“I’ll help you get inside then,” Daniel announced, removing his seatbelt.
She took her belt off and he came around the car, opening her door. For a man over six feet tall, he was fast.
Once she grabbed the zippered shoulder bag she kept her wallet and essentials in, Daniel lifted her from the seat. He stood her on his left side, wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her on the way to the B&B’s door.
“She’ll be having a room for the night,” Daniel announced for her at the small reception desk.
The woman opened her mouth to reply but the phone rang and she excused herself to answer it.
Amelia glanced up at him, noticing the small spider web of a scar near his left temple. It looked like someone had thrown a rock at him and the resulting scar reminded her of a stone hitting a car’s windshield. “What about you?”
His dark brows arched in disbelief. “What about me?”
“Do you have somewhere to stay?”
Pursing his lips, Daniel made a few non-committal grunts. He shrugged. “Best for everyone if I continued on my way.”
Amelia didn’t know why she felt this incredible urge to help him, but it seemed like he needed a friend. In all honesty, she could use one too. The only people she called friends, aside from Gabby, a fellow gamer, were her family. Everyone else was just a leech, sucking up to her in the hopes of getting something for free.
They had been that way ever since she could remember; her recent accomplishments in the world of online RPG (Role Playing Games) brought forth more lecherous backstabbers from the shadows.
“I’m sorry about that,” the woman at the desk said, replacing the phone. “So you’re wanting a room then? For just the one night?”
“Two rooms, if you have them,” Amelia replied.
“Now, wait just a–”
Maeve, as her nametag read, interrupted Daniel. “We’ve only got the one, but it has a big bed. And if you wanted, there’s a cot-bed that could fit in there as well.”
He stared at her, obviously torn.
“We’ll take it,” Amelia said, pulling out her credit card.
Neither of them spoke during the short walk upstairs to the room. Daniel helped her hobble up the steps while Maeve chattered about the area, room service, and meal times, finishing with the available amenities just as they reached the end of the hall. Placing the key in Daniel’s hand, she told them the cot, extra bedding, and pillows would be brought up within the hour.
“I won’t stay with you,” he growled, pushing the door open.
She shook out her hair hoping the moisture in the air hadn’t frizzed her up to look like a lion’s mane, and limped her way to the nearest chair. Leather-bound and sitting at an angle on the desk next to a pen and pad of paper, the room service menu beckoned her attentions. Amelia ignored Daniel, instead taking a glance through the menu.
“Wow, steak is pretty cheap here. I know what I’m having to eat.”
His stomach growled at the mention of food. Amelia hid her smile.
“It’s not right, me staying here with you,” he insisted. “It’s just…it’s not right.”
Heavy, palpable sadness permeated the space between them. On the surface, his body screamed of strength and power, and commanded a certain level of respect. But underneath this exterior his spirit had been crushed.
Whatever happened to Daniel, it peeled away the last layers of self-confidence and left him so despondent. All that remained was an empty husk of a man. For reasons she was unable to voice, Amelia couldn’t let him just walk away, especially if he had nowhere to walk away to.
“Where would you go?” she asked. “If you can prove that you have some place to rest your head for the night, I’ll let you walk out of here. If not, just eat a meal or two. Sleep in the damned bed.”
His demeanour changed. The hunch in his shoulders straightened. He filled the room. Big. Tall. Wide. Strong.
Breath caught in her throat.
“How do you know I won’t hurt you?” Daniel growled. “Little girl, you’ve no idea who I am or what I’m capable of, and yet here you are, offering to share a room, a bloody room with a lock on the door, with an absolute stranger. You’re either a saint or a psychopath.” Closing his eyes, Daniel shoved his palms against the lids and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Her heart went out to him, whoever he was and whatever he had done aside.
So he thought he would hurt her, did he?
Amelia considered what she knew about the man, aside from his name. A short list, but in her mind, actions and words held equal merit, depending on what they were. His actions and his words towards her, so far, had been kind.