Titanium Promises

Twelve

The motel is nicer than I thought it would be. The man at the front desk tells us about the free wifi and the breakfast service they provide every morning, but I can sense Luke getting impatient, so I tell the man we will check it out tomorrow. He hands us our keys, and we drag ourselves and our luggage to the room at the lower end of the motel.

I slide the key into the lock, and slide it open once it unlocks. The room itself has a single king-sized bed, a TV, an armchair, and a sad bathroom with the smallest shower I've ever seen.

Luke sighs the moment he sees the bed. "I'll sleep on the floor," he says, not letting me argue about it. He drops his bag on the floor and starts looking for the TV remote.

I put my bag on the bed and sit on the edge, surprised at how springy the mattress is. Luke fiddles with the remote until the TV switches on, only to reveal nothing but a blue screen. Luke curses at himself and switches between the channels, landing on one about the news.

He sits next to me. "Are you okay?"

I'm surprised by his question. "Um, yeah. Why?"

"This is new for you, right? You left your home, you disobeyed your dad..." His eyes guide themselves over my body, leaving me feeling exposed. Like he sees something in me that I don't even see in myself. "Your first time doing something... Well, dangerous?"

Chills erupt in my chest, spreading to my arms and legs and covering me like a sheet I'm entangled in. My fists quiver at my sides until Luke rests his hand on mine and eases away the tension. He looks at me with kind eyes, his hold on my hand tightening comfortingly. He searches my eyes for a sign of approval, and I...

"I can't," I mutter. I love his touch, but I can't stop thinking about what happened at the park. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

He frowns slightly at first, but then smiles again. "You need to stop apologizing. I just want you to feel comfortable and safe." He pauses, his voice turning serious. "Can you promise me something?"

"Yes?"

"You know I wasn't raised to be very... respectful to people outside of my family. I want—need—you to promise me that if I ever do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, you'll tell me."

"But I want to do something that makes me feel unsafe," I say. I don't know if I mean it, so I tell it to myself, too. "I need to step out of my comfort zone once in a while, little by little. Not something I know I'm not ready for, just something that gives me an adrenaline rush. Like going on a rollercoaster for the first time when you were a kid."

"I think that's a great idea, but you didn't promise me."

"I promise I will tell you. But I know you can't hurt me."

Suddenly the noises from the TV seem to grow louder as the news reporters change to another story. My attention is moved from Luke to the screen. Luke recoils as he sees what the news story covers.

"Over the course of the past week," the news person says, straightening a pile of papers in front of him, "we've been investigating events involving the American Mafia and the altercations surrounding the different territories. There have been numerous fires in factories and—"

Luke switches off the TV, my interest in the story dissipating. He has a pained look on his face, and the moment he sees me watching, he snaps his emotion away.

I pull back and rest my hands on my knees, trying to fill the awkward silence.

"I say we get something to eat," I suggest. "What do you think?"

He shakes the sounds of the TV out of his mind. "I think that's a great idea. I know this great diner that's not too far from here."

"Okay." I smile and grab my backpack. "Just let me do something real quick."