Perilous Flames [clifford a.u]

chapter seven - burning skin

        CHAPTER SEVEN - BURNING SKIN        

        The night was cool and the moon shined from the dark sky. I bent down and tied up my sneakers. Then I made my way across the parking lot of the motel. I didn't know exactly where I was going at first but when I saw the liquor store across the street, I decided that I would buy a drink. My sneakers slapped against the concrete as I hurried my pace. 

        The streets around were vacant and I wondered if maybe I would regret going out alone at night. When I got to the store, I was greeted by an overweight man who sat behind the counter, watching the news on his mini television. When he saw me, he eyed my pajama shorts and I resisted throwing him a disgusted look. 

        I made my way over to the refrigerators of drinks on the side of the store and began to look at the drinks available. And I took my time, because I didn't want to go back to the motel just yet. After moving a couple fridges over, I noticed that a guy standing in the corner of the store, was staring down at the selection of lighters on a shelf. It was weird because I remember seeing him standing in the same place when I got here, and he still hasn't moved. His back was facing me, and I noticed the outfit he wore was kind of familiar. From the back he looked older. He was tall, taller than Michael in fact. 

        He also had the same taste of clothes as Michael. He wore black jeans, that looked extremely tight, and a dark sweater with the hood pulled over his head. I was actually really curious as to why he was staring at the lighters like his life depended on it. 

        Suddenly the guy whipped around and I saw that he wore a Nirvana shirt and he had dark blonde hair. He looked really young, about my age...and he was staring right at me. 

        My stomach flipped as I saw his lips curve into a smile and I opened the fridge, grabbing a random drink and made my way to the cashier. The entire way I had shivers going down my back and when I paid for the drink, I was walking out of the store faster than I intended to. 

        It wasn't the fact that he was staring at me was what got me most on edge. It was the smile he gave me. It was the same dark smile that Nick and Henry had.

        I crossed the street and headed back to the motel, the dark parking lot lit by the moon and the motel's fluorescent lights. I looked behind me and was relieved to see that the guy didn't follow me. So I slowed my walking, taking my time to get to the room. 

        I was wondering what Michael thought of all this. If he was still eating the food he brought or was he sitting in the room, wondering where I had gone off to. Or did he actually decide to go out and find me. 

        Frustrated at those thoughts, I turned my path and headed back to the motel's lobby. I couldn't go back just yet, so I was going to go and ask the person at the counter for some soap. Did we run out? I had no idea, but it was a good excuse to take so long to get to the motel. 

        When I reached the doors I saw a silver Audi parked right at the front. It looked familiar but I didn't think more of it as I went inside the lobby. It was empty except for the man at the counter and some blonde woman who he was talking to. I waited patiently behind the woman as the man and her continued to be in an what seemed, an argument. It took only two minutes for me to get irritated from waiting, so I came up to the counter beside the woman and quickly butt into their conversation. "Excuse me, can I have some extra soap? We ran out in our room."

        The man looked away from the woman to me and nodded. He bend down and shuffled through the things he had stored behind the counter. "I don't have some here, but I'll check the backroom. I'll be right back," he said, and he hurried away, behind a door on the left of the desk.