Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
She turns her gaze to the window and watches the passing scenery as we continue down the road.
“I used to see this guy named Garrett for a brief time.” Her entire posture grows stiff in the passenger seat next to me as she continues speaking. “But I learned early on that he was a little obsessive.”
“Obsessive how?”
She gives me a small shrug. “Just got really pushy and weird with me after we’d gone on two dates, which were major red flags for me. He got violent when I refused a third date and then pretty much started stalking me.” She drops her gaze to her lap. “When things got a bit too dangerous for me, I just packed up what I could and left to start over in a new town. I used a name that he wouldn’t know.”
“How’ve you been managing since then if you didn’t have anything?”
Just when I didn’t think I could feel worse, she managed to do so. I figured there had to be extreme circumstances that she was trying to get out of it if she was willing to sell her virginity to strangers.
“I’ve managed with odd jobs at bars as a waitress, but as you can see by my current living conditions, the pay doesn’t allow me to be able to get much.” She pats the bag sitting on her lap. “Someone told me about Purgatory and mentioned that I could make a lot of money there if I was a virgin willing to sell my virginity to a high-level member. Seemed like an opportunity for a new start.”
“I see.”
Just listening to everything she’s been through only makes me feel more guilty for everything I have put her through since we laid eyes on her. I grip the steering wheel a little tighter. Words burn to leave my mouth, but nothing I want to say feels right. I’m not sure what to say, so I let the silence wrap around us for the duration of the ride.
The hotel is a welcomed sight when it finally appears. It’s strange how our dynamic has changed so quickly. One minute, I saw her as the enemy, yet she turned out to be a blast from our past. Though she’s not a stranger, the way that I can’t think of anything appropriate to say now makes it feel like she is.
She continues to sit in the car for a few moments, nibbling on her bottom lip as she stares out the window.
“Are you…expecting to teleport up to your room or something?” I ask after a while.
She blinks and then looks over at me before she shakes her head. “Guess I got lost in thought.” She unfastens her seatbelt. I’m surprised she didn’t try to jump out of the car before it stopped moving. Her blue eyes glance up at me. “Do you…mind walking me up to my room? Anything can happen between the door and actually getting to the hotel room.”
Her hand nervously clutches the handle of the bag as worry twinkles in her eyes, and I nod. We both get out and make our way inside. I almost chuckle as I watch the way she navigates through the hotel lobby. If her objective is to look as unsuspecting as possible, she’s doing a terrible job. Her eyes are wide, and she is looking all around as she clutches the bag so tight that it would make someone think she had something she shouldn’t. I put an arm around her shoulder, glad that she doesn’t pull away or cringe this time. In fact, she presses herself deeper against my side, and I embrace the warmth coming from her. It’ll probably be a while before I have this kind of moment with her again.
We ride the elevator up to the floor her room is on, and things immediately feel off as soon as we step off. I keep my head on a swivel, trying to find something out of place. But it doesn’t take long to find the issue when we reach the door to her room.
“What the…” her sentence trails off as we both freeze.
The door is slightly ajar, which is strange on its own. There isn’t a cleaning cart anywhere in the hall, so I know for a fact that it’s not housekeeping. Not to mention, they wouldn’t come so late in the day to clean, and Cleo hasn’t checked out to prompt them to clean it.
“Hold on a second,” I say, holding a hand up to her.
“I don’t feel good about this,” she says. I don’t respond to her as I cautiously walk into the room, noticing that the deadbolt on the door is broken, so now the door won’t latch properly. Her things look as if they’ve been rummaged through, clothes and documents scattered over the sitting area and floor. Who the hell else knew she was here? I know Talon didn’t do this, as he has access to the room. Either way, I know she can’t stay here anymore.