Betrayal Down Memory Lane

Second Chances (4)

During my break, I called Danny. I sat outside, and my leg anxiously bounced as I looked at my surroundings, waiting for him to pick up the phone.

"Well, well, look who decided to call back. I knew my words enticed you."

I rolled my eyes. "Just tell me the details before I hang up and change my mind." I spat. He simply laughed at my harshness. "You're pretending to be upset, that's cute. I think we both know you wouldn't hang up on me now. I know you want to hear what I have to say."

I sighed in defeat. "Fine...go on."

"Now, I'm in Vegas for a while, and I thought, well I'm quite lonely in this city of sin, who on Earth could I spend time with?"

"Why me?" I interrupted him, wanting to speed things up.

He playfully scoffed. "Oh Nadia, why not? Three years have gone by, we have so much to catch up on." He took a deep breath. "Besides," his voice grew deeper. "We can always continue where we left off." 

Flashes of old memories ran across my mind. 

"So, you want me to spend time with you in Vegas?" 

"Correct."

"And just how long am I staying?" 

"For as long as you'd like." His voice was rich, making me lose sight of what was important. 

Focus, Nadia.

"Fine. I'll see you in a day, sound good?" I wanted to end this quickly. 

"That sounds wonderful."

After work, I drove back to my apartment complex, headed to Maia's to finally agree on seeing Danny.  Amelia, Maia, and I all lived in the same complex to be closer together before the inevitable truth of going our separate ways after graduate school. We were gathered in her living room.

"So, what did you decide on?"

Maia sat with her legs crossed over each other, the palms of her hands rested on her chin as she waited for my answer. I sighed.

"I'll do it. I'll see him."

Maia's lips curved into a smile. "You're sure you wanna do this?" Amelia asked me. I nodded. "It's nothing serious. If all he wants to do is see me, then so be it. Nothing is going to happen between us, and I'll be right back here in Austin, with Leo." Amelia lightly smiled at me. I turned to Maia, who had a blank expression on her face. "I'm not letting Leo go, not after all he's done for me." Amelia smiled to herself once more as she opened her laptop and began looking for tickets to Vegas for me.

"So," Maia cleared her throat.

"We need a convincing plan for this to work." A sudden memory came to mind. My mother used to go to seminars for her job. They were always held in Los Angeles or Las Vegas from what I remember.

"What about a business trip? Or in my case, a seminar or workshop held in Vegas?" I quickly spoke what was on my mind.

Amelia quickly smiled. "That's a great idea Nadia!" 

Maia looked dumbfounded. "How?" She asked. 

"Easy Maia. Nadia has an internship with the psychiatric program she's in. All she has to do is tell Leo that there's a sudden call for a seminar or a last-minute workshop in Las Vegas starting tomorrow, and she can't miss it." 

"I've got to say Amelia, that's a brilliant idea." I grinned. "I agree." Maia stated. "But, how long is this 'seminar' going to be?" She asked. Amelia looked at me. "Nadia?" "Um..." I honestly wasn't sure. I didn't think ahead. 

"How much time are you going to need with Danny?" Maia asked. 

"Not a lot that's for sure." I joked. Amelia lightly chuckled.

"Okay, give me two weeks."

"Final answer?" Maia asked.

I nodded.

"Two weeks it is." Amelia looked for flights in a two-week range. "You sure you want to go through this?" She asked once more.  Her voice was calm and comforting. "Yes, just to face him after what he did to me, you know? I never got an answer so closure would be nice." I spoke softly.  She smiled and gave me a hug. Maia walked over to where Amelia and I were sitting. She placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Tell you what, we'll take you to the airport tomorrow. I don't want you to feel anxious being in the same car with Leo on your way there."

Amelia nodded cheerfully. "Thanks guys." I smiled. 

"All right Nadia, you've got a round trip flight set for tomorrow at 10:32pm and you'll arrive at 1:41am, pacific daylight time of course. You'll be back in Austin on July 5, with a departure at 12:27pm and an arrival at 3:31pm." 

Amelia gave me her laptop for the personal info section to complete the process. Once I was done with that, she printed out my boarding pass for me and I was all set.