Before I left, I wiped my face, ridding of the black smudges of eye makeup and dried tear lines. I opened the drawer closest to Danny's side of the bed, finding the small cash box that held the multiple twenty dollar bills he kept. He never had a problem spending money on me, so I guess he wouldn't have a problem with me stealing it.

I scribbled down the address I could remember, turned off all the lights and shut our room door behind me. I clutched my backpack strap as I walked out of the lobby. Once I stepped outside, I looked around for a taxi I could find.

"Nadia?"

I slowly turned around towards the voice I heard. "Nick."

Sadness clouded his features as he saw my puffy, red eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked softly. 

I attempted to smile. "I'm fine." I nodded, stepping closer to him. "Nick, can you promise me something?" I gazed into his dark brown eyes. He chuckled nervously. "Uh, Sure."

"Don't tell Danny I left. He doesn't need to know where I am."

He searched for something in my eyes, wondering what I was up to. He slowly nodded, but I could tell he was very lost. "Where are you going?" He spoke calmly. 

I faintly smiled, lightly shaking my head. "I can't tell you that, but just promise me you won't say a word to him. Please." 

He sighed. "I promise." 

I smiled. "Thank you." He smiled back. "Yeah, no problem." I stepped away from him, finding a taxi that was parked by the entrance. 

"Nadia?" He called out. I turned around. "Yeah?"

"Just tell me wherever you're going it's somewhere safe. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

I smiled at his kindness. "Yeah, it's safe. I promise."

I turned away from him and continued walking over to the parked taxi. I took out the address I had written down earlier and knocked on the window. The driver looked at me briefly before rolling the window down.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

"Can you take me somewhere?"

He chuckled at my question. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, Nadia that's basically what taxi drivers do, why would you ask that.

"Where to miss?"

I handed him the piece of paper with the address. He glanced at it and gestured me to get in the backseat. "Thanks." I got into the back and immediately focused on the meter. I wondered how much the total would be, hoping the two hundred dollars I stole would be enough.

"What happened to you?" He asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"You look beat up. Did something happen?"

I saw him take a glimpse at me through the rear-view mirror. "Oh." I chuckled. "I'm running away from the guy I'm spending time with while he left me to go to some house party." I sighed. "I can't face him."

"What, is he abusive? Are you scared of him?" 

I lightly scoffed. "No, no it's nothing like that. We're just mad at each other. I need some time to be away from him you know?"

"Yeah I get it, but you can't always run from your problems you know."

"Well, I can run now, and I'm paying you for it, so I'm sure you don't mind." He laughed, and the sound of his laughter formed a smile on my face. "Well, you're not wrong." He looked at me through the rear-view again. I stifled a giggle.

...

"Yeah, stop here. That's the house." I called out. 

He pulled up into the driveway, and parked the car, leaning back into his seat. I looked at the meter, $87.53. I took Danny's money out of my backpack and counted up eighty dollars. I took a twenty-dollar bill from my wallet, adding it to the eighty. "Here." I handed him the bills. 

He looked at me kindly, noticing I was tipping him. "Oh, wow thanks." 

I smiled. "No problem. You were nice, and I enjoyed the ride. I wasn't expecting to talk to my cab driver at all." He gave me a half-smile and stuffed the money in his pocket. "Thanks." He paused.

"I hope you work things out with that guy."

I smiled. "Thanks. Me too." I opened the back door, and stepped out, waving goodbye to him before gently shutting the door. I sighed, watching him drive off into the night.

I turned around to face the two-story house in front of me. I hoped someone was home, or this trip would have been a waste. And I'm sure that taxi guy was long gone. 

I slowly walked up the driveway, looking around the barren front yard with a few desert plants, and cacti. I took a deep breath as I approached the front door, ringing the doorbell twice. I heard the latches of the door unlock, and my shoulders relaxed a bit. The door opened, and there she was.

"Hey Jean."

She hadn't changed much. Her honey brown eyes were still bright as ever and her straight dark hair still fell slightly past her ears.

