who: @nadiaburakgazi where: Valley Ho Hotel
Gabriel was shaking, feeling a bit nauseous as he drove to the hotel Roy had texted him. In another context, he would have possibly wanted to know why the man knew where Nadia was staying, but right now, he truly did not care. He was simply desperate and wanted to find her to talk to her. Because he knew she would never answer her phone, or at least not if he was the one calling. He was not fully sure yet if she would answer the door, and as he glanced at the GPS’ screen and saw he was approaching his destination, he felt less and less confident about what he would tell her. He could not say that he was sorry. She had heard it a thousand times before, and even if he meant it – for real, this time – he doubted she would buy it. He had spent the last week thinking of what he would say if she finally answered the phone or showed up at the door – which he doubted would happen even more – and had concluded that he had screwed up completely, and that for the last five years, she had given him way too many chances, and he had burned them all. He was not even sure what he was doing, what he was hoping for, but he refused to just let her go.
He finally stopped the car and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, before staring at the large building standing in front of him. So, that was where she was hiding. Hopefully, she was not somewhere else, maybe with another man, who knew. His stomach twisted at the thought of it. He didn’t even want to think about it. He had always been ridiculously jealous, even during their times not together. Gabriel slowly opened the door and pulled himself out of the car, before looking at the bouquet of flowers on the passenger seat. It was probably the most desperate move of his entire life. He was never a flower guy and had always laughed at guys buying them for their girlfriends. Reluctantly, he grabbed the bouquet, and walked to the entrance like he was going to the electric chair. The woman at the reception desk gave him a polite smile, and Gabe smiled back, awkwardly.
He wasn’t especially looking good, tired from his lack of sleep – ironically, he was sober for almost half a week, now – and nervous, anticipating another fight. « Can I help you, sir? » The woman asked, and Gabriel cleared his throat, trying to regain his usual confidence. “Um yeah, actually, I’m supposed to meet my – wife, the reservation is for your business suite. Her name is Nadia Burakgazi.” He said, already thinking how she would murder him if she knew he had called her his wife. “I think she’s probably gone shopping, so if it’s possible to have a key double, that would be great.” He continued his story, smiling, and the woman smiled back, looking at the booking agenda. She seemed confused for a moment, and Gabe worried. What if it was the wrong hotel, and Roy had misled him on purpose? « I don’t have anything under Ms. Burakgazi’s name…Oh, but you must be Mr. Parker, right? » Gabe looked at her, a bit confused. “Yeah, it’s me, why?” What if she had left a notice in case he tried to come in? Was it even possible to do that? « Can I see your ID, please? You should have told me. The reservation is under your name since it was paid with your credit card. » Obviously, she paid with his card. It wasn’t like he’d ever notice it. She was the one taking care of everything, he never looked at any receipt. Pulling out his wallet from his pocket, he grabbed his driver’s licence and his black card, relieved when the woman nodded and handed him a key to ‘his’ suite. He mumbled a small “Thanks” and left quickly, heading to the elevator, pressing the button to go to the third level.
The suite wasn’t very hard to find, and soon, he was at the door. One hand clutching the dumb bouquet of red roses and the other holding the key, he first tried knocking at the door. “Nadia…It’s me. Please, I just want to talk.” He spoke, and it appeared in his tone that he had left his last bits of confidence at the reception desk. “Oh, fuck off.” He muttered, swiping the key card and unlocking the door, entering the suite and closed the door behind him. And as he stood there, he felt even more pathetic. She didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, why was he even trying again. He knew he had to talk, fast, or she’d never let him. “Please. I know you hate me okay, and I fucking deserve it. For Vegas, for every fucking time you had to throw me back in rehab when I promised I wouldn’t use again – but every time we broke up I broke that promise, and every fucking time I let you go, it was for some bullshit reason, because I’m just a coward and I don’t even know why you even stayed for so long but I’m thankful for that. I’m just thankful you ever stayed at all.” He tossed the flowers on the small table across the wall and took a few steps in, swallowing nervously. “I should have told you I was leaving. The reason, too.”