I lied
on the floor for a minute. It was the only dignified thing to do after my
humiliating entrance. I was face first on the floor; Ava had simply shoved me
sideways off her. She hadn’t even staggered when I fell on her. She was
stronger then she looked. I had a suspicion that my nose was bleeding from one
of the two impacts. I was betting on the floor.
“I have
no words.” Ava said. “Except for, get off the floor and out of the way of the door
before I decide to close it through you.” I did as I was told. She was wearing
a smirk when I sheepishly looked at her. “You’re nose is bleeding. I wish Emily had
seen that.”
I
looked around and confirmed her words. Emily was not there. I looked at her
with a confused expression and her response was to turn and walk further into
the decadent suite. After a second she looked over her shoulder expectantly and
I obediently followed along. The room was a mixture of yellows and browns. The
table had a dark brown table surrounded by yellow chairs and a large dark brown
sectional. The walls were a shade of brown with a wallpaper wall. It was white
with brown lines on it; I think it was supposed to look like ivy but what do I
know? She pointed at a chair and when I sat down she tossed a cloth at me to
stem my bloody nose. I looked down at my shirt and saw it was a little bloody
and I had a sneaking suspicion that in my stupor I had leaked a bloody trail
all the way to the chair I was sitting in. When I stopped staring at the blood
on my shirt and the blood on the cloth I realized Ava was sitting across from
me in the large brown sectional. She was waiting for me to realize she was
still there.
“Ray,”
She began and paused before continuing, “You never stop amazing me.”
“Thanks”
I replied.
“It
wasn’t a compliment.” She hissed.
“I
figured.” I forced myself to make and keep eye contact with her. “I am sorry
about falling on you Ava.”
“Thanks
Ray. Despite a slight pain where your head hit my chest, I think I am better
off then you are.” She looked at me with that jarring smile and I felt myself
jerk a bit. I always felt like I was the prey and she was the predator. I
definitely knew she was the type of predator that enjoyed playing with its
food. I fought the shudder that was threatening to overtake me.
“Glad
to hear it.” I managed. “So, why am I here?”
“You
mean besides your charm? Well that can wait until Emily gets back.” She fell
silent but continued to stare at me with that same alarming smile. I squirmed a
bit in my chair.
After a
few moments I had to ask, “Will it be much longer?” She didn’t answer but her
smile grew. After a while I started to wonder if she had blinked yet. I couldn’t
remember her doing it and since I had become aware of it I had not seen it
happen. The smile seemed to grow larger and I could feel the sweat beading on
my brow despite the coolness of the room. I was beginning to panic and I was
about to start screaming when the phone by her side rung. I felt relief until I
watched her not look at it and continue watching me. Ava’s relaxed posture
began to look more and more as if she was readying herself to pounce. I did
what I do when I was scared, I began to babble. “Don’t you wish Portland had
another major sports team besides the Blazers? Of course you don’t! I mean after
all you live in Washington. You are probably a huge Seahawks fan. I despise
them by the way. The weirdest thing is I have no real reason for it. I mean I
like Washington and especially Seattle but I could do without the sports teams.
The Mariners? Gag! The Seahawks? I mean come on. The best thing that happened
to your state was when the Supersonics left, because, lets face it, one less
team to despise. Am I right?” She was blinking now and her face was contorted
into a funny and unreadable expression. I kept going. “Speaking of that, what
is Seattle’s claim to fame? The space needle? What is the purpose of that
thing? Speaking of Seattle, have you seen 10 Things I Hate About You? That was
shot in Seattle and I have decided I was robbed by fate because that high
school building looked amazing. I wish I had went there.” By this point I was
gesturing wildly. What came next should have been no surprise because I was
watching her but it was. Suddenly I was tasting foot and found myself falling
backwards. When my head hit the carpet, I was surprised that my knee was right
behind it as it slammed into my face; knocking me out.
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