Her eyes widened. "Nadia?" She gasped. "Oh my god, what are you doing here?" She quickly gestured me to come inside. Jean suddenly pulled me into a hug. "Girl, what's going on?"

Jean was three years older than me. I met her my freshman year in college while she was a senior. She made my college experience a lot better, and I missed her dearly after she graduated. She moved to Las Vegas a year after she graduated and promised to keep in touch with me. Jean was kind of like my mentor.

I felt the tears start to come back as she hugged me. She pulled away from me, tucking the hair that was in my face behind my ear. I sniffled. "Jean, I fucked up." I curled my lips back to prevent myself from crying.

"I fucked up so bad."

My voice cracked as I shook my head, remembering the phone call with Leo. Her expression softened. "Hey, come here," She guided me to a couch, and sat down next to me. "What happened?" She asked, placing a hand on my knee. I wiped my eyes, clearing my throat.

"God, I'm so stupid Jean. I let Maia convince me to see Danny again, and I lied to Leo, telling him I was here for some psychiatry workshop. And-and I was at a house party with Danny and we," I paused, chuckling hysterically. "We got caught, that was it." I suddenly grew angry. 

"All because he couldn't control himself. I tried to get him off me, but I couldn't in time, and he saw," My voice became whiny as I cried. "Leo's friend saw us. He saw me fucking around with Danny." I spoke lowly in disgust. I was full of self-hate right now.

"I went up to him to try and make things better, and I told him Leo and I broke up. I should have known he wouldn't believe me. God knows what he told Leo over the phone, but when Leo called me, Jean it hurt." My breath was shaky as I inhaled. "It hurt so much to hear the pain in his voice, to hear him cry. I never meant to hurt him." I roughly coughed out a sob.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this."

I leaned over onto Jean as she held me in her arms. "Hey, Nadia, it's okay." She lightly rubbed my back. "We can fix this." She spoke softly. "How? I feel like he doesn't even wanna see me again." She pulled away from me and grasped my shoulders. "Nadia, do you really believe that? From what I remember, Leo basically depends on you to feel better about himself. It's kind of pathetic if you think about it."

My eyes softened as I frowned at her. "Okay Jean come on, go easy on him please. He's been dealing with alcoholism for a long time. I just happen to help him through it."

Jean raised an eyebrow at me. "Now that's gonna be a problem isn't it?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?" I looked at her, the feeling of fear crept up my spine. "Well, if he needs you that much, and now you're not there, who's to say he won't get worse?"

I sadly sighed, remembering my nightmare where Leo died from alcohol poisoning. What if he does get worse and drink even more? I glanced up at Jean as my tears ran down my cheeks.

"Jean this is all my fault."

Jean quickly shook her head. "No, Nadia, it's not. Don't blame yourself for someone else's issues. Leo is completely capable of dealing with his own problems." She reassured me. Jean softly sighed. "It's just easier when you have help."

Jean placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I promise it's gonna be okay Nadia. Maybe you should go to him. Try to explain yourself." I stood up in frustration. "Jean how can I do that? I lied to him to be with Danny! The same guy who messed me up and Leo was the one who made everything better! What fucking explanation is gonna justify that huh? What the hell am I gonna say?" I yelled.

Jean sighed, looking up at me with a hurt expression. I slumped back down on the couch, clasping my hands over my head. "I'm sorry. I just-I don't wanna lose him."

She took my hand. "Then give it a shot. Try talking to him. Don't give up on him if that's what you want Nadia." I looked at her with a spark of hope in my eyes. Jean's optimism was uplifting.

"C'mon, it's late. Let me show you to the guest room. By the look of your luggage, I'm guessing you want to spend the night." She smiled. I lightly chuckled. "I can't be with Danny right now. He doesn't even know I ran away...or that I stole some of his money." We shared a laugh. 

"Oh god Nadia, you really are something else." I grinned at her. Jean put her arm around my shoulder as we walked through the hallway. "I'll be your safe haven for tonight."

...

