𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 | ℤ𝕒𝕜 𝔹𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕩 𝔽𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕖 𝕆𝕔

"𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨" | 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 3

(Tw!! Swearing) And also Zak has Peggy in this, so... yeah.

___
(𝙕𝙖𝙠'𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙫)
___
(𝘼 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧)
___

   I got out of my plane seat and grabbed my carry-on and walked down the plane aisle. As I took the step outside of the plane and into the loading bridge I couldn't help but think about the girl I had ran into on the road. And the fact that I just walked up to her and said something along the lines of 'Oh I'm sorry, can you forgive me?' like a three-year-old after they've stolen one of their friends' toys' and is forced to apologize. God that apology was so fucking half-assed. I did pay for the damages totaled on her car, but honestly, I think just completely ghosting her was the right thing to do. If I could go back in time and apologize better for my actions, then I would. But then again, if I could go back in time, I would make sure none of this ever happened.

  'Wish time machines did exist.

   But they don't.

As I kept on walking down the large halls of the Harry Reid Airport, Aaron peeped around my shoulder, making me jump.

"Gotcha!" Aaron laughed.

"Got me good," I said with a breathy laugh.

  A few seconds later, my face rested and I began to dive right back into the rabbit hole of my mind.

"You good bro?" Aaron asked, concerned.

"I'm good, just that last investigation just has me a little worked up." I expressed, raising my hand up and down as I spoke.

"Me too, The Stanley really got me shook up too," Aaron said shaking his head.

"But on the bright side, we got some killer evidence out of the whole experience. We should go back one day." Nick said, chiming in with a smile.

"True, I hope we can," I said.

   I yawned as we waited in the baggage reclaim area, I was tired. I was trapped sitting to Aaron the whole way here, don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, he just snores really loud and sleeps as soon as we get on the plane.

  Nick sat in the back of the plane, he tends to keep to himself and read some books, or take a nap whilst we ride home.

  Anyways, I grabbed my bag and we found a taxi to take us to my house.

  Everyone had their own houses, of course. But usually, after an investigation, everyone just crashes at my house so we can further analyze evidence. We arrived at my house and unlocked the front door and made our way in. 

  HOME AT LAST.

  We have been on the road for the last week and even if I'm only home for around 5 days before I got to leave again I'm so fucking glad to be home.

  I head up the dark-stained wooden stairs to my room, I see the familiar dark walls of my room and set my suitcase on the floor, and basically nose-dived into my bed.

  I took a quick hour nap because I needed to head over to the museum to see how things were holding up, and I figured if I could get there before opening I could check how the operations were moving along.

  I went to my bathroom and took a shower, I dried off my body and blow-dried my hair. I then put gel in it and opened my bathroom door and went to my closet. I chose a black shirt with dark blue jeans and some black leather converse. Then, I put on a silver chain around my neck and paired that with some Ray-Ban sunglasses, and some cologne.

  I grabbed my iPhone 4 and walked out of my bedroom and down into the living room. I checked the time, 9:25. I waved Nick and Aaron goodbye and went down into my garage. I saw the black Porsche, and instantly I was overflowed with memories of that day.

  After a few moments of silence, I went over to my other car, a grey no-top Jeep. I figured this would be good because it's hot out there in the scorching desert of a Nevada sun.

  I got out onto the road and enjoyed the familiar sights of Las Vegas. When I got to the museum, I hopped out of my car and went to the back door. I unlocked it. This back door takes you to a secret room that is concealed by a hidden door disguised as a bookshelf. Genius? You could say that.

  I opened the door and walked around and said hello to all of the staff, and asked them how they were and how they thought things were running around here. All of them said that it was running smoothly and that usually every day they are booked up back to back.

  I thanked them for doing such a wonderful job while I was away, and I went into one of the other secret rooms to hang out for a little while.

 I got out a book and started reading. After a bit, I checked the time, 10:20. Great. I have to wait until the next group leaves until I can be able to leave without disturbing their tour.

  I heard one of the tour guides talking and then followed by some "Oohs" and "Aahs". When they all left, it went silent. And then I heard single footsteps. Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump. And then, the creak of the door opened, and the inside of the museum was revealed. I looked to what caused this door to open, and of course, it was no one else but,

𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕝𝕖𝕪.

"Zak?" She asked, confused.

"Ashley?" I asked, just as confused.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was taking the tour, and then I got lost. They take a lot of secret passageways during this tour, and I thought 'Possibly another bookshelf?' but no, clearly not. So, I'm lost I guess." She explained, her face changing as she explained different sections of the tale. Kinda cute. Huh.

"I can show you," I said, almost instantly after she stopped talking.

"Really? That would be great," Ashley said with a sigh.

I moved out of the secret room and closed it up. I put my book back where it belonged and began walking with her. I could see her brown curls and below that her black sling. Her light skin glistened against the light ahead. You could tell she had very light makeup on and some studded earrings because her hair was tucked behind one ear.

"Well," I said, walking down the hallway, pointing to the Peggy doll.

"That doll is hell encased in a glass box." 

"How did you get it?" She asked.

"Bought it," I said.

"Where?" She said questioningly, her face contorting cutely as she asked.

"I have my ways." I chuckled.

"Cool," She said in awe.

  I showed her around the rest of the museum, taking pictures with fans as they come. We came to the gift shop and she bought a haunted museum hoodie, but I think she got it too big because it looked big as hell on her. I laughed as she whined about how big it was. I could tell that we were getting along much better. And I liked that.

  Before we went outside, she convinced me to take a selfie with her, and in the selfie, the sun shone through the window and onto our faces, shes doing a pose with her tongue out and I'm smiling,

"Send me that photo," I say.

"Okay." She agreed

  She hands me her phone and I type in my number and put my name as Zak, then I hand my phone back to her.

"This was great, I have to go now though, bye!" She says with a frown.

"Don't sweat it, Bye," I say reassuringly.

  And with that, she opened the door and left. I watch as she catches a cab and heads home.

  Just like that, I'm hooked.

  I want to be around her more and more. She is bright, funny, and nice. Her expressions speak more than her words. And I love that about her. She could be mute and still share her good with the world flawlessly.

___
Date Published: 4/10/2022 | 12:42 A.M.
Word Count: 1363 Words