Witness

6| Motel

I shook my head to snap out of it. "Yeah... I'm sorry. My knees kind of just gave out," I blushed a little as I spoke. I was embarrassed that I fell. "Thank you," I offered.

He nodded and slowly released his grip, making sure I was stable first. "Sure. Are you ready?" He asked, his tone returning to normal.

I nodded and followed close to him as we walked into the motel entrance.

My heart was pounding. I found myself trying to be impossibly closer to Jaxon as we walked, longing to touch him for a sense of security. I hated feeling so vulnerable and weak, but Jaxon did have a way of making me feel safe; even though he wasn't Mr. Sunshine. With a big, muscular frame and chiseled features, a person would need to be crazy to try and fuck with him.

"Stay by me and act normal," he commanded while opening the door. We were instantly hit with a cool breeze from the air conditioning being sucked outside. I nodded in response, my whole body shuddering once again as it adjusted to the new temperature.

He frowned at me before shrugging out of his black leather jacket. "Here. Put this on."

I quickly accepted it and tried to thank him, but he was already turned away from me and walking towards the front desk. I quickly put on the jacket and hugged it tight to my body as I followed him, a waft of cologne hitting my nose.

The receptionist was pretty and not who I expected to see in a place like this. She had been slumped over the desk reading some kind of magazine and nodding off when she finally noticed us. The minute she saw Jaxon, she instantly perked up as if she'd had 8 cups of coffee that day.

"Well hi there. What can I do for you today?" The pretty brunette asked, her voice thick with a southern accent.

"Hello. I was hoping to get a room," he said, shooting her a smile.

I couldn't help but notice her cheeks tinge pink as she spoke again. "Of course. One bed or two?" She asked, casting her eyes briefly on me before fixating back on Jaxon.

"Two please. Just for a night. My sister and I are visiting our family tomorrow so we will be out early to hit the road."

She seemed satisfied with this new piece of information. I silently questioned his reference to me being his sister, but my frazzled mind didn't care enough to try and figure it out. I wondered too if maybe we'd be playing brother and sister as a cover?

I noticed the brunette tug the hem of her navy blue v-neck shirt down subtly to reveal more of her breasts before leaning forward to type something into the computer.

I wanted to roll my eyes and I was almost shocked at myself for feeling kind of annoyed among all of the other shit I was dealing with. This brunette, nay, Jaxon's attention, should be the least of my worries.

Finally, after she assigned us a room and Jaxon paid for it in cash, we were ready to leave. The woman flashed him a huge grin and slipped a piece of paper into his hand before waving us off for the evening.

Jaxon shot another award winning smile in her direction, telling her to "have a good night." I watched as her cheeks turned cherry red. Poor girl.

As promised, I didn't say a word. I also shot a thankful forced smile at the girl (not that she'd even notice) and followed Jaxon back out the door.

"Okay, here's the key. I'm going to grab our bags," he said, handing over the plastic card.

I turned it over in my hands, feeling unsettled about spending the night with this man, and yet still terrified to my core about tonight's events.

"What room is it?" I asked. My voice sounded scratchy and dry.

"207. Come on, I think it's this way."

I let Jaxon lead us to the room. Part of me wanted to offer to take my own bag, but I decided against it. He was strong and able bodied, and at the moment, my body felt like it had gone through the wringer; which it kind of had.

After going up a flight of stairs and through a sketchy outdoor hallway, we finally arrived at our room.

Jaxon stood back as I used my shakey hand to insert our key card. The sleeve of Jaxon's leather jacket was so long on my arm that I had to shove it up to access the lock.

The room was very average. It had one large window leading to the hallway, two double beds, a small bathroom, a mini fridge, and an armchair in the corner. It also smelled slightly of cigarette smoke, even though I saw a clear "no smoking" sign in the lobby.

I made my way to the bed closest to the window and sat down, hugging Jaxon's jacket tighter to my body in the too heavily air-conditioned room. Jaxon strode past me, hoisting my suitcase onto the other bed closest to the bathroom and rolling his to the bed I was sitting on. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I need to have this bed. On the off-chance something were to happen, it's best if I'm closest to the window and door," he explained my unasked question in a flat voice.

I usually liked to have the bed by the window, but it made a lot of sense; and honestly, I was just too tired to care. I slowly stood up off the bed, making my way over to the other one.

"Why don't you take a hot shower? Warm up a little bit," Jaxon insisted while lifting his suitcase onto his bed.

I nodded in response. That sounded like a good idea, so I made my way to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

I immediately cranked on the shower, turning the water as hot as I could handle without it being painful. I then turned to the mirror, noting how puffy and red my face was, and also noticing how completely crushed I looked. I could see the pain and defeat in my own eyes; and this sent me into a fresh wave of tears.

I turned away from the mirror and shrugged out of Jaxon's jacket, being careful not to jostle my shoulder. I took the time to fold it nicely and place it on the counter top while the bathroom filled with steam. Then I carefully undressed myself and eased into the onslaught of scalding water.

It felt good on my muscles, despite not being able to get one of my arms wet, and the mini eucalyptus shampoo and conditioner that I used was actually kind of soothing. I let my tears mix with the fresh water from the shower as I focused on washing up, trying to occupy my mind.

I wasn't sure how long I was in the shower for. It felt like only a few minutes, but it must have been a while because I was running out of hot water, making me cold all over again.

I didn't know what to think or what to expect tomorrow; everything from this night forward was a great big ball of unknown. The only thing I did know, however, was that it was about to be one of the longest nights of my life.
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Hi!

Soooo what do we think of Jaxon?

Fun fact, I actually wrote most of this chapter before writing some of the first ones... I know, strange. I just get excited to get going on the plot of my books that I lose interest in writing the beginning chapters lol

Hope you're still enjoying! Sorry this chapter got a bit long.

-Haley