Danny arrived at the hotel around midnight. Lazily stepping out of his car, he noticed Nick wasn't at the main entrance. He thought he must be in the lobby. He entered the hotel lobby, seeing Kris alongside with Nick behind the check in counter. He greeted them with a quick nod and headed towards the elevators.

"Should we tell him she's gone?" Kris whispered over to Nick. He had told her what happened. Nick shook his head. "No, I promised Nadia I wouldn't give away her whereabouts. Wherever Nadia went, it must be for a good reason." Nick lightly chuckled. "Danny must have really pissed her off."

Kris narrowed her eyes, leaning onto the counter. "I don't know, don't you think it's kinda weird how she ran off like that just because of an argument?" 

"It was pretty serious Kris. You should have seen how mad she was." Nick's eyes softened. "She was crying before she left. Or at least had been crying. Her eyes were all red." 

Kris's brows quickly drew together. "Crying? What the hell did Danny do to her?" Her voice rose in slight anger. Nick put his hands up in defense. "Hey, hey calm down. I don't know, but you can't act like you know that. Danny's definitely gonna ask us if we've seen her, and we can't blow our cover."

Kris sighed. "Well get ready, I'm sure he'll be storming back down here any minute."

...

Danny's POV

I unlocked the door to our room, finding it completely dark, except for the bathroom light. Nadia must be asleep already. I switched on the light above the doorway, placing my keys down on the table. Her suitcase was open, just lying on the floor. Her clothes were somewhat disorganized.

She was already in bed, deep into the covers since I couldn't see her head. I gently sat down on the bed, looking at her. "Nadia? If you're awake, and just ignoring me, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, about earlier."

I received silence.

I sighed, slowly pulling back the covers to see her. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What the...?" I roughly pulled back the covers, revealing a set of two large pillows. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." I whispered harshly to myself. "Nadia!" I called out. "Nadia this isn't funny." I went over to the bathroom, opening the door to check if she was in there.

Nothing.

I slammed the door shut, walking over to the middle of the room. I placed my hands over my head to calm down, as my breathing accelerated. 

The suitcase on the floor started to make sense. She must have packed some clothing and ran off somewhere. My eyes darted around the room, suddenly stopping at something that caught my eye. The drawer where I kept my money was ajar. She didn't.

I hurriedly walked over to the drawer, quickly pulling it open. I reached for my cash box, seeing it was unlocked with a visible amount of twenties missing. I chuckled in disbelief. Oh, what are you up to Nadia?

I grabbed my phone, dialing her number.

"Hey this is Nadia, sorry I can't be reached right now, but feel free to leave a message."

I was hit with her voicemail. "Listen Nadia, whatever you're planning, I suggest you fucking cut it out all right? I'm not in any mood to play games with you. So, just tell me where you are, and we can settle this maturely." I hung up, thinking of what I could do to figure out where she went.

Nick and Kris. I'm sure they might have an idea of where she went.

...

"What do you mean you don't know where she went?" Danny asked Nick in disbelief.

"That's exactly what I mean Danny, I don't know where Nadia is."

Danny scrunched up his face. "You're a fucking security guard, how did you not see her run out?"

"Hey! Language, please." Kris interjected. "Nick was on break, cut him some slack. It wasn't his fault." 

Danny sighed. "Sorry." 

His eyes landed on Kris. "What about you?" He asked. Kris rose her eyebrows. "Me? Sweetheart, I'm busy checking people in and out, I don't look at who's walking around the lobby." She pointed to her eyes with her index and middle fingers. "See these eyes? They're on this computer screen. If I saw Nadia, I would tell you. We both would."

Danny leaned his elbow onto the countertop, clenching his jaw in agitation. "All right, thanks for your help." The disappointment was clear in Danny's voice. He began to walk towards the main entrance.

"Where are you going?" Nick called out.

"I'm going to clear my mind." Danny shouted back at Nick without turning his back.

Kris and Nick quietly sighed in relief as they watched Danny walk away from them. Nick's promise to Nadia had been kept.

