Rainbow Stripes

prologue

"Damn you, Patrick. Damn you." Noah Elliot cursed his bad luck as he leaned against the white pillar of the Pearl Hotel, waiting for his cousin to return. If only he hadn't been the only one with a car, and wasn't so emotionally invested into it, and only if he wasn't so easily guilt tripped, Noah would've been at home, watching Jessica Jones on Netflix.

But no. He had to be dragged over to a five star hotel by his idiot of a cousin, who had managed to piss off his girlfriend. Again. The fact that he even had a girlfriend was mind-boggling; everything from his mohawk to his green toenails was an absolute turn off. But for some reason they loved each other, and now here he was, waiting for Patrick to get done with 'wooing' her, so that he could get home.

Worst of all, he had the misfortune of laying his eyes on a kid who was munching on disgusting rainbow stripes. Why parents let their children even come into a ten feet radius of that poison was beyond his understanding. So now not only was he cursing his cousin's name to oblivion, he was also dealing with his irrational hatred for candy.

Half an hour had passed since he had been waiting outside, and he was now done with it. He quickly took out his phone, sent Patrick a text: Going home, get your own ride back, and made his way to the parking lot.

He was twirling the car keys in his hand when he came near his car, stopping in his tracks when he noticed a familiar figure leaning against it.

Sheriff Hunt. Known for being a decent man, kind and hardworking. Unless you got on his bad side, in which case he could descend hell upon you. He was also his crush's father, but that was irrelevant right now.

Something about his expression that was visible in the half light from the streetlight pole shining on his face gave Noah the feeling that he had accidentally gotten on his bad side.

The Sheriff straightened up when he saw Noah approach. "Are you Patrick Elliot?" He asked.

Are you fucking kidding me, Patrick. Really? Stupid delinquent. "Um, no sir, I'm Noah, his cousin. What did he do?" Noah replied with a tight smile.

The Sheriff studied him with a hard glare. "Did you bring him here?"

Noah gave him a puzzled look. "Uh, yeah, I mean yes, sir, I did." Sheriff Hunt's expression didn't change, so Noah elaborated further. "He wanted to meet his girlfriend. She's staying here for the weekend. He didn't have a car, so he made me drive him here. He's been in the hotel for about half an hour now."

"Really?" The Sheriff's deep voice was accusatory. "Well, according to camera footage, Patrick Elliot robbed the safes in the hotel and left about fifteen minutes ago." Noah's heart stopped, his body filling up with dread. "Tha-That's impossible. He hasn't come back out..." But he could've. There were multiple exits to the hotel. He could've done it. He had done it before. Why was he surprised?

Sheriff Hunt set him with a stony glare. "Do you know where he is?"

"No." Noah shook his head. "No clue. I swear, he told me he was meeting his girlfriend. I had no clue he was going to do it, much less where he is."

Sheriff Hunt raised an eyebrow, "He has a girlfriend? Really? Have you seen the guy? I'd be surprised if his mother even glanced at him. Doubt any sane girl would even look at him, much less get down and dirty with him."

If Noah hadn't been so angry at the fact that he had been Punk'd by his own cousin, he would've laughed at the fact that the no-nonsense Sheriff had just said 'down and dirty'. But as the realization sunk in that he had been stupid enough to be ditched by his cousin, he stood there shell-shocked, trying to gather his bearings.

"So you're sure you have no clue whatsoever where your cousin is?" The Sheriff asked.

Noah shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't." Noah waited for the Sheriff to retreat, but he didn't. Noah's confusion grew.

"I honestly don -" He started.

"I don't believe you." Sheriff Hunt cut him off. "So get into my car. You're taking a detour to the Sheriff's station."

Noah blanched. "But, Sheriff, I swear, I don't know where he is!"

"And I said get in the car. So unless you want me to cuff you, get moving."

After a few seconds shocked pause, Noah made his way to the Sheriff's car, cursing himself. This night could not possibly get worse.

Unbeknownst to him, he had thought too soon.

*

Hello! So this is the prologue, the first chapter will be up in a few days. If you liked it, please leave a comment or vote the chapter.