A/N - I think a few of you may have been waiting for this chapter. Happy Thursday :)
Broken Promises
.o0o. Chapter Nineteen - Handbags At Dawn .o0o.
.o0o.
"... thanks Jesse. Good to hear from you." Chloe said into her phone. "We're going to head back to Atlanta tonight instead of tomorrow so perhaps we can catch up before college starts. You know ... for old times sake."
Chloe listened for a few moments while Jesse spoke on the other end of the phone. Despite looking exhausted, Chloe smiled as she nodded along with what Jesse was saying.
"Sure thing. Take care." Chloe said before saying goodbye and clearing the call.
"He okay?" Aubrey asked as she came out of the bathroom, her toothbrush still in her hand.
"Mmm hmm. He and Elena broke up. She tried to poison him or something." Chloe said, giving Aubrey a 'what are you doing?' look.
"Thought I'd brush my teeth while I had the opportunity." Aubrey answered in response to the unspoken question.
Chloe nodded and pocketed her phone, before walking back to her room to pack the last few of her things.
"Is Red okay?" Amy hissed at Aubrey after Chloe had shut the door.
"Think so." Aubrey mumbled through a mouthful of toothpaste.
"I'll go check." Amy said.
"No, leave her please." Aubrey said but Amy had already gone.
Chloe was just finishing gathering her things when Amy knocked sharply on the door and walked in a second later. Chloe didn't have time to wipe her eyes and her friend saw the tear stained cheeks as she looked over.
"Yoos need a hand with anything?" Amy said, uncharacteristically quietly.
"I'm good." Chloe replied and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"Weird day for yoos?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Want to talk about it?"
"I don't know. I'm just so done with the whole thing. I'm tired. And sad. And angry. And annoyed. And ... and ... and ..."
"Disappointed?" Amy finished, as she took a seat on Chloe's bed. Chloe nodded her answer.
"How can you be sure it was her?" Chloe asked, her eyes filling with tears again. "I mean, how sure can you be?"
"I'd never do anything to wind yoos up. I know what I saw at Caesar's Palace. I saw someone who looked like a skinny version of Beca. I'd have bet my last piece of cheesecake on it. Truth."
"And when you looked back, she was gone."
"Yeah, couldn't see her anywhere. I walked around the lobby a coupla times but either the Beca Look-A-Like wasn't Beca or she had become Houdini."
"What was she wearing again?"
"These weird lounge pants. They might have been leggings but if they were, they were too big for her. She had a black minion tee shirt on. Sneakers. Her hair was up in one of those scruffy pony tails and she looked ... well, she looked okay.
"She was wearing a minion tee shirt." Chloe repeated. "That's very unBeca."
"Yeppers. When Aubrey said that yesterday, that's what got me doubting myself."
"And Caesar's Palace definitely wouldn't let you look at their CCTV?"
"Nope. Not without a warrant."
"Did you speak to the manager?"
"Yep. Even offered him a lap dance, a feel of my boobs or smoochies, but he didn't seem interested."
"They could have looked at it for you and confirmed if it was her."
"I guess Las Vegas has a lot of people down on their luck and wanting to hide."
"I guess so." Chloe said sadly. She sighed a couple of times for good measure.
"She really means a lot to yoos, doesn't she?"
"More than you know."
"Then why are we giving up?"
"Huh?"
"Why are we headed back to Atlanta tonight and not staying a few extra hours to look for the Minion? If she means that much to yoos, let's take twelve hours and try again."
"We spent the day taking her photo everywhere. We covered most of the Strip and we asked a lot of people. I've come to realise she doesn't want to be found."
"Sounds like yoos are giving up."
"I am. In a way, I am." Chloe said honestly. "If she wanted to be found, she would have gotten in touch by now. Somehow. She would have taken that dollar and made a call. Whether or not, she remembered any of our numbers without her phone, she could have called Barden or the radio station or Jesse or something."
Amy nodded her answer as she had nothing left to say.
"So, it's time to move on. I wish her well. But I'm so done. And I want to go home."
"Okay Red." Amy said, getting up from the bed. "I'll get the rest of my things and we'll get going."
"Do you know if Aubrey let the hotel know we are leaving a day early?" Chloe asked as Amy opened the bedroom door.
"I dunno. I'll ask her."
"Thanks. I'll be out in a minutes."
"Okay."
.o0o.
"Right, are we ready to go?" Aubrey asked, surveying the room one last time.
"Yep!" Amy said, gathering up her bag and purse.
"I'm good to go." Chloe said.
"We might want to move. Now." Amy suddenly said, her voice so serious that Aubrey looked back in surprise.
