Lifeline (Daniel Ricciardo)

Chapter 61: La Fin 2

I cannot believe that this is the final chapter...actually, it's a good job that it is otherwise it would have got stuck in an even bigger loophole. Not good. Anyhow, I owe a massive (literally humongous) great big thank you to each and everyone of you who has read, voted and commented on Lifeline.  At times it has been rather challenging to write but I shall not get bogged down on that because, well, it's irrelevant. It has however been totally different to Connections and interesting to write in a very different style. While it began as a collaboration story with @lacellak , I really hope that I have made this my own, and thus, done it half justice. Karin has been a very complex character!

Please, vote for the final chapter and I shall be back with 'Connected' very, very soon.

__highflying x

I tore down the hotel corridor and out through the lobby of the Hilton. I was getting looks from people checking in and out but I don't suppose they would understand what was happening to me. I made an attempt to pull my jumper down over my shorts and tried to scratch the tears away. My face was already red raw.

Barefooted, I staggered out onto the busy Orchard Road and searched frantically up and down the street. Of course I couldn't find Daniel. Of course he was already long gone. The pavement was wet and I nearly slipped on the marbled steps as I weaved in and out of the crowds. Daniel wasn't here, and for all I knew he had probably left the country. Again.

"No Daniel, Daniel not here," I whispered and turned back to go inside the building. My clothes were sodden from the torrential rain and I could scarcely see from where the remnants of my makeup had smudged down my face.

Ripping off my jumper as I made for the stairwell, I hitched my poor excuse for a vest-top down and stumbled up to Evan's room. Somewhere within me I found enough energy to knock on the door and it was opened seconds later by Tara, who was still half asleep.

"Karin!" amazingly, she still managed to chirp. Her makeup was smudged, but it wasn't like mine.

"I can't chat right now," I mumbled regretfully, "can I see Ev, please?"

"Sure..." She turned away as the door opened half way. "Evan, get up and put some clothes on! Karin wants to see you and she looks pretty...shit." Tara look back my way and grimaced, "sorry, but..."

"I look shit." I repeated and accidentally pushed past a pregnant woman as Evan appeared at the door, trying to step into his River Island jeans.

"Karin," the blonde greeted me before kissing Tara on the mouth. "We're going to Si's room, come on."

---

In Si's room Si had his head in his hands and Evan was scratching his chin, not looking the faintest bit surprised as the words rolled off the tip of my tongue.

"And then after all of that he said it was an alarm and I went back to sleep, and then I woke up again and he was gone and-"

"Karin, breathe." Evan interjected, gesturing to the glass of water- he wanted me to drink it. I didn't want to drink it.

"How can he say all of those things and just go again?" I gulped. "How can he tell me he loves me but leave me in his hotel room, sleeping in his bed?"

"The best thing for you to do is go home and forget this ever happened." Si said regretfully. "I understand you look a risk and-"

"Simon, we had sex three times last night! It's quite hard to forget."

The engineer raised his head and pulled his iPhone from his pocket, unlocking it as he rest the device on the table. "I'm ringing him."

Evan shot me a worried look and I shrugged, feeling empty. Except I wasn't empty; I was shattered into millions of tiny pieces again. The dialling tone was the only sound that filled the room, minus my heavy gasping for air. I wasn't coping too well.