12
RUE
This is a horrible idea,and it’s so freaking hot.That’s all I can think about as I step through the front doors of the motel, the glittery cactus décor almost more than I can bear.
“Can I help you?” a young woman, probably no older than eighteen, peers over the counter at me. She does a once-over as I step up to the counter, and I force a faint smile.
“Yeah, I saw that you’re pet-friendly,” I begin, leaning against the counter. I know I need to be nonchalant. I know I need to look for cameras and security. But my body aches, and I can’t find the energy. “I just need a room for one night.”
“Well, check-in isn’t until three…” the girl’s voice trails off, as she picks up a notebook, rather than flipping through a computer. “And our system is down, so I’m not able to just…check.” The frustration fills her voice, and she lets out a heavy sigh. “I can’t even run a card right now for payment.”
“I have cash?” I offer, thankful that I always keep a hundred in my wallet. “Ireallyneed to get some sleep. I’m exhausted, and I don’t think I can keep driving.”
The girl looks up from the log, her face morphing with sympathy. “Yeah, um… Let me call the owner and see what I can do. We don’t really take cash…”
“Okay, that’s fine. I just would like to rent a room,” I pause, letting out a sigh, “And I don’t really want to try and find another place right now.”
“I totally get it,” she smiles. “Give me just a second.” She flips her blonde hair over her shoulder and then pushes back from the counter, disappearing into the back office. I’m left alone in the front, scanning a few shitty travel brochures.
Tour Route 66.
I grab the faded map and then flip it open, taking in the various landmarks along the route.Are we driving all the way to California like this?I blink a few times and then glance back toward the door. I can’t see anything other than the front bumper of my car.
But at least he’s not stealing it and running away.
“So… I talked to the owner,” the girl suddenly reappears. “And while we don’t normally accept cash, she says it’s fine since the system is down. I just need your information, and before you check out, I’ll take your card. They said it won’t be down much longer.”
Just my luck.
“Okay, that’s fine.” I flip my wallet open and then pull out the hundred dollars.
The girl stares at the bill. “I don’t have change…”
I swallow hard but wave it off, my heart missing a beat. “Just keep the whole thing, and when I come to check out tomorrow, we can figure out—even if that means running my card or whatever.”
The girl nods, her expression riddled with frustration and annoyance of her own. “Yeah, I’m sure the owner won’t mind.” She goes ahead and takes the bill from me before sliding acrossthe logbook. “Just write down your name and phone number. I think I should probably get a copy of your driver’s license, too?”
I meet her gaze, and somehow find the will to smile sympathetically at her confusion. “I left it in the car, but I can write down all of the information for you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll be good,” she huffs, shaking her head. “I swear, I’m so tired of our system having outages, but it’s been such a pain with the new update.”
“I totally get it,” I click the pen, and then scribble down a name and driver’s license information.
That is absolutelynotmine.
“Here’s your room information,” she says, setting a single brass key with a tag attached to it down in front of me. “It’s a nonsmoking, pet-friendly room. It’s at the very end of the building on the right.”
“Thank you,” I swipe the key up and hand her the logbook. “I seriously need a nap.”
She smiles. “Well, I hope you get some rest. I’ll be over here if you need anything—though I don’t know if I’ll be much help.”
“I appreciate it regardless.” I laugh, shifting to my heels. As I lean a little more to the left, I catch sight of the security camera monitor screen…
Just long enough to see the blue flickering warning.
Offline.The cameras must’ve gone down with the rest of their system.
“Thank you,” I call out once more, and then slip from the office. I head for the car, a wave of relief flooding over my shoulders.
