No Strings Attached

Chapter 3

I was running through a dark alleyway. Something was chasing me, but I didn't know what. All I knew was that it was dangerous.

Foolishly I looked behind me to see if I was outrunning whatever was trailing shortly behind. I wasn't watching where I was going, so I stumbled over a wooden crate, scraping my hands and knees. As quickly as I could, I picked myself up and forced my legs to keep moving, but my delay was too long. The thing caught up to me, and it towered over me, it's silhouette making it appear even more frightening in the dim light of the setting sun.

On the ground, I desperately crawled backwards, trying to escape from the monster. It leaned over to grab me by the collar of my shirt when—

"Tegan!" my dad called.

I bolted upright, breathing a little heavy and jerking my head around the room to make sure I was still in the motel.

"I was trying to wake you up," Dad said. "You looked really distressed."

"Oh," I sighed between gasps. "It was just a nightmare."

"Well, it's ten o'clock. We should get moving."

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, rubbing my face with my hands as if to wipe the dream from my memory. "Alright. Let me shower and then we'll head off."

Just then, I heard a knocking on the door. If it's Eric, I swear to God...

"I'll get it," Dad offered, already heading towards the door. He opened it and welcomed the visitor.

Eric stepped through the threshold. Irritation bubbled inside me. "Hey, there. Did you have a nice sleep? I hope I didn't wake you."

"Nope," I said emotionlessly, stretching my long and twig-like arms, "I just woke up before you came."

"Good," Eric said. "Can I interest you two in a breakfast bar?"

"Umm..." Dad glanced at me for approval, and I gave him a sign that I was hoping told him that I was uncomfortable with Eric, so he should decline. Thankfully he took the message, and made it seem like I wasn't the one hurting the plans. "Sorry, Teapot. It's already getting pretty late. We can pick something up on the road." He turned back to Eric. "Thank you for the offer, but we must be on our way."

"Are you sure?" Eric pleaded. "We can get you out of here in two shakes of a rabbit's tail."

My dad thought for a moment, as if considering. "No, I don't think so. We need to be on our way as soon as possible."

"That's all right," Eric said a bit disappointed. "Come check out in the lobby when you're ready."

Dad led him out the door casually. I could tell that even he was getting annoyed with the bellboy. "We will. See you then." He shut the door before Eric could respond.

Dad faced me. "He's quite a character."

"Imagine last night when you were asleep," I said sarcastically, recalling the strange interaction I had with the persistent bellboy.

"Did he come on to you? I'll kill him," Dad protectively said, worried for my own safety.

"No, no," I insisted. "He just would not leave me alone. I had to slam the door in his face in order for him to get the hint.

"Clearly though, he didn't take it well, since he came back."

I agreed, and continued to ready myself for the rest of the trip. I showered and changed into a different t-shirt and sweatpants. I threw my hair up in a bun and dabbed the slightest bit of makeup on, just so my skin didn't have weird red blotches.