Page 51 of Above All Else
I crossed my arms as he shut the door. A frown settled on my face, and he walked through the automatic doors, stopping at the front desk.
My fingers played with the frayed ends of the negligee Ethan bought for me one random day. He’d insisted I wore it last night while he ran his hands over me, and now I couldn’t wait to toss it in the trash and never see it again.
Ethan cheated on me.
But he didn’t deserve to die for it.
“Scumbag.”
I brought Carter’s shirt sleeve to my nose and inhaled in a deep breath of his intoxicating aroma, my head tipping back and resting against the seat.
“Are you smelling my shirt?”
I jerked my hand away. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m trying not to puke.”
He dropped into his seat with a deep, lopsided smile, a dimple appearing beneath the scruff. “Whatever you want to tell yourself, dollface.”
“It’s the truth.”
Chuckling, he started the car and drove around the back of the hotel. “We’re on the bottom floor by the exit.” He flickedover a keycard. “Room 121. Go inside, and I’ll head to the store to get you some clothes.”
I raised a brow. “And you know what size I wear?”
“Of course I do. And I know you like to wear comfortable but fashionable clothes while you’re in the car. Nothing too frumpy, but also nothing that is going to get uncomfortable.”
My upper lip lifted. “Don’t pretend to know me, Carter.”
I snatched the keycard and got out of the car. “I need a pair of shoes, size sev—“
”—seven. I told you, I know your sizes.”
I slammed the door in his face and walked to the side door, his laughter breaking through the closed windows as I pulled his shirt down over my ass.
Jerk.
Sliding the keycard through the door, I entered the tranquil hallway. Three doors down and on the left, I shoved my keycard in the lock and stepped inside.
I could lock him out, slide the bolt in place, and make him sleep in the car...
With a sigh, I flicked on the light and exited the makeshift hallway, freezing in my tracks. “Ass...hole.”
The comfortable hotel room held two nightstands with lamps but one freaking bed made up with six plush pillows and a turned-down duvet.
I spun on my heel and slapped the lock in place.
Dirt and grime coated my skin, my hair matted against my skull, filled with bits and pieces of the forest floor.
I stripped my shirt and tossed the destroyed negligee into the trash can beside the desk, the long mirror in the bathroom seizing my attention.
Caked dirt outlined the back of my knees, wrists, and ankles where my sweat gathered the particles.
Disgusting.
Scatches, long and thin marred my legs and arms. My knee shined with the hour’s fresh abrasion, dirt crusting around the bloody edges.
This is going to suck.
I twisted the knob, water spitting out in uneven bursts before settling into a hot, steady stream. Steam coiled around me, reached down my throat and swallowed the air from my lungs. The mirror fogged, hiding the mess of a human staring into it, allowing me a deferment from reality. I tiptoed into the scalding shower and hissed as the heat bit into my wounds.