Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Chapter 18

Cold light flooded the room. Rivers jolted upright and banged his head against a shelf. Surely it wasn't there when he'd lay down? Massaging the offended spot, he sat on the edge of the bed, still made underneath him. The same clothes from the day before had earned a few more wrinkles during the night.

He stood and caught his reflection in the mirror—he looked like a squeezed sock.

Outside the window, long shadows tainted the backyard and the glimmering pool as the sun hid behind the rocky hills.

Rivers' Casio beeped eight o'clock. So much for a quick nap.

His forehead fell against the glass, soothing against his hot skin. A new day was rising on his predicament that the night did nothing to solve. The sooner he got out of there, the better.

He cracked the door open and peeped through the cranny. The corridor was empty, so he made a rapid escape into the bathroom. Another immaculate room welcomed him into an oasis of jasmine. The toilet was so pristine that lifting the cover felt like a crime. A silver lining of leaving later than predicted was that he got to avoid the traffic driving out of Vegas. With a bit of luck, he could be at Eddie's before lunchtime. Rivers flushed and grimaced at the noise that, hopefully, wouldn't wake the entire house.

With the care of a bomb disposal technician, Rivers opened the golden tap in the sink and let a thread of water flow. A brand new soap bar waited on a cute white holder with yellow bees that matched the dainty decorations on the hand towel. He washed his face and wiped his armpits in an attempt to become human in the shortest amount of time possible, then closed the tap and hung the towel just as he'd found it.

Before leaving the bathroom, Rivers stood still with his hand on the handle and let a moment go by. Silence.

With confidence, he reemerged into the corridor.

"Good morning!" Cheryl greeted him with a huge smile above the overflowing laundry basked in her arms. How was she so stealthy? She should have joined the Recon Battalion.

"Morning." Rivers cleared his raspy throat that refused to admit it was time to wake up.

"Slept well?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks. I was just uh..." He pointed to the guestroom as his brain continued loading.

"Coffee?" The grin didn't falter.

"Uh..." The door to the other bedroom was closed. Was Samuel still sleeping?

"Go get ready. I'll pour you a cup."

Without caring for a reply, Cheryl dove into what must have been the laundry room, leaving Rivers to the empty corridor and his groggy thoughts. Maybe caffeine wasn't a bad idea, after all.

He snatched his backpack from the spot where he'd dropped to the night before and pulled out a clean gray button-up; a spray of deodorant completed his beauty routine for the day. He tightened the sheets until the bed looked picture perfect and left the room.

The aroma of fresh brew and a breathtaking view greeted him in the kitchen. Through the window over the sink, Lake Mead glimmered like a sequined extension of the saturated blue sky. The green and terracotta hills framed the water in a postcard shot.

"Wow. It's quite the location."

Cheryl glanced in the same direction, although she didn't seem as appreciative of the landscape. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. Milk? Sugar?"

Rivers blinked, dragging himself from the dreamy view. "Oh no. Black is fine."

With a nod, Cheryl turned her back to work on his coffee.