Always/Never

Chapter 15 / Parkade Stalker

I entered the hotel room and stood in the entryway of yet another temporary place, facing the tucked cream-coloured bedsheets and the drawn curtains, perfectly lined up with the air conditioner.

There should be some dust. If anything, it would prove someone else inhabited the room before me. Which was, of course, the implication the empty room was trying to avoid. This wasn't an old house where the charm came from generations of being lived in. In this room, every piece of furniture was disinfected on the daily, and here I was, trying to find a fingerprint.

Without a bag to place atop the bedsheets, or anything to mark my existence like a handprint in wet cement, I padded over to the window. My view overlooked the back of the building; a parking lot to my left, and a cluster of trees to the right. From only a few storeys high, the metallic surfaces of the cars glinted in the pouring rain, illuminated by the reflection of the lights in the water's surface. Droplets smashed across the window, sliding off the umbrellas of the few people hurrying through the trails.

My gaze fixed on the building in my periphery. The bright Horizon logo pierced into me.

I smiled a little. The hotel clock showed that it was past three. The perfect time for the next part of my plan.

Sliding the hotel key into my pocket, along with everything else I currently owned, I set out to the stairway. The tracksuit didn't have a hood, so water slithered down my neck as I hurried to the store.

First and foremost, I needed clothes. My dryer-machine money was running out, and I didn't want Accha to have to pay for the entire rest of the trip, but I couldn't do this without a more business-casual-looking outfit.

I found a jacket and some black slacks. What to wear underneath the jacket took a bit longer, until I located a black, neck-high shirt I could hide under the buttons, and it was nice enough that I would probably wear it again after this. I only had a couple of dollars left, which wasn't worth spending on cheap binoculars.

And going back to the hotel means I'll waste more time.

Maybe I needed to outline my master plans before committing to them.

Or maybe I need a plan B... ugh. I don't need a backup plan, or a second chance.

With a bag full of clothes over my arm, I darted through the side streets. Water soaked through the tracksuit; it might have been fireproof, but water resistance only lasted so long.

I came to a halt at the parkade across from Horizon. At the gate, cars pulled up to scan their cards before bumping across the street and disappearing. The first five crossed straight ahead, and another three went left to wait at the stop sign.

I picked up the pace. A sedan with a yellow sunflower sticker in the back windshield passed me. I branded its license plate in my mind and hurried to the hotel. As soon as the door clanged shut behind me, I swiped the pen and the notepad to etch it out.

The weather had finally caught up to the news reports, and a distant rumble of thunder echoed in time with my heartbeat.

Sighing, I went to take advantage of the bathtub to warm me up. My eyes were heavy from the drive, and my back always flared after sitting for too long. Steam helped, ever so slightly, and once I'd gotten out, I lay against the pillows, staring at the TV.

The day passed under the siege of the storm and the rain. I hadn't intended to stay asleep for almost half a day, but at least the pain was a bit more manageable, a twinge below my neck.

Luckily, I could iron the new clothes without much issue. And since the buffet was open, I didn't have to worry about getting food.

I set out. I was right on time; my phone's clock flickered to three minutes before nine. My pace slowed at the cars entering the parkade and the click of heels against the pavement as people filtered inside.