Tangled

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Terribly similar to the motels shown in American horror films, the one Niall and Tatum arrived at had a ghostly feel to it that made them both wonder if they should pick somewhere else to stay instead. Surely, there had to be more motels close by. But it was late, later than Niall had predicted it would take them to reach their destination. He figured now that all the short breaks following the McDonald’s one were a waste and had come back to haunt him.

Either way, he slowly parked the car in the lot and leaped out, joining Tatum on the short trip to the main office. A gust of cold air hit them flat in the face as soon as they entered, the bells lightly overhead.

There was a short man in a tattered suit and glasses perched at the bridge of his nose sitting on a tall stool at the check-in desk. He was occupied with his virtual game, his bushy eyebrows furrowed together and his lips in a thin, tight line. He had not bothered to may on ounce of attention to the couple who had recently walked in and continued on jumping over tree trunks and grabbing gold points. Tatum kept close to Niall this time as he rang the bell to capture the stranger’s interest.

“Uh, sorry, mate.” The man stuttered, finally hopping off his seat to smile at them. “People don’t come here as often as they used to, so I stopped paying attention to the door. Anyways, what can I get for ya?”

“A room, please.”

The man flipped open a thick, leather bound book and took the cap off a pen from his pocket, “one or two beds?”

Niall glanced at Tatum who blushed and stuck her tongue out at him. That was all he needed as an answer. “One bed’s fine.”

The man noted it down and swiveled around to grab a key from the hooks. Then, he escorted the two blondes outside where it had begun to pour in buckets. This only added to Tatum’s discomfort. She tried breathing in and out slowly, calming herself the way she had been taught at a younger age. The last thing she wanted to do was worry the boy who had instantly made home on their bed once the man departed.

Niall switched his jumper and trousers for a plain, white shirt and boxer shorts. On normal occasions, he slept similar to his best friend, Harry, unclothed, but he reckoned it would not suit well with Tatum tonight. She had gone into the loo to change herself and walked out dressed in her favourite polar bear pajamas. The racket of the thunder and lightning outside made her heart skip a beat as she jumped into bed, allowing a deep chuckle to escape the Irish boy’s lips.

“Tatum, what’s wrong?”

She bit down on her trembling bottom lip. The curtains on the window next to her end of the bed were not drawn fully and it bothered her. The boy followed her gaze till he found the root of her uneasiness. He rolled out of bed immediately, striding over to close it. Then he turned to her with a radiant smile that honestly lit up the entire room. He nodded at her to make some room for him, sliding in next to her. She let him seize her body before pulling her close till her head was resting against his chest. A new sort of comfort overtook her and she closed her eyes.

“This okay?”

Tatum looked up at him, her green eyes staring into his blue ones. He blinked once, trying to locate an answer in her irises. But they were difficult to read, much in comparison to the rest of her.

“Why do you care about me so much?” She asked her voice barely above a whisper.

Niall looked down at her with the same smile he had plastered on earlier. “Why?”

“I just want to know why you’re not like other boys.”

He chuckled, the vibration hurdling through Tatum’s head, “because you’re not like other girls. You mean a lot to me…I’m not sure, but I think I love you.”