Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1)(24)

The big man shifted gears and the truck switched lanes as a sign to Dallas flashed by. The sight of the white lettering on the green sign was a comfort. She was halfway to her Grandmama's. Then she could tell her grandmother goodbye and figure out what the hell she was going to do next.

***

The motel near Dallas' downtown was packed with families in transit after the long Easter weekend and a few big trucks sat idling in the parking lot. The night had cooled off quite a bit, but the heat coming off the highway rolled in waves over the asphalt parking lot. As she walked beside Rob toward the office, his whole body quivered. The man was not only impressive in height, but girth. He had barely spoken after their brief interchange and that had been fine with her.

She needed time to think and figure out what the hell was going on with her.

A part of her was afraid that her reaction to everything happening around her was wrong, that her transformation had altered something inside of her forever, that she was so changed she could not even fathom what it was that had died inside of her.

Lighting a cigarette she had bummed off Rob, she exhaled slowly. She didn't feel like slipping inside the building just yet. The night felt good. There was energy in the air. Maybe it was because they were so close to Deep Ellum, the Dallas hot spot for entertainment.

“Coming?”

Exhaling, she shook her head. “Nah, I'm going to take a moment out here, then I'll head in.” She gazed out over the Dallas skyline and smiled slightly. She always loved the way cities looked at night with their flashy lights and fancy glass buildings. It had been a far departure from the four block downtown of her small home town.

Rob hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. Well, catch you later.”

“Thanks for the ride,” she said with a wide smile. “I really appreciate it.”

The man abruptly smiled, his teeth flashing under his mustache.

“Was a pleasure.”

He turned and disappeared through the door that took him into the office. She could see him approaching the battered front desk through the window and turned away slowly to look down the highway.

Tucking one hand into her jeans pocket, Amaliya watched the cars speeding past the motel. If Professor Sumner was around, she couldn't feel him. But then again, maybe she could only feel him when he wanted her to. Frowning slightly, she took another deep drag on her cigarette and crouched down next to her bag. Pretending to take her money out of her bag, she actually took it out of her boot, then stood up.

A few more drags had her cigarette burning low. She exhaled slowly as she dropped the butt to the ground and ground it out.

“Night,” Rob said emerging from the office and moving past her, heading toward his truck to get his stuff.

“Night, Rob. Thanks again,” she said, then headed inside.

The very dark man behind the counter looked like he could be Indian or Pakistani. He was listening to exotic music she had never heard before. He eyeballed her thoughtfully as she approached and gave him a wide smile.

“I need a room,” she said.

Amaliya leaned against the counter on her elbows and looked up at him from under the brim of her hat.

“You got one,” he answered. He slid a little white envelope toward her with a card tucked inside.

“Thanks,” she said, and pulled out her wad of money. “How much?”

“Paid for by your boyfriend,” the man answered, and turned to fuss with his reservation cards.

“The big guy?”

“Yes, he paid for you. Said you are his girlfriend and need your own room to be respectful to your father.” He looked at her as if he didn't believe she could ever be respectful.

“Oh, well, thanks,” she said, and took the card.

Walking back out into the night, Amaliya felt as if maybe her luck was changing. First a good, clean ride into Dallas and now a free hotel room. She had yet to spend any of the money she had brought with her. Heaving her bag onto her back, she trudged up the stairs to the second floor. She started scanning doors for her hotel room number.

Her hearing seemed to be keener than before for she could clearly hear what was going on behind each door. When she heard two burly male voices urging each other on for hotter sex followed by a room with a family reading the Bible, she struggled not to burst out laughing.

Finding her room at the far end and tucked a little out of the way, she slipped the card into the slot on the electronic device on the door. The little light turned green and she shoved the door open. She sighed as a room, nearly identical to the one she had left Pete in, swung into view.

The door clicked shut behind her. She threw the bag on the first bed, walked over to the second queen size bed, and grabbed the comforter.

Yanking the ugly thing off the bed, Amaliya carried it to the vanity.

She frowned at the empty room in the mirror. She easily jumped onto the counter and worked at getting the comforter adjusted over the mirror. It was a little hard since it was bolted to the wall, but she managed to get it tucked around the corners. Jumping back down, she looked at the ugly bedspread covering the mirror with satisfaction.

She did not need to deal with staring into an empty mirror tonight.

Kicking off her boots, she sprawled on one of the beds and turned on the TV. Some late night news show was on and to her surprise, her old college was being shown in stock photos. But then again, how could she be surprised? She knew this was coming. Chewing on her thumbnail, she turned up the sound as video of body bags being carried out of the frat house filled the screen.