Tina clicked on the phone and couldn't believe how many messages she had it was just one after the next and it was not just texting it was voice mails as well.
Just as she had thought they were all asking where was she? and why did she go? Like that part was so hard to understand and it was like some of them just kept sending even though they could tell that her phone was off.
She had to admit to herself that it was a surprise that Diana called her and even sounded worried about her. When she listened to the voicemails that had been left for her. She didn't know what to expect from her but with the way that they fought she thought that she would be glad that she was gone and was now out of her hair. The way that she was sounding was that she was shocked that she had left and that she didn't talk to her first they had so much to talk about and to deal with.
That seemed so strange to her after all when they last talked it was like she had said everything that she was going to, and it ended with nothing more to say, and she was not even interested in how she felt or what she thought at all.
Tina thought for a moment about what Diana had lost. Diana had lost her husband and it was really affecting her, but she had just lost her dad and her boyfriend along with her mom. Tina could not remember if she told her about Ken. At that time everything was such a blur in her mind, and she had been just so overwhelmed by everything that was going on at the time.
Tina started to wonder if Diana had just found out about Ken, and that had changed her knowing that she was now without everything just like Diana was. Tina was not ready to forgive her for everything, but she could feel the anger in her heart that she was feeling was less now but nowhere even close to being forgiven or forgotten.
As Tina read through the texts, she saw all her friends were trying to offer her some help, but they had no way to help her to get through this. That is why she had not stayed there to talk to them in person. Just as she had thought that some of them were trying to get her to come along and stay close so she could try to get into their college. So that they could still join a sorority together and she could keep partying with them. Saying that she would find another guy once she was there. Or even worse were the ones that said they could put off going to college for a year and they could just party with her there. There was no way that she wanted to slow anyone else down in their life. That is after all the reason that she left in the first place. To try and find her own way in life thinking that she had no other choice.
The voice messages were a lot more of the same, she knew that it would be hard for most of them to understand what she was doing and why. Tina knew that she was going to have to send most of them some kind of message. So, she sent out a mass email to them all that she was okay, and that she was trying to find her place in life. They would just have to understand and give her some time to sort everything out. Before she was able to deal with life again.
As soon as she had sent it out the messages really started coming in and they were all trying to find out where she was, what she was planning on doing, and where she was going.
First of all, she had no idea where to go so she would not even attempt to answer that part of it. As to where she was that part didn't matter either because it was not like she was planning on staying where she was. But she thought that if something like yesterday happened again it might help to at least let them know where to start looking for her. After all, she had seen how some girls just wind up disappearing never to be heard from again.
Thinking like that sent cold chills down her spine. She knew that she didn't want to start thinking like that all it would do is make her think that everyone was out to get her. She nervously smiled at that knowing it was not too late, but she wouldn't have wanted to carry on thinking that way much longer, or it would be too late.
That made Tina wish that she was traveling with someone she knew how dangerous it was that she was on her own. Her dad had always insisted that she was with someone and that they stayed together but she was older now and there was no one that she could be traveling with.
Tina was about to fall off the bed when there was a knock on the door. "Housekeeping. Are you ready for the room to be cleaned yet?" The maid asked with a soft and polite tone.
Tina said, "Oh yes. I'm so sorry. I should have been out of here already." As she grabbed the things that she had brought in and headed for the door.
Tina said, "I will be out in just a minute hold on."
The maid said, "Take your time I was just checking to see if the room was ready yet."
Tina stopped at the door to look out through the peephole just to make sure, and she saw that it was just the maid and her cart waiting to do the rooms. Tina opened the door and saw that the maid was a young girl just a little older than she was maybe 22 or 23. She could tell just from looking at her that she had never had any real money in her life. From the scraggly hair that she had, even though it was brushed and tied back, it looked like she had not kept it cut. The split ends just showed all over. The maid only had some dark red lipstick on. It stood out against the super pale skin that she had. Along with the fact that she was without any other kind of makeup on. It made the lipstick stand out all the more.
Tina thought that the girl could have been really pretty if she had been able to take care of herself better. She still was kind of pretty and the warm smile that she gave her showed that she was not bitter about the job that she had.
Tina gave her a warm smile back and the maid said, "You have a great day."
Tina knew that even if they had been at the same school, they could have never been friends even if she had wanted to it was not that the girl was not friendly or pretty enough it was just that her friends would have made fun of her and the way that she dressed and the fact that she was not constantly made up.
Tina said, "You have a great day too." She really meant it as well.
The maid nodded and said, "Thanks."
Tina looked down at her phone, which was still buzzing from all the texts that she was getting, and knew that she was going to have to deal with this one way or the other. Either she was going to have to answer all their questions. So that they would leave her alone, or she was going to have to simply turn it off again.
She did not want breakfast she was not even close to being hungry yet and she didn't want to hang around this town that much longer. Even though she knew that she was going to have to spend some time with at least a couple of her friends on the phone. She knew that she could do that as she drove. It was not like she was in a hurry to get anywhere, but she knew if she was moving then she would not be as apt to just turn around and head back to town. But for the people that she needed to deal with and didn't want to talk to, like Diana. She would send a text just enough to let her know that she was ok, but she was not intending to be coming back whether they needed to talk or not. So, she decided that she would handle the texts before she drove off, and she could do that while she was sitting in her car.
Tina got comfortable in her car and took a relaxing breath and tried to ignore the buzzing of her phone as the new texts kept streaming in. She had never had so much attention in her life, she was used to only talking a little to a few friends. Now it was like everyone that she ever talked to or that had ever gotten her number was trying to find out where she was and what she was doing.
After a few seconds, she thought about what she wanted to tell Diana. That was that she was willing to talk to her later, but only in texts. If they worked some things out then she might call her when she was ready, but it didn't matter where she was, or where she was going. She was not going to tell her that part, and she was not willing to come back. It didn't matter that she was in her dad's will, she was not going to deal with that now.
Most of them simply got an I'm ok text and that she would let them know more when she knows more herself. She was hoping that was going to be enough for most of them to leave her alone. It was not that she didn't like that they cared about her it was that she just wanted to be away from everything for a while.
Tina looked over the text that she was going to send Diana before she sent it, she still was not sure that she even wanted to send her that much. She figured that it had to be Diana that was contacting all her old friends trying to find out if they knew anything. She was the only one that knew them all, even the ones that she had not talked to in over 10 years.
Tina could not help but feel that this was so strange. To her, she had not thought that she cared if she lived or died in years. If truth be known she felt like she would have preferred that she had died. That way she would not be there to interfere with her and her dad. She knew that this was not just a new feeling either, it was something that she had had for a lot of years. Thinking about everything now, it's easier for her to understand a little of it. But if Diana had just given her the love that she was supposed to have. Then Diana would have been the mom that tina already thought that she was.
Tina wanted to say more. She wanted to let her know all the pain and suffering that she caused her just by not acting like the loving mom that she thought she was. The fact is that she thought that she did something wrong to make her mom stop loving her. But she couldn't tell her that, she didn't want to open her heart to her again. Just to have that woman push her away again when all she was trying to do was show how much love she had for her.
As Tina was sitting there lost in thought she never noticed the guy making his way to her car very casually trying not to draw any attention to himself from her or anyone else.
Tina let out a scream when she saw him grab the handle of the passenger door.