Ecstasy

Chapter 11

The place the receptionist directed us to is a mall more than anything. Daniel refuses to go any further in without reading the map first.

"Where do you wanna go?" He studies the list of store names. I shrug.

"I don't know." He reads for a little longer before taking my hand and pulling me with him. Suddenly something strikes me.

"Didn't you get shot?" I can't believe I forgot that. I look at his arm as he leads the way.

"Yeah." He mumbles. "But I took care of it, so don't worry about it."

Well I am worried about it. With out saying anything more I follow him, looking at his arm to see if it moves weirdly. When I can't see anything weird with it I let it go, deciding it's better to not annoy him again.

The store Daniel brings me to is pretty dark. Jeans, plaid shirts, and leather jackets are stacked all around the room. He leaves my side without another word and walks over to the guy's section. I start looking through the clothes on the other side. How much do I need? Not that much, right? I pull out a pair black jeans from its stack. They are torn at the knee and have a low waist. I put them over my arm and continue.

I find a new jacket, strongly resembling my old one, curse Eric, a few shirts, and two black hoodies of the same type. After checking that they are my size I walk over to find Daniel. He's carrying three pair blue jeans, I don't know how many white shirts and a sweater.

"You done?" He turns to me and I nod. We walk up to the register and pay our stuff. Next Daniel wants to find a new pair of shoes, because his are all scuffed up. He gives me some money and we separate, deciding to meet by the water fountain in the middle after.

Walking around I soon find a shop I recognize. Now that black and pink store you don't miss. I walk inside and the air is filled with perfume.

"Can I help you?" A dark girl with shiny black hair ask me, smiling friendly against me.

"Yeah, I guess. I was looking for some new underwear." She shows me to the table where tons of underwear, previously neatly folded, are in a mess. She asks me what type and I hold up a pair from the table to show her. Some people might know what it's called, I don't. She then proceeds to help me find it in every color.

After picking out my favorites she helps me at the register and I get two more bras, one white, and a black lace one. I thank her and take the pink striped bag, leaving the store.

I bring my bags with me to the stone ring that surrounds the fountain and sit down. A few kids are playing with the water and their moms sit and talk close by, holding a guarding gaze on their small ones. I go to reach for my phone before realizing that I don't have one. Wow. For the first time in really long it didn't feel like I were on the run.

The coffee shop right next to me seems very tempting, and I end up giving in to my cravings. When was the last time I had coffee? Probably when we stopped for gas. I take a sip of the hot liquid. Swirls of Carmel goes over my tounge before it disappear down my throat.

"Hi." I turn to my side. Daniel stands above me with a white paper bag in his hand. His eyes flickers from my face to the pink bag on the floor and then back. "Do you need any thing else?"

I shake my head.

"No." I get up and we leave the mall. We still don't talk for the whole way back, and I decide to do some mapping of our surroundings.

Between our hotel and the mall is about three night clubs, one huge casino that takes up one block and then a club thing I don't want to speak of out loud. Lots of signs light up the street in festive colors even if it's bright out, and I see a lot of families. Why are they here? It's like that movie with the stupid father bringing his family here for some 'quality entertainment' and they end up poor.

A new receptionist nods at us when we walk in and I smile back. When we get to the elevator we have to share it with two big ladies. I immediately like them, I think they are German. We all tumble out at the same floor and I wave at them.

When we get in I don't waste time to lock myself in the bathroom. Going through my bags I change into fresh underwear and the jeans, a shirt and hoodie. Shit. I need a toothbrush.

I walk out, placing my bags by the end of the bed. Daniel is by the fucking window again.

"Here." He turns around and puts down his hand in his bag, picking up a smaller one. He hands me a toothbrush. Someone thinks ahead of time.

"Thanks." The toothbrush is lime green, a slight reminder of dickhead's car.

"I got toothpaste as well, I'll put it in the bathroom." He shows the tube and then leaves for the bathroom. I go to lay down on my back on the bed.

"How long are we gonna stay?" I ask.

"What?" He answers, his voice slightly muffled by the glass door. I look up on the panels in the ceiling.

"How long are we staying? We don't have money for forever." It goes quiet, and then he comes out, dressed in fresh clothes and his new shoes on his feet.

"At least three days. We've been on the run for too long." He ruffles his hair. "Plus we gotta figure out where we're going from here." I nod and continue to stare at the lines. 

Silence falls over us. I don't move. I hear him shift and then sigh.

"I'm going out." He picks up his phone and card from the side table and I hum. The door slam shut after him when he leaves. 

********

Two hours of TV watching later I am starving. I pick up the phone and press the zero. A tone goes and it starts calling.

"Hello, this is the reception." I shift my body on the bed, crossing my legs.

"Hi, do you do roomservice at this hour?"

"Absolutely, ma'am." I then proceed to order a quite lot of food. Or, well, a sandwich, coffee, juice, and a salad. Who knows, Daniel might be hungry. Plus I doubt we are going out for dinner, we'll probably just stay indoors during nighttime.

When the food comes I sit in the bed and eat, watching a romantic comedy that happens to be showing. It actually quite relaxing to be here, just living in the moment, even if I did it a lot when I drove, raced. I look at the clock, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. It's four fifteen. Now I really wish I had a cell phone. I look at the land line. Well, at least his number, I'm getting worried.

One more hour and I hear the door click. I sit up from the bed and watch it open. Daniel steps inside, pulling his soles against the rug to get them clean. He doesn't say a word as he comes further into the room.

"Hi." My voice is small and cracks a bit. He looks at me, an unreadable expression passes his eyes.

"Hi." He turns away and pulls off his jacket. He disappears shortly to hang it up in the hallway. When he returns he pulls his hand through his hair. Walking towards me he cautiously sits on the end of the bed, hands clasped together, staring at the screen. Okey, back to the awkwardness again. I sit up against the headboard and continue to watch the show. 

Daniel doesn't eat even if a I offer him what's left of the salad. Maybe he has already eaten. He just shakes his head and continues to look at the sitcom rolling it's lame jokes. 

I end up going to the bathroom to get ready at ten already. Brushing my teeth I comb through my hair with my hands. It has gotten back its usual shine. I splash my face with water and use the toilet, washing my hands before leaving the room.

Daniel's body lays back against the bed, feet hanging over the edge barely touching the ground. Light snores escapes his mouth as I turn off the bathroom light. The room is illuminated by the screen, showering it in light blue. The city shimmers under our window. I take the remote from beside the bed and shut it off. Then I pull the white thin curtain to shut out most of the stars below. Tugging down the hem of my shirt I climb into bed and pull the covers over my body. Hopefully he won't fall off or freeze.