by Amy Brent
“Morning sleepyhead, if you’re still sick then you didn’t need to come in today,” Rosie smiles as I greet her downstairs in the diner.
I came down earlier and said that I had a restless night and couldn’t keep anything down.
I didn’t even want to admit what was going on to myself, let alone discuss it with anyone else.
I nod my head I want to tell her the truth. Maybe she’ll have some wise words for me. Something to make me feel better about this situation. For the first time in my life, I realize that I’m alone. First I had my Grandma, then Spencer and afterwards Lena. I came here after a couple of days of being on the road, but now for the first time, I feel alone. No one to talk to and no one to share anything with.
“You look as pale as snow. Whatever you ate? It did a number on you,” Rosie’s trying to tell me subtly that I should go to bed or even worse to the doctors. I don’t feel like doing either of them right now.
I think that I’ve settled down a bit, I don’t feel like throwing up, and my enhanced sense of smell is not making my insides feel as if they’re being twisted in a knot.
I sigh, “It’s lonely upstairs.”
She laughs, “With all the noise from downstairs how can you be lonely? I’m giving you time off, and all you want to do is work.”
I look up at her sea blue eyes, if my mind’s busy then I won’t think about anything. Thinking is a sin. It leads to all the wrong thoughts. While I was bent over the toilet seeing the contents of what I ate last night. I thought about going to the doctor’s, having an abortion and then moving on.
Why?
Because staying here would be a constant reminder of what I had done. No, I was better off working today. I had to get used to being pregnant. The irony of the whole thing was if it was Spencer’s child. The man that I had loved for over four years. I wouldn’t have hesitated going to the doctor’s and booking an abortion.
We did plan on having a baby at one point. I used to dream about it until he hit me the first time and then that dream became a distant memory. The only reason I wanted to be here was so I could work up the courage to talk to Rosie.
“By the way, I think an old friend was in here looking for you earlier,” she says and then the words I don’t want to hear an echo in my ears.
“Old friend?”
She nods, “Just wait behind the tables at the front. I think that’ll be easier for you. I’m not even sure about you working here today. You don’t look good.”
She puts her chubby hands on my shoulder, like a mother to a child, concerned that their sick child would catch the bug that was going around the school.
“Why do you think that he’s a friend?”
She shakes her head as if she’s come back to the original conversation. The part that I’m interested in hearing and not the other about the tables.
“Oh, he said that you started working here and that he came here to see you,” Rosie is concerned that maybe she didn’t say the right thing. It’s written all over her face.
“Did he say what his name was?”
They’ve fucking found me; I feel as if I can’t breathe. Please tell me that she’s talking about someone else. She made a mistake, or the person that came here wasn’t for me. Anything to reassure me. To stop the walls closing in..
“Mr. …Price,” she’s waiting for a reaction. I can hear them coming in for the lunchtime rush. The usual crowd, but there’s only one thing on my mind.
How?
How did he know that I was here?
“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. He didn’t even call you by your name at first. I knew that you were running from something. You moved here without a change of clothes. I should have been careful. Why can’t I learn to keep my mouth shut?” she covers her mouth as she continues ranting, “I’ve put my foot in it.”
She’s looking around the diner, and her eyes are worried that he’ll come in at any moment. I should get the fuck out of here. My cover’s been blown, I was kidding myself, but there’s something missing. If he did know that I was here, then he would have waited. Right now, he’s the only person that I can talk to.
Maybe he can help me.
After all, I’m carrying his baby. Even if I don’t know his first name.
“Rosie, it’s fine. I’m going to work these tables when he comes in then we’ll talk. Okay?”
She nods her head and starts to walk away, but then she rushes back and says, “Are you sure?”
I laugh, it’s false, and anyone who knew me would know that I was as nervous as hell.
“Yes.”
“Good, because he’s sitting right over there,” she points at the far end of the diner. He takes off his glasses and salutes me. If he were a friend, I would laugh and pretend that everything was okay. But, I can’t. He’s not even a friend. Just the daddy of my unborn baby.
Chapter 12: Hunter
She smiles at me, but I can see that she’s so fucking nervous as she doesn’t even pretend that we’re old friends. That’s what I told the big girl, the one who’s obviously the boss. She’s friendly as hell, and everyone addressed her as she came in. That was the first giveaway. That was why I observed the place for a couple of days before I came in here.
I never saw Maddie enter or leave, so I had to ask, yet I had seen her working inside. That was when I figured that she worked here and probably lived above the diner. Her boss, Rosie confirmed it when I asked for her. She was careful not to give me too many details, but I knew enough to know that Maddie was working here. I even told her that I was in the local motel, the only one in case she wanted to get in touch. That was two hours ago; I knew her name from the local motel. The old man asked me how long I was in town. All I had to say was that I was visiting an old friend who just worked at the diner.
Before, I knew it he blurted out her name, ‘Oh Hazel. Sweet girl. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see a familiar face.’
