After the longest and most awkward car ride ever, we reached our destination. Hayden was silent most of the ride, keeping his eyes trained on the road ahead. Hope and Sky sat in the back, laughing and gossiping amongst themselves. Ben was smart, falling asleep after we left, leaving me alone with Jessica attempting to make small talk. I tried to avoid conversating by fake reading the book I had brought. 

After bickering about motels we finally decided on going with a cheaper one. Pulling in, I was surprised that it was on the smaller side. It didn't look big enough to be a motel, but it was. Looking at the reddish brick one-story building you can tell it's an older establishment. A single row of about twenty dusty-looking windows line the front of it.  A  large shabby white awning covers the archway that leads from the parking lot to the main doors. "Paiges" can be seen above the awning on a massive glowing sign in yellow neon lettering. The letters A and I are duller than the rest, probably getting ready to go out. The closer we get to the sign the more I begin feeling nausea, breaking out in cold chills. While the hairs on my arm raise, standing up straight. They had to have that sign. The universe is playing one of its many sick jokes on me. Before the flashbacks consume me, I force my eyes away, focusing straight ahead. The wind howls, whipping around us as we walk through the parking lot, heading toward the entrance. I can't believe how cold it is compared to earlier. Walking close together, we approach the shabby archway. Our bodies huddle together, attempting to create body heat, for warmth. None of us are dressed for this weather.

Approaching the main door, I get an eerie feeling. The harsh autumn wind picks up, adding another layer of creepiness. A few scattered leaves from the single tree beside the parking lot scurry across the pavement.

Upon closer inspection, the red bricks are severely damaged. Half of them are cracked or crumbling, an entire section is missing from above the entryway. Looking up I can see the solid concrete beams supporting the structure through the massive hole. Hayden reaches out, pushing the old raggedy glass door open. It creeks and moans the further it opens. Looking 

around at each other, Sky volunteers to walk in first, the crisp air from outside attempts to follow us in. Large gaps in the doorway allow bursts of cool air to seep in.

The inside doesn't look much better.  It hasn't been updated in years. The color scheme and decor must have been here since the eighties. The lower half of the walls are fake wooden slats painted red. An ugly green wallpaper with golden squiggles throughout it covers the top half. It's faded and peeling in different spots. 

There's a musty smell hanging in the air. It almost reminds me of when the pipes had burst in our bathroom. The moisture in the walls had caused mold to take over. My dad and a few of his buddies worked for weeks to get rid of it. After they finished there was still a faint stench that lingered for months. 

The main lobby looks like a scene from a low-budget movie. It's a little room, with the service desk on the far back wall. Two beat-up black love seats in the middle of the room. with end tables at each end. Fake plastic plants sit on them along with a few scattered magazines. Two long hallways are on either side of the main lobby. Each one is lined with dark beige doors. The doors all contain small green room numbers nailed to them. I can't decide if the carpets are a creamy tan with emerald swirls or if they're dirty. I don't want to know which one it is.

"Welcome to Paiges. It's a pleasure to have you folks staying with us. So how many rooms are you looking for? And how many nights do you plan on staying?" an elderly round man behind the counter greets us as we cautiously approach. From what I can see, he's a shorter, plump man with a balding head. He appears to be in his late fifties or early sixties. Thick circular black glasses adorn his face. Masking his steely grey eyes. A small but thick white mustache lies along his upper lip.

"Hello sir, we will take three rooms, each for two nights, please" Skylar pipes up from behind me, stepping towards the desk. We all stand patiently, watching him tirelessly type several things on his computer. Which, like its owner, is an ancient, old box-style monitor. I doubt they even make them anymore. I'm only half listening to him as he tells us the total. Sky digs through her purse, retrieving a small black credit card, handing it to him. He lowers his glasses down onto the bridge of his nose, allowing him to read the name on the card better. After we pay, he waddles around the desk, motioning us to follow him. He leads us down the hall on the right, to the last two rooms.

"I'm sorry, but it seems we only have two rooms available on this end and one on the other side," he apologised,  fishing two small keys from his breast pocket and handing them over to Skylar. "Do you need me to show you to the other side, or would you just like the key?" he asks, pulling another single key from a different pocket. 

"The keys are fine. We don't want to be a bother" Skylar smiles, extending her hand to retrieve the last key.

After giving us the keys and room numbers, he advises us of a few policy rules. Finishing by letting us know if we need anything he'll be at the front desk all night before he walks off. Heading back the way we had come from. We stand there for a few moments, watching his backside as he hobbles down the long hallway. Stopping several times to adjust, various pictures hung on the wall.

