Chim - Double Walker

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The car journey that should have took half an hour only took fifteen minutes because of my careless speed as I raced through the streets of London.

The minute I find a parking space, I kill the engine and I'm running, sprinting as quickly as I can in these heels. Through the car park, then weaving in between the guests in the lobby, until I finally reach the reception desk.

'I'm-'

I go to introduce myself to the concierge so he can take me to Kimberley, but I am quickly stopped by a voice behind me.

'Mrs Tweedy-Walsh' I turn around to be greeted by the hotel manager, 'We spoke on the phone. Please, follow me'

I nod and he quickly leads the way. I follow him through a door saying "staff only", which leads to a long corridor, lined with multiple dark mahogany doors and one facing us at the very end of the corridor.

'We have rang an ambulance, it should be arriving shortly.' He informs me.

'Wait what?' I stop walking and he does the same, turning to look at me, 'I thought she was okay? Why would she need an ambulance?'

'One of my cleaners found her in the store closet when she was getting more detergent. She was tied up with extension cords in nothing but her underwear, surrounded by open bottles of bleach.' He explains, 'her chest is tight and wheezing with each breath so we thought it would be best to get her checked. To make sure she and the baby are okay.'

'Well why didn't you tell me this over the phone?' I question, 'why am I only just hearing about this?'

'I did try to tell you over the phone, but you hung up before I could.'

'Oh... Sorry' I mumble, feeling bad for snapping at him.

He smiles understandingly before continuing to walk. We eventually stop at the final door, facing the rest of the corridor.

'She's just through here' he smiles as he reaches for the door handle, silently pushing the heavy door open.

I step inside, spotting Kimberley stood over by the window, her back to me.

'I'll leave you two alone' I turn when I hear the managers voice again and he offers a gentle smile before closing the door.

I turn back to Kimberley. She is wearing one of the hotel bath robes, holding it tightly around her body. There is a glass of water with a straw on the window ledge, which I'm assuming is hers.

I slowly walk over to her, standing behind her I place my hand on her shoulder, making her turn around.

The second she sees it is me, we throw ourselves into each other's arms, like we have been separated for months, not just a few hours.

I hear her release a sob that she has probably been holding in, not wanting to burst into tears in front of perfect strangers.

But she knows she doesn't have to act brave in front of me, this is bound to have scared her and shook her up. So I allow her to break down in my arms, whispering soothing words of comfort in her ear every so often, along with tender, reassuring kisses every now and then.

After a few minutes, her sobs begin to die down. I pull away and look at her face. She looks pretty pale, apart from the tear tracks down her cheeks and her bloodshot eyes.

Moving to her side, my arms still around her, I walk her to the black leather couch in the corner of the room beside the door. I lower her down into the seat, then taking my place beside her, never letting go of her hands.