Audry had started his morning by tripping over his own feet, landing head first onto the edge of his coffee table.


    The fall easily split open his eyebrow, swole his eye, and gave him a severe headache.


    Quinn delivered Audry antibiotic ointment, gauze, and sealant via the air service provided by Pathfinder, the subsidiary delivery service of the Rion Accord.


    He hardly seemed to remember the evening prior. It could have been his subconscious telling him something. Or maybe the small amount of brain damage it felt like he had for being clumsy.


    “You sure you’ll be fine, sir?” asked Quinn. “I could call Dr. Helem if your headache persists?”


    “I’ll be alright. I’m just gonna sleep it off,” Audry said.


    If Quinn had a physical appearance his face would most certainly have been flabbergasted.


    “But Mr. Forge, you just woke up not even thirty minutes ago.”


    Audry was positive he was fine, but not so positive about getting the ball rolling for the day like Quinn had wanted him to. The mess of the event showcase had hopefully been quelled for that one instance. Somehow, though, he sensed that there would still be repercussions amongst the people who had full awareness of him not even being there. Whether it would be Mr. Conroy or the woman who stayed over.


    It dawned on him now with full sobriety that the woman was still at his house.


    “Oh shit.” Audry said, “I slept with the damn event organizer.”


    “Sir, I already made sure she was up and ready to take her leave,” Quinn replied.


    Audry cupped his hands over his face. A groan and a sigh later he muttered annoyances for his conscious decision to have even brought her over in the first place. He had told himself that he wouldn’t do it again after ruining everything he had with the last girl for the same actions. He lived and learned, but never truly acted out what he said he wouldn’t do.


    A strawberry blonde with ‘Domina Mortem’ tattooed across her breasts stood in the doorway, partially undressed, partially concerned.


    “We missed the convention,” she stammered.


    “I got it covered,” he said, attempting a smile, holding an ice pack to his head.


    “Thank you. I apologize.”


    “For what?”


    “For making you miss it,” she said.


    “It’s all good. We still hit our target for the evening.”


    Quinn interjected humbly, “Ms. Shaw, would you like breakfast?”


    “I’ll eat when I get home, thanks,” she replied.


    Erica was her first name. Audry couldn’t quite remember that either. She moved in closer, still visibly experiencing the after effects of their prior escapade.


    “You know. I didn’t take you for the fun type I guess, but you drank like a mad dog,” she told him.


    His smile faded away, turning into something a little more disappointed. “I hardly remember it.”


    “Fucked like one too,” she whispered.


    “I promise I’m not too proud of what I’m doing here,” he said, trying to laugh away the inner turmoil.


    “Ease up. You’re on top of everything Forge,” she assured him.


    Ease up.


    That was the first time in a while any of his business associates had told him to relax. Most of them were pushing ideas or their own plans for his life’s work down his throat.


    “Thanks.”


    Ms. Shaw slipped the rest of her clothes on, shouldered her purse, and pulled out her car keys.


    Stopping by him on her way to the front door she looked at him intently. “Let me know when you need a little company.”


    Audry opened the door for her attempting to get her to leave as soon as possible.


    “Sure thing. Drive safe,” he said.


    The two a goodbye wave before finally he closed the door. Yet another mistake on his part for trying to quit his old ways.


    “Now that she’s gone, would you like me to play your ambient relaxation suite?” Quinn offered.


    “Yeah, throw on some Kelly Rowland,” Audry replied.


    “Motivation?”


    “Mhm. And can you start the shower upstairs? Open up the shudders and get me a cup of hot chocolate boiling, please. Thanks.”


    “Will do, sir.”


    Audry threw off his robe, humming along to the song, and made his way to the elevator. It was Saturday now and his goal was to rest easy and maybe go out for some lunch.


    “Sir. You have a new guest arriving.”


    Maybe not.


    Audry sighed. “God, it’s probably a dumbass reporter.”


    “I’m afraid it’s not,” Quinn said.


    “There’s no meet ups on the itinerary, right? Who is it?”


    “A black hatchback. I.T. decals on the top of the windshield. A hula dancer on the dash.”


    “Shit,” Audry muttered, peeking through the windows.


    “It’s your e—”


    “Yes. I know that. What in the actual hell is she doing here?”


    “She’s exiting her vehicle now. Facial analysis tells me she’s not in a particularly bad mood. She is a bit cautious though sir,” Quinn noted. “I supposed there is no need to amplify security measures. Unless she’s good at hiding homicidal expressions.”


    Audry stared up to the ceiling in actual disbelief. “You’re not helping my situation.”


    He was not afraid of her. She was not the primadonna that her attitude made her out to be. But she was still the one person he thought he didn’t want to see the most.


    He pulled over his robe back just as the doorbell rang. Quinn could be heard addressing the lady on the outside that she was free to enter, completely shattering Audry’s moment to think and then act.


    The door creaked open and there she stood.


    “Hey,” he said, trying to catch his breath.


    “Hey.”


    He switched the ice pack with one hand and held the other one out, “Didn’t expect to see you.”


    “I kinda didn’t expect to see you either,” she replied shaking his hand.


