One Day, No Drama
671 Words
Chapter 9
They woke up to gulls and sunlight.
No alarms. No texts. No headlines.
Lina opened her eyes first. Adrian was still asleep on the other bed, one arm thrown over his face, hoodie balled up as a pillow. He looked 25 again.
She didn’t move. Just watched him breathe.
When he woke up 20 minutes later and saw her staring, he didn’t flinch.
“Morning,” he said, voice rough.
“Morning, ghost.”
He sat up. “What are we doing today?”
“Nothing,” Lina said. “That’s the plan.”
Adrian smiled. “I’m good at nothing.”
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*9:30am: Breakfast*
The diner down the street had vinyl booths and a waitress who called everyone “hon.”
Adrian ordered pancakes. Lina got eggs and toast.
They shared both.
“Best coffee I’ve had in years,” Adrian said, meaning it.
“That’s because you’re not drinking it in a boardroom,” Lina said.
A kid at the next table was drawing stars on a napkin with a crayon. Lina watched him.
Adrian noticed. He slid his napkin over.
“Here. Make one for Elena.”
Lina drew a lopsided star. Set it on the table between them.
“One for you too,” she said.
---
*12:00pm: The Pier*
Grey Harbor had a pier that smelled like salt and fried food.
They didn’t ride anything. They just walked.
Adrian bought Lina a paper crown from a souvenir stand. She made him wear it too.
They took a selfie. It was terrible. Blurry, sun in their eyes, both of them grinning.
Lina set it as her lock screen before she remembered her phone was supposed to be off.
“Don’t tell the board,” she said.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Adrian said.
---
*3:00pm: The Library*
Small. Quiet. Smelled like old books.
Lina pulled books off shelves just to read the first line out loud.
Adrian found a chair and watched her.
At one point she came back with _Astronomy for Beginners_.
“Look,” she said, opening it. “Here’s how to find stars even when there are clouds.”
She read him a paragraph about light traveling for years to reach you.
Adrian listened like it was the most important thing he’d ever heard.
“Think the light from last night made it to us yet?” he asked.
“Maybe,” Lina said. “Maybe that’s what we are.”
---
*7:00pm: Back at the motel*
They cooked dinner on the tiny hot plate. Pasta. Sauce from a jar. It tasted like five-star.
They ate on the floor, backs against the bed.
Music playing from Adrian’s phone — quiet, acoustic.
Lina was telling a story about Elena setting off the fire alarm making cookies when Adrian’s phone buzzed.
Once.
Twice.
Ten times.
He looked at it. Didn’t pick it up.
“Richard,” he said.
Lina’s stomach dropped. “Are we going back?”
“I don’t know.”
The buzzing stopped. Then a text came through.
*Richard:* _They found you. Press is in Grey Harbor. Come home before this gets worse._
The room went silent except for the music.
Lina set her fork down. “How long do we have?”
Adrian looked out the window. Down the street, a car with tinted windows was parked by the motel office.
“Not long,” he said.
Lina nodded. She wasn’t scared. Not exactly.
She just hated that the quiet was ending.
Adrian reached over and took her hand.
“Hey,” he said. “Today was real. Okay? No matter what happens tomorrow.”
Lina squeezed his hand. “Today was real.”
Outside, headlights cut across the curtains.
The knock came 30 seconds later.
Hard. Official.
“Ms. Reyes? Mr. Whitmore? This is the police. We need to talk to you.”
Adrian stood. Pulled Lina up with him.
He looked at her. “Ready?”
Lina took a deep breath. “No. But let’s go anyway.”
- Writer
