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There wasn’t much in Cullman, so we’d be heading on today without lingering to explore the town.
I’d showered last night, but I chose to shower again to kill time until Willow woke up.
When I finished in the bathroom she was still sleeping and didn’t look like she’d be waking up anytime soon.
I grabbed my packed bag and went outside to put it in the car.
My stomach rumbled and I groaned. There was no way I could wait until Willow woke up to eat.
I chose to head down to the nearby fast food drive-thru and ordered a bit of everything. As hungry as I was Willow would be lucky if there was anything left for her.
I took the bag of food and rummaged through it before pulling out of the lot. I found what I’d been looking for, a hash brown, and stuffed it in my mouth.
Oh sweet sustenance.
My phone buzzed on the passenger seat and I saw Willow’s name flash across the screen.
I reached over and grabbed the phone off the seat and pressed the flashing green button.
“Y’ello?” I said, my standard greeting of Yeah and Hello combined—true, it sounded more like the color yellow, but it was my thing.
“Dean?” Her voice was panicked on the other end and I automatically pressed harder on the gas.
“Yeah? What is it? Are you okay?” I rattled off the questions one right after the other.
“Where are you?” She sounded near tears and out of breath.
“On my way back to the hotel. I got breakfast.”
“Oh.” The sound of her breath whooshing past her lips echoed over the line. “I woke up and you weren’t there and I saw your bags gone and I know it was silly, but—”
“But you thought I was gone,” I finished for her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d wake up.” And if she did I hadn’t thought of what she’d think of my missing bags. “I wanted to get a head start on loading the car and then I was hungry, so…food.” I shrugged even though she couldn’t see me. “I’m pulling into the hotel lot now.”
“Okay,” she said and hung up.
I grabbed up the food and drinks and headed inside the building. It was a normal chain hotel with maroon colored floors and yellow-gold walls—were they Gryffindor or something?—and the signs that boasted it as a Non-Smoking establishment. The lingering stench of cigarettes suggested otherwise.
Stopping in front of Room 102 I grabbed the credit card like key from my back pocket and went to slide it into the metal slot. However, the door opened before I could.
“I smelled food.” Willow grinned and held out her hands in a grabbing motion. “Gimme! I’m hungry!”
We both acted like we never ate.
She took the bag of food from me and stepped aside so I could enter the room.
We ended up sitting on the bed together, the food spread out between us, while we watched some old kid’s TV show.
“I can’t believe I used to love this show as a kid,” Willow commented.
She lay on her side, using her elbow to hold herself up.
She tore off a piece of hash brown and stuck it in her mouth.
“I mean, seriously, a magic rock that takes them to Dragon Land or whatever the hell it’s called. And that old dragon guy is seriously creepy. When I was little I thought he was so smart, but I really think he smokes pot or something. I mean, listen to the way he talks. High? Amiright?”
I shook my head, laughing under my breath. “Maybe we should change the channel.” I reached for the remote.
“No!” She grabbed my hand and stopped me from grabbing it. “This is far too entertaining.”