"So obviously Hope and I will share a room. Umm, how do you guys want to divide the other two?" Skylar asks once the old man has disappeared from view. It's obvious she's trying to avoid the heavy awkwardness that seems to suddenly fill the air.

"How about the girls take one room and the boys the other?" Hope suggests with a slight shrug of her shoulders, lying her head down, resting on Sky's shoulder.

Jessica's cheeks turn a dark shade of red as she fidgets around nervously. I can sense she doesn't want to be my roommate. My heart drops into my stomach. I know who she wants to sleep next to. She wants him, and he probably feels the same way about her. 

"I was hoping to share a room with Ben," Jessica stammers, completely catching everyone off guard. Especially me. "I mean, of course, if that's okay. If not, I don't care to share a room with Bex." She smiles at me over Hayden's shoulder.

"Well that would leave Hayden and Bex sharing a room" she stammers, contemplating it in her head. I know what she's thinking, without her even speaking. She's thinking about the conversation from the other day.

"It shouldn't be a problem. All the rooms are equipped with two beds. And we won't even be there except for sleeping." I bargain, trying to ease her worried thoughts. She doesn't respond, instead giving me a warning stare. 

"It doesn't matter to me. I've been driving for three hours, and after stopping at that hamburger spot, I'm ready to shower and crash," Hayden mumbles. He looks down at the floor while adjusting the bag on his shoulders. He seems irritated at the suggestion of us rooming together.

"Okay, it's settled then, Ben and I will take this room next to you guys, "Jessica squeals. Satisfied with the sleeping arrangements.

"Alright, see you guys in the morning. We can meet up around ten. Sound good?" Hayden says, snatching the last room key out of Sky's hand. We all nod in agreement, splitting off, and heading to our separate rooms.

I follow silently behind Hayden. I can't help feeling like he's mad that he got stuck sharing a room with me.  Passing by the front desk, the old man doesn't look up from the magazine he's reading. The other hallway is darker with only tiny old-fashioned oil lamps, lighting the way. They remind me of the ones they use on Little House on the Prairie, giving off an spooky glow as we continue walking. Our room is the very last one at the end of the  hallway, room number 40.

The door creaks eeriely as it swings open, revealing another small poorly lit room. Unlike the rest of the hotel, the walls are brick red with black smudges here and there. I don't want to even think about what they could be. A large, older floor-model TV sits against one side of the room. A thick layer of dust covers it's top. The opposite wall contains two twin beds , positioned parrel to each other. Each one is adorned with handstitched multi-colored tile quilts, along with several pillows in matching pillowcases. An enormous cream-colored oval shag rug takes up the middle of the room. Two small wooden nightstands sit on either side of the beds, each with a personal mini oil lamp. A large stained window with black curtains takes up the majority of one wall. The other side is bare with the exception of a wooden framed mirror. There are no pictures in the room. Only a small mini fridge sits in the corner beside a wooden door. Which I'm assuming is the bathroom. A beat-up old microwave sits perched on top of it. It's seen better days.

"Well It's charming, I guess. At least the beds look comfortable" I lie, attempting to break the ice, stepping in. Wanting to get this over, I choose the nearest bed, tossing my bags onto it.

"It's alright. It wouldn't be my first choice, but it serves the purpose," he groans, following me into the room, dropping his bags down beside mine. "So do you want the first shower? Or you know we can take one together. To save water and all of course," he nudges me in the ribs playfully, ulling his shower stuff from his bag.

"I'm sure if we take separate showers it won't kill the planet," I point out, snatching my bag, and walking  past him into the bathroom. The bathroom is larger than I had expected. There's an old fashioned giant bear claw tub in the middle of the room. It's surrounded by another oval shag rug, this one black. The shower curtain is also black,  going around the entire top of the tub. A large cream and gold-colored vanity sits against the far wall containing his and her sinks. Small  packaged soaps, shampoos, and other little bottles sit in a brass wire basket, placed between the two sinks. A circular shaped mirror hangs down from the ceiling above it, hung with a thick metal wire.

