Oliver Ausman Lives Again

fourteen

"Well-- No, I just... Please?" I pull out the magic word, not knowing what else to say.

She shakes her head, no longer trying to hold the manufactured grin. "I'm sorry. It's against company policy."

"We came all the way from Virginia," Charlie speaks up, resting his chin on the counter and looking up at the woman. "We came here just to meet him."

I look back to her, but she seems jarringly unaffected by Charlie's puppy dog expression. 

"Again, I apologize, but I can't tell you any employee information."

"Please," Kat chimes in, "We're just asking about a name, nothing else. Just if there's any man who works here named Isaac."

"Yes, which is employee information," she repeats, voice getting snippier.

Kat lets out a short huff, gesturing to the woman's blazer, where her name tag is displayed on the thin lapel. "Well I know your name, Monica."

Monica sighs, pressing her lips together. "Do the three of you plan on checking in with us today?"

My stomach sinks-- this isn't going anywhere. "No. Thanks anyway."

"What-- that's it?" Kat questions, following me away from the counter, Charlie trailing behind her. 

"I don't know!" I lead us back outside into the stale morning air. The two of them look to me as I lean against one of the supports of the awning over the entryway.  "What else am I supposed to do?"

She looks down, silently admitting that she doesn't know either.

I close my eyes, letting my head fall back against the hard surface. "God, I feel like an idiot."

"Don't," she says firmly. 

"I can't help it. I should've known."

"There's no way you could've known we'd get Hilton's most loyal employee," she argues. 

"It's not just that. I should've known none of this would work out. It was a stupid, insane thing to do-- running off to New York, a city filled with millions of people, and trying to find a man I've never even met."

"Oliver, just breathe for a second, okay? I mean it sucks, sure, but it's still early-- we've got all day. It's not like this is over just because of one inconvenience. We'll figure something out, or--" she pauses. "Charlie?"

My eyes shoot open at the lack of a response, only to see Kat turning around, looking every which way, expression panicked.

"Holy shit," I push myself off of the cold metal, my heart already feeling like it's going to burst. I close my eyes for forty seconds and my brother disappears into America's biggest city. Perfect. "Charlie?" I call out, praying for a response that doesn't come.

"Oh my God-- I swear he was right next to me when we came out," Kat says, a hand rising to her forehead. "I know he was, and he came over here with us, and..." 

It feels like my brain has shut down, not even able to form a coherent thought. Genuinely, I think I'm about to throw up, and then probably start crying. Kat gasps and grabs my shoulder before the food can start its journey out of my gut, pointing to where Charlie is walking around the corner of the building. He's jogging towards us with a big smile, but I can't bring myself to return it, feeling like I've just gone through the seven levels of hell in less than a minute.

"Charlie!" I kneel down to his level, placing my hands on his shoulders. "Jesus! What happened, where the hell did you go?"

"I saw a lady dressed like a maid walk that way, so I followed her," he answers, not seeming to realize that there's an issue. "I asked her, and she said a man named Isaac does work here! She told me he has a shift at midnight to clean the indoor pool."

I can't even bring myself to be happy about what he just said, still reeling. It feels like my pulse might never return to a normal speed. "Do not walk away like that again, okay? You scared the shit out of me. Why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugs, looking like he doesn't feel all that guilty for nearly giving me a heart attack. "You were having a moment."

I roll my eyes. "A moment? You didn't want to interrupt my freak out, so instead, you give me one that's a hundred times worse. Very logical, Charlie."

He smiles. "I'm sorry."

"I just want you to understand, I don't care what's happening-- I mean, I don't care if I, like, start miraculously giving birth, or if I'm in the middle of a conversation with risen-from-the-dead Kurt Cobain, or anything," I emphasize, knowing that even though I'm making him laugh, there's still the lingering seriousness from the shock of opening my eyes to find him missing. "You interrupt it and let me know before you go anywhere, okay?"

He nods, meeting my eyes so I know he gets it. "Okay."

"And I think you owe Kat an apology," I add, standing back up. "It wasn't just me you freaked out."

She shakes her head, a hand over her heart as she looks to Charlie. "I'm just glad you're okay. It was smart thinking to ask that lady, but not without telling us."

"Speaking of which, if she's right, there's no way we can just hang out until midnight," I say.

"Why don't we check in?" Charlie asks. Kat's eyes go wide, and I know what she's thinking.

"I don't have nearly enough money for that," I admit, not understanding why Charlie smiles at the words.

He reaches into the front pocket of his colorful button-up, still grinning. "I don't think that's gonna be a problem."

I hope this chapter is accurate, because, confession time: I've only stayed in a hotel once (thankfully recently), so I don't have much experience with them and how they work lol.😅 plus, basing it off a real-life hotel that I've never been to makes it even harder, but I guess that's the challenge of writing-- I've also never been on a road trip to New York to find my estranged father skskskks