Barely There

Chapter 8 - Midnight Motel

The car came to a stop. She gathered herself before turning to him.

"Thanks for the ride...and you know the other thing."

He chuckled dryly, the sound escaping the full barrier of his lips. She opened the door and stepped out dreamily, her mind cluttered by the afternoon's events. The rain drizzled down on her softly as she walked towards the motel.

The motel was surrounded by stretches of road and trees with no other sign of life around. The building was worn down, dirt and grime covering the exterior. The colors were faded with time and there were some questionable cracks in the walls and wood outside. It was not luxurious but rather practical, as it was close to both the cemetery and airport.

She walked through the chipped wooden doors, greeted by the smell of mold and dust. The decor inside was as outdated as the exterior and the grayish, green wallpaper was covered with a layer of dust. The dust scattered, gleaming in the white light that streamed in through the windows as Leda walked towards the front desk. The receptionist looked at her warily, taking in the girl's ragged appearance. The woman smiled forcefully, her eyes judgemental.  

"Hi, welcome to Sunshine lodge. How can I help you today?"

"Hi! I just need one room for the night"

"Okay....that will be seventy dollars.

The brunette reached into her rain filled bag. As she searched for her wallet, water dripped down slowly, the bag sagging under its own weight. 

Drip.

Each drop that fell on the dirty tiles sounded like a tick of a broken clock and the receptionist shifted restlessly in her spot. Leda took out her leather wallet hurriedly as soon as she found it, almost tripping over herself in the midst of her action. She slid her card across the counter as the woman glared. 

"Your room is farthest down the hall."

"Ok thank you."

Leda grabbed the key from the annoyed woman before moving forward. She looked at the key quickly, noticing the old, white label on it with the number eight. As she trudged through the ancient hallways, her soaked clothes dragged her downwards, forcing her to exert more energy. She finally entered the room, relieved to be out of sight. The rooms were as worn down and dirty as the rest of the establishment as they probably hadn't been cleaned for a long time. Dust covered each corner and the wallpaper on the walls was tearing all over. The air within the rooms was heavy and musty and the windows wouldn't open as their edges were layered with dried paint. The stains on the bedsheets and pillows made her shudder. All exhaustion escaped from her body as she imagined sleeping in the stained bed.

She took off her dripping jacket and hung it on a hanger in the bathroom. She turned on the water for the shower letting it run for a bit to warm up. She was about to slip off her wet clothes when knocking sounded throughout the small room. She didn't process the sound for a second or two and the person behind the door became more agitated, knocking more harshly on the wooden barrier. 

"Coming!" she yelled, annoyed that whoever it was had no patience whatsoever.

She opened the door cautiously and found herself face-to-face with his ivory face. 

"Grayson? What are you-"

"I asked the front desk about you. I just-...I don't-" 

His frustration seeped from under his skin as he tried to articulate a million different things at once. His eyes searched her brown ones for something that neither would ever be able to find. The sound of the running shower from behind her broke his tense stare and his eyes darted to the direction of the sound. His eyebrows fell down slightly as his body became more rigid and cautious in the empty hallway.

"Is there someone else in there?"

Something flashed through his face during the brief void  of silence before she answered.

"No."

Neither of them said anything for a while and the only sound that could be heard, other than the shower, was the constant sound of water droplets hitting the wooden floors in soft thuds. A breeze blew through the hallway and she shuddered, still in her wet clothes. Self-consciously she covered her arms across her chest seeing that her shirt was a thin material and was sticking to her rather annoyingly. He looked up.

"Did you finish it?"

As confusion flashed on her face, he elaborated.

"Did you finish Pride and Prejudice?"

Shocked, she answered quietly and cautiously, not sure why he was still there,"No, not yet."

Silence creeped up again, resuming. She broke it.

"Grayson why are you here?"

"I don't know. I wanted-. Look, do you want to do something tonight?"

Her eyebrows rose up.

"Like what?"

"Like just hang out. Go somewhere."

A small smirk etched onto her olive face and she furrowed her eyes at him playfully.

"I don't know...How do I know you're not planning to murder me?"

He grinned at her, flashing his pearly, white teeth in the dim hallway. He spoke softly, avoiding all of her questions.

"I'll pick you up at 1."

"In the morning?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't that a bit late?'

He smiled softly, amused by her confusion.

"Trust me." 

"Ok."

Somewhere in the world, the stars aligned.