Page 87 of Frankie and the Fed

An hour later, I no longer feel the cold. I’m warm and comfortable, but I know it’s not good. The heat is an illusion. I get up and decide to rent a room at the nearest hotel before I lose my fingers to frostbite.

“I’m sorry, sir, but without a means of payment, I can’t give you a room,” the clerk insists.

“Call the manager. They know me here.” Why the hell did my phone have to die?

“Again, I’m sorry, sir, but it’s late. I can’t wake up the manager in the middle of the night. If you don’t have a credit card, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

I see how he looks at me. He can smell the alcohol and thinks I’m a homeless drunk. Not far from the truth, though. I have nowhere to go, and I am drunk.

“I’ll make sure this hotel goes out of business.” I raise my voice, and one worker turns his head to me. Damn, I'm drunk and losing control. I need to leave before the situation gets worse and something happens that I’ll regret tomorrow.

I only have my keys and a dead phone. I stare at the keys.

The keys.

I can sleep in the office.

CHAPTER36

Ayala

The world looks different after a night without him. I miss him and have to remind myself why I wanted him gone yesterday. His phone is off, and I assume the battery must be dead. I decide to go down to the apartment below and talk to him.

The sign hanging on the apartment door reads “Benson,” and that confuses me. Am I on the wrong floor? I knock, and an unknown man opens the door.

“May I help you?”

“Oh, I think I’m confused,” I say. “Do you live here?”

“For about a year,” he answers. “Why are you asking?”

“I thought the apartment would be empty.”

“Ah.” A look of understanding comes over his face. “Did you come to see the apartment? I’m sorry, but it’s irrelevant. The owner told me he wanted to end the lease at the end of the year, but he didn’t send the cancellation notice, and I renewed it. So I have another year here.”

He closes the door behind him, and I break down. Go to hell, Ethan! There is no apartment? What else did you lie to me about?

Maybe it’s all been one big pretense. I can’t handle all this now. I don’t even have anywhere to go.

I call my only friend here. “Olive.”

“Ayala. Come on. I love you, but why on Saturday morning? Let me sleep,” she moans in a hoarse voice. “This is the only day I don’t need to get up early.”

“Can I come to stay with you for a while?” I ask, my voice shaking as I try to hold back the tears.

“What’s happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, but I need somewhere to stay until I find my own place.”

“You’re always welcome here, but what happened with Ethan?”

“I’ll tell you when I get there.” I hang up and rush to pack some things in a large suitcase. My closet is quite full. So different than my days at Lunis. There are dresses, shoes, blouses, pants, and even jewelry Ethan bought me. I only take enough clothes for a few days. If I take more, it will be final.

I still have hope.

* * *

“Ayala.” Olive hugs me tightly in the doorway of her apartment. “Come in.”