.” Todd gave her a smile and Mia began to fill out the sheet. She wrote her name, loft and floor number. She wrote her email and phone number next when a shadow crossed over the board. She looked up to see Oliver reading her info. Before she could move it out of his line of sight, he spoke.

“Wait a minute.” He snatched the clipboard from her as she went to pass it back to Todd. Todd in turn gave a look of shock. Oliver traced the page, his finger moving along slowly.

“Mia, you wrote your number wrong.” He pulled out his phone and compared the digits, Mia’s heart giving a heavy thud in her chest. “Or did you give me the wrong number?” Mia swallowed, her vision swimming as she felt her heart hammer.

“Oh, did I?” she grabbed the clipboard back, giving its cursory glance and then handed it to Todd. “Nope, its right.” she said and turned on her heel quickly. As she moved to the stairs Todd called behind her.

“The keycards will be available after install Ma’am.” Mia turned as she walked and said okay and thanks. She avoided Olivers gaze. “We can give them to Oliver here if that works.” Mia paused, her hand on the railing, foot on the first step.

“Can you actually give mine to Tony, the cafe owner downstairs?” she asked, meeting the older man’s gaze. He gave a quick look to Oliver, who opened his mouth to speak. But before he could, TJ spoke up.

“Oh sure.” TJ gave Mia a warm smile that she happily returned.

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