We all have our masks [Twenty One Pilots]

Chapter Two: Candles

The man behind the counter looked suspiciously at Lena, then over at the small piece of paper she was showing him. He was almost bald, but his upper lip was hidden under a bushy mustache. He gently took the towel.

"Wait a second, miss."

His voice was raspy but somewhat friendly, like the voice of a grandfather. He turned away, a little bit confined in the small space behind the cash register, and his big body swayed towards a back door that was almost hidden. Lena waited patiently, hoping for the best. She was now in Newark, New Jersey. From Poughkeepsie, she had taken a bus, following the instructions given to her by a police officer to whom she had asked about the address.

It was already dark when she set foot in Newark, and by the time she finally found the truck stop where her Uncle Rick was said to have worked at, it was past eleven. She was tired, and her headache was slowly but surely turning into a migraine. She couldn't wait, though, and despite the late hour, she had decided to ask the vendor.

He came back after a few minutes, and Lena knew instantly that her trail had gone the wrong path. The man handed her the towel with a sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry, miss. The guy hasn't worked here for two years. Apparently he left without saying a word."

Lena slowly folded the towel, resisting the urge to tear it into pieces, and put it away in her jeans pocket. Still silent, she was on the verge of tears. She bit her lip, nervous. "So, what now?" she thought. She didn't have many options. She could go back to Poughkeepsie and try to find clues about her uncle's whereabouts, maybe go to her old home, or to the City Hall to ask about him. She could stop right now, settle down, find a place to live that suited her and begin a new life. Or she could go back to France and face her old demons. But right now, all she could do, and all she wanted to do, was find a place to stay for the night.

"Do you know if there's a motel nearby?" she asked, looking up at the bald man again.

The man looked up at his eyebrows, like he was thinking deeply about the question, then turned away again, facing the door behind him that had stayed open.

"Andy?" he called. After a few seconds, a tall and bright blond woman appeared and leaned lazily against the door frame, waiting for a command. "Will you look up the closest motel for the little lady here, please?"

Andy stared at Lena for far too long for it to seem natural. Lena felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze but didn't bat an eyelash, keeping her eyes focused, staring into the deep blue eyes of Andy. After a few seconds, Andy finally dropped it, and walked back into the backroom, probably opening a new tab on her laptop to search for a motel.

"Can I get you something in the mean time?" Lena shrugged at the question. The man was being very nice to her, and she thought it would be rude to refuse to buy him anything. She settled on a coffee, black, then absentmindedly turned her head towards the entrance door, which had just popped open. The young man who had entered nodded his head politely at her and the bald guy, then moved on into the snack aisle.

Taking a sip from her coffee, Lena watched him from the corner of her eyes. He had pulled his hood on, and his face was barely visible, but it seemed like he had dark brown hair. He was wearing dark skinny jeans and some nice little tennis shoes with flower prints that would have fit her all too well. She smiled at the thought of it, then turned back to the cashier when she heard a feminine voice.

"Denns Motel, on Road 87, near Irvington." Andy simply said, in a rather nasal and annoying voice. Without a further look to Lena, she went back into hiding in the backroom while the nice cashier rolled his eyes, apparently accustomed to such rudeness coming from such a somewhat elegant body.

"I'm sorry if I bother you, but is there a bus I could take to get there?" Lena asked hopefully. Irvington wasn't that close, and she absolutely needed to get to the motel. She couldn't simply sleep in the street. She was so tired she felt her body tense. The cashier looked at his watch, mumbling something inaudible, then looked up and out the bay window.

"I'm afraid that this - he accentuated the word with a nod - is your last bus..."

"Oh SHIT" Lena cried out. She grabbed her suitcase handle in her left hand, the right still holding her coffee cup, then hurried to the door while thanking the cashier. The bus was still waiting at the stop, on the other side of the street. Maybe if she ran, she would catch it on time. Lost in her thoughts, she opened the door, her eyes still on the grey bus that she could spot despite the darkness outside, and rushed into the cold air of the night... Only to bump into a guy trying to get inside.

Their bodies collided, and Lena could suddenly feel a warm liquid going down her t-shirt, almost burning her skin. She cussed loudly from the hurt, apologized in a rush and continued. She didn't hear the man profusingly telling her how sorry he was. She had closed her mind to anything else than that bus she absolutely had to catch. Pulling her suitcase, she ran as fast as she could, but her heart nearly stopped when saw the turn signals light up and heard the engine going louder. When she got to the bus stop, she was out of breath, and the bus already far away. She let go of her suitcase, which landed noisily on the sidewalk, and sat down, her face in her hands.

She didn't even notice when it started raining. But at least, she thought, the raindrops would hide her angry tears. She didn't know what to do, and had no idea how she could have gotten herself in such a messy situation. It was already bad enough that she couldn't find the only persons that she cared about in the country, but now she was stuck outside, in a place she didn't know at all, unable to find somewhere to sleep. And it was pouring.

Her head hurt like hell. She couldn't think anymore. All she wanted to do was close her eyes, lay down on the sidewalk and sleep. She felt like she hadn't slept in weeks, and the realization that she had no hope anymore was starting to take its toll. She was alone again. And her hope was like tiny candles in the wind. The flame fluttered, tried to fight the breeze that was going stronger, then slowly died.

"Hey uhm...I'm sorry for bumping into you. Can I get you another coffee?"