Love Thaws: Melting

A Good Night's Sleep

Elsa felt someone gently shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes, confused.

"Hey, come on. Time to get up. You might want to put on some normal clothes before going inside."

Elsa blinked owlishly, still dazed. "Where are we?" she asked in hushed tones.

"A Motel 6. Here, put this on. I'll wait outside." He shoved a pile a clothing into her hands before crawling back out of the car.

Elsa couldn't quite see the clothes in the dim light. She tried putting them on anyway. It was so strange to feel the soft texture of jeans and t-shirts after hospital gowns and scratchy jumpsuits. She slipped them on. Both were slightly too big. She shoved a pair of flip flops on her feet before opening the car door. Jack offered her a jacket.

"I'm not cold."

"You need to wear it."

"Why?"

"Work with me, Elsa. I'm trying to conceal your identity."

Elsa huffed, but slid the hoodie on. Elsa felt Jack pull on her hair and whirled around.

"Calm down." He held up a baseball cap. "I need to hide your hair."

"Hide my hair?" She fingered a tangled lock.

Jack sighed and crossed his arms.

"Fine."

Elsa turned around, offering Jack her back. He stuffed the hair down the back of her jacket, making Elsa wriggle. The hair tickled. He shoved the baseball cap on her head before grabbing her hand. Elsa jumped back, yanking her hand away.

"We're supposed to be married," he explained, offering her his hand.

Elsa stiffly placed her hand in his, trying to come in as little contact with him as possible. She didn't like physical contact. The only physical contact she had was when a scientists grabbed her wrist to enter an iv or tilt her head to shine a light into her eye. Elsa resigned to suffer in silence as he clutched her hand, leading her towards a pair of glass doors. The glass doors slid open smoothly. The tile floor was a bland beige and the walls were white, except for the wall directly behind the lobby desk, which was a bright pumpkin orange.

"Welcome to Motel 6, how may I help you?" The stout woman behind the desk smiled. She had dark hair and even darker eyes.

"I'd like to rent a room please."

"Single or double."

"Umm, single."

"Alright, give me just a second." The computer keys click-clacked as her fingers dances across the keyboard. "May I see your card?"

"Sure." Jack handed her a shiny blue card of plastic.

She took it and glanced at the card then at the computer. The keys clicked a few more times. "Alright, the room is 306. Third floor, take a left and it'll be on your right."

Jack nodded. "Thank you."

He took his debit card back and the room key. He pulled Elsa towards the elevator, pushing a round button once they were inside. The button lit up and a 'beep' resounded around the elevator as the doors closed. Elsa had the strange sensation of her stomach dropping as the elevator lurched upward. A screen above the door had a digital '1' in red. With a beep, the number changed to '2.'