Pieces of Us (SatoGou)

Chapter 6

"Hello," I say, when she finally looks up. "Do you have any rooms?"

"One left," she says blandly. "Room six. Thirty dollars."

I pull out the money and hand it to her, and she hands me a rusty key. She takes my name and number, and then goes right back to ignoring me. I huff and run back out to my car, grabbing the backpack but leaving the case for now, then running for the shelter of the walkway. I follow the numbers down until I reach six, and unlock the door.

The room is basic, but looks clean, at least. I can't believe my luck, having to wait out a freak storm like this when I'm trying to get home. I pull out my phone, and see I finally have one bar of signal, and a bunch of unread texts from Dawn, freaking out over my disappearance, and trying to explain herself. I open them, so she'll see I'm at least alive, but don't respond. I sigh and fall back onto the hard bed and kick off my shoes, crawling under the covers, closing my eyes. I think about the road trip, imagining all the things Dawn had planned, and how much fun it would have been if we were all still friends.

I finally call Gary, and he picks up almost instantly, sounding perkier than I expected. I explain that I had to go, but that when he's back from the honeymoon, I'll visit them again. He doesn't seem bothered, anyway.

I don't necessarily plan on sleeping, but I wake up some time later, fully dressed and groggy, my eyes stuck together. I groan and reach for my phone to check the time, and see it's 4:30pm.

Hopeful that maybe a miracle has occurred and the storm has passed already, I go to the small window and pull the curtain to the side, only to see the rain seems to be even heavier somehow, and the fog is still just as thick, rolling over the parking lot. I sigh and yank the curtain back, then stand there, considering my next move. I don't have any food, and my stomach is angry and empty. My only real option is to go to the office, and ask if they have anything.

I pull a scrunched up hoodie out of my backpack and pull it over my head, but don't bother fixing my hair before heading out of the door, locking it behind me. It's freezing outside, so I hurry down the walkway to where the office sits, not thrilled about having to speak to the lady behind the desk again. It only takes a few seconds to reach the doors, but when I do I freeze, because there's a man at the desk, and it looks an awful lot like-

He turns to the side a little, and I catch a better glimpse of his face. Yep. It's Goh. My heart somersaults in my chest, and I groan. How is it that we've avoided each other for eight years, and now he seems to be everywhere I go? I debate turning around and coming back in five minutes when he'll be gone, but then I remember the lady saying I took the last room.

I suck in a deep breath and push open the doors. He turns as I enter, and I see his face twist when he realises that it's me. I shove my hands in the pocket of the hoodie and frown right back at him.

The lady goes back to reading the book, satisfied that Goh must be done talking since he's looked away. I take a step towards him. "Of course you're here," he says bitterly.

"Real nice." I roll my eyes.

"Tried to leave for Vermilion," he sighs. "Guess you did too?"

"Left for Pallet. Didn't get far."

He shifts his weight awkwardly and looks around the room. "Looks like I'm waiting in my car for it to pass. No rooms left."

My stomach flips, my racing heart making me feel a little dizzy. I hesitate for a few long, silent seconds, before saying: "You can stay with me, if you want."

"Huh? You already have a room?"

"Yeah," I say. I feel so nauseous I might puke right here on the stained carpet.