Breathless

21. Heaven on Earth

The roads got a bit rocky after a while. I rolled down the windows. Yes I rolled them down. The car was old as I said. The sky was cloudy but yet looked beautiful. I decided to skip lunch and just drive. I didn't have a license but I didn't care.

I had too much on my mind. It was hard to ignore it all and go holiday in Miami but I was trying my best. The one thing that comforted me was that Nat and Cam were happy together. I was almost always thinking about Neil.

It was about 4 when I realised Miami was closer than I thought.
I had to call Mr. Lawrence, my neighbour. I dialled his number and just as I was losing hope he picked up. "Hey Riley! Darling, I was just about to call you. There's a small fast food restaurant by the sea, Very famous. It's called 'Miami's Best Fast Food' You could ask anyone on the way, and they'd give you the directions. Meet me there in an hour?" "Yes that sounds perfect, thanks Mr. Lawrence! I'll see you soon." And I hung up.

'Miami's Best Fast Food' Alright I thought to myself, I'd take another hour to reach and then I could meet Mr. Lawrence, pick up my money and go shopping! I still had no idea where I was going to stay. Depending on the amount of money Gran left me I'd decide.

I could finally see the beach and it looked gorgeous. The sun's rays fell perfectly on the clear waters. The sand looked as white as ivory and had women sunbathing in it. It looked like Heaven on Earth. Paradise indeed.

I drove a little further and scanned the sides for 'Miami's Best Fast Food' and there it was. Tiny place at the corner of the road. I parked the car in a safe place away from all the coconut trees and walked to the restaurant.

Mr. Lawrence was sitting at the booth nearest to the door. I went and sat opposite him. "Hi Mr. Lawrence! How have you been?" I said smiling. "Oh Riley! Hello! I've been great! What about you? You have lost so much weight wow! And call me Frank." I smiled at his compliment. It felt good. "Alright, Frank! Was it any trouble finding the box?" I said moving my hair behind my ears.

"Not at all darling! It's so nice to see you! Have you decided where you're going to stay?" "Not yet" I answered. "Why don't you live with me? You could get a room in the hotel I'm living in! I'm sure we have a lot to catch up on!" He said stretching his hand towards me. "Umm yeah, I guess I could do that." I said hesitantly and places my hand on his.

"Alright then let's go! The hotel is really close by, and it's right on the beach, I'm sure you'll have a blast. Come on!" He signalled me towards the door and we left. He got into his car and asked me to follow him. I got into mine and followed him.

He turned at a huge gate and went in. I went in right after him and stared ahead. The hotel was a mansion. I got off and stood there staring at it. My jaw must have been open because Frank came and shut it for me. We walked in together. He held my bag for me and I put my guitar case on my back.

The lobby was so big. There were vases with different flowers placed in every corner of the room. Frank walked up to the reception and mumbled some words to the pretty lady behind the counter. He waved his hand before my face bringing me back to reality and handed me a key card. I hugged him and thanked him. I grabbed my stuff and headed to my room. I was exhausted. 11 hours of driving did that.

The first thing I did was jump onto the bed and check out how bouncy it was. I bounced for a while and sat back down, laid my back on the bed and took a long nap.