Sweet Escape

Chapter Three

The Crown hotel was a reasonable distance away from the madness of Manhattan, far enough for it to be described as a quiet area, though not too far away that Norma didn't have to rule out the option of sightseeing because of travel cost. The hotel itself wasn't majorly flashy, though wouldn't ever be described as basic or tacky either. As soon as Norma walked inside, this strange feeling washed over her. The warm lighting, the beautiful paintings that hung on the wall, the brown leather seats; it all came together to create a feeling of comfort and relaxation. This would do quite nicely, she thought. She walked in through the lobby contently and headed up to the reception desk, greeted immediately with an overly enthusiastic smile by a red head in black-framed glasses; her name tag reading Rebecca.

"Hello, welcome to the Crown. How can I help you today?"

"Hi, yes, I have a reservation booked?"

"What's the name, please?"

"Bates."

"And can you spell that for me?" She asked seriously, preparing to type the name into the computer in front of her.

Norma blinked in surprise. "B-a-t-e-s." Her voiced raised unintentionally; making a point that she was stating the obvious. She hadn't had that one before. Since when was Bates such a difficult name to spell?

"Ah yes, there you are. And it's 2 weeks, is that correct?

"Yep, that's it."

"Can I see a credit card and photo ID, please?"

She rooted through her purse, pulling out her credit card and driver's licence.

"Thank you..." The woman trailed off, looking between the picture on the driver's licence and Norma far too many times for her liking. She wanted to say, yes, I look young and stress-free in that picture; and now i'm a lot older and haggard, I get your point. Though of course, she didn't. Merely stood there patiently; with the addition of a sarcastic smile plastered on her face when the woman finally handed her possessions back to her.

"Okay, we have you on Floor 2; Room 234." She said, keeping hold of the key in her hand. "Breakfast is served in the big room just down the hall there, between 8 and 10pm. The bar is open 24 hours, and you can connect to our free wifi with the details in your welcome pack where you can find everything else you need to know. If you have any issues with your room, don't hesitate to call reception desk and someone will be with you as soon as possible."

"Okay, mhm—yep—gotcha..." Norma nodded along quickly, very quickly growing sick of the welcome babble and wanting to be handed her key already.

"Well I hope you have a lovely stay with us, ma'am." The woman smiled that same, over-enthusiastic—probably fake—smile once again and placed the key in her hand.

"Oh i'm sure I will, thank you very much." She responded politely, giving her a small wave before she gripped her suitcase and turned around. Barely even getting the chance to take any more than two steps ahead, Norma walked right into someone who was walking up to reception desk as she was leaving; none of them happening to be looking where they were going.

"Oops, oh i'm sorr—" Her eyes flickered up to meet the dark-brown ones of the stranger in apology, and the familiarity of them hit her immediately. "You?!" She took a few steps back in surprise. "Okay, what the—did you stalk me here? You know what...I knew you gave off a bad vibe. I knew it! Listen you're not gonna get anywhere with me, mister. Do you hear me? I told you, i'm not interested in smart ass guys like you. So back off. All I wanted to come here, kick back, relax—"