Partners In Crime

10• A small folded note

=1 Day left=

That next morning, Marina woke up with a sick stomach and a headache. But not much was new.

Miles, in his reluctant kindness brought upon him by Mark the bartender, offered her another room to stay in after she mentioned the Theo situation. They also offered to get him kicked out of the room, but she declined. It was hard to tell what he would've done if that'd happened. Even so, the fact that he was still here, wandering around the building if he hadn't left already, managed to keep her in her room.

She spent the whole of the last day cooped up in bed, sleeping, waking up again, still thinking about Miles and the bartender, her maid of honour duties that were no longer hers. Just in case. For a brief moment, she considered running away. Ringing for a taxi, leaving her stuff, and escaping to anywhere other than here.

The image of Solana's disappointed face never left her mind, the anguish that her and Miles would be forced together for the rest of their days. Or at least, until their parents died. Alex and Marina were her last shot. And then they went and ruined everything. She constantly wondered what Alex was doing. God, she'd really fucked a lot of things up.

By the following morning, she was able to clamber out of bed, sweaty from tossing and turning. Finally, she concluded with herself, while in the middle of a shower, that it was time to cut down how much she drank. AA liked to say that going cold turkey wasn't an ideal method, so she thought about reducing it little by little, properly this time. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

The only thing she had to wear was what she wore at the bachelorette party, which was beyond dirty. But the thought of trying to go back into her old room left her on the precipice of a breakdown. She knew asking Solana for anything was out of the question, much less Alex, who probably couldn't stand the sight of her at this point. It then occurred to her that Jamie was bound to be checking in today, with his girlfriend who may be kind enough to lend her something. Begrudgingly, she slipped on the dress from the party back on, leaving her room.

Marina headed down to the reception, noticing the toffs around her throwing a glance at her, with a few whispers. She figured it was because she was trudging like a zombie, a point-blank stare on whatever was in front of her. Some sunlight slotted in through large windows yet the sound of spitting rain could still be heard.

At the front desk she faced a young guy, a permanent look of startle in his eyes.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm the maid of honour for the wedding tomorrow. Just wanted to see if-a member of the wedding band checked in today."

"Certainly, give me one moment."

He started scanning the computer in front of him. Marina leaned over the desk, her entire body exhausted and her thoughts muddled. She was too afraid to look around in case anyone she didn't want to see would be there.

Unfortunately for her, it only took a few minutes before someone she didn't want to face approached her by the desk.

"Marina? What are you doing?" Erin's voice called to her shortly before she came up beside her. Strangely enough, she didn't look ready to strangle her.

"Oh-I'm..."

"Are you-leaving?"

"I-no, I'm not." She didn't think, anyway.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God, I was so worried about you. You went missing that night and no one's seen you since."

"Sorry, ma'am," said the man at the desk, "but I've just had a look on the system for you and the band member who was checking in today has come in around ten o' clock this morning."