The Cost Of Winning

Morning ,

ASHLEY'S POV :

I wake up on Andy's couch to see Juliet standing over me , staring down , and the look on her face makes it feel like the temperature has just dropped thirty degrees .

"I know , J , I made an ass of myself last night ." , I say

"Brilliant deduction , Captain Fucking Obvious !" , she replies , dropping my keys onto my chest . "By all means , don't let us hold you up ."

I guess that's a semi - polite way of telling me to haul ass , but that' s fine , I need to get home anyway , and smooth things over with Fianna .

Juliet is standing in the kitchen doorway , and as I'm pulling on my jacket , she says , "You know , Ashley , when you first started dating Fianna , we were all sort of worried , since she IS eleven years younger than you . We were kind of concerned that she might be a bit too immature , but apparently you're the one we should have been worried about ."

Ouch ! That sort of stings a bit , but I guess I've earned it .

I get in my car and head home , and I see that my other car , which she drives , is in the driveway . Good , she actually came home last night , instead of going to Miki's .

I get out of the car and walk inside , calling her name as I walk through the house . I don't get an answer , but as I walk into the dining room , I see the table still set with the sad looking remains of last nights dinner . I see that she made all of my favorites , and as I look closer , I notice something sitting next to one of the plates . I move closer to the table , and see that it's a gift - wrapped box , with a tag that reads , "Happy Anniversary , Ash ! Love , Fianna ."

Oh , holy fuck , no wonder she's pissed at me ! How did I manage to forget that ? I'm gonna have to jump through some hoops to make up for this . But I'm also going to have to make sure she understands that what happened at Andy's last night is NOT the way to get someone's attention , no matter what her dimwit friends may have told her to the contrary .

I walk back into the living room , and suddenly realize that something is off . I look around , trying to figure it out , and I see that there are empty spots in the bookcase , and her grandma's afghan isn't in it's usual place on the couch .

I sprint to the bedroom , fling open the door , and freeze in my tracks . The closet door is open , and there are WAY too many empty hangers on the rod . Several drawers are also open and empty .

I grab my phone and dial her number , and my stomach lurches when I hear it ringing almost right next to me . I turn around , and see a small pile on the center of the bed .Her cell phone , car keys , house keys ..... , and the gold bracelet I gave her for her 19th birthday , which she hasn't taken off since then . There is also a folded piece of paper with my name on it . I sit down on the bed , pick it up , and unfold it , and what I see hits me like a kick in the nuts .

"Ashley ,
You don't have to worry anymore about catering to my ridiculous whims . You're free to do all of your important things without any interference from me . You win .
Goodbye ,
Fianna"

No , this is not happening ! She's got to be at Miki's , I'll call her ! I grab Fianna's phone and unlock it , and ........

SON OF A BITCH !

She's wiped the damn phone , none of her contacts or anything are left in here . The only things I really know about Miki are that she has blue hair , a southern accent , and she works at the party store downtown . I don't know where the fuck she lives or anything like that .

I find the number for the party store , but when I call , the guy I talk to tells me that she took a different job and hasn't worked there for the past two weeks . Shit !

I know , I'll call the bookstore where Fianna works , maybe she's there now . I get ahold of her boss , and he tells me , none too happily , that she called him this morning and quit , effective immediately .

She's gone , and I have no more ideas where to look , or who to call . Which , apparently , is what she had in mind .

If this is what "winning" feels like , I don't ever want to find out how it feels to lose .

Notes