Faking Robin

Chapter 14 - Invitation

Chapter 14 - Invitation

Anthony pushed the dusty window curtain to the side, coughing while doing it. He figured he should start to clean up his room, his health was not supporting his sleep in such a condition.

The sun rays directly hit his pupils; he had woken up late today. People had already started on their everyday routine while he was in his deep sleep. His small studio room was located in the second floor of a run-down apartment building, allowing him to get a view of the people below and a fraction of their lives. 

Today he had gotten a special day-off from work thanks to James and Tya, who had told his boss he was sick yesterday. Well, when he had called in sick yesterday he actually wasn’t, but it became a reality.

He opened his mouth wide, yawning, trying to take in as much air as possible to fill his lungs. Scratching his head, he walked toward his hard wooden bed to sit on it before he reached out for an electronic device sitting on the coffee table. 

He pressed the button on its side, bringing it to life. The famous smart phone brand’s logo appeared on the screen and he was pleasantly surprised that it still worked well since he had turned it off months ago. Soon, the phone showed his lock screen display, a simple photo of a full moon he had snapped way back. The phone had finally caught the signal, enabling him to connect to the internet. 

He didn’t want to keep the phone turned on for too long as he was afraid somebody would be persistent enough to keep tracking his number despite the time that had passed. The notification on the upper part of the phone made him relieved, that was what he had been waiting for.

Clicking it, he opened the new email he had gotten from his best buddy, Reagan Heath. 

-Hey, Ray, 

I’m getting engaged!

It was such a short email, but it made Anthony widen his eyes. Engaged? Reagan? But I thought his family was against him dating Ellie.

He typed in quick, answering the electronic letter he had gotten.

-With Ellie? For real?

As soon as he tapped ‘send’, the reply was received within a matter of seconds, maybe not that fast, but it felt that fast for him.

-I sent that email a month ago, seriously. I sent you the invitation; it should have arrived by now. And of course, with Ellie!

See you there, Ray.

Anthony smiled at how his friend referred to him with the nickname he had given him when they were little kids. Even after years, after so many things that had happened, their bond had only grown stronger. Reagan was the only person in the world who called him Ray. He didn’t see the need of replying the email, and turned his phone off once again. 

He walked toward the door, checking for something that would look like an invitation to Reagan’s engagement party, something he hadn’t seen coming this soon. His eyes caught a silver blue envelope. Picking it up, he recognised how he was called as Lightning Boy even in the invitation. That phrase came out when they were Googling their name meanings for fun.

He carefully opened the letter, thinking how it had never once crossed his mind his friend would be in such a serious relationship this early. 

Reagan Heath and Elena Crawford

The two names were written beautifully in cursive silver ink against the contrasting dark blue background. The date and time with the place were written as well along with a simple map. Even without the map, he knew where that place was. He knew that hotel so well he could wander around with his eyes closed and still be safe.