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“You’re shivering. Let’s get going,” a different guy said.
We were at their door seconds later, and I just prayed that their key wouldn’t break.
“Oh, hold on. I left my food outside my door.” I started to run back.
The guy who’d pulled his hat lower put his hand on my arm. “Go ahead inside. I’ll get your food.”
The door to room twelve opened, and the guys stepped aside to let me in first.
The warmth in the room hit me, and even though I knew I was out of danger, at least for the short term, I fell to my knees, shaking uncontrollably.
“Oh shit. Look at her,” one of them said.
The guy with my food returned, and he slammed the door shut. He ran over to me, kneeling on the carpet.
“Miss? Miss, can you tell us your name?” he asked.
“B… Bianca. Bianca Eric… Erickson,” I said between chattering teeth.
“Okay, Bianca. I’m Austin. I’m gonna help you to the bathroom. We need to get you in a hot shower to warm up. Randy, give me a hand, will you?”
Austin took one arm, and Randy the other, and they helped me to the bathroom, where they sat me down on the toilet lid.
One of them turned on the shower, and in moments the small room began to fill with steam.
“Bianca,” Austin said. “Bianca, can you get yourself in the shower? Or do you need help?”
I looked up at him, still in his down coat, his hair wet and sticking to his face. “I… I think so. Just help me with my shoes, okay?”
“Sure. Here,” he said, kneeling and pulling one foot and then the other into his lap.
My toes were bright red and raw, and he pressed them between his palms, one after the other. It was… miraculous.
“Oh my god,” I murmured.
“Hate to see what would have happened to you if we hadn’t been out there,” Randy said, standing in the bathroom doorway. “I can’t believe the clerk left like that.”
Austin looked up at his friend. “Seriously. Not that I have much experience staying in places like this, but I just figured they’d have a twenty-four-seven desk at the very least.”
The third guy popped his head in. “I don’t even know where the fuck we are, but it must be the middle of some godforsaken place.”
“Amen to that,” I whispered.
Austin took my hand and slowly pulled me to my feet. “You feel stable there? Are you okay to get in the shower?”
I nodded, holding the sink for balance. “Yes. If you could just help me get down to my underwear, that would be great. I know that’s asking a lot, but I’m still a little unsteady.”
He peeled my wet jacket off and flung it at the guy in the doorway. “Tyler, make yourself useful and put this by the heater or something. And Randy, take her shoes and socks and get them drying too, will ya.”
That left just Austin and me. He carefully peeled down my yoga pants and then my long-sleeved T-shirt over my head. I crossed my arms, not out of modesty, but because I was still freezing.
“There you go, Bianca. Get in the shower and stay there until you feel better. If you need one of us, just holler.”
He left me in the steaming bathroom, pulling the door closed behind himself. I reached for the door knob and pressed the lock button.
* * *