    “That was shade, I’m pretty sure,” he joked. She didn’t look unhappy, maybe a bit disappointed.


    “Oh shut up, Audry,” the lady said, putting aside his small talk. “That speech you gave was pretty good. How’d you think of something like that so fast?”


    Audry thought for a moment. “Highschool debate helped.”


    “Maybe you can do a ‘Reach the Stars’ ad campaign or something now? Sounds catchy,” she said.


    “I’ll keep that in mind… But, why’re you here?”


    “Well, I heard you were sick. Thought I’d stop by. To see how you were doing.”


    “I’m doing good.”If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He showed her the swollen gash on his eyebrow shrugging away the sight of it.


    “Seems that other girl is doing good too,” she said, paying his accident no attention.


    “What other girl?”


    “Don’t play dumb Audry, she was leaving just as I drove in.”


    “She was just showing me the schematics for the new Project Skorpio user interface on a module we’re producing,” he said, trying to hold his bearing.


    She rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and sighed. “She was probably showing you a few other things too. God, Audry you’ll never change.”


    Audry looked at her in silence. His heart pounded in his ears, sweat covered his hands. He knew he somehow messed up again. But he figured that he had already lost her, so there was nothing left to lose.


    “See, you think that if you leave for a few months you’ll come back and everything will be different. That’s your problem.”


    A scowl took over her face. “No. My problem is you’re a compulsive liar.”


    “You think that.”


    “I know that,” she snapped back.


    He started laughing. Laughing in perplexity. “Did you just come here to berate me? To call me a lying piece of shit? To tell me that I fucked up some more?”


    “I had some business to take care of. Decided to hit up your convention while in town. Maybe check up to talk to you on a personal level,” she told him, lowering her voice.


    “Why?”


    “Because.”


    “Yeah, because why Katherine?”


    As though she cracked under some kind of her own pressure she looked him directly in the eyes.


    “I just wanted to see how Mr. Centennial is doing. Mr. I-Got-Everything-I-Need and his little dynasty. Mr. Wrong at his finest,” she told him. “Is there something wrong with that?”


    “Ma’am. You’re free to come inside,” Quinn offered.


    He had already begun to send the service drone around the home to gather the hot chocolate.


    The two quietly made their way over to the kitchen counter and sat on the silver spinning chairs. It felt like his home had suddenly become a place that he wasn’t comfortable in.


    “You didn’t come to take me back I’m guessing,” he spoke rhetorically.


    “I never said that, now did I?” she asked.


    “You don’t have to say anything.”


    “You act like I’m the only woman you’ve slept with. Like I’m the only one you understand.”


    “And somehow, on a emotional level, you are,”


    “That’s sob story stuff right there, boy.”


    “Ginger ale for your conversation?” Quinn asked as a bot scooted up to them, with two glasses and a bottle on it’s tray. She promptly denied the offer as Audry grabbed the bottle, fidgeted with the corkscrew, and poured himself some.


    “Wait, Quinn. Where’s the hot chocolate?”


    “Can we go to lunch sometime next week?” she interrupted.


    “What?”


    “I just want to know if it’s a yes or no,” she asked. “Just don’t ask questions.”


    “So it’s a date?”


    “Hell no.”


    “Indecisive as usual.”


    “Oh okay, really?” she scoffed.


    “C’mon, Kat. I didn’t mean it,” he said.


    “Get the hell out of my face, you bastard,” she laughed.


    “But the answer is yeah. Wednesday is good for me,” he said.


    She did not regret informing him that it was still not a date. Though for a second he saw her smile and thought about the times he had made her laugh. He was just holding onto memories.


    “If we were going on a make-up date the world would literally be ending,” she joked.


    To Audry it would be like a fairytale romance.


    “No one in the real world apologizes for these types of issues and suddenly everything goes back the way they were,” he thought out loud.


    She smiled at him. “I know that. I’m not giving you another chance. I just want to know that everything we had together wasn’t in vain?”


    That hit him in the gut.


    “No, of course it wasn’t,” he muttered.


    “Why do you act like it was, Audry?”


    “I dunno,” he said. “I mean, I think I know.”


    “It’s not rocket science. I just want you to understand that me leaving had nothing to do with you as a person. You’ve got the wildest passions, the greatest intentions, and arguably the most earthly results in every single thing that you do. I left because the good in you doesn’t show as much as it should. I knew a man who had grown into being a boss and international superstar. A savior amongst modern man of sorts. But there’s something about your exterior and something just behind it that made me hate you in every way possible sometimes.”


    What emotion could possibly be responsible for what he was feeling at that moment? There was a feeling of immense regret. The memories flooded his mind. Those long nights of fighting just to watch her leave and not return. The nights where he drank himself to sleep. The times where she said he was worthless yet still stayed to suffer the abusiveness.


    “Why didn’t you tell me?”


    “Because I never knew how to express those feelings when I was with you,” she said.


    “And it was still all my fault.”


    “No. It wasn’t just on you Audry. It was on the both of us. You just so happened to be the biggest perpetrator. Make no mistake, I was pretty wrong a lot of times. But you were just on another level and you know it.”


    “So why can’t you take me back?”


