Mystery Girl [Under Review& On Hold]

Chapter 5

        Ivory paced back and forth. It had been an hour since Erik had left and she was getting restless. She didn’t dare leave the hotel room, especially looking like she did, and she didn’t dare call anyone. So she paced.

          “What if what I said was too much? Especially after I kissed him! Why the heck did I kiss him for?! What was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking! But it was so nice, and his lips were warm and inviting…no, no, no, no, no, don’t think like that! Do not think like that. Control yourself girl!” she quietly scolds herself as she continues pacing.

She pulls at the shirt that she is using for clothing and smiles a bit. Her mind wanders to the night before when he gave it to her. His bare chest in the dim motel light, his kind smile as he handed his shirt to her. She caught herself sighing and shook her head as if to shake the thought of him away. “You’re strangers. He just helped you. That’s all. Nothing more! Stop getting carried away. He doesn’t think of you like that.”

Just then there was a knock on the door. Her heart seemed to stop as a bolt of fear struck her. “What do I do? What do I do?”

After another knock, she quietly scurried over to the door and looked through the peep hole. Relief rushed over her as she opened the door for Erik. He came in and put some luggage bags down on the bed.

As he turned around to speak with her, he found himself in her embrace. Stunned, he managed to keep is heart at a relatively normal pace and asked, “Is everything okay?”

Ivory looked up into his face, a few tears trickling down her cheek, “I’m just glad your back. I started panicking, and I didn’t know who it was at the door…” She buried her face in his chest once more, unable to finish her sentence.

He hugged her back, calming her down, “I’m sorry. I made a quick stop off at home and got some of my clothes. I also got some toiletries and things. All the clothes I got for you are in the purple bags. My things are in the black ones.”

Ivory perked up a little at this, and smiled up into his face, “Thank you.” She lets go of him and hurries over to the bags, looking through the contents. She pulls out a knee length purple dress and smiles brightly, “It’s so lovely!”

Erik chuckles as he watches her go through the clothes in the bag. After a short time, she picks out a pair of jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a fresh pair of undergarments and hurried into the bathroom to change. Erik also changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.

Ivory immerged from the bathroom, her hair draped over one shoulder as she gathered up her bloody clothes, his shirt and pants, also tinted with her blood, and put them in a plastic bag, “We can find some place to wash these.” She put them in the purple bag and sat next to it on the bed and asked, “So, what next?”

Erik, who was sitting reading a newspaper, looked over it, his expression grim, “Well, we can’t stay here again,” Erik shows a picture on the page to her, “Since this picture came out, people will be looking.”

Ivory twists a strand of hair around her finger and shifts her weight, “I actually look quite different from the picture. I have color in my cheeks, and I’m smiling.”

He smiles at her, “We won’t dye your hair or anything. I think we should get you some sunglasses and hair things. Maybe even a hat. And I have a friend who might be able to help us find your dad and brother.”

Ivory perked up at this and gave a little jump, “Really? That wouldn’t be any trouble?”

“No trouble at all. Besides, his sister is a beautician and should be able to help us hide you in plain sight.” Erik gives a confident smile and stands up, “So what do you say?”

Ivory thinks for a moment, twisting her hair around her finger, then looks up, “Okay. But I don’t want to be different than who I am.”

Erik walks over to her and places a hand on her shoulder, “You won’t be. I promise.”