The Stranger on the Train

Chapter 4: New York

Pov y/n

New York is busy but I expected that.
My eyes look around, darting from one tall building to another while I walk through the streets to find my hotel.

I navigate through a small crowd of people and continue my way.
Eventually I have to get my phone out to look up the way. I may have gotten lost a few streets back but I suppose that's part of the adventure when visiting New York.

Around fifteen minutes later, I find my hotel. It's not very glamorous but I didn't want that anyway. It just would have been overly expensive.
I go to the counter and check-in. The friendly woman behind the counter gives me my key and tells me where my room is. With a polite nod I thank her and make my way to the elevator.
My room isn't high up, just the fifth floor.

When I reach it, I open the door with my key and step in.
It's small but has everything I need. There's a comfortable looking double bed, a small bathroom with a shower and a tiny fridge that I suppose contains overly expensive snacks. It's small but clean and that's all that matters.

I close the door behind me and pull my suitcase towards the closet next to the bed. When the weight of my backpack is lifted off my shoulders, I sigh in relief and fall back onto the bed. It really is comfortable.
My eyes wander to the window that looks out onto the street and the houses on the other side, nothing special.

After a few more seconds of just laying there, I get up and start to unpack my suitcase. I don't know for how long I will live here but I hope not for too long.
But I still don't want to live out of my bag.
When I unpack my backpack, I stop when I pull out the picture frame. My finger traces over the glass and my eyes are glued to this one face. My heart clenches for a few seconds but I put on a smile and put the picture onto my nightstand.

The rest is unpacked quickly and I sit back down on my bed.
Exhaustion washes over me, the busy morning, the train ride, the excitement and the walk here made me tired. So, I lay down on my bed and look up at the ceiling, my hands resting next to my body.

The buzzing of my phone brings me back to reality and I take it to look who texted me. I smile at the message my mom sent me and decide to call her. It only takes a few seconds until she picks up.

"Hey, honey." She greets me and I smile at the sound of her familiar voice in these foreign surroundings.

"Hey Mom." I say back. "I wanted to let you know that I arrived safely and am in my hotel room now."
She lets out a breath and I can almost see her body relaxing at the information.

"That's great, how was the train ride?" She asks and I smile when I remember Scarlett and Rose.

"It was good, time almost flew by and no complications. How are you, Mom?" I ask and shuffle a little to rest my head on a pillow.

"I'm alright, still a little sad you left but that's just the process of growing up and you're 25, you can't forever live here." She sighs and I nod, even though she can't see it.

It was hard for my mother when I told her I would move but she understood it. Still, it wasn't easy to watch her oldest daughter move to a different state.
My college was in the same state and I was able to visit my family on the weekends but now with the long train ride, that probably won't happen very often.
I won't lie, I miss my home too but I needed to get out of there, I needed to get my own life together and find out who I am and who I want to be. Sounds cheesy, I know but after living in a small town for almost twenty-two years, it feels good to be independent now.

"How are Marla and Bennett?" I ask. My mom calls for them and a few seconds later, I hear my sister's voice through the phone.

"Hey, y/n. Can you tell Bennett that I can get your room now?" She quickly asks before the phone is ripped out of her hand and after some short bantering, I hear my brother's voice.