I smiled back at him and said, ‘Yes, it'd be good to see her again. It’s been a while.’
He nodded as if he was happy that she was reconnecting with an old friend and I thought about the last time we met. The time that I told her that I didn’t do small talk. Now I was in town; we were going to do more than that. Maddie and I were going to go from one extreme to the next, and I worried that maybe my dick was doing the thinking and it had got this thing all wrong.
“What are you doing here?” she asks nervously as she looks around making sure that no one can hear the conversation.
“That’s not a nice way to greet an old friend, especially after you’ve changed so much.”
She stops in her tracks as if she’s surprised by my comment. Her once green eyes are blue. Her dark, black hair is now shade lighters with highlights, and she’s even filled out a bit. There’s something different about her; I can’t figure it out. She doesn’t look like the innocent girl that I first met. The one that knew what she wanted, but then hesitated to take it.
“What is it?” I say concerned, something that I’m crossing the line even further. I went above the call of duty coming here and driving all night. And even worse when I told a dying man that I was coming to save her, not kill her.
“I just don’t know how you found me. I mean does that mean you’re here too?”
Kill you?
I lie and shake my head. I have visions of her running in her tight yellow uniform screaming down the street hoping that someone would rescue her from her predicament. Adam told me the story, but I want to hear it from her.
Maybe that night, after I finished the job and I bumped into her. If I had taken her back to the room, then none of this would be happening. The irony of a chance meeting could have changed both of our lives if I thought with my dick back then. But then again, who would have known the consequences if I had taken her back to my room.
I never doubt my moves, thoughts or anything else. Maddie's got me doing all of this, and I hate her for doing it to me. It fucking winds me up, not as
much as her staring at me as if I’m fucking God coming to rescue her from the tortures that she faces if they catch up with her.
She doesn’t realize that I’m the devil in disguise. I’m the one they’ve sent to put her life to an end.
But I can’t do it not now. Not like this, so I stand up and say, “Meet me at the motel when you finish. I’ll b waiting.”
She laughs and says, “Just like last time.”
I want to respond to her. Say something smart or even cute, so she doesn’t feel nervous. There’s a chill running down my spine as I think about her words. Maybe this is one big set-up. I don`t know that Adam’s dying. Just because he told me that he didn't mean that it’s true.
I need to go back to the motel for more reason than one. Up until now, my focus has been on Maddie. Adam said something about someone following her. Who? So, far I never noticed anyone, and I make sure that I stake every piece of the place that I’m staying at. Including this one. I walk out of the diner, and all I can hear are the echoes of her words, “I’ll be there around six.”
I shut the diner door, and she’s still standing and staring. For a minute, I think that I see a reflection looking at her. I turn around, and there’s no one. Now, this thing is one big fucking mess. Not only is she being stalked, but I’m pretty confident so am I.
It’s then that I notice something different about us. About her. She’s not the stranger that was in the hotel. The one that I was only spending one night with never to meet ever again. This was something different. A situation that I wasn’t used to and made me want to get the fuck out of here.
Danger never scared me, but falling for her could be the first time in my life that I wasn’t just scared. I was fucking petrified.
Chapter 13: Maddie
I finish my shift, and I’d be lying if I was to say that time went fast today because it was the complete opposite. It went so slowly, and all I kept thinking about was Mr. Price. The irony of him being in the motel just felt surreal. I’d been thinking about him so much lately, and he was here. Waiting for me and I was carrying his baby. Rosie was worried from the moment that I said I was going to meet him.
It had nothing to do with the baby that I was carrying, but for some reason, I felt safe with him. As if being with him would get rid of the fears and insecurities. I go up to my apartment and get ready to go to see him.
Just like I did that night. The one that got me in trouble, I start applying the little make-up that I have and debate whether to change into my jeans and a shirt or a dress. That’s the extent of my closet. I came with nothing and luckily, I spend most of my time in the diner, so I don’t need many clothes. I’m so conscious of spending money or even buying too many things because I know that I’m going to be spending my life on the run. Where to no one knows?
Maybe I can tell him about the baby, and we can figure out what to do next? I smile at the idea, that God heard my prayers. I said that I wanted something to happen. Someone to come and give me a helping hand. I thought that person could be Rosie. But now I knew it was Mr. Price; I felt whole again. Not scared, there was something about him that made me feel safe.
I slowly leave the diner, wondering if after tonight I would come back again. Maybe I was presumptuous, but I had a feeling that he was here for a reason and it wasn’t to see how I was doing.
He knew.
“Hey, Mr. Walkings, how are you?”
He smiled at me, with a confused look as he scratches his head. The same thing that he does whenever he comes to the diner. I know the real reason that he’s nervous when he comes to the diner. There’s only one woman that he avoids eye contact with whenever he visits and that’s Rosie.
“Fine. you want to see your friend?”
I nod, a friend is a bit of a joke. I still don’t even know his first name. Thank goodness Mr. Walkings saved me the embarrassment of asking for it.