Danny strolled through the parking lot until he reached his car. He got in, sitting there in silence for a while. He took out his phone and this time, dialed a different number. The phone rang for what seemed like forever, until it connected.

"This better be important for you to call me at 2am."

Maia's voice was raspy with sleep.

"Nadia's missing."

Danny spoke nonchalantly like he was numb from the anxiety of her disappearance. Maia was silent for a while. "What do you mean, she's missing?" Maia's voice became dangerously low. He sighed, rolling his eyes. "That's exactly what I mean Maia. She's gone."

"Well, find her!"

"How the hell do you expect me to do that when I don't have the slightest clue as to where she could be." Danny gritted his teeth.

Maia took a deep breath. "I'm sure you're the reason she's supposedly missing, so you figure it out. As for now, I'm going back to sleep. We can discuss this tomorrow."

"Maia-," She quickly hung up on him.

His face went blank as he placed his phone down. Out of options, Danny opened the glove compartment, taking out his cigarette pack and lighter. He had sixteen cigarettes left out of twenty. He rolled the window down, placing a cigarette between his lips, sparking his lighter. He took a long drag, slumping further into his seat as he exhaled smooth wisps of smoke. 

Nadia's disappearance would have to wait until tomorrow. 

...

The Next Day

Nadia's POV

I tossed and turned a bit before opening my eyes. The room was tinted a faint yellow from the sun rays that tried to pass through the tilted blinds. I looked at the time. 8:53am. I sighed, unplugging my phone from the charger, and grabbing it off the nightstand. 

I had two missed calls from Danny and a voicemail. I didn't bother listening to it, and immediately called Leo.

He didn't pick up.

I put my phone down and sat up in silence. Jean told me not to give up on Leo, and I wondered how many calls it would take for him to answer me. I decided to get ready, I didn't want to think about it anymore.

After I finished getting ready, I packed all my things. I wasn't sure Jean would let me stay another night. I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay another night anyway. 

I walked around the quiet house in admiration. She had a good life at 27 years old. I picked up a picture of her and Oliver that stood on a coffee table in her living room. Oliver was Jean's husband, for a year now.

"Looks like someone's up."

Jean's voice startled me. "Jesus, did you have to come out of nowhere like that? You almost gave me a heart attack." 

Jean giggled. "Well, this is my house if you're forgetting. I didn't just come out of nowhere." 

I laughed, placing the picture back down on the table. "Whatever Jean." 

I looked at the photo again. "How's Oliver?" I asked. She took a seat at the dining table. "He's good. He's on a business trip in Denver for two months if you're wondering where he is."

"Two months? Don't you get lonely?"

Jean chuckled. "Well yeah, but it's his job. There's not much I can do. In the meantime, I just call to hear his voice, or facetime him to see his face, and the two months are over before you know it."

I pathetically laughed at myself. "And here I am, I can't even go two weeks without Leo, without screwing up our relationship." Jean looked at me apologetically. "Don't beat yourself up Nadia, it was a mistake. Maybe you're just, confused." She shrugged her shoulders.

I sighed. "I was testing the waters. I wanted to see what it would have been like if Danny never left me, you know? Then after my two weeks with him, I would go back to Leo and everything would be back to normal, but I drowned in the process. My whole plan sunk last night at that stupid house party."

I suddenly heard the sound of a car being locked outside.

"What was that?" I walked over to the window, peering through the blinds.

"Oh, my god."  I knew that black Audi. It was Danny.

I swiftly turned my head to look at Jean. "What the hell is Danny doing here?" She stood up, walking over to me.

"I called him."

I glared at her in shock. "You what! Why would you call him? How-how did you even get his number?" Jean put a hand on my shoulder. "Easy, you left your phone on while it was charging, I saw his missed call, went to his contact information and bam. I got his number, all while you slept."

I scoffed. "Jean, you are unbelievable. What were you trying to gain?" I asked, peering through the blinds again. 

