Through Her Shattered Eyes ✔

Chapter 17

I nod.

He drives around the back of the hotel building, where the parking lot is almost deserted. The only vehicles around here are two SUVs, a Volkswagen Beetle, and a freight truck. Once the car is parked, both of us open our doors simultaneously and get out. We walk straight up to room twenty-four, which is on the first floor and in front of us. Nathan takes one of the key cards and slides it in and out of the lock. A little green light flashes brightly, accompanied with a soft beeping noise. He turns the handle and we enter the room, the fresh and clean smell hanging heavily in the air.

It's not a very big space but in front of us is a small kitchenette and an equally small living area. There's a door to the right of it. Probably the bedroom.

As Nathan empties his pockets, I make a beeline for the bedroom, taking a seat on the edge of a full-sized bed once I'm there. I undo the shoelaces for my Vans and pull them both off along with my no-show socks, placing them in the corner of the room.

I take off my cardigan, now only wearing a cami, and set it aside on the dresser. Then I plop myself on the soft mattress and stare up at the ceiling.

With the drive to North Carolina, meeting Erika's grandmother and Allison, the New Year's memory, driving back home. It's no wonder Nathan and I feel exhausted, we'd been out for nearly seventeen hours. I'm certain, unless my family and I plan a vacation, I don't ever want to take long hour trips anywhere anymore. I think for now I'm good.

"You're not using those pillows, right?" Nathan asks all of a sudden.

Turning my head to face him, I see he's out of uniform. Well, sort of. He's still wearing his black pants, but his uniform shirt is gone and he's just wearing a tank. Which looks nice on him, I have to admit. It fits the frame of his body very well and hugs his muscles in all the right places. I catch myself staring at him for too long and quickly turn away, suddenly finding the dresser really fascinating.

"No, I'm not," I say.

"Okay. I'm taking the floor."

Nathan proceeds to grab one of the many pillows that's on the bed along with a couple extra sheets I'm also not using. Then, he takes two steps to the left side of the bed and unfolds the first blanket to spread it across the floor, throwing the pillow and the other sheet down there afterward. He disappears from the bedroom and turns off all the other lights. He comes back a minute later and goes for the lamp by the dresser. Soon, the room is engulfed by darkness. The only light that's left comes from the streetlights outside the building.

Nathan shuffles the blankets around as he lies down. I do the same, pulling the covers up to my chin and wrapping them tightly around my body.

"Good night, Alexis," he says, yawning.

"Good night," I reply back.

It's quiet for a few minutes, with the exception of the A/C unit running. I lay on my right side, fiddling with the hem of the blankets and chewing my bottom lip. My body is beyond exhausted but my mind isn't. A couple things have me thinking. The first thought is Nathan helping me with finding out more about Erika's life before she was killed. Though I'm grateful for his assistance, it makes me wonder why he's doing it. Why after not seeing each other for a little while he'd still help.

Then there's what Allison told me before Nathan and I left her apartment.

'You just make sure he deserves your trust.' It wasn't until then I realized, oddly enough, I did trust him. And I still do. Maybe it's the fact I don't have anybody else to turn to and Nathan's the only person who actually seems interested in trying to help me. But that doesn't mean he really believes me when I get memories on random occasions. He's probably only here just to appease my desire of finding Erika's murderer. Nathan's a cop, though. He wouldn't agree to do something just because. Policemen don't work that way.