Page 42 of Bossy Grump's Secret

Still, it’s all there is to do. I lost the right to go to her room and check on her the day she told me we weren’t a match. I have a very strict policy about stalking someone, whoever it may be - friend or foe…or lover. It’s always a bad idea to come off as too strong, especially when you know you’re unwanted. There’s just no use in pushing it. In the end, you'll be called a creep and still won't get what you wanted…which is nothing!

Imagine going through hell and risking humiliation, looking for nothing…and still not getting it. It’s just that when they want you to be curious, they’ll make you curious…otherwise, Lily has no reason to leave the hotel premises so early–even though she is done with her shift. She never leaves the hotel without Ava. She returns after a while, wearing the same look she had when she left.

That guilty look announces to the world that she's up to something. A look suspicious enough for me to get curious, and very few things spark my curiosity enough to stand before her and block her path.

“Hey, Lily,” I greet her awkwardly, trying to compose myself. I've always had this big brother vibe toward her and would never want to be caught with my guard down.

“G…good evening, Dylan. How was work? " She says in a hurry, trying to maneuver her way around me, but I stop her. She looks up at me and swallows hard.

“What’s that?” I ask with authority, nodding at the plastic bag in her possession that doesn’t look like it contains much. I crave the information as fast as possible. The both of them had better not be planning to self-medicate her when they hadn't yet gotten a prescription from the physician.

“I see work was fine,” she says and laughs nervously.

She’s been with Ava for God knows how long. Of course, a bit of crass is going to rub in.

“This, uh…this is for me.” She gives me a wan smile. I can tell she knows I’m unconvinced because she immediately tries a more suitable response. “It’s tooth floss. I ran out,” she laughs.

“Let me see.” It sounds absurd to even me, and Lily doesn't hesitate to scrunch up her face.

“You can’t see.”

She moves around me and continues to the stairs. “You can see my teeth, though.” She bares and then quickly retracts them. “Well, not now, maybe tomorrow, when I get some good flossing in...”

She bumps into a moving guest; an apology filters from her mouth naturally as the customer expresses disapproval. She doesn’t even bother to turn back to me; instead, she continues. I don't stop her, but it’s clear that she’s either doing something wrong or there is something she doesn’t want me to know about.

Her trepid face gave out that much. Whether it has anything to do with Ava is something I have trouble figuring out. The next day, it’s very clear that her attitude has something to do with Ava because now it’s not just her acting weird around me. Even Ava - who has nothing to hide or doesn’t care about me finding out what seems hidden - is acting strange.

I'm a natural-born detective who can sense insecurity, or I would probably not even notice. Whatever they're hiding is something they desperately do not want me to be a part of. Unfortunately for them, where Ava is concerned - and I don’t know what kind of natural obligation I have - it inclines me to want to be a bona fide part of it.

I stop Lily dead in the hallway when the awkward silence kills me. Normally, we greet each other, but she seemed very intent on passing me by this time.

“What’s going on?” I ask desperately, not even bothering to beat around the bush.

“Nothing!” she says with great assurance. That’s my cue. If nothing really was going on, she’d be taken aback. I may be mad, but she had this answer pre-meditated before I had asked it, so I let her go and nodded.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have been so brazen. How're you feeling?" I ask. She nods in response and continues on her way…not even trying for extra conversation. We usually repeated a few sentences until one of us decided it was getting too weird and inevitably cut it short. Now? Nothing.

Something is definitely off, and whatever it is, since it pertains to Ava, it piques my curiosity. I will get something out of them. My first inclination is to probe Lily again, but I remember what happened yesterday. Of course, she'll be unresponsive. It doesn’t stop me, though, and I give her a good probe, using every technique I can muster.

…it still doesn’t work.

I'm sure she’ll alert Ava that I’m on to them. The best thing I can do now is to wait until they’re less suspecting and tail them, listening to snippets of their conversations to pick something…anything. Something is wrong with Ava, and I do not know why they feel like neither I nor a medical professional should know about it.

I know most people like to handle their problems alone, but isn't there supposed to be a line drawn where they know the problem is way past a conceivable solution?

I guess we’re all guilty of this. I mean, it's the very foundation of the relationship between Ava and me. I refused to go to the clinic for my wound dressings. She helped me instead, and we got closer. Maybe this is where I must help properly pay her back for what she had rendered to me. I never got the chance to properly thank her.

I just have to find out what the darn problem is.

In one of my eavesdropping sessions, Ava mentioned that the printed copy of the appointment would get her in and out of the clinic as fast as she needed, without suspicion. It successfully piqued my curiosity. Something needs to be done.

I decide to visit their room. I reason it should be a little later, maybe the next day, but then again, whatever appointment they may plan to whatever clinic for whatever medication might be tomorrow, and whatever happens might blow over before I find out. In short, I don’t want to regret inaction.

As discreetly as possible, I go into the staff quarters and make a beeline for their room. I bypass whatever locks have been installed and dig around. How I get into a locked room is completely inconsequential to the actual events occurring.

…a trade secret.

I should look for a piece of paper…" I mutter to myself as I begin a frantic, yet gentle search. …probably enveloped… I look into her bags and drawers. It doesn’t take long before I find what I assume is a pregnancy test strip. I recognize the apparatus, and my heart beats frantically. Pieces of the puzzle come– together. No sooner do I find another thing, probably what I am looking for? A piece of paper. Looking at it, I wish I had never had.

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