He was leaning against his car, with his arms crossed over his chest. "The first step to fixing all of this is getting back on Danny's good side. Whatever happened last night, talk it out, apologize if you have to. So, I called him, telling him that you were safe here with me and he could pick you up in the morning."

"Jean," I pouted.

"Nadia, c'mon. There's a lot of things we don't wanna do in life, but we have to do them anyway."

We both looked through the blinds at Danny.

"Wow that's him now? I've gotta say, he's kinda cute." Jean teased, nudging my shoulder. 

"Oh, god." I rolled my eyes, shutting the blinds.

"What?" Jean playfully giggled.

I put my backpack over my shoulder. "I'm gonna go before things get weird." Jean rushed over to the door. "Let me walk you out." I smiled at her, knowing she just wanted to get a closer look at Danny. "You're so ridiculous."

She opened the door and Danny immediately made eye contact with me as soon as I stepped out. I quickly looked away.

"Hi Danny!" Jean called out, waving to him. 

He lightly smiled and waved back at her. "Hey Jean."

Jean leaned closer to me. "His tattoos are really nice." She whispered. I turned around to face her so Danny wouldn't see what I was saying. "You are so gross; don't you have Oliver?" I teased. 

"He doesn't have to know." She teased back with a smirk on her face. I smiled at her, trying to prevent myself from laughing. "I really hate you right now." I whispered playfully. "Yeah, I'm sure you do kid." She winked. I chuckled quietly.

"Thanks Jean." I pulled her into a hug. 

"No problem Nadia. Call me if you need anything." She pulled away from me. "I'm here for you." She smiled. 

I began to walk away from Jean's house and halfway passed the driveway, I turned around and waved goodbye one more time. Jean waved back and continued to stand in her doorway until I was gone. Danny opened the passenger side door for me.

"Thanks." I spoke softly.

"Yeah, you're welcome." He muttered as he closed the door.

Well, looks like we're off to a great start, he's still mad at me.

"Thanks for the call Jean." He called out. His voice was muffled, and I couldn't hear Jean's reply while I was inside the car. Danny went around the car and silently got in. I wanted to give him the silent treatment again, but I remembered what Jean had told me. 

He started the car and slowly began to drive off. I looked out the window and waved goodbye to Jean, and she waved back until we were both out of sight. I sighed, leaning into the seat. Danny glanced at me.

"Did you eat breakfast?" he asked. I shook my head. "No."

"Do you wanna get something to eat?"

"Yeah, sure." I nodded, lightly smiling, as he returned the gesture.

Okay baby steps, that's progress.

...

Danny took us to some place called Black Bear Diner. It had this wooden lodge vibe to it, which was weird since Vegas was pretty hot. I poked at the French toast on my plate, having a loss of appetite.

"Are you gonna tell me why you decided to run off?" Danny suddenly asked.

I slowly looked up at him.

"Or how much you stole from my cash box?"

"Are you gonna tell me why you decided to go back to that stupid party?" I mumbled, immediately regretting my question.

Danny put his fist down on the table. "Nadia, I know this wasn't about Ryan's party, so stop fucking around with me." He spoke in a low angered tone, trying not to bring any attention towards us. 

I leaned onto the table. "Look, I was mad at you, all right? And I didn't wanna see you at all, so I ran off-,"

Danny cut me off. "What, so you're a kid now? You think you can just run away from little problems? Grow up, that's what mature people do. They talk things out."

I scoffed, feeling slightly offended. "If I didn't wanna see you why would I wanna talk to you?"

"So, you don't wanna fix this? You're completely okay with what's going on right now?"

I sighed, angrily looking away from him.

"Huh Nadia? Are you gonna answer me?"

I quickly stood up, silently walking away from our table.

Danny slumped back into the table booth in frustration. "Nadia." He sighed. "Would you just come back? Stop being difficult." I ignored him as I walked out of the diner.

I stood outside in silence, occasionally pacing around as I felt my eyes begin to water. Yeah, I know that could have gone way better. I felt bad for making another scene.

I was thinking about Leo, and I wondered how I could ever tell Danny the real reason I ran off.