Page 20 of Do Not Disturb
“Help you?”
“Help dig me out.” I’m gripping the plate so hard, it feels like it might shatter in my hands. “I’ve got to get out of here today. Please.”
“Uh…” Nick glances over my shoulder, out the window at the blinding white snow coating absolutely everything. “I guess we can try, but there’s a lot of snow out there. Where did you park anyway? You’re not in the lot right outside.”
“I parked by that diner. The one that’s boarded up.”
“Okay.” He lifts his shoulders. “We can give it a shot.” He looks down at my feet. “You got boots?”
Of course I don’t have boots. I didn’t even have freaking socks. “No. It’s fine though.”
He rubs the stubble on his jaw. “Let me borrow a pair from Rosalie. You look like you’re about the same size.”
Something about borrowing a pair of boots from his sick wife makes me feel a little uneasy. “It’s fine.”
“It’snotfine. There’s alotof snow out there. You’re going to lose a toe if you don’t have a pair of decent boots on.”
He makes a good point. “If you’re sure it’s okay…”
He nods at the plate of food. “Why don’t you eat breakfast, then I’ll meet you downstairs with the boots.”
I agree to do it, but his expression doesn’t make me feel hopeful. What if I can’t get out of here? I’m a sitting duck right now.
After he’s gone, I shovel eggs into my mouth while I attempt to get reception on the television. The eggs are pretty terrible. They are dry and bland, and the bacon is burned. He did better with the turkey sandwich. To be fair, it’s hard to ruin a turkey sandwich.
I tune into the local news, but there’s no mention of any sort of murder. Again, most of the news is about the blizzard. I don’t know if it’s just that the story hasn’t hit the news yet, or if nobody has discovered Derek’s body yet.
It seems almost impossible they haven’t discovered him yet. That he’s just lying on the kitchen floor, dead, and nobody knows it. How long does it take for a body to decompose? It couldn’t already be happening, could it? Not in the cold, at least.
It’s almost impossible to think of Derek that way. He was so strong and big and full of life. He was larger than life. For him to be dead…
Heisdead, isn’t he?
Isn’t he?
The thought hadn’t occurred to me. I stood there and waited to make sure he was gone. He bled out all over the kitchen floor. He’s definitely dead. He wasn’t breathing.
He’sdead.
But…
It’s not like I’m a doctor. Itseemedlike he wasn’t breathing. I couldn’t feel a pulse. He was so still. And there wassomuch blood. There’s no way he could still be alive.
Before I left the house, I didn’t check him. I couldn’t bear to. I just assumed he was still lying on the kitchen floor, the way I left him. It’s like that feeling you get when you left your house in the morning and you’re not sure if you shut off the lights or locked the door. Except a million times worse.
What if the reason nobody’s looking for me is that Derek isn’t actually dead?
I feel like I’m going to throw up the eggs I just ate. A few moments ago, I felt confident of one thing: Derek was dead. I was sure of it. But now I’m not so sure anymore. What if he got up off the floor, got himself patched up, and now he’s out there looking for me?
Either way, I need to get the hell out of here.
I look down at my left hand, where my wedding band is still there, taunting me. Whatever else, I want that stupid thing off my hand. I yank it off roughly. My skin is a couple of shades whiter where the band used to be. The first thing I’m going to do is get rid of that tan line.
I pull open the dresser drawer next to the bed. The only thing inside is a copy of the Bible. I shove my ring in the drawer and slam it shut.
I grab the key to the room and lock it behind me when I leave. I consider bringing my bag with me, but I decide to leave it behind. I can swing by the motel entrance and toss it in on my way out.
“Leaving so soon?”
