HUM by Dan Hawley (book club reads .TXT) 📗

on the faucet and ran a washcloth underneath the running water until it darkened and soaked up as much cool water as it could. She turned the tap off, wrung the cloth out, and dabbed at her face.

What a scene, she thought. She looked broken and tired. Beat-up and bruised. Chester watched her with pity in his eyes. Jason sat hunched over, looking like he had just lost a barroom brawl. She looked at the door and back at Chester.

“We have to leave.”

“I know,” he said.

“We’ll pay to fix what we broke, obviously. And whatever the cost to get out of the lease early.”

She finished wiping off her face and neck, put the facecloth down, and opened a drawer.

“I’ll let you out of the lease, Sam. Don’t worry about that.” Chester watched as Samantha pulled out a bottle of aspirin and popped three in her mouth. She handed three to Jason as well, then took a long drink from the tap. She turned around to face the big man who had saved her life.

“I don’t know what I’d have done if you didn’t come, Chester.” She wrapped her arms around him as best she could and squeezed. Chester was taken aback briefly but softened into her embrace and patted her back gently.

“Thank you.”

“You should thank Mrs. Sweeny next door. And her boy Stuart. They heard you through the walls and called down in a panic.”

Samantha let Chester go and dropped her arms. “They said it sounded like someone was in trouble up here, and I should hurry.”

“Glad you did,” Sam said as she rubbed her neck. Then she said, “What about our stuff?”

“Well,” Chester said and rubbed his chin, “take what you can, the essentials, I guess, and we can arrange for someone to come in and pack everything else up and ship it out to you. Thankfully, you didn’t bring much to begin with.”

Samantha sighed.

“Thank you, Chester. Thanks for everything.”

The mountains had shrunk and smoothed out into rolling hills as they traveled east. Samantha pulled the black SUV into the hotel parking lot. Her body ached and cried for sleep. Jason stirred and sat up in his seat, taking in the scenery around them. Sam rolled to a stop in front of the hotel’s big sliding doors and put the vehicle in park.

“I’ll just be a minute,” she said and turned off the engine. As she grabbed the door handle, Jason’s hand touched her forearm, and she paused.

“Thank you, Sam,” he said in a hushed voice.

She looked back at Jason, and a small but warm smile appeared on her face.

“It’s going to be ok, Jay. I love you.”

He smiled back. Samantha covered her smile with a light-blue surgical mask and headed into the hotel lobby.

A short while later, Samantha reappeared from behind the sliding doors with the small white envelope in her hands that held the room keys. She hopped back up into the seat and fired up the engine. She found a parking space, and they both got out of the car. Jason commented that the sun felt amazing as he grabbed his large duffle bag from the back seat. Samantha paused and closed her eyes, angling her face up to the sun. She basked in its warmth for a moment longer and then retrieved her own bag from the SUV. They headed towards the hotel again, and Samantha used the key pass to unlock the door. The green light lit up, announcing access was granted, and they entered and started looking for their room. It happened to be right beside the door, so Samantha held her pass up to the keypad once more.

It beeped red.

No entry.

She tried again. This time the light blinked green, and the mechanism moved the lock back so they could enter.

Samantha dropped her heavy bag onto the dark-green chair that sat in the corner of the room. Jason came in after her and set his duffle down on the floor. The door closed behind him with a click. Samantha walked back past the tv and the king-sized bed and into the bathroom. She relieved herself and then washed her hands thoroughly, making a point to not look at herself in the mirror. Samantha didn’t care to see herself rugged and disheveled from the long night and long drive. She didn’t want to see the progression of the bruises on her neck. She guessed they didn’t look great, judging by the looks she had gotten from the front desk staff. She didn’t care what they thought, though. She only cared about rest. And then to get home.

She thought about calling or texting her mother while she changed into more comfy clothes. She definitely needed some sleep before she made that call, she thought and jumped up on the bed. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom. Hot steam billowed from it and disappeared into the bedroom air. Samantha lifted the covers back and buried herself underneath. She thought briefly about turning on the tv but saw that the remote was far away, on the table across the room. Her eyes drifted down, and she wondered if there was anything in the little fridge, suddenly very aware of her thirst.

They would go grab some food later, she thought, after a quick nap.

She settled into the bed, and her head sank into the soft, fluffy down of the hotel pillow. Her muscles softened and relaxed into the mattress as she worked to keep the thoughts and memories of the past day out of her mind. Her eyes finally closed, and she began to nod off, faintly aware that the shower had been turned off. She heard the drips from the showerhead as it expelled the last of the water.

She heard Jason toweling off and slowly opened her eyes to see him inspecting himself in the mirror, tracing his fingers down the scarlet lines on his face. Her eyes closed once more, and she heard the click of the bathroom light.

Quiet now.

Peace and quiet.

A