Nowhere But You

Chapter 27

Robin put the keychain in the front pocket of her robe and closed the door to her room just as carefully as she had opened it. Although she was very much awake, she instinctively rubbed her eyes, yawned and stretched her arms.

Where was she going?

She had no clue, actually. Back home, whenever sleeplessness struck her, she preferred to get up from bed and quietly walk around the house. That usually did the trick. On the road, and particularly at the beginning, she just stared out the window.

In a hotel, well... this was a first.

She walked a few steps until she reached the elevator and realized she wasn't alone. She spotted someone she knew, sitting on the arm of a very outdated couch in the small lobby of the floor. Facing a window and very lost in thought.

Robin smirked and tiptoed her way towards this fellow insomniac guest. She gently tapped his back, which made him jolt and turn around immediately.

"What the f—" He was about to yell but contained himself in the quiet night. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"You scared the shit out of me!" Robin whispered back. This tone of voice between them was not a rare occurrence back in the day. "Nathan Harrison without a hat, or... anything in his head?"

"Gotta let the scalp breathe." He ruffled his light brown hair, which he kept long barely touching his shoulders. It looked freshly washed and wavy. No headwear in him was an uncommon sight, indeed. Robin stood in front of him and crossed her arms.

"Why are you here in the middle of the night?" She inquired.

"Same question." He retorted. "Can't sleep?"

She shook her head no and noticed he was drinking from a bottle.

"Me neither. Too much adrenaline." He elaborated, after a sip. "Beer, better than a sleeping pill. Want one? I remember it was the same for you—"

"I thought you didn't drink anymore."

"It's just one beer." He frowned.

"Two, actually. You just offered me one, which was clearly for you too."

Nathan just exhaled deeply, aware that he could not win this argument. He took the spare bottle from a small table next to the couch and opened it for her. Robin snatched it from his hand.

As the cold, bitter liquid traveled down her throat, she watched him for a second. There it was, that overprotective sense of hers manifesting again. It's not that she really wanted the beer, but her instinct told her it was better in her hands... She just hoped Nathan wouldn't return to his old ways.

He was wearing an old, black, long sleeved shirt with a Beatles logo on the front. Robin knew it was rather thin... she had worn it a couple of times back in the day.

"Aren't you cold in that?"

"No, I'm fine."

"God, I'm freezing." She put the beer bottle down and crossed her arms tighter in front of her. Her robe was warm, but not enough. "I think the heating is broken in this place. What a dump."

"It's okay." He snorted. "The shower was good."

"Ha. You're right." She agreed. "I wanted to move into that shower permanently. I will never, ever take showering daily for granted after this."

Silence.

"So what's keeping you up?" He asked, curious.

"I don't know." She sighed. It was a mélange of too many things. "I slept soundly for like an hour, and then—" she opened her eyes wide.