Around and around we go

Chapter 2

   I don't know how long it took me to get my heart to stop pounding and to breathe normally again. I had flung myself up onto the bed and just lay there trying to calm down. If HE's here, they must  ALL be here. I had made it an art form to avoid them, but this time I hadn't bothered to check their schedule as I had to take my boss's place at the last minute for this business trip.

         I need to move rooms as soon as humanly possible. I didn't need this suite anyways. I roll off the bed and walk around  to where the phone is and I call down to the front desk. The wonderful lady, who was unable to hide the confusion in her voice that I wanted to move to a regular room, informs me that they are fully booked for the next two nights. I thank her and slam the phone down a little harder than I meant to. Fucking hell! The anxiety is starting to creep back up so I sit down on the floor and take some deep breathes trying not to have a meltdown. I pull the blanket off the bed and curl up where I sat on the floor and try not to think about them.

About us.

About who I used to be and what this is going to do to me.

        I must have drifted back to sleep because the next thing I know my alarm is going off.  4:30 a.m. and it's time to get this day started. Pulling myself up off the floor with a groan, I find my phone and shut off my alarm. I pull my workout gear from my suitcase and make my way to the bathroom. As I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, in all my flannel-pajama-bedhead glory, the scene from a few hours ago comes flooding back to me and I once again find myself in a heap on the floor. I was hoping that it was just a dream. I must have been some sight! I allow myself a little laugh at myself over this and pull myself back up off the floor. "I will not let them being here interrupt my life, I am here on business and I am a fucking professional! "

        Wearing my favorite bright pink, long sleeved Nike Running gear shirt and long running tights, I slip into my tried and true Asics, and making sure I have everything I need for the first job of the day. I reach for the door handle tentatively, straining to hear if there's any noise on the other side of it. Thankfully it's completely silent. I peer around the door to make sure no one is out there and spy one of the drunk girls propped up against the door, passed out and drooling. I'm almost tempted to check on her and see if her hair is caught in the door like in Sixteen Candles, but think better of it. I head to the other end of the hall to where the stairs are and head up to the roof. I'm only staying three floors from the top so it's a short climb to the top. I swipe my key-card through the emergency door to disarm the alarm, and step out into the chilly pre-dawn air. Looking around at the city spread out all around me, I get my bearings and head over to the east-facing side of the building. This gave me a perfect view over the city to the mountains in the distance. I put down my gear and do some light stretching before I set up my tripod and camera. With the memory of the man from last night still fresh, I run my fingers over the top of my camera and let out a huge sigh. This is going to take some pretty amazing evasive maneuvers on my part to not run into any of them.

        Satisfied with my setup, I walk back across the roof, almost tripping over a cement block but managing to catch myself at the last possible second. I step back into the dimly lit stairwell, put my headphones in, set my alarm so I will be back in time, and head down for my workout. I desperately needed to clear my head and work out a plan for the next three days.