    “Did you even stop drinking? Did you stop talking to other girls? Did you stop with the mental abuse of everyone around you? I’m serious, did you stop the jokes that weren’t jokes? Or the self-centeredness? Or the constant changes in mood? Boy, you still have a lot to learn. And I’m sorry but I won’t, and can’t, be the one to teach you.”


    He looked down in silence knowing the answers to those questions.


    At that very moment he couldn’t find any words to formulate how he was feeling. There was nothing that could be said or done. He knew he was in the wrong. He finished up his glass of ginger ale, catched up on her life out of the city, and she left.


    She left and he became a crying mess of emotions in the bathroom.


    . . . .


    Quinn chimed and Audry jolted awake.


    “How’s your head, sir?”


    Audry realized he was fast asleep in the bathtub, all but his face had submerged. The afternoon sun peeked through the skylight, casting angelic beams down into the dim room. Small motes of dust trickled by like tiny feathers.


    “You have a few missed calls,” Quinn informed him.


    Audry reached for his phone and scrolled through his notifications:


    Frankie. 1 new message.


    Mom. 2 new messages.


    Esther Demenkavich. 2 missed calls.


    Lean Mean Bean’s Manager. 4 new messages.


    Lyle Kaneda. 1 new voicemail.


    Kat. 1 new voicemail.


    Big T. 17 new messages.


    Alto Robot Guy. 1 missed call.


    He pondered on responding to any of the messages. He didn’t even want to check his email notifications.


    Quinn urged him to reduce his latest procrastinations and call.


    Audry knew he was right.


    He dialed up the first contact and waited to hear Frankie pick up on the other end. In a moment’s notice he heard the bombastic, loud-mouthed voice of Frankie, a mid-20s overachiever in the realm of technology.


    Audry couldn’t help but perk up trying to understand the verbage coming from the man’s mouth. His Southern Wealas accent did not help very much either.


    Frankie’s one and only reason for having contacted Audry to begin with was to propose a cooperative work agreement. Audry had experience in the past with such business plans. “My friend Micah is a TV show host. It’s called On Air, Any Night.”


    Audry slumped his shoulders. Not a single drop of pleading or money could get him to budge. Frankie was a persistent person, however.


    “I already have enough talks with show hosts this month,” Audry reminded him.


    As said, Frankie was a persistent person. “But he’s not just any regular show host. He’s got a pretty powerful vision for the future of entertainment,”


    Audry inhaled deeply through his nose as he gathered himself.


    “Is he the next Rod Serling?” he asked.


    Frankie paused on the other end. “No. I mean… Hopefully he is. But, yeah. I suppose. Whoever Rod Serling is. No?”


    “Then I don’t want to meet him.”


    “C’mon. Just do it for me. He’s a really good friend of mine and I want to see him gain a little success.”


    “Success is earned. Failure is learned.”


    “Since when did you follow that mantra? Because your pops helped you out quite a bit last I checked,” Frankie chuckled.


    Audry leaned forward, shifting the water like a tempest. “My dad didn’t do shit for my business. It was all me, Frankie. Don’t belittle any of my accomplishments just because you love misunderstanding everything I did to get here.”


    “I’m not. I’m just saying you have had countless chances to get on board with stellar people but you never take them.”


    “You can’t control where I go with my life, pal. I’m having a pretty rough day and you aren’t helping,”


    “I don’t want to ruin your day. But I think you need some more guidance. You haven’t been making the wisest choices lately.”


    Audry looked at his phone screen as though he was looking Frankie in the face, soured and angry. An urge went through him to throw the phone across the room but he stopped himself.


    “I’m not about to sit here and let you talk to me like that,” he yelled. “Hold on, you know what? You and your TV show friend can go fuck yourselves.”


    “Mr. Forge, it’s not that serious,” Frankie told him.


    Audry hung up the phone, sat it to the side, and sunk into the water. He had not even left the house and he was already tired of everything life was throwing at him.


    Life with no boundaries afforded him the opportunity to do things others couldn’t, to see things others would never see in their lifetimes, and to create history. But never did he understand how the seemingly disproportionate lifestyle he dreamt up managed to be tainted by the problems the average person faced.


    He wanted to escape that. He inspired escapism in everything he did. But yet there he was. Hurt by himself and the people he was around.


    “Let us not forget that you’ve got your interview tomorrow at 12PM,” Quinn said.


    Audry leaned his head to the side of the bathtub, “I’m tracking on that actually.”


    “Very well. So are you going to be getting out of the bath or what?”


    “I think we both know the answer.”


    “I’ll connect to the television,” Quinn said. A panel in the corner of the room flickered on. Shortly after that Eclipse Dawn by the late director R. J. Rhymes appeared.


    “If you want to stay inside today, there’s a few new releases that I haven’t heard you talk about.”


    Audry stood up from the bathtub, stepping out cautiously. His body felt stiff and shriveled like a raisin. “You know what? That sounds like a good idea. Let’s clean the house up first.”


    “You want to help clean?” Quinn wondered.


    Audry smiled. “The house is a mess.”


    “Are you sure you’re okay?”


    “Hell no,” Audry laughed. “I just wanted to feel productive.”