The Door (On Hold)

Chapter 3

"Hello, before I begin, may I ask, is this Miss Sarah McKenzie?" Says a guy on the phone. "Yes, this is Sarah. Is this Jack?" I ask even though I already know who it is.

"I just wanted to make sure it wasn't Chris," Jack is my best friend who works at the label. Of course he's in a different state because if he was here Chris would kill him. Since Jack is in Maine, my game plan is to go to Maine to leave Chris. I'll stay with Jack if it's okay with him. I just hope that Chris doesn't find out.

"So, what's the update?" I ask him. "I mean with the deal. What did they say about my demo?"...I wait as the line remains silent on his side.

"Is Chris home at all or expected anytime soon?" Jack asks with a lilt in his voice. "No, he's at his mom's. He'll be gone for a while."

Chris is a major mamma's boy. You'd wonder why he's so abusive. She doesn't like me at all, nor I to her. She thinks that I'm going to hurt him in some way. How ironic. Since Chris's dad died, she's been more hostile. His dad was always fond of me. He kept Mrs. Betton at bay.

Chris usually stays a few days there dropping in here every so often to see what I'm doing and to eat. His. Mom. Can't. Cook. Her food could be like a weapon that they use against terrorists. On Thanksgiving, we either eat out or at our house.

"Okay, here goes," He pauses. My hands are sweating and I'm practically vibrating with anticipation. "They loved it!" Jack finally says. I squeal and start jumping. "This is it. I can finally get away! Wait, you have to help me find a place. Could I live with you?" I say out of breath. "Wait, when do they want me?"

"Thursday." He says and I can hear his smile through the phone. My smile on the other hand drops. Any other time, I would immediately start packing. However, today, this week, This makes me unhappy. I have a date with a great guy on Saturday.

"Cool. I have to talk to you later. There's someone that I have to talk to." I say. "Okay, don't be too long though. It takes a while to get here from New York. See you Thursday." I hang up.

Time to go see Max. Then, the devil.

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When I get to the hotel, I ask Kathy, the receptionist, where I can find someone named Max or Maxwell. She asks why and of course I can't tell her the truth, so I give her the biggest load of crap that I can.

"Max and I used to go to school together and I saw him today at the coffee shop. He doesn't live around here so I figured he was here. He knows that I'm coming, he just forgot to give me his room number." She smiles, tells me his room number, then points her finger down the hallway that he's in.

I find his door and knock. "Max, it's Sarah. From the coffee shop." I hear the deadbolt unlock and I quickly try to fix my hair.

"Hey stranger. You must have missed me because it's Tuesday and we agreed on Saturday." He says as he welcomes me in.

"Actually, that's what I came here to talk to you about. On Thursday I have a job interview and I'll be gone for at least a week. If they like me, I'll be moving to Maine." I say and his eyes go wide.

"You're going to Maine?" He asks and I nod. "Wow. I live in Portland. Where's your job?"

"Just outside of Portland. The place I'm thinking about moving to is in Portland." Max grins and my stomach flutters again.

"I was planning on leaving soon anyway. I could leave, then we met up in Portland on Saturday. You could make your interview, I can unpack and get settled back into my routines. We'll just hang out." When he says that I almost jump out to hug him.

"Max, you're a genius. That sounds great. I have to start packing, so I will see you soon." I stand up and walk towards the door, Max walking me out.

"Okay, see you soon." He smiles, I smile back as my stomach flutters for what seems like the hundredth time.

As I leave, Kathy is whispering into her phone, but when she sees me she hangs up. She smiles and waves when I open the front door.

I wonder how Chris will take all of this. Should I even tell him? That would just give him an opportunity to talk me out of it, then hurt me for thinking about leaving him.

He is at his mom's, so he'll be distracted. Perfect time to get away: ASAP.

'I wonder where my suitcase is.'

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Hello again my lovelies! I know that it's late, but I just wanted to post this because I don't like leaving an open chapter when I have over half of it written.

Again, if you have anything that you have questions about, just ask! I'm an open book!

I love all of you so much! Thank you for reading and enjoy!

~Alyssa