Margaret and Olivia

Chapter Ten: Carter Cain

I heard a car approaching and immediately stood. I glanced at the clock. 10:42. It had only taken her half an hour. I carefully walked to the window and gently drew back on of the cheap curtains. A small stream of light from a lamp post came into the room, but I was so close to the wall that the light did not hit my face. From the window, I saw Olivia hesitantly step out of her car. She glanced around the empty parking lot, nervously. She luckily did not see my car because my car was near the front entrance, but she had pulled around to the side of the building. I smiled at my lucky fate.

Her car door closed with a thud that echoed into the dark. She glared at the sudden noise as though she didn't want to disturb the night-time's eerie peace. I pulled away from the curtains as she approached the motel rooms. I crept to near the door and unlocked it. Standing behind the door, I waited.

After a moment, I heard a soft knock on the door. She knocked again, harder this time. I glanced over at Antonio, but he was not moving anytime soon. From the other side of the door I heard her sigh loudly and curse Antonio. She began rapping her knuckles repeatedly. With another sigh she turned the doorknob. She let out a small gasp of surprise, not having expected the door to be unlocked. She pushed the door open some more; it creaked as it swayed. She slowly put one foot inside the room and glanced around. I was behind the door, so she still did not see me. However, she did see Antonio. She breathed out the air she had been holding in. She fully entered the room and walked towards Antonio. When she got out of the way of the door, I closed it with a swift motion. The sound caught her off guard, and her body tensed up. She quickly spun around, her hair swishing as she did.

"Carter?" Her quivering voice asked. I stepped forward to reveal myself. "Oh, Carter, thank God! You have to help me!"

"What do I have to help you with?" I asked with a calm edge to my voice. I remained near the door with my eyes fixed on her movement.

"I -" She glanced at Antonio as though she wasn't sure what exactly she needed help with. "I don't know. It's just this place. It's so creepy. I hate it. I want to get out of here as soon as I can, but I can't just leave Antonio. Is he.. Is he sleeping?"

She went to him and poked him. He let out a snore in response. She cursed him again as she slumped into the wooden chair near the bed.

"If he is sleeping, then why not just let him sleep until the morning? Why come all this way when he is perfectly fine?"

"He asked me to come." Her voice was uncertain, as though she recognized the weak reasoning behind her coming here.

"So you just came at his beckoning?" She let out an aggravated sigh at my devil's advocate question.

"It's not like that. People who care about each other do things for each other. You know what? I'm not going to have a conversation with you about my love life." She paused at her words. She began to speak again but stopped herself. Her brow was filled with confusion as she looked from Antonio to me. "Carter. Why - why are you here?"

I laughed at her fear. It had come so suddenly after she had been so trusting. I ignored her panic and her question as I turned and locked the door. The click of the lock caused Olivia's eyes to widen in a state of panic, and she immediately stood. I saw the wheels in her eyes turn as she began to try to understand what was going on; however, she quickly realized that she could not even begin to understand what was going on, but she did register that she was in danger.

She lunged towards the door, but I was closer and quicker. She ran into me, arms forward. I didn't budge. She paused and realized this tactic was getting her nowhere. She backed up and blew air out of her mouth to push back her hair that had fallen in front of her face.