D A M A G E D • HS

49

A/N: part of a double update
read this chapter before
reading chapter 50

ARLO P.O.V

The Skymont Hotel, a luxurious place for the wealthy to stay at whenever they visit our pathetic little town in North Carolina.

It's the only hotel nice enough to make a wealthy person satisfied. A 5 star hotel, twenty stories high, right in between the entrance to our town, and the highway that leads to the beach.

It's the hotel I'm currently standing in front of, debating if I should walk in, or just run away.

Many businessmen dressed in suits, and women in pencil skirts pile into the building. This is where all of the people attending the big auction are staying at if they aren't from around here.

Miller told me we were meeting here yesterday when I was at the den working on learning how to effectively shoot a gun. The past two days I've been training with mainly Kato, and Miller on how to defend myself, and use certain weapons.

I hated every moment of it, especially the gun training. The thought of possibly having to use such a dangerous weapon made me queasy.

The guys who spend most of their time at the den have tried making conversation with me, but in the end I just ignored them because I'm not here to make friends, I'm here against my own free will.

Even though, I will say, I do somewhat appreciate the fact that all of this keeps me away from my house, and distracts me from my thoughts of Harry.

I pull my phone out, and open my texts with Miller to make sure I know the right room to go to when I enter.

With a huff, I take a step forward, and begin my trek. Automatic sliding doors open as I near them. Goosebumps flare up all over my skin from the cold gush of air that hits me as I enter the lobby.

I feel out of place wearing my matching plain black sweatpants, and sweatshirt set, and my beat up pair of checkered slip on Vans.

Everyone else in the lobby is dressed in luxurious business attire, not a hair out of place on any of their heads, nor a crease in their clothes.

The floors are a pearly white marble that is so shiny and clean, I can see my reflection clearly in it. I walk up to the sleek black elevators in the back room of the lobby, and press the up button.

The one on the far left dings, and opens almost immediately. I step inside, and press the twentieth floor button.

I collapse against the wall, pinching the bridge of my nose. I'm extremely anxious right now. Being inside the elevator is making it clear to me that this is really happening. I'm actually about to get ready to go steal a very expensive ring in a highly populated place.

Fuck

I close my eyes, listening to the sound of the elevator going up, passing each floor. My muscles feel tight, my body is like lava, hot all over, and my chest feels heavy. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I have to pull it together, and just get through these next couple of hours, and then I'm home free until Saturday.

I feel exhausted from the lack of sleep I've been getting. I'm back to only being able to get a few hours of sleep out of the night. Most nights, I usually lay in bed, staring blankly at my wall, waiting for sleep to come, and snatch me, but it never truly does.

I've been living, trying to function the last couple of days off of two hour naps essentially.

The elevator dings, causing my eyes to shoot open. A glowing white twenty shines above the door. I kick off the wall, and walk out. I head down the hall to look for room number 2002. It's not hard to find, seeing as there are only four rooms on this entire floor since this is the floor with all of the penthouses.