Chapter 24 #2
“Avery, wait… please,” she heard Teddy call after her, but she didn’t look back. What else could he possibly want to say to her that wouldn’t be more mortifying than what he’d already said?
Beautiful, spoiled socialite.
It was a mistake.
…can’t let it happen again.
Her embarrassment morphed into a soupy mixture of shame and anger as she walked back down the beach.
She’d allowed herself to be vulnerable and it had blown up in her face.
She’d been such an idiot, sharing her family’s secrets with him and to complicate things further, her dad was his boss.
It was so inappropriate for the team’s driver to know so much about the team owner’s dysfunctional family.
The tears she had tried so hard to keep contained were now spilling down her cheeks.
She lifted the bottom of her shirt to wipe them away.
As soon as she made it back to the villa, she made a beeline for her bedroom and pulled her suitcase out of the closet. She packed as fast as she could, tearing clothes off hangers and shoving them in her luggage. She had to escape before Teddy made it back from the beach.
She picked up the receiver from the old-school landline phone on the bedside table. “Hi, this is Avery Silver in Villa 231. Could you please send a golf cart to collect me and my luggage as soon as possible? And I’ll need a taxi to the airport. Thank you.”
I’ll figure out a flight when I get there. There are multiple flights out each day, if I have to connect through somewhere else, it’ll be fine.
It felt like she’d been punched in the stomach, but mostly she felt like an idiot. He’d been clear from the beginning that he didn't want a girlfriend— had she really convinced herself that a few fun dates and sex would change that? He’d used her.
She went to zip up her suitcase, but the zipper got half away around its track and wouldn’t budge.
She hadn’t bothered to fold her items and return them to their packing cubes, and now nothing fit.
She pulled and pulled on the zipper, with one hand, while using her body weight and her other arm to try and force it closed.
Still, no. She moaned in frustration and kicked the hard shell of the suitcase. I don’t have time for this.
Someone knocked on the door.
Avery froze. Please don’t be Teddy.
“Aves, everything okay in there? It sounds like a WWE match is going down.” Phew, it’s Stacey. Avery took a deep breath and wiped her face with the bottom of her coverup before opening the door, trying to get ahold of herself.
“What’s wrong?” Stacey asked, her voice full of concern. Despite her attempt at drying her eyes, without glancing in the mirror she knew she looked red and puffy.
“And why are you taking it out on that poor defenseless suitcase?” Stacey surveyed the room, noticing the suitcase on the floor.
“Teddy. I told him I was in love with him, and he told me he’s not interested in anything other than being fuck buddies,” she sobbed, sitting down on the floor.
“I’m beyond mortified. I’m heading to the airport, there’s no way I can face him right now,” Avery barely got the words out, choking on a fresh round of tears.
There was another knock on the door. Avery froze, again, her fight or flight reaction on high alert.
“Ma’am, are you ready for me to collect your luggage?” the bellman asked.
Avery looked down at the half-zipped suitcase, a pair of pants spilling out the side. “One second, please.”
“You’re leaving? Right now? Do you want to talk it out before you decide?” Stacey raised her eyebrows.
“No, my mind is made up. I have to get out of here. No,” Avery shook her head. She did not want to relive what just happened with Teddy anytime soon. If she could wipe it from her memory, that would be even better.
“Okay, well at least let me help you with that while you change,” Stacey said. “While you get dressed in something more suitable for the plane?”
Avery looked down. She had almost forgotten she was still in a bathing suit and cover-up. If it weren’t for Stacey, she probably would have gone straight to the airport in beachwear. She nodded and grabbed a pair of leggings and a t-shirt from the heap in the suitcase.
Stacey took the rest of the heap out, and started folding clothing items neatly before returning them back inside one-by-one. “There you go,” she said as she zipped it back up. “Do you want me to ride with you to the airport?”
Avery shook her head no as she sniffled, trying to catch her breath. “No, I really appreciate the offer. But I don’t want to take up your time. Go relax or work. I just want to be alone.”
“If you say so. Will I see you at the race?”
“I don’t know.” Not a chance. “I’ll call you later.”
“Okay. Feel better,” Stacey opened her arms wide for a hug. “I’m here for you anytime you want to talk, day or night.”
Avery opened her arms and let her friend give her a comforting hug. Stacey’s tight squeeze and pat on the back really did help calm her nervous system. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and grabbed the handle of her roller bag. She smiled weakly before she walked out the door.
Her anger had diffused some with Stacey’s kindness, but a fresh wave of yuck rolled over her as she handed her luggage over to the bellman.
She walked to the front door of the villa and left her keycard on the front table before hopping in the golf cart.
She leaned her head back across the sticky nylon headrest. It was going to be a long, miserable trip home indeed, but she deserved it.
I knew better than to get involved with a race driver.