Free Unraveling of Avery Snow, The by Christy Sloat

alone with him, having him all to myself. We had tried it once before, but complications had arisen. Complications named Dedrick and Benjamin. This was our chance to be alone together with no one around. Just him, the California coast, and me.
    “Good , we leave tonight, so go home and pack. I will pick you up at five.” He kissed me and left. I dressed hurriedly and ran down the stairs to grab my keys, running smack into Landon on the way down. He stumbled, but caught himself on the handrail.
    “Whoa, someone’s excited about their trip,” he joked. He still looked like he did last night, maybe even worse.
    “You knew about it?” I asked. He nodded.
    “Yeah, have fun.” There was something in his voice that left me cold. As I watched, he walked up the stairs and didn’t turn back.
     
    I packed my bag with every intention to not forget anything, although I knew once we got there I would realize I had forgotten something. The plus side to being a plain Jane was I packed very lightly. Ianni was still at work so I had the apartment to myself for now. I made a fresh cup of coffee and sat out on the balcony to watch for Dallas. I remembered how many times I had watched the sun rise from this same spot. Those days were long gone and I was thankful for it. The sooner my life went back to normal the better.
    I ended up waiting a whole hour past five, when Dallas said he would be here. I called several times and got no answer. Of course panic set in about 45 minutes earlier. Finally, after pacing my apartment over and over, he called. I answered in a rush.
    “ Are you all right? Is everything okay?”
    “Listen, there are some complications,” he started. “I have to can cel on our weekend.” I was dumbstruck. Finally we had a chance for us to getaway and it turned out to be too good to be true. I sighed heavily as he continued to talk about some big-time food critic coming into Evolve tomorrow night. He said how sorry he was, but all I heard was excuses. I had lived a life of not being able to trust and rely on a man, especially since my father left me when I was young. I felt a deep sadness that Dallas would do this to me, too.
    “First Valentine ’s and now this,” I said nervously. I hadn’t wanted to bring up my unhappiness of Valentine’s Day disaster, for fear that we would get into a fight. When a relationship is new you’re afraid to voice your opinions because you don’t want to argue, but this was enough. I had had it.
    “I said I was sorry for Valentine’s Day, Avery. You know, you may not think work is important because of your job, but I do. This is my career.” My mouth literally fell open in shock.
    “My job? What is that supposed to mean?” Now my voice was higher and I was starting to get angry.
    “You know, your job. It’s not a real career.”
    “It’s not?” I asked.
    “No, it’s not. You basically babysit old people for a living. You can’t call that a career, Avery. I am sorry to cancel, but my job takes precedence over our trip.” I heard him loud and clear. It was more important than me. I swallowed hard at the realization that Dallas wasn’t perfect after all. He had some major faults that were being shown to me at this very second.
    “So you’re cance ling on me, and to make yourself feel better, you are insulting me?”
    “No, that’s not what this is. I want you to go. If you don’t then they will charge my credit card.”
    “Fine, Ianni and I will go.” I started pacing again out of frustration. He was lucky he wasn’t here or else I would be throwing dishes at him.
    “I need her here, she i s the best presence we have,” he said.
    “Wait,” I paused, realizing he was saying he needed her because she was pretty. “You need her looks to help you get a good rating?”
         “Come on, Avery, we both know I didn’t hire her for her desire to work or her skills. Honestly, she is the best-looking one here and she helps bring in more customers. People