I Hope You Find Me (9 page)

“Look, we don’t mean any harm we’re just
excited to find you. We saw the message on the window at the bus
station. We’ve been searching this place for a while. We heard your
dog barking, started knocking on doors till we found you.” He
paused before asking, “Can we come in?”

Connor had stepped away from the door
slightly and was nervously rubbing the back of his neck with one
hand. I walked up to him and asked quietly, “What do you think? I
put the messages out there to help people find me. I guess I wasn’t
thinking about strangers finding us, but they look harmless
enough.”

“You can tell that through the peep-hole, can
you?” He seemed irritated.

“They know we have a dog,” I reasoned, “They
don’t have to stay with us, but we could at least see who they
are.”

When he didn’t answer, I told him, “It’s up
to you.”

He nodded and went back to the door, “If you
have any weapons leave them on the floor.” I pulled Zoey back with
me and squatted down so I could put my arm around her and hold onto
her collar.

Connor unlatched the security bar and pulled
the door open. The man had backed away from the door and peered
into the dimly lit suite tentatively.

Connor stuck his hand out. “I’m Connor.”

The man took his hand and a smile broke out
on his face, he pumped Connor’s hand up and down and called over
his shoulder, “You coming?”

When Connor stepped aside to let the man in,
he nodded at me and the growling dog and said, “My name’s Matt.” He
gestured behind him, “This is Mariah.”

Mariah slipped inside carefully, her eyes
darting around the room. She was obviously on edge. Zoey issued a
loud bark, making both of the newcomers jump.

“Zoey, shush,” I told her. I didn’t want to
let go of her just yet.

“So if Zoey is the dog, then you must be
Riley,” Matt said to me.

“Yes, I’m glad you found us.”

Connor broke the awkward silence that
followed by flipping on the kitchen light and pointing to the bar
stools that rested beneath the counter top. “Have a seat, are you
thirsty?” He asked them.

“Do you have anything warm?” Matt asked.
Mariah hesitated to sit down. She was still eyeing the dog wearily
from the entryway.

I let go of Zoey and she rushed the
newcomers, wagging her tail so vigorously her back legs threatened
to lift off the ground. She sniffed at Mariah who seemed to relax
when she realized the dog wasn’t going to eat her, feet first.
Next, she checked out Matt as Connor turned the coffee maker on. He
popped an individual serving of coffee into the machine and watched
it brew directly into the mug.

Mariah was about my height, maybe an inch
shorter, with shoulder length, curly brown hair and big brown doe
eyes. Matt was tall and stocky, also with brown hair and intense,
dark eyes.

“This is a nice place.” Matt said. “Is it
running off a generator?” He aimed the question at Connor, who was
placing the mug in front of him on the counter.

“Yeah.” Connor began fixing another cup of
coffee for Mariah. “I was staying here actually when everything…you
know. Riley here is a local.” Connor nodded at me. He seemed much
more cautious with these two than he was meeting me on the pier. He
barely cracked a smile at either of them. I realized that Middle of
the Night Connor was not as sexy as Early Morning Connor, and the
thought made me stifle a laugh.

“Really?” Matt asked. He glanced around the
large suite, taking in the jugs of water and canned goods piled up
around the kitchen. “Are you two planning on staying here
then?”

Connor and I exchanged a look. “We were just
talking about that actually.” I paused, deciding to hear their
story before sharing our plans. “What about you? Did you meet in
the City?” I aimed the question in Mariah’s direction but she was
busy rubbing the dog’s head and ears and wasn’t looking at me.

“Oh, no…we didn’t meet in the City. Mariah
and I are twins.” Matt leaned into the counter, clearly enjoying
the hot drink. His oversized USCD sweatshirt hung off his muscled
upper body but he filled his jeans perfectly, accentuating his lean
hips and long legs. I stared at his backside, wishing for a moment
he wasn’t sitting.

“Wow.” I said, “What are the odds of
that?”

“Pretty well in our favor when you think
about it.” Mariah spoke for the first time. She looked up from the
dog and glanced at Connor before resting her soft gaze on me. “You
know…same genes and all.” She smiled.

