Paper Birds

Chapter Twenty-Eight ; Only One Haven

When a big load of clouds covered the moon, I knew I had to leave. I used my good wrist to hoist myself off of the ground, groaning in pain. My breathing had returned to normal, but unfortunately, my cuts and wrist had not. I could hear the police sirens more clearly, now, but it didn't make me feel any better.

I put a bunch of pressure on my stomach where the metal bit of the seatbelt had cut through, hoping it would stop the bleeding a little bit. I didn't realize how deep the cut was until then. Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I bit my lip and continued forward, my pace quickening. I needed to find my clothes, if possible. My room key and phone were in my sweatshirt that they had peeled off.

Cold rain hit my face. I couldn't feel my fingers or my toes, and my legs were stiff and took a while to get moving. Thankfully, my clothes were laying in a heap where the kidnappers originally took me. I snatched them up and ran towards the lights of the hotel, the police sirens really, really close. I couldn't let them catch me.

My clothes were soaking wet, weighing me down. I didn't put them on, or else I'd be even colder, if that was possible. Instead, I only put on my shorts and left the hoodie, snapback and sweatpants in my arms, gripping my room key and phone with my fingers. The assholes weren't even smart enough to take those out.

I fumbled into the hotel, finally, and took the elavator up to my room. I prayed to the sweet lord that Harry wasn't awake. I unlocked the door and crept in, covering my mouth to quiet my breathing. I tiptoed to the bedroom, peeling off my wet.. everything.

"Clairedy?" came a sleepy voice.

I froze. "Yeah?"

"Where'd you go?"

"Oh, I, uh, went into the kitchen, to uh, get a snack." I winced at my lame excuse, throwing on a pair of yoga shorts and a grey Super Bowl XI t-shirt.

"Mmm." He seemed to be still half asleep. I grabbed a band-aid from my bag, placing it over the cut on my stomach. It wasn't big enough, but at least I wasn't bleeding everywhere. I wrapped more bandage around my wrist and hurriedly climbed back into bed, my back facing him. Harry's finger ran down my cheek.

"Claire, why are you so wet?"

I swallowed. "I took a shower. Couldn't sleep." I hated lying to him, but it was for his own good. His eyes fluttered open, green lights staring at me. He looked like he didn't believe me but didn't say anything. He tugged at the bottom of my shirt. "You changed."

I lightly took his hand and pulled it away from my stomach, not wanting his fingers to meet the band-aid. "Mmhm."

"Now I can't see your birds."

"Go back sleep, Haz."

He grunted and buried his curly head into the pillow, laying his hand on my hip. I swallowed, really hoping he wouldn't find the band-aid.

My phone rang across the room on the dresser. I wanted to let it go, the incessant ringing was irritating me. I sat up and climbed out of the bed, Harry making noises of disapproval.

"Hello?" I whispered, not wanting to disturb Harry.

"Hey, Clarissa," Miles greeted me.

"It's three in the morning! Why are you calling me at this hour?"

"I-I'm sorry," he said quietly. "There's been a lot of crime right around where your hotel is. I just wanted to see if you're okay."

"Miles, I'm fine. You don't have to check on me every other hour. I can take care of myself."

"Right. Well, see ya."

"Bye," I said, rolling my eyes and turning off my phone, tossing it onto the dresser.