I make sure the door fully locks before stripping down. It's been forever since I've enjoyed a private shower without ten or more random people in the room. Stepping in the water is hot, way better than the dorms. The pressure of the water pounds against my skin. It feels so good I don't want to move. The water pummels my back while lathering my loofa up. I'm glad I brought my razor with me. Now I have time to shave for real, not skipping around in certain spots. About 40 minutes later, after scrubbing my body, washing my hair multiple times, and shaving everywhere, I'm finally done. I step out drying off, then wrapping one towel around my body and another smaller one for my hair. Opening the door, a giant steam cloud surrounds me, escaping out into the room. 

"About time, hopefully, you saved some hot water for me," he whines, seated on the bed flipping through channels on the television. His eyes roam over my half-naked body, with a sly grin on his face.

"Boy take your dirty ass in there and shower so I can get dressed," I scowl at him, jumping away from him attempt at grabbing my towel. Luckily, I'm quicker, and the material slips through his fingertips.

"Yeah, whatever," he rolls his eyes, grabbing his things and walking away. Seconds later the bathroom door closes.

I wait to hear the shower start before dropping my towel. Rushing I grab my lotion, covering my entire body before throwing my pajamas on. Sky had packed me a red and black flannel matching set. Consisting of pants and a button-up top. Thankfully, they're nice and warm. This place isn't insulated very well. Cold air coming from somewhere, randomly wafts through the room. I'm guessing that the heat is controlled up front since I don't see a thermostat anywhere in the room. Only an air conditioner, which we won't be using.

I choose the bed closest to the wall. Climbing in, I'm surprised by how comfortable it is. I've never been big on watching TV, so I power it off. I would rather be reading. I dig through my bag, finally finding my book. Maybe I will get to finish it. But then again trying to read by oil light is harder than you think. Squinting my eyes, helps a little to read the words.

"Reading again," Hayden whines, coming out of the bathroom. Wearing only his pajama bottoms, he vigorously rubs the towel against his head, drying his hair. I have seen him shirtless several times, but between the oil lighting and wet, glistening skin, he looks delicious. I bite my bottom lip to keep myself from saying something I shouldn't. Tearing my eyes away from him I attempt to keep reading, But he's too much of a distraction. My eyes refuse to stay looking down, finding their way over the book, watching him.

"Ahem, excuse you," he clears his throught, walking up to my bed.

"Is something wrong?" I question, trying not to make it obvious I was staring at him.

"Yeah, scoot over so I can go to sleep," he casually says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"What do you mean? You have barely spoke to me in weeks. Now you think that because we're stuck sharing a room I want you sleeping next to me. There is a perfectly good bed right there" I snap, pointing to the other bed. Staring at him, waiting for a response. I'm not sure I even want to hear his explanation. Taking his hand, he runs it through his hair. I can tell he's trying to contemplate what to say to me. It pleases me to see he's trying so hard to come up with something. 

"I've been trying to keep my distance from you because I know my sister.  I saw how she reacted at the bonfire when I mentioned you helping me. We've been down this road before so I figured she'd done gotten into your head. With her whole Hayden is this and that and he'll do you dirty speech. I've heard it numerous times. Even from girls I have no plans on messing with," he responds hesitantly, giving his head a quick shake. His hair falls perfectly back into place.

 "And besides, it ain't like you tried very hard to talk to me either. " he shrugs his shoulders, it's no big deal to him. Why does he have to be so aggravating, always driving me insane. Even when he's the one in the wrong, he somehow makes me feel bad for him. Was Sky too harsh on judging him? Yeah he's her brother, but maybe that's why she can only see one side of him. I know first hand how it feels to make mistakes, and your family never forgets them. That's all they see when looking at you. And I have to admit he's right, I didn't make an effort to talk to him. 

"Don't read too much into this. Just because I'm scooting over, doesn't mean that I forgive you. I'm only doing this because It's cold and you give off a lot of excess body heat," I fib, scooting up against the wall. I'm lying to him and myself. I want him beside me, not for warmth, but because I want to be near him. I want him close enough I can feel his skin against mine. I don't know why he's choosing to bunk with me, but I'm secretly happy. He must be too, a huge grin across his face. Reminding me of a spoiled little kid that has gotten his way. Before climbing in bed, he spins the dial on the oil lamp, casting the room in total darkness. The springs in the mattress are loud and annoying as he adjusts his body. Finally getting comfortable he lies down, his arm draped across me. 

As if nothing has happened between us he places a single kiss on my forehead, snuggling against me. His snores soon take over, echoing around the empty room. I lay there in the dark listening to his breathing. Replaying everything that has happened since I arrived in college over in my mind. I have so many questions that I want answers to. But am I ready for what the answers might be, or are they better left unanswered?