“Thanks for leaving that message. We were
starting to freak out wondering where we would be sleeping
tonight,” Matt said, his mouth hovering over his mug.

“You’re welcome, I guess.” I laughed softly.
“I left it for family or friends, in case anyone is left. I didn’t
really think about anyone else reading them.” I suddenly felt
foolish.

“Well if you hadn’t we would still be
wandering around downtown right now.” Matt slid off his stool and
handed the second cup of coffee to his sister. “Mind if we crash in
one of the rooms down the hall, and maybe chat again in the
morning?”

Connor replied, “Not at all, in fact I have
the key to the suite next door, it’s a single bedroom but it has a
comfy couch.” Connor smiled at Mariah. She smiled back at him as
she raised her hand up to brush a curly section of hair away from
her neck. I wasn’t sure, but the stirring in my stomach felt almost
like jealousy.

“Yeah, I think we can figure it out.” Matt
winked at me, and asked if they could return the mugs in the
morning. After Connor assured them we had plenty, and not to worry
about it, we walked them to the door. Mariah seemed truly sad to
part with the dog, and made a point to lean in to Connor and touch
his arm as she said goodnight.

Connor seemed genuinely happy to see Matt go.
I was genuinely happy to see Mariah go. I went to my room that
night with the overwhelming feeling that the next day was going to
be a long and possibly unpleasant one.

CHAPTER
SIX

Connor was awake the rest of the night,
listening to the sounds of the hotel. He didn’t trust Matt; there
was something about the way he looked at Riley that disturbed him.
He understood how Riley must feel, having the dog with her. Zoey
wasn’t just her companion but she was a reliable, walking and
barking, alarm system. He left his door open, wide open, and if he
shifted to the left side of his king size bed, he could look across
the sitting room and see unobstructed into Riley’s room. They had
agreed to leave the doors open so Zoey could freely move about the
suite during the night, in case their visitors returned. Zoey
seemed to sense the difference because she didn’t sleep much
either. She wandered between the two bedrooms, sniffing around
Connor’s bed and then returning to Riley’s room.

He lounged, completely still, on top of the
comforter and imagined meeting Riley under different circumstances.
He let himself close his eyes for just a moment and pictured her
happy somewhere, perhaps with family, or with friends, carefree and
without the emptiness in her eyes he saw when he first met her. He
envisioned a light burned there once and she had the kind of smile
that could truly bewitch most men, the straight ones at least. The
shape of her body was alluring but she didn’t flaunt it. In fact,
she seemed to go out of her way to hide it - covering her curves
with jeans and loose fitting sweat-shirts or baggy tops, but Connor
had still noticed. She had an inner strength that pulsated through
her personality, marking her as a damaged woman, but a woman who
would never give up, which also made her extremely attractive to
him.

She hadn’t told him anything of her life
before the day they met, but he knew on the pier she was
fascinating, and it wasn’t because she was the first live thing he
found amidst all the death festering around him. There was
something about her that made him forget what he had lost. When he
sat near her, he almost felt like he would be okay. He wanted that,
needed that feeling, but it came with a sharp pang of guilt.
Because across the land of the country he was now marooned on, and
over the vast expanse of ocean water, there was a little boy, his
own little boy, and he was probably dead, as was his mother.

He couldn’t force the images of his innocent
little Roan and his ex out of his mind. He rolled onto his stomach
and punched his pillow until his face was efficiently buried in it
and he wept silently for the son he would never see again.

***

The day started when Zoey jumped onto the
bed, whining at my feet. I had curled up under the covers but was
unable to fall back to sleep after Matt and Mariah left. The
curtains were drawn tightly closed so the only clue that it was
daytime was the faint line of light along the ground below the
window. I rose from the bed slowly, and it took a considerable
amount of force to make my feet move. The blur of the last few days
had clouded up my mind. I was afraid to sleep; for fear that
nightmares would haunt me. I felt secure with Connor but at the
same time confused about how I felt about him, and now there were
two new people down the hall.

