Crimson Mist ✔️

14: Are the voices my pack?

We come to a stop outside a shady-looking motel, that Tyler and Michael had apparently found online. It's really close to the main road, so there wasn't a big detour going in here, but the whole place gives me the chills.

I wait outside by the cars with Michael as Jeremy and Tyler goes inside to see if they have any free rooms for the night. They probably do, since the parking lot is almost empty, and most of the rooms don't have any lights on. Michael walks over to me, and he nudges my shoulder when he's close enough, before leaning on the hood of Jeremy's car.

"How are you? You've been kind of weird today," he says.

"Weird how?" I ask, arching a brow at him.

"You've been quieter than usual. Plus, you're not even looking at Jeremy. Did he do something?"

I scrunch my nose up, involuntary, and I don't even know I've done it before it's too late. I see Michael eyeing me with a certain amount of surprise in his eyes, but then he looks like he's amused. Maybe he just thinks he's rubbing off on me..

"Everything's fine," I say, and shrug it off.

I look towards the shady building while I try to convince myself that those words are true. They are, to an extent, but not really. I look at the white paint that's coming off most places, and the gray concrete underneath that looks dirty and not well maintained at all. It looks like a place I would have tried to sneak into, or pick the lock in a few weeks ago, to get some sleep in a warm bed. No one would really care if I did that. They would probably just chase me off in the morning, and then my mission would have been accomplished either way.

"That's what people say when the truth is the opposite," Michael says, and pulls me towards him by my arm, lowering his voice before speaking next. "What did he do?"

"Nothing," I mutter, "I'm just sore. I shifted last night, and it was awful."

"There's something you're not telling me," he says, but the other guys are on their way back, so I send him a smile and avoid the subject. I don't want Jeremy to listen in on me confessing that I have mixed feelings about sleeping in his arms. Or, hell, even in his bed, in his room.

"Let's go," Tyler says, winking at me, before sliding his hand into Michael's. "We've got number eight, those two have sixteen, so neither of us has to listen to each other tonight."

"There's just... two rooms?" I question, looking up at Jeremy.

"Yeah, I thought that after last night you'd want to share," he answers, scratching the back of his neck and I look over towards Michael who undoubtedly caught that, and narrows his eyes at me.

"Last night? What happened last night, Jeremy?" Michael asks, as if he's mad at us both for not telling him crucial information.

"Nothing, Mike," he answers, and sends his friends a glare. "I helped her shift, and then we went to sleep. Go get each other off or whatever it is that you have planned that made Ty want to have a room far away from us."

Jeremy pushes them both away, and turns to walk behind the car to get our stuff.

"We've got to get you a phone, Elle, so we can chat about this without them knowing," Michael says eagerly, before they both disappear towards their room for the night.

I sigh, and bite my lip before I walk around the car to grab my backpack, but Jeremy already has it around his shoulder. He closes the trunk and locks his car, before grabbing my hand and leads me across the parking lot, to our room. Our room. I wasn't expecting him to just assume I'd want to share a bed with him again, especially not since I ran off so quickly this morning, but I guess I'll have to survive another night in his warm embrace, feeling his breath against my hair, and listening to his calming heartbeat...