Room On Fire

Room On Fire Chapter 14

Eden

   Walking home in this unfamiliar town alone in the dark wasn’t as scary as people would think. There were street lights every few feet and I was back to the motel room before I knew it. I unlocked the door with the key around my neck and my sister was sitting, her legs crossed, on the bed counting money.

   “How was dinner?” She asked me. Any concern or anger she had for me earlier was completely absent from her voice.

   “It was really great! You should meet them soon, okay?” I replied, sitting down beside her and dropping my messenger bag on the floor.

   “I’d love to! Well, I think we have a way out of here. We need to leave in the morning.” She said, shuffling the bills into a neat stack and then wrapping a rubber band around them. “This place isn’t safe.”

   “Where in the world did you get all of that?” I asked, grabbing the wad of bills from her. “How much is this?”

   “Eden I will tell you later. Right now it’s not important.” Abby said, taking the money back and tucking it in her shoe. “Oh, and this is about two thousand dollars.”

   “Oh my god, are you kidding me?” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her. “We can leave this motel?” She nodded and hugged me tight.

   “I know we need to stay in the area for your new job, and I need to find a new job, but now I think we can afford to rent a studio or something to stay in.” We both smiled and I kissed her on the cheek. “We will be okay, Eden.” She said. “Now we need some sleep. We have to go apartment hunting tomorrow.”

   I reluctantly agreed to get ready for bed, but it was still bothering me that she wouldn’t tell me where she got over two thousand dollars in cash in one night. I know Abby wouldn’t steal all of that, but she also didn’t have a job. She has respect for herself so I highly doubt she turned tricks for it. Then again we were in a rough place and I know she would give up anything for me.

   “I’m gonna shower first okay?” I told her, grabbing my tee shirt from last night and a fresh pair of underwear. She nodded and rested her head back on the pillows behind her. “You should take one too.” She nodded again and covered her eyes with her arm.

   I walked back in to the tiny, cramped bathroom and shut and locked the door. Slowly I removed today’s clothes and turned on the rickety shower. The pipes screamed as hot water came rushing from the tarnished faucet. As soon as steam began to curl over the sides of the bathtub, I dipped inside and pulled the plastic curtain closed.

   The hot water felt sensational against my skin. It danced through my hair and snaked down my spine, between my legs and through my toes. The lavender soap oozed between my fingers as I worked it into lather and massaged it into my hair. After I was finished, I sat down under the stream and rested my head on my knees. The gentle drops hit my back in a steady rhythm as every thought of the day came crawling back into my brain.

   Maybe it was time to tell Abby why I left. We were so far from home, it wouldn’t matter. Plus, I knew she was hiding something crucial from me but I didn’t have any sort of clue what it could be.

   Quickly I turned off the shower, threw back the curtain and pulled one of the complimentary towels around my chest. I stared at myself in the fogged up mirror. My eyes were pained despite the good news about the money and getting out of this place and finding a potential home. I seemed sad and enraged even though I had a job which provided a somewhat steady income. I was lonely in spite of my sister and new friends, Sophie and her uncle Michael. Something felt wrong and I knew exactly what I had to do to make it stop.