I decided to shower before taking Zoey
outside. She gave me a displeased look and forced a sneeze when I
passed the bedroom door and went straight into the bathroom,
shutting myself inside. Fat droplets of water burst from the silver
showerhead, pelting the glass doors with a sort of rhythmic and
excited frenzy as I draped my clean clothes across the long marble
counter top. I brushed my teeth while the steam from the shower
began to fill the large bathroom. The hot water was something of a
gift, but I kept the shower short, and dried my hair again before
dressing. When I opened the door, the steamy smell of my shampoo
filled the bedroom and
almost
covered up the stench of fresh
dog shit.

The offender was nowhere to be seen. But in
the furthest corner of the room, just in front of the draped
windows, there it sat, one little dog turd.

“Zoey!” I hollered loudly at her, forgetting
that Connor had gone to sleep just hours before. When she didn’t
come, I stalked out of my room, ready to scold her.

“Zoey,
come here.
” I said sternly to
the empty sitting room. I walked to Connor’s room and looked
inside. The bed was empty and the master bathroom was dark. I
realized he must have taken her outside himself and guilt washed
over me. I rushed back to my room and pulled my converse over my
naked feet and shoved the extra keypad into my back pocket. I
yanked the door open and stepped into the hall, turned to my right,
and walked straight into Matt’s chest.

“Shit!” I gasped, into his cotton t-shirt. He
smelled freshly showered and his face was clean-shaven.

Matt had gripped my arms when I stumbled into
him and slid his hands down to my elbows to steady me. When I
looked up he had a big goofy grin on his face, but the darkness of
his eyes unnerved me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, “I didn’t see you.” I
leaned away from him but his grip stayed firm on my elbows.

“Where are you off to, so early in the
morning?” He asked in a teasing voice. “You aren’t doing the walk
of shame are you?”

My mouth dropped open, and he smiled at me. I
saw that his eyes were full of mischief and something else…desire,
maybe? I snapped my mouth shut so hard that I bit the tip of my
tongue.

“What? No, no…it’s not like that.” The words
tumbled out of my mouth. I had to straighten my spine, and shake my
head to regain my composure.

I yanked my arms from his grasp and took two
full steps backwards. “Connor and I just met a few days ago,
besides, even if we were…whatever, it’s none of
your
business.” I shifted on my feet and pointed behind him. “Do you
mind, I was on my way downstairs.” I said it even as I moved past
him.

“Whatever. I mean, it is what it is, right?”
He said from behind me. I didn’t bother to look at him but I could
tell he was following close behind me.

“What does that mean?” I challenged him.

“You and Connor,” he said simply.

“What about me and Connor?” I asked, a little
too innocently.

“Like I said - whatever.”

We had reached the end of the hall and I
pushed open the stairwell door. I turned to face him, and put my
arm up to block his passage.

“What’s downstairs?” He asked as he peered
past my shoulder into the empty stairwell as if the answer would be
hovering in the air behind me.

“My dog.” I didn’t like how close he was
leaning towards me. I gave him a blank look. “Look, I’m not a
morning person, and I just got up. How about we meet up with the
others, in say, half an hour?” I hoped this would keep him from
following me down the next twenty flights of stairs.

He didn’t answer me right away, but he backed
off and nodded. “Okay, whatever you say Boss Lady.” He winked at me
and I rolled my eyes in response as I moved away from the door and
let it slam hard in his face. I jogged down the stairs, pausing
every few landings to listen to the hotel around me. Twice I risked
leaning over the rail to look above me and make sure Matt wasn’t in
silent pursuit.

When I opened the door to the lobby, I
whistled for Zoey. I pushed the heavy glass doors open and walked
over to the grassy spot that I had been taking Zoey to and it was
empty. I frowned and turned around, whistling. I called out for
Connor but got no response. The horizon was dark to the north, but
thankfully the wind was still pushing the smoke away from us. The
grey clouds above the distant skyscrapers gave me an ominous
feeling and I tried to rub the chill from my arms. The sky seemed
to be teasing the earth with the prospect of a storm, for days I
thought it would rain, but the clouds always ended up parting and
allowing the sunlight to filter through. This day was different
though, the static in the air ran through my hair and along my
skin, and the clouds looked heavy enough to dump a year’s worth of
rain onto me at any moment. I felt exposed, standing in the front
of the hotel, alone, and though it made no sense at the time, I was
certain I was being watched from the apartment complexes and
businesses across the street.