Her way ✧ (Richie White)

10.

At six-thirty am I woke up. Had a shower and got dressed for 'school'. My parents saw the bag in my hand when I came downstairs for breakfast. "Packed already? You must be excited to see Cory," Mom commented. "Yeah totally. Don't miss me too much," I joked. She laughed a little and kissed my head.

Mom and Dad left first for work. I waved them off until they were out of sight and I grinned. Now free of adult supervision, I made my way to the condo and waited patiently for Richie, who was awfully late. He showed up an hour later than originally agreed.

"There you are. What took you so long?" I huffed, stretching out my aching legs. "I forged us both sick notes but I accidentally forgot mine so I had to run back home to grab it, then I had to meet up with Carl and Cory who're going to give the notes in. They've got us covered for a few days" he explained breathlessly.

Richie grabbed my hand. "Ready to go, baby?" He grinned and I nodded. We hurried to the bus stop and caught the next ride which took us just beyond of New Granada but not far enough to reach Sweetwater. The neighbourhood was run down compared to where we lived. We hopped off at the last stop and walked for roughly ten minutes until Richie stopped me.

"We're here" he pointed. The old motel was large and beige with a brown tiled roof. The paint was flaky and cracked and the outside wooden stairs that led to the second floor looked like it was going to collapse at any minute. There were only a few cars in the parking lot and the neon sign was glitching dimly out of control.

"It's erm...Nice?" I muttered. "Yeah it ain't the Plaza but it'll do," Richie said firmly. We knew it was gonna be seriously underwhelming but it was cheap and available. We headed inside and the smell of alcohol and drugs hit us. There was a lady behind the desk who was fast asleep with her bare feet propped up. I almost gagged.

Richie pressed the bell repeatedly until she jolted awake. "What do you want?" She peered at us, her voice sounded like she smoked ten packs a day. "One room with a double bed for three days," Richie said. "That'll cost fifty bucks," she then burst into a coughing fit, wheezing until her face turned pale.

We stared at her awkwardly. The lady regained her composure and flashed a toothy smile although she was missing a few. "I'm fine, just a little cough" she snorted. Little?! I thought she was about to pass out. I handed her the money which she counted out loud. Then for a moment, she glanced between us.

"Aren't you a little young to be here?"

"No," Richie spoke with confidence "We're sixteen almost seventeen."

The lady didn't question us again. Either she didn't care enough to or she was just gullible. She gave us a key and a 'do not disturb' sign that was a little torn on the edges. "Enjoy your stay" she smiled then settled back into her chair and fell asleep. "Thanks..." I replied quietly.

We were in room 27 which was upstairs. Richie led the way and we quickly huddled inside, not forgetting to hang the sign on the outside handle before we locked the door. To my surprise, the bedroom was actually clean and tidy which was nothing compared to the exterior. 

It had a large double bed with red sheets and a small tv with antennas sticking out of the top. There was a single vanity desk that was paired with a mismatched armchair. The patterned wallpaper was peeling at the top and the matching curtains were way too long so they touched the carpeted floor. Off to the left side was the plain white bathroom. It was small but as long as it did the job I wouldn't mind.

"See? It's really not so bad" Richie said as he placed our bags into the wardrobe.

"I just hope that we don't have to keep talking to that weird lady," I replied. I climbed onto the bed and spread out. It was very comfortable so I couldn't complain. Richie came over and jumped on top of me, smothering my face in kisses as I giggled. "So, what do you want to do today?" I asked.

"Makeout with you."

"Oh get serious."

"I am."

I rolled my eyes playfully. Richie switched on the tv before pulling me into his arms to cuddle. "Alright fine, let's chill today. Order some takeout later, I think there's a local Chinese place. Then we can do whatever the fuck we want for the next few days in town," he suggested. I liked the idea of that.

There weren't many channels to skip through so we settled on a gameshow that I was pretty sure my parents liked to watch. After a while, Richie turned to me. "Can I ask you something?"

"What's up?"

"Why did your family move to New Granada?"

"The crime in our last state was really bad. It felt like every other week, somebody was dying. With my brother gone, my parents decided to move. They researched for a few weeks before they found New Granada. I wasn't too sure about it but what they say, goes. What about you?"

"I pulled a blade on my principal and the community lost it. The other parents hated our family so they kicked us out, gave us only a few days to pack our stuff and leave. We drove and drove until Ma found this place. Been in this shit hole ever since."

"Jesus Richie," I laughed a little "Is that the same blade Doberman found on ya?"

He nodded. "You know, I just can't seem to stay out of trouble. I mean, I didn't do anything wrong but I was still arrested. It's like the universe is out to get me or something. It wouldn't shock me to end up dead anytime soon."

"Don't say that," I frowned "You're too young to die. Besides, we're going to make it to Sweetwater one day," I said. Richie kissed my forehead. "Yeah, we are" he broke into a smile. Then he jumped from the bed and found a leaflet containing local restaurants. "Let's eat. We've got a busy day tomorrow."

So that's exactly what we did, ordered food and enjoyed each other's company.