Endless

Hope and Betrayal | Aleria

I woke up alone, with nothing to prove last night happened, save for the cool air caressing my skin and the indented pillow where Ryan had slept. The faint scent of his body lingered on me. I closed my eyes and inhaled, savoring it, then sat up and looked around. His clothes were gone.

The pastel walls and silver carpets should have given me a sense of peace. Instead, the room's sheer size and silence made me jumpy. Where was Ryan? I looked around and found a folded note propped up against a Japanese vase on the table opposite the bed. I picked it up and read.

Ali,

Went to get us supplies. Didn't want to wake you, but I won't be long anyway.

Don't leave the hotel.

Ryan

I frowned at the note, then put it back onto the table. This wasn't how I liked to wake up after a night of passion, although something told me it was far from the first time I had. It felt odd, thinking like this. Knowing and not knowing. Guessing at knowledge without any substantiation except for instinct.

My heart ached and I rubbed at the spot on my chest. It was so stupid. I didn't even know what made me sad. I needed to clear my head.

Snagging up my clothes, I dragged my feet to the shower. The hot water and steam did wonders to beat the melancholy out of me, but some fragment of it remained. I couldn't let myself worry about it, or I'd stop functioning. Right now, I needed to keep going like everything was normal. I stepped out of the shower and used one of the hotel's fluffy towels to dry myself. I got dressed, but the sooty smell in my clothes undermined the effect I was going for.

Things weren't normal. The guys hadn't told me what was going on, but I could sense it. My instincts told me Alick hadn't been there for me. He had been in search of Ryan or Nick. If I hadn't been there, one of them wouldn't have survived. Something was wrong.

Something serious. Something I needed to know.

I finger combed my hair, sparking another sense of deja vu. And a sense that Nick would move up behind me at any moment. His arms would encircle my waist and he'd rain kisses to my neck and shoulders. The memory felt so real, I closed my eyes and shivered, tilting my head.

"Marry me," he said, nipping at my earlobe. "We'll run away together."

The memory vanished before I knew the answer. I about faced, but only fading steam spread around me. Why Nick, and why after Ryan and I had slept together? I knew there'd been something between us, but marriage?

Why hadn't he told me?

I hugged myself to ward off chills running up my arms, then raced out of the room, barely stopping to grab a key card.

The ghosts of my memories followed me. I sprinted down the corridor and into the elevator. When the door closed, Luc faced me in my reflection. He silently accused me of something I couldn't remember, growing larger with every second. I cried out and punched the button for the ground floor.

This was stupid. I shook my head and forced myself to face my reflection again. This time it was only me, dressed in a sooty t-shirt and jeans. The elevator slowly descended, trapping me with reflections at every angle.

I needed out. Even though I couldn't see him, it felt as if Luc was still there. Watching me. Resenting me. Why? Because of Ryan? Nick? Shivers shot over me again. The elevator stopped and opened at the ground floor. I fled into the lobby. The glass front door beckoned me, but I remembered Ryan's message. After my run-in with Alick, I didn't want to do anything that one of the guys might see as a risk.