Chapter Six
1314 Words
‘Hello?’ The woman turned and looked at me. I noticed by her clothes, she was a hotel employee. As soon as she saw me, she started apologising.
‘I’m so sorry, Miss, I thought the room was empty and came to replace the bedding’. She held up from clean sheets and I instantly relaxed. It was just the hotel maid. I smiled at her.
‘Oh, don’t worry about it, I was just on my way out anyway’. She nodded and continued about her business.
Sighing, I couldn’t keep myself locked up in a room, afraid of the outside world. If I wanted to enjoy my holiday, I needed to go out and actually do something worth enjoying.
As I headed out the door, I looked around, the corridor was empty. I walked to the lift and pressed the button.
When it arrived, I stepped inside, pressed the Lobby button and waited. With a loud ‘’Ping’’ announcing our arrival, The doors opened, revealing people. Lots and lots of people.
I took a deep breath and mustered up all my courage to exit the lift and head towards the door, but as soon as I got close enough to feel the warm breeze and hear the faint sounds of the outside, My body froze.
Literally, completely froze. I couldn’t move an inch.
No matter how much I willed myself to take those few steps and leave the hotel, I just couldn’t, It was like I was glued to the spot.
‘Ok’. I whispered to myself, taking a few deep breaths in and out. I swear, to anyone passing me by, I probably looked crazy.
Clearly, My body is telling me I'm not ready to go outside alone yet, so, As long as I stay in the hotel, I’ll be around people and safe!
I told myself, Instantly relaxing at my own comforting words.
Nodding once, I turned and headed away from the front doors.
The further away from them, I got, The more relaxed I seemed to be. As I passed reception, I noticed the women behind the desk was staring at me, and she didn’t look too impressed. I stopped and looked at her for a couple of seconds before I realised how rude I probably looked and walked off.
I needed to stop being so Paranoid! Thinking everyone is staring at me.
I decided to just wander aimlessly around the hotel. It was a big place, spanning over 23 floors, It had a pool and an indoor play area for kids, as well as a games room for the older teenagers with pool tables and arcade games.
I just ended up walking in circles, Going up the stairs and coming down in the lifts, wandering around then back into the lifts and down the stairs. I couldn’t go out to the pool, My parents were there, and I really didn’t need to give them ANOTHER reason to worry about me.
I was so busy wrapped up in my own little world of thoughts, I didn’t even notice someone stood in front of me until I banged into them and fell flat on my ass.
‘Watch where you’re going!’. The person yelled, In a deep..slightly familiar voice.
‘I’m so sorry I..’ I stopped talking when I looked up and saw who it was, at the same time, they realised who I was too, ‘Michael?’
‘Ellie? Oh god, Sorry, Here’. He put his hand out to me, helping me up. I smiled as I took it and he pulled me to my feet. ‘Are you ok?’
‘Yeah, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to crash into you’.
‘No, No, It's fine, Don’t worry’. He smiled back at me. I looked around, the corridor was empty, What was he doing here?
‘Do you work here or..?’
‘No, I was just helping out. My girlfriend does and she needed an extra pair of hands’. For some reason, my heart sank a little, but I didn’t let it show.
‘Oh, That’s sweet of you, I better let you get back to it’. I stepped around him and started walking off, I didn’t want to be rude, but if he was busy, there was no point in me holding him up.
‘Wait’. I stopped and turned around, ‘I’m actually done until she finishing work tonight... Do you wanna go grab a drink?’
I blinked a few times, confused.
‘Um.. sure, but..’ Didn’t he just say he had a girlfriend?
‘What?’ He asked The whole time his smile didn’t fade once.
‘Would your girlfriend mind?’
‘No, Of course not, I’m aloud friends’. I mentally slapped myself. Duh, I was clearly reading to much into it, Of course, he’s aloud friends. Shaking my own stupidity out of my head, I nodded.
But then, Another worry entered my mind... Going for a drink... Going outside... Outside where I was too scared to go…
Maybe he means go for a drink in the bar…
We headed down to the reception, but as I thought, He headed for the doors, now the hotel bar. I carried on followed him, taking deep breaths, trying not to panic... And before I knew it... I was outside.
I had to stop for a moment.
I did it. I was outside.
‘Are you ok?’ Michael asked, when he realised I had stopped quite a few feet behind him, and came back over to me.
‘Yeah, it's just..’
‘Just what?’ I looked around at the people walking past and suddenly felt embarrassed admitting my fear. Sensing something was wrong, He moved us to stand against the wall of the hotel, More privately away from everyone. ‘You know you can talk to me right?’ I nodded. ‘So, What's up?’
‘I tried to come outside earlier and I just couldn’t... I'm scared in case I run into Brent, but I'm scared to be alone in my room, I feel like he’s still stealing stuff from me. What more can he take? He’s taken my trust, my confidence, my ability to feel safe, my-’ I had to stop myself from saying it.
‘What? What else?’ I looked down, feeling way to ashamed to tell Michael anything else. ‘Do you want to go back inside?’
I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head again.
‘No. I’m already out here, I’ve done the hard part’.
‘You’re doing so well in such a short amount of time. You're a strong girl, You know that, right?’ I couldn’t help but smile at his words. He took my hand in his and squeezed it. ‘I promise, while you’re with me, you’re safe’.
Looking up, My eyes met his, and... There was just something about his face, that brought me comfort and the feeling of safety.
‘Thank you’.
‘No problem, Now, Let's go get that drink’. Letting go of my hand, He placed his hand on my back, as I continued to take those steps, away from the safety of the hotel and down the street...
- Writer