"Amy, are you-" Chloe began.
"-What's that smell?" Aubrey interrupted. "Oh my God Amy! Was that you?!"
"I told you we needed to move!" Amy laughed as both Chloe and Aubrey groaned as they ran to the door of the suite.
"That's so gross. I think I'm going to be sick." Aubrey moaned.
"Breathe through your mouth Aubrey!" Chloe giggled.
"At least I didn't do it in the car!" Amy reasoned as Aubrey battled with the door to get it open. "What's that ringing?"
"Probably the gas cloud squad alert button or the Department for Health telling us to evacuate!" Chloe laughed. "It's just my phone."
"Aren't you going to get it?"
"I don't have enough hands at the moment."
"Here, give me your bags." Amy offered.
"Oh, it's okay, it's probably just my Mom."
"Just drop your bags." Aubrey said as she pulled the suite door shut.
Chloe handed her bags over and pulled out her phone.
"I don't recognise the number." She said as she looked at the screen. "It's probably nothing important. If it is, they'll call back. Come on, let's go."
The girls headed to the elevator and Amy showed Aubrey a new tribal dance move she'd made up in the shower that morning while they waited for it to arrive at their floor. Chloe checked her phone again and decided to call the number back. It rang twice before the elevator door dinged and Chloe hung up in order to ride. They reached the ground floor and the lobby in a minute or so and headed straight towards the valet parking.
"Aren't we checking out?" Chloe asked as Aubrey handed over the valet stub for her car.
"I paid upfront when we checked in." Aubrey explained. "I called down for a final bill when you were both in the shower this morning and settled Amy's room service check."
Amy suddenly found a piece of fluff on her right shoulder highly interesting.
"We don't need to hand the keycard back in as they just expire when our booking is finished with."
"Handy Harry." Amy said.
"Huh?" Chloe asked, looking confused.
"Oh, it just means good." Amy explained. "Here's your car Bree."
"Can I drive first shift?" Chloe asked as they piled their bags into the trunk. "Need a bit of a distraction."
"Of course. I'll ride in the back for now." Aubrey said. "I need to call my father anyway."
"Mind if I do?" Amy asked. "I want to trim my toenails."
"Gross."
Chloe tipped the valet as he handed her the keys and she got into the driver's side. Adjusting the seat, she was ready to go after a few moments.
"I'm so looking forward to going back to Barden, you know, back home." She said, starting the engine.
"Me too. I need my own bed." Amy said.
"Why did you end up in my bed last night?" Aubrey asked Amy, suddenly remembering that she'd had a visitor in the middle of the night.
"I was scared of the lightning." Amy admitted. "I don't like it and I figured that yoos wouldn't stand for the lightning coming in to get me."
"You are so weird."
"Wow, have we found something the Australian doesn't like?" Chloe asked.
"Well, there was a time when my great uncle took my dad and I kangaroo watching and we camped out under some trees by the lake. Little me went wandering during a storm and I ended up getting struck by lightning."
"That explains a lot!" Chloe laughed.
"Are you serious?" Aubrey asked.
"Yeah, no bullshit." Amy said. "It's why my teeth are so white."
"Not sure of the connection but I'm glad there is a reason for you ending up in my bed rather than you just being you."
"You'll never know, will y-"
Chloe's phone began to ring again and she looked at the screen on the dashboard that displayed the caller's number as her phone had automatically hooked up to Aubrey's car's bluetooth.
"Oh, it's the same number." She said, looking down at her phone.
"One of those cold callers, probably."
"Hook it up to the bluetooth quickly and I'll give them a piece of my mind." Aubrey said.
"I'll answer, it's okay."
"Or I could answer it and pretend that I am the Queen of England." Amy laughed.
"Guys, it's cool." Chloe said, pressing the answer button on the steering wheel as she approached the intersection and rolled to a stop as the lights were on red.
"Hello caller!" Chloe said happily as she looked over to Aubrey and winked.
"Chloe?"
"Yes, this is she." Chloe said. Suddenly she looked towards the number on the dashboard screen and took a sharp intake of breath. Amy and Aubrey could see the colour had drained from her face. "Hello?"
The faint hum on the line said someone was still connected.
"Hang up, it's probably someone trying to sell you a penis enlarger." Amy giggled from the back of the car.
"Hello?" Chloe repeated, ignoring the car horns behind her as she willed herself to be right about who was on the other end of the phone. "Beca, is that you?"
.o0o.
A/N - I know, I know, another short chapter, hence the midweek updateyness! Next chapter will be up in a couple of days (Saturday) if anyone is still reading along! xx