I Should Have Stayed

Chapter 22

I woke up and felt my head throbbing. I was just about to get up and running to the bathroom to vomit when I felt arms around me holding me in place. I slowly turned around to see who it was. Ava laid there beside me looking serene and calmer than ever.

Then I noticed that we both didn't have any clothes on. I mentally slapped myself before slowly lifting her arm and climbing out of bed. As soon as I stood up my head started spinning and I rushed to the bathroom before throwing up. I slumped over the toilet for a few minutes until I finished heaving up the acid in my stomach.

I stumbled to the sink and gulped down some water from the faucet and then went back into the room. I watched Ava as she slept. Thankfully, me in the bathroom didn't wake her. I went to a bag in the corner and took out a little box. As I went back into the bathroom I grabbed a granola bar and some clothes as I shut the door and locked it. I stood there looking at my body for a moment in the mirror. There were tiny scars and big scars in all sorts of places. I guess I was sort of happy that Ava hadn't of questioned them, but then when I thought back to last night, I really didn't remember anything that happened.

I remembered going to the nightclub and then the trip back. And then the kiss... but after that everything was a blur. If we had had sex I didn't remember it. But considering that I woke up naked I'm pretty sure we 'did the deed'. I sighed to myself before opening up the box and reading the instructions on the box before starting. It was time for a change and I had to change now or never. I had to leave everything behind me or have it hanging on my shoulders forever. This small change was just the beginning of my own personal mission to fix the mistakes I've made.

I inspected myself in the mirror one last time before beginning, running my fingers through my blonde hair. After I was finished I jumped into the shower and spent another 10 minutes just enjoying the hot water run down my back before actually doing anything. I got out and put on clean clothes before unlocking the bathroom door and drying my hair on the way out.

As I turned the corner out of the bathroom, Ava was sitting up in bed and clutching the covers tightly to her chest. Her eyes were a bit groggy but I could see the confusion laced in them.

"Dakota?" She asked looking at me closely. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to play ignorant.

"Everything. Just start from the beginning. What happened last..." Her words faded off into nothing and I saw her face twist. She got up out of bed and ran to the bathroom still naked. My heart pounded in my chest as I shook my head and grabbed some clothes for her and took them to the bathroom. I left them beside her as she threw up and turned away as she got dressed in between being sick.

I held her hair after she was dressed and then got her water when she was finished. We went back into the room and sat down in the living room area and stared out the window.

"Start from the beginning." She said, looking at me hesitantly.

"To be honest with you, I don't remember much. We went to the nightclub, and we... kissed." I looked to her and she nodded as if she remembered. "I remembered getting back to the hotel room, but everything past that is a blur. I woke up, and then dyed my hair this color and came out and you were up."

She reached towards me and felt my hair. Her fingers ran through it several times before she let go. "It looks so different. But I'm not saying that I miss the blonde hair. The black does work for you better."

I gave her a half smile before getting up and handing her a granola bar as well and then sitting back down again. "I just... I'm sorry that we... you know."

"Don't be. Neither of us know who started it so don't blame yourself or me for what happened. We have bigger things to stress over." I said.

"Like your hair?" She said. I rolled my eyes at her and chuckled a little before grabbing the few items I needed from my backpack. I pulled out my gun that was illegally labeled as a concealed carry thanks to Miller's handiwork and the envelope with Miller's assignments for me in it. I leafed through the papers in it until I reached the one I was looking for. I hadn't opened it in forever.

Get detailed assignment from Las Vegas Venetian Hotel casino.

I could do that. The date and time was written on the bottom of the paper and I knew that today was that day. It was already 12 in the afternoon and we had to be down in the casino by 1. I had impeccable timing. The paper didn't tell me who to get the next assignment from but I had an idea.

"I'm supposed to get my next assignment from the Venetian Hotel casino at 1 today. Are you up for some observation? I need a little help finding the guy that is supposed to bring me the assignment."

"Sure. As long as we can go back to bed afterwards."

I laughed at her. "Yeah, sure. Checkout isn't until tomorrow so sleep as long as you want."

As she stood up to follow me I watched her wince and grab her stomach. "I've completely forgotten about the gunshot wound." She gave me a half smile as I tossed her a bottle of medicine and a water bottle. We then made our way down to the casino and looked around for the guy we were supposed to meet.

We walked around for half an hour until finally I noticed someone at the bar. This was too easy. I pointed at the man for Ava to see and she may not have recognized him, but I did. He was Mr. Donovan. The guy that came with Miller during our meeting back at my parent's house. That moment seemed so far away. I almost didn't recognize him, but he looked unnerved in every situation and my eyes could pick that out from a mile away.

I told Ava to stay there and I went up to the bar and sat down beside him. He noticed me instantaneously and finished his beer and then left a little envelope in my lap as he stood and walked away. I gripped it tightly and then slid it into my front pocket. It would look suspicious if I didn't get a beer, so I bought one and finished it as I played on my phone and then left. Ava was exactly where I left her.

As we were walking back to the room, I noticed that someone was looking at me. As I turned around a pair of eyes settled onto mine and an instant coldness attacked my body. I turned around again and dragged Ava back to the hotel room. I was walking so fast my feet were almost running. Ava looked completely confused like she always did.

As we made it back to the room I started grabbing the few belongings we had and shoved them all into the backpack. "Dakota? What's going on?"

"Pack your things. We're sending everything back to the jet and then home. While we are going on a manhunt."

"What?" She looked terrified and distraught. "Dakota! Dakota!! Stop!!!" I stopped and looked at her. "I need an explanation of everything. From the very beginning of this mess to the end. It doesn't matter how long it'll take I just need to know what the hell is going on. I feel like I'm in the dark about everything, or at least half of it."

I stared at her for a second before dropping everything that I was doing and motioning for her to sit down in one of the chairs by the window. I pulled up a chair beside her's and began, "You want to hear everything from the beginning? Alright. It was the night before the last day of school..."