Out of town.

“Just drive. I just need to get out of here,” Alexa told Vinny as she settled down into the passenger’s seat.

Vinny could sense she had a lot going on in her head by the fact that Alexa didn’t talk for the next hour as he drove. The powerful engine in his sedan eating up the miles. About twenty minutes into the drive, Alexa’s phone started to blow up with people trying to ring her, and then a steady stream of text messages when she didn’t answer. Alexa didn’t bother answering them before she ended up holding down the power button on her cell and turning it off completely. Not long after that, a message came through on Vinny’s phone. It chirped and vibrated in his pocket, but Alexa didn’t turn from where she was staring out the window to notice it. Respecting the mood she was in, Vinny turned his phone to silent mode and pulled it out of his pocket to read the text.

The screen glowed in the early twilight. ‘Hi Vincent. It’s Bernice, Alexa’s friend. I just wanted to make sure she’s alright’.

It was Alexa’s bosomy redheaded friend and bridesmaid. With Gillian, they were Alexa’s best friends. Vinny had seen her in the past and, if he was honest, had checked out. If things had gone to plan with the wedding, Vinny might have given himself a chance of something happening with the buxom banger at the reception. Now, everything was up in the air. He didn’t know how Bernice had come by his phone number, Vinny wasn’t sure if Daniel had it or not, but given the circumstances, it wasn’t such a surprise that someone from the bridal party had been able to track him down.

Vinny didn’t think he was betraying Alexa by messaging back. She’d said she’d make it right tomorrow morning, and the wedding would still go ahead. He’d try to prevent Daniel from going completely mental by sending a small ray of hope at least.

‘She's ok. I’m looking after her. I’ll try and get her back in the morning.’ Vinny sent.

The message went through, and then Vinny suddenly second-guessed himself. In his mind, it sounded very much like someone bragging like they’d be up all night shagging. “Back in the morning”! It sounded sinister. Vinny quickly wrote out a second message to counter the first.

‘Help put out fires for me back there? xx’

He’d added the two little kiss marks to make it sound a little like he was flirting with Bernice. If it all did work out, maybe he could play the hero as the one who got the couple to the altar. Bernice would go for that, wouldn’t she?

‘You got it! ;-) ’

A winkie face… Vinny noted, contented at the exchange. He put his phone away and returned his attention to the road properly.

As if it were a giant cliché, it had started raining heavily not long after that. Vinny had to slow down to keep them on the road in the downpour. Alexa stirred from her reverie for the first time when they came around a bend in the road and the passage was blocked by a tow truck pulling a silver Mercedes out of the side of the road. Its front was caved in from where it had crashed head-on into a massive, thick-trunked tree. It looked recent, maybe earlier that day. A sheriff’s deputy was blocking the road waving a glowing orange batton to alert traffic of the holdup.

“Wow. That looked bad. I hope everyone is alright,” Alexa spoke for the first time in over an hour as the luxury vehicle was loaded onto the back of the truck.

“Me too,” Vinny nodded in agreement, a slight frown on his face.

After a short delay, the tow truck began to drive off with its prize and Alexa and Vinny were waved through. Not far down the road was a small motel. After what they’d seen and the weather, it seemed like a good place to pull up.

“Should we stop here?” Vinny suggested.

Alexa agreed, and Vinny brought them to a stop outside the motel’s reception. He waited by Alexa’s door for her to get out, and then they went inside. The clerk looked up from a small square television set when Vinny and Alexa walked in.

“Busy day,” the motel worker quipped as Vinny stood in front of the desk.

Vinny hadn’t seen any other cars out front to know what the clerk was talking about, so he decided to let it go. When he had paid for Alexa and his room with his credit card, the clerk pulled down the number 9 key from a rack of 12 behind him. There was only one other number missing, 7, so Vinny had no futher clue what he’d meant by busy.

The door to their motel opened on a plain but sparsely appointed room. It sure wasn’t The Treasury, but it would do. Vinny had stayed in far worse places when he’d first started coming up as a boxer. They didn’t have any luggage with them; they’d left the previous hotel with only their clothes on them, so they had no need to unpack.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Alexa said after a quick once-over of their lodgings.

“Want some company?” Vinny asked.

He was relieved when Alexa nodded her head in assurance. He’d been worried she might be slipping into a funk.