Motel 7 ➳ h.s.

E L E V E N

Hello my lovely readers!

I must apologize greatly for the amount of time that I have spent not updating, I am now officially finished high school and have all the time I need to update lots for you guys!

Thank you to all who have stayed here with me, please enjoy the update ❤

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L O L A

The sound of rats scurrying across the walls, and floors.

That's the sound that I awoke to, with a jolt.

I jumped, sitting up in the process, rubbing my cracked fingertips over my eyelids, attempting to remove the sleep from them. Taking a good look around the room, I realized where it was that I had slept the previous night, and all the thoughts that accompanied that one were far from pleasant.

To say that this room was small, would be an understatement. And to think that I ever believed my own bedroom to be considered small. Well, this entire motel room was the size of two regular sized restrooms placed together.

The stench from the lobby that I had hoped would not follow me into the room, to my good fortunate had not followed me. However, the smell that accompanied this particular room was far worse. It was almost as if the rats that had woken me up this morning had been living here for far too long, their aroma taking over my senses, and all corners of this room.

As my eyes wandered over to my suitcase, which was sitting in the far left corner of the room, my mind rushed to Asher. Oh dear, how on earth was I going to sort this out. It pained me to think about how disappointed my mother must be in me at that moment, she must have been shaking in her grave, her poor son being sent to into foster care was horrible, but it was the fact that her baby boy was separated from his only family that would make her so upset and angry.

My thoughts drifted back to school, where my mind grazed over the many children who attended my academy. Not many of them grew up suffering, like my family had, however there were a number of students who did not live as privileged lives as the majority of the students, and who had had jobs at some point in their lives.

Livi, a young lady in my French class had worked as a helper in a library during school breaks and on weekends a year ago, to earn extra money for her family, but the town's library was far and I had no form of transport. Well, at least no form of affordable transport.

I had once came across a young boy, around the same age as I was, who had worked as a waiter in an old bar downtown. I believe that he may have been a year or two younger than myself, as far as I could recall.

Working in a bar as a vulnerable seventeen year old girl would not have been my first option, but at the point at which I was at, I was utterly desperate, with bills having to be paid, school fees, and most importantly, I had to get Asher back.

Climbing out of bed, as I placed my aching feet to the ground below me, I felt the cold of the tile floor rush through my toes and up my legs, leaving goosebumps covering the entirety of my body. This room was below freezing, something I would have to learn to accept, seeing as it could very well be a long time before I would be able to leave.

Once my body had adjusted to the temperature of the room, I made my way towards the bathroom, a room barely large enough to fit a rusted toilet, a sink and a bathtub, with a shower head fitted into the wall above.

I looked into the square mirror placed on the wall above the sink, before folding up a small square of toilet paper and wiping the mirror clear of the accumulation of dust that covered its surface. Allowing my eyes to settle on my reflection, I noticed that the girl looking back at me was no longer who I once used to be.
I looked ill, almost as if I had missed out on a week of sleep, which in reality was rather near to the truth. The circles under my eyes were turning a faded purple, my skin looked as if it had lost most of its blush colour and my eyes resembled those of a lost puppy, whimpering for its owners.

I was never one to wear make up, not that I could afford it, but in that moment, I felt a need to cover up the tired mess that my face had come to look as.

I removed my clothing from my body slowly and stepped into the bathtub, turning the shower faucet on, allowing the water to warm up before I stepped under the faucet completely. Once I realized that the water would not get any warmer than a cup of tea that had been left to sit for a few minutes too long, I moved my body, waiting for the water to soothe my aching bones, and wash away the touch of Fleur, her friends and the foster care assistants who had held me away from my little brother. I scrubbed my skin clear of all the pain, as if the harder I scrubbed, the further away I could push my memories.

After what had felt like half of an hour, I stepped out of the bathtub, covering my now raw and red body with a towel that barely reached below the top of my, large, thighs, feeling the goosebumps beginning to return.

I dressed quickly, knowing that the temperature in this bathroom was lower than that of the room itself, and not wanting to stare down at the hideous site that my body was any longer, readying myself for the journey to the bar downtown.

"Good morning madamoiselle," the lady from behind the aged desk greeted me, as I made my way into the front lobby.

"Morning," I barely whispered back, my own voice sounding foreign to me.

"Did you enjoy your stay last night?" The lady asked, continuing our conversation.

"I... did," I responded, telling a small fib, unable to bring myself to be rude to the kind lady. "I will be back this afternoon," I stated, with a gentle smile, explaining that I would be staying for longer than one night.

"Ahh, yes Mademoiselle, I understand. Enjoy your day," she answered, returning the smile, before returning her gaze to the pile of scattered papers on her desk.

I exited the lobby, breathing in the scent of fresh air and rain. My senses were relieved to be temporarily free from the stenches that accompanied the motel.

"Time to find a job, and get Asher back."