Eureka

14

A knock on the front door signaled the arrival of Benny's ride. Carson throws back the last of his drink and motions for me to do the same.

"I better get you to Millie's before she sends out a search party for you," His low voice rumbles.

I nod and get up and stretch. It felt so good to sit down for a bit, but now that I have to stand up again my body is protesting every movement. I sigh at how out of shape I feel. I suppose the stress of the last few days would wear anyone down.

I unlock the door for the cab driver, feeling relieved that they do, in fact, have a cab service here. I ask him for a card in case I ever need to call. The elderly man, whose name is Walter, smiles brightly at me as he hands me his card. I smile back and turn to see how things are going with our customer. 

Carson gently wakes Benny up and helps him as he stumbles to the car. He pays the fare for the old man, which I thought was super nice of him. He shuts down the lights in the bar and guides me over to his truck around the back of the building where a few other vehicles and some motorcycles were lined up.

It doesn't take us long to arrive at Millie's. The lights are still on so either she or Landon are probably still awake. 

I thank Carson for the ride and hop out. "I'll see you on Tuesday, if you're there," I say to him with a questioning tone to my voice. He only nods at me. "Drive safe tonight, boss."

"Goodnight, Letty."

I nod, satisfied, and turn towards the front door. He waits until I opened the door to the house before driving away, which I always think is thoughtful of someone to do. I walk in and debate on heading back to the kitchen to see if I can sneak something to eat. I didn't take a break tonight since we were so busy and Becca kept disappearing. I'll make sure to put in an order with the kitchen for something that can be eaten at room temperature the next time I work. 

I decide against eating tonight with my exhaustion winning out over my hunger.

My tired feet bring me upstairs. I turn lights off as I go, grumbling at the challenge of finding the switches in the unfamiliar home. I figure Millie probably left them on knowing I'd be back so late. I turn to head down the hall leading to my rented room and Millie pops her head out of her door.

"Psst! Hey!" She whisper-yells at me. 

Frustration creeps up my spine and it takes everything in me to not have it show on my face. My tired eyes land on her as she steps out of her room in her fluffy pajamas with a big smile on her face. I find that it's actually very difficult to stay frustrated when she smiles like that. 

"I'm glad you'll actually get to stay here this time," Millie says while shaking her fists back and forth excitedly. Her mannerisms while excited often remind me of a small child. It's cute, really.

"Me too," I try to sound as excited as her, but the mental exhaustion from the last few days is making itself known. It claws at the back of my mind making my mind feel foggy and my body heavy. 

"I saw that Carson gave you the night off tomorrow. Uncle Smokey called me earlier about your car since you were at work and couldn't answer. I'll take you to the garage and then maybe we can go around to the shops. I'd love to give you a proper tour of Eureka," She says with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Sure, I'd love that," my response comes out garbled on the tail end of a large yawn.

Her smile in response could blind someone. She quietly wishes me a goodnight and shuffles back to her room.

I smile to myself as I drag my tired body to my room. I am about to open the door and I hear noises coming from Landon's room. I cringe and shiver in disgust at some of the obnoxious sounds coming from the girl, who I can only assume is Kelsey. It certainly didn't sound like her normal nasally voice.

I enter my room and immediately change into my comfy clothes. Pressing business sends me to the bathroom where I take the time to also wash my face and brush my teeth before bed. 

Muffled noises continue to leak through the walls. Walking back out into my room, I try to suppress my giggles that come out. What are they doing, filming porn? There's no reason to be that loud and blatantly obnoxious.

I walk back to my door and open and close my bedroom door a little harder than necessary to announce my arrival into my room since they apparently didn't hear me come through earlier. Or they did and ignored it.

Rude.

I hear a small pause in the noise before she starts back up. I'm thinking my choice to announce my arrival was a mistake. I was hoping he would halt their activities or at least quiet her down some out of respect for another person being here. Unfortunately, it seemed to have spurred her on more. I roll my eyes and cover my head with my pillow. 

Luckily the vodka seems to be helping me to feel sleepy. Add that to my already exhausted mind and I'll be asleep in no time. I soon drift off to the repetitive squeaks and dying animal sounds from the room across the hall.