“Well, he’s in room number 10. Just at the end of the hall.”
I’m just about to thank him, but then he asks, “Is Rosie still at the diner?”
I walk up to him, “Why don’t you ask her out?”
He shakes his head, “I couldn’t do that. She’s still grieving.”
I know he’s right and there’s not a day that doesn’t go by when Rosie doesn’t mention Ben. Harry, the cook, told me that she closed the diner for six months after Ben passed away. They had no kids, and maybe that would have helped the healing process, but either way she had only opened up the diner six months ago.
“They say that time heals all wounds.”
He nods thoughtfully and looks up, “It does. I should know.”
I’m about to ask him something because I never knew that he had anyone in his life before. But then Mr. Price comes out in the hallway, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Yes, I just went home to change after work.”
There’s an awkward silence as Mr. Walkings is watching the pair of us as if he’s looking at a tennis match. Mr. Price is just staring at me. His eyes are dark, and they fall on me as if he’s scanning me and it makes me feel nervous.
“Should we go out for a walk?”
The idea of being stuck in his room used to be appeal to me, today it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.
“No. We need to talk.”
I walk behind him as he directs us to his room. I take a deep breath as he shuts the door.
“Do you want a drink?”
“No.”
I stand nervously thinking that this is a lot different to the last time we were in a hotel room. There was no promise of a sexy time.
“What are you doing here?”
I didn’t waste any time getting to the point.
“Maybe you need to sit down.”
I shake my head, trying to hold my ground, “It’s Okay. I’ll stand.”
The man that didn’t even want to have small talk was now trying to engage in a conversation. He looked different not being in the black. He was still as sexy as hell in his white polo shirt and tan pants. But he seemed like an ordinary guy. Not a bad boy that hung around casinos and picking up women and offering them a real time. From the waist below.
“Why are you smiling?”
I sit down, thinking that I shouldn’t be hostile. This isn’t me. There was no need to pretend, “I was just thinking of the last time we were in a hotel room,” he smiles as his dark eyes look at me. Is that sincerity that I see on his face?
“So, do I get to find out your real name?”
“Hunter.”
He smiles at me. I wonder what’s going through his mind?
I’m just about to ask him something when he springs up quickly from the chair from across the room and says, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe we do need to get out of here.”
“But you said…”
“Yes, but a man’s allowed to change his mind, isn’t he?”
I didn’t have an answer to the question. He already had my arm and was dragging me out of the door. As we hit the reception desk. He says, “Didn’t you say that Rosie called and asked if Mr. Walkings would like to go to her place for a cup of cocoa or something?”
“Did you say something?” Mr. Walkings asks as he looks at Hunter and then me. This is a game; he wants Mr. Walkings out of the hotel. The question is why? But, I play along to make sure that he leaves.
“I said that Rosie says that she wants you to go to her place for a cup of cocoa.”
He didn’t need me to repeat it twice. “Are you leaving? You’re my only guest. I hope you don’t mind?”
No, but I could tell that Hunter had something up his sleeve. He smiles as Mr. Walkings hobbles out of his motel as if his life depends on it.
“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
He shakes his head, “I won’t be able to until we get out of here and you’re safe.”
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. Something’s going on and I can see the fear in his eyes as he covers it with his sunglasse
s and continues walking at a quick, but steady pace.
Chapter 14: Hunter
We’re in the park, nearby my getaway car. I can see that Maddie’s not ready to leave with me. I don’t blame her. She deserves an explanation. I just didn’t expect things to go down like this.
“You need to listen to me Maddie and listen very carefully.”
She nods her head. I can tell that she’s scared, but I have no time to explain in detail what’s going down.
“You witnessed a shooting. Right?”
She nods her head frantically, “My ex he was shot, but I don’t even know who killed him. But, I am aware that they could be after me. He was into all sorts of shit. Bad stuff. He was an evil man.”
“The one that gave you the bruises?”
Her tears start flowing through just like they did that night.
“Hunter I have no one. I had to leave,” I wipe the tears and ask, “But what are you doing here?”
“I’ve come for you. They want you dead.”
There’s no way I can sugar coat this, they want her dead, and I’ve been paid to do the deed. Half now and the rest when I do the deed.
“Please don’t kill me,” she screams as I hold her arm and try and lead her to the car. She’s acting hysterical, I need to calm her down, or we’ll both be dead. I put a finger to her lips, “Please be quiet.”
She starts to take deep breaths and then she starts muttering, “Baby.”
“What did you say?”
She hasn’t got my full attention, if my instincts are right, then we’ll both be killed if we stay out here any longer. It won’t take long for them to figure out that she’s not at the apartment. Diner or motel. I should have told her from when I saw her the first time. I’ve spent days here admiring her as if she’s a diamond in a jewel shop and all I can do is look at it from the outside, and I can never buy it.
Silly me, because I should have told her from the start that she was in trouble. I wasn’t a friend. I was hired to kill her, and I still didn’t know if it was better to kill her or not?