I Wonder If I Care as Much

Chapter Eleven

Angus hurt his arm when he fell to the floor that night. His shoes knocked against each other, the left one turning on its side. Getting up he steadied himself on the edge of the bed and quickly tied the right one. The left joined it, and his arm was inspected through the dark. It hurt a lot worse than it looked, not that he could see it very well. Sherrie hadn't woken.

Grabbing his jacket from the table he put it on, making sure his keys were in his pocket. Nothing was out of place. Sherrie was asleep in bed, her figure scooting to the middle of the mattress in her sleep. The heater was blowing keeping her warm, the curtains swaying, revealing the window behind. The clock blazed midnight in red numbers. Quiet steps across the carpet led him to the bed, leaning over the girl. He bent close and kissed her cheek, catching what he could see of her in the moonlight.

The door closed after him with a click, the hallway just as dark. A handful of steps down and he found a beige door with a rusted handle. It took four knocks for it to open. He smiled seeing the girl there, her messy hair brushed in haste. A blanket shrouded her, wrapped tighter when the cold seeped in the room behind her. She stepped into the hallway, her face glowing in the iridescence. The smile was wiped away when he saw her eyes, strained and red. She brought the corner of the blanket to wipe at her nose. "Hey," he said finding her eyes when she turned away from him. He put his fingers on her elbow. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine," she nodded. The blanket was wrapped tighter around her as Angus reached under it to grab her hand. She clutched the fabric in her palms, her frame shivering. "We leaving now?"

"We won't if you don't want to," Angus said. He frowned when she stood at an angle, looking away from him. "Hey, look at me." She didn't. "Hey, what's goin' on? You mad at me or somethin'?" He kept his voice at a soft whisper lest anyone should investigate the racket.

"I'm fine, Angus," she snapped. Immediately she regretted it. "I'm...I'm sorry, I..." Distance between them grew as the hotel room door was pushed open more. "We can...we can go anytime. If you're ready."

"You're takin' a blanket?" he asked. Hannah's cheeks grew hot.

"I'm cold, it's...cold out." Angus looked around the hallway, the two still the only ones awake. While the hotel heating could be on a higher budget, it wasn't anything foreign to him. But who was he to speak for his friend? His jacket was shrugged off his shoulders.

"You can have mine." Hannah's brow furrowed and she held her hand up.

"No, Angus-that's alright. I have my own jacket I can get it." The door was shut, leaving Angus standing there slightly colder than he was before. He waited a minute or two when it opened again. Hannah stood on the other side of the threshold with a leather jacket on, zipping it up. His own jacket was replaced. He looked her over, not exactly knowing what he was looking for. Her eyes met his.

His heart jumped.

"You ready?" he asked after another minute. She nodded, burying her face in his shoulder when he wrapped an arm around her waist, leading her down the dim hallway. This elevator was working properly, and had them down to the lobby in a minute or two. The air outside picked up in a wind when the door was pushed open, Hannah allowed to exit the building first. Streetlights provided a hopscotch path of light down the sidewalk. All the shops were closed for the night, the only activity being the birds by the canals. Two bikes were parked by the railing, abandoned for the night. One was used as a perch for a curious bird who got scared and flew away as the pair approached. Angus removed his arm to sit down behind the railing watching the water below. Hannah joined him and his arm was replaced around her shoulders.

A pebble was picked up in a calloused hand, his fingertips setting it in aim. It became invisible in the air, the only display of it still in existence was the ripples in the water. Angus picked up a second one, the same fate befalling it, as well as four others. There were no more pebbles next to him after that. His companion kept silent, watching his activity. When he ceased tossing stones, she commenced looking for her own occupation. Only twiddling her fingers in her lap could she come up with.