No Control (Chris Motionless)

Chapter 15 - Stay Here

Chris and I ended up discussing going to the graveyard the day after tomorrow, seeing that we ended up staying up until well past midnight. I made sure to text Mackenzie letting her know I was okay every now and then. We ended up having to sit in the hotel lobby since the bar closed at one in the morning, at that point we weren't even talking about our plans.

He was telling me about stories of his times on tour and I told him about my hockey games. We had a hard time keeping quiet at certain points, as our laughter got a bit too loud every now and then. It was clear that the tired hotel receptionist wasn't amused by us at all, but that only made it funnier somehow. I knew that I shouldn't have felt safe with Chris in that moment, but I just did.

I received a series of texts back to back from Mackenzie and Lea at three, desperately asking me where I was and if I was okay.

My eyebrows scrunched together as I responded, 'Yeah, I'm alright. Just sitting here with Chris in the hotel lobby. Is something wrong?'

Lea texts back the fastest saying, 'Check the news.'

I quickly search the room for a television, spotting one over by the receptionist's desk. I rose from the couch I had been lounging on and turned on the TV to flip the channels until I found a news station.

I caught a glimpse of the headline: BREAKING NEWS, before my attention was grabbed by the reporter's words.

"A body was discovered here just an hour ago in the White Chapel district of an unidentified young woman. The authorities are still investigating the scene." The man tells the camera as he glances around nervously as if he might be at risk.

"Oh my god." Chris gasped from beside me, causing me to jump slightly from his sudden presence.

My cellphone dinged with another text message from Lea, 'I guess it isn't Chris after all. The person was found nearby the graveyard we saw that cop visit.'

I felt a wave of relief crash over me and without thinking it through I threw my arms around Chris, hugging him tightly.

He hesitantly wound his arms around me, but he quickly caught on as he asked in a quiet voice, "Does this mean I'm off the hook?"  

I let out a weak laugh as I nodded against his shoulder, "Yeah, I think it does."

I release Chris and checked the time on my cellphone again and sighed, "I should be heading back."

He sent me a look of disbelief as he questioned, "At this hour? Are you nuts?"

"What do you suggest I do? Wait until the sun comes out?"

Chris rolled his eyes and suggested, "You can just stay in my room and sleep in the bed, I'll take the chair."

"You plan on sleeping in a chair?"

He shrugged, "I've slept in worse places honestly."

I mulled it over for a minute before finally nodding, "Alright, I wasn't looking forward to trying to stay up on that hour-long train ride anyway."

The receptionist looked relieved as we exited the lobby and stepped onto one of the elevators. I was glad to have the negative tension finally removed from my mind, it was nice to not be afraid of wondering if Chris was going to hurt me or not. We remained quiet as we entered his room, still the same as the last time I had been here, outside of the bedding being turned down and ruffled. I put my heels off by the door as Chris went over to his suitcase and began rummaging through it. He pulled out a black shirt with a band logo I didn't recognize and some black and white basketball shorts.

He held the clothing out to me saying, "You won't be able to sleep in that latex, you'll sweat to death."

"Right." I chuckle and begin to make my way to the bathroom.