Dream of This

[Twenty]

We'd been driving for hours and it was getting dark. There was a time when I worried that we got so far from the city and I was leaving my daughter behind. Then, she'd been gone long enough she could be anywhere now.
   
I rested my head against the cold window and let a tear roll down my cheek. It's been five days. I hoped the boy with her was keeping her safe. Her kidnappers seemed to make it imperative that she was to remain alive and unharmed. Gracie was bait for my father, they took her to get him and it would work. I tried not to focus on the memories of what those people had done to my mother. How they stripped her magic. I needed to distract myself from these thoughts. I knew we would find her before something happened.
   
"Since we are on a road trip, what's one place you've always wanted to travel to?" Erik's voice pulled me from my inner musings. I knew what he was doing and the distraction was necessary. I let his voice and the music to distract me from my own thoughts.
   
"When I was younger I dreamt of seeing the world. I kept a travel journal and plotted the places to go. Sophia made sure that dream was a reality. She took me to Paris when I was ten, and then every year after we went somewhere on my list." Sophia, she was amazing like that. We would spend a week every summer vacation and every Christmas some place on my travel list. "There isn't a place I've dreamt of going that I haven't been." I turned my head and let the darkness of the world slip by. We had been on the road for hours. Erik found a subtle way to keep his distance from my father's car but continued to follow.
   
"That's impressive"
   
"What about you?" The conversation of travel worked to draw my attention from my darker thoughts.
   
"I'm not sure," Erik paused and then changed the subject. "It looks like your father is pulling off the highway."
   
Erik followed at the same distance he kept the previous six hours of driving. My father was relentless, but I'd hoped he would get tired and pull off at some point. Despite the conversation, I knew Erik had to be getting sick of driving.
   
My father pulled into a small hotel and Erik went past the entrance and around a few blocks.
   
"What are you doing?" I asked as we circled back.
   
"We wouldn't be trailing him discreetly if we pulled in behind him now would we? I wouldn't add stalking to your resume."
   
I smacked him in the arm and he laughed. It was evident now if we drove in behind him and went to the front to get a room he would see us.
   
Erik pulled into a spot and rubbed his eyes. He needed sleep. "Wait here while I grab us a room."I nodded and rubbed my eyes as my head tilted back against the seat.
   
My door opened and I felt Erik's hand touch my shoulder. I couldn't believe even in that short of time I dozed off.
   
"Let's go Mari."
   
I followed Erik as he lead us towards our hotel room. We stepped in and closed the door behind setting our backpack on the floor. He removed his jacket and placed it across one of the chairs letting out a relieved sigh.
   
"Why don't you go shower and I'll grab us something to eat. I packed you some things in the bag." As he passed me his shoulder brushed by me.
   
There was something more I wanted to say, but I didn't. So I said the only thing I could think that fit. "Thank you." Erik smiled then walked out to grab food. I turned towards my bag and pulled something to change into. I went through the motions of one more night without my daughter.
   
When I stepped into the shower I tried to let myself relax. I couldn't even find a warm shower to quiet my thoughts. It was the down times when I wasn't able to do something that got me closer to finding her that was the hardest. I needed sleep to help ease my rampant thoughts so I got dressed and stepped out of the bathroom. Erik still hadn't returned so I relaxed on the bed and waited. My stomach grumble at the thought of food.
   
I looked around at the simplicity of the room. It wasn't one of those hotels that you feared the plague from, but it was a far cry from the ones I frequented when I traveled. Besides the one bed a desk and chair there was a television and two lamps. That was the entirety of the room.
   
I heard the door turn and I stiffened for a moment until I realized it was only Erik. He walked to the bed with a brown bag in hand. I couldn't remember the last time I ate something from a brown bag. Since it's midnight, I'm sure the man did all he could to scrounge up food. We sat on the center of the bed and remained silent as we dug into the burgers he bought. After a while I could no longer stand the silence and needed something to keep my mind occupied.
   
"How long do you think we have before my father heads out?"
   
"I'm sure we have at least a few hours to sleep." Erik passed over a some french fries. The grease left an awful aftertaste, but it made my stomach happy to have the terrible food.
   
"Gracie would have a fit seeing us eat this." I laughed and shoved another fry into my mouth. I must have been starving for this food to taste so good.
   
"What are you talking about. I got us burgers and fries. It doesn't get better than that."
   
I wiped some ketchup from the side of my mouth. "Are you serious? It gets so much better than this." I raised the questioned burger in the air between us. "This is nothing compared to a burger I could make you."
   
He smiled and took another bite. He seemed to be enjoying his food and I couldn't help but enjoy mine, still knew mine were better.
   
"I'm not sure if I believe you, this is a damn good burger." He handed over some more fries. I sat there with my mouth open in surprise. "I guess you'll have to prove it by making me dinner."
   
I'll bite never one to back down from a challenge. I knew I would top any burger he's ever eaten. I'm that confident in my skills as a chef.
   
We finished our late dinner and tossed the food away. I took a moment to clean up and brush my teeth then crawled into bed. Erik stepped into the bathroom and I heard the shower turn on.

I settled into the bed and froze. There was only one bed. How was this going to work? Should I sleep on the floor? I've been stealing his bed for days, kicking him to the couch. This time there wasn't a sofa to sleep on. Shit, there wasn't even a comfortable chair.
   
I heard the shower turn off and I still hadn't made a decision on sleeping arrangements. I heard him brush his teeth then step from the bathroom.
   
My breath caught, he was only wearing a pair of loose pants. His chest left exposed to my eyes and I could see the mark that stretched across the define muscles. The dark ink made a pattern of swirls and intricate lines to form his raven.
   
I watched Erik's movements with keen interest. He always moved with a purpose, measured and sure. As he walked around without a shirt, I became more aware of that fact. When he shifted to grab something I caught myself focused. I couldn't look away.
   
He stepped towards the bed and I waited. He pulled the thick covers back and took the sheet from below it. Once he removed the sheet he gave me the thick cover back. Then he reached for the other pillow.
   
He was going to sleep on the floor. He drove for hours today and was willing to sleep on the ground to keep me comfortable.
   
"Wait. Erik, you can't sleep on the floor." He was sitting on the floor with his arms resting on his bent knees. He had made himself a spot on the ground with a sheet and pillow. Sleeping that way would be awful.
   
"I'll be okay, Mari."
   
"Sleep in bed with me."
   
I said without second thought. I wouldn't force someone to sleep on the floor because they thought I would be more comfortable. We were adults, we could share a bed without anything happening.
   
"Are you sure?" He questioned still unsure. He wore a surprised look on his face. When I looked down at his sad excuse for a bed I was more than certain so I nodded.
   
He lifted the bedding and placed the pillow back on the empty side of the bed. I watched him circle around to my side and turn the lamp off. It was dark in the room aside the moon's light that leaked through the curtains.
   
He walked back around and crawled into bed. He adjusted his pillow and rested his arm above his head. He left the blanket to me and kept the sheet for himself.

The slight distance between us seemed so small and charged by how close he was to me.
   
"Rest, angel."
   
And I did, I fell asleep the moment I closed my eyes.