Chapter Fifty
Tyler
The next morning, I woke up with a sore jaw and a headache that wouldn’t fucking let me sleep a minute past the moment the sun passed through the thin shades of the hotel room.
I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head, before I felt Ashley move in the bed next to me.
“Shit…” I muttered, still not completely used to having anyone sleep in the bed next to me. Not wanting to wake Ashley up, I carefully peeled the sheets away from my body and slid myself out of the bed, the best that I could.
It was still early, but the summer sun was already blaring.
Today will be a good beach day, I thought as I looked outside, before scribbling down on a notepad that I was going for a run.
Once I was in my running clothes, I made my way easily out of the hotel room and began to jog down the stairs. I figured I would run over to the gym, which was now just a few blocks away and work out some of my frustrations there.
It wasn’t really that I had any interest whatsoever in actually thinking about what had spewed out of me the night before, but I hoped that a good workout would help to relieve the pressure that it had caused to build up inside of me.
I ran, I swam and I focused on enjoying every bit of the amenities that this gym had to offer. Since I had no idea where the road was going to take Ashley and me next, I figured that I should take what I could get, whenever I could get it.
About an hour into my workout, I saw a familiar face making their way into the gym. At first, I almost ducked and went into another portion of the gym, since I was still slightly embarrassed about what had happened last night. But I figured that would be even worse if I was caught trying to escape from her view.
I continued what I was doing as I watched Ashley make her way over toward me.
“Good morning, handsome,” she said, smiling at me in a strangely familiar way.
“Morning,” I answered, continuing my repetitions. “How did you find me?”
She laughed. “Honestly, I wasn’t trying to find you. I thought that it might be a good idea for me to work out here, since you went for a run.” Her smile wasn’t exactly that of an accusation, but it was something.
“Yeah,” I said defensively, raising an eyebrow so that she knew I was kidding with her. “I ran fucking here.”
At this, she chuckled and shook her head before she put her headphones on and began her own workout routine.
We continued to hang around one another, but didn’t talk and I was happy. I didn’t want to have a public discussion about anything and I genuinely respected that she wasn’t about to bring anything up.
Even though we really didn’t talk very much, we still had a good time together and I truly felt that I needed time together in that way, especially because of what I was going to say to her when we returned to the hotel.
Last night, I was all geared up to talk about her father, specifically, but then the conversation moved in a completely different direction and I quit before I was able to get it back. I wasn’t too happy that I had done that, but this morning, I decided that maybe it was for the best.
However, I knew that I couldn’t put it off anymore. I wasn’t sure what she was going to say and I hoped she wasn’t going to feel like I was trying to pressure her into anything, but I did feel as though it was her right to know.
So, when we got back to the hotel, we washed up and I made sure that I was all ready for her when she came out.
“Hey, I wanted to talk to you for a second…” I smiled at her, before I slapped the bed next to me, which prompted her to take a seat.
“Uh-oh,” she said to me in a slightly kidding way while she made hard eye contact with me. “What did I do now?”
I chuckled. “You didn’t do anything. I just have to tell you something.” I paused, just to ensure that my breath would not give out on me, since I was feeling uncharacteristically nervous. But I did not waste another moment that would allow her to give any of her own input. “Remember last night when I told you I saw your father?”
She nodded.
“Well, he told me that he was sorry and that all he wanted to do was talk to you. I was going to tell you last night, but then everything got all fucked up…which, I am fine and would rather not talk about again, but in any case, I screwed up and didn’t tell you.”
“Why do you feel like you need to tell me?” she demanded, her eyes piercing into me.
“Hey, don’t be giving me shit! I’m just the messenger,” I replied, matching her irate tone. “And I’m only telling you because I think you deserve a choice. I don’t give a shit whether you want to, or whether you choose to take him up on the offer, but I did want you to know that he hasn’t written you off and that you are his main concern right now.”
“Yeah, because he has nobody else. I’m his last ditch effort and I’m sick of it,” she spat coldly. I was surprised that she was reacting this way, but it wasn’t like I could blame her. I understood how she felt.
I shrugged. “Like I said, I’m just letting you know that he would really like to talk to you. Maybe failed marriage number two has put some shit in perspective…”
“Screw his perspective. My father’s perspective comes from whatever ass he has to kiss in order to get what he wants. It has nothing to do with wanting to be a good father.”
I couldn’t argue with her, since I never cared enough to find out, but in taking that stance, I also realized I had no idea how to comfort her either. So, I just shrugged. “I’m just fucking relaying the message.”
“Let’s just go to the beach,” she replied after a moment of silence, before she got up and moved toward the door.
Fuck, I thought, very seriously considering that I had just screwed myself over for an asshole who wasn’t even going to give a shit.
As she slammed the door, leaving me behind, I wondered if that was part of the bastard’s plan all along.