The Chase by Amber Riel (story reading txt) 📖

as he placed his glass of water to his lips.  He took a sip.

          “My mummy always says that if a boy is mean to you that usually means that he likes you.”

          Louis had spit his water out all of me at Lainie’s words.

          I dropped my mouth in disbelief at both Lainie’s words and the fact that the jerk had spit all over me.

          “Sorry about that,” Louis replied as he turned his attention to Lainie.  “Look, Lainie, I don’t like her…. I’m just putting up with her, there’s a difference.”

          Lainie didn’t respond.  Her hazel eyes just stared at Louis as if she had known something was up.

          I took a few napkins to clean the jerks spit off of my clothes.  “That’s more for boys around your age…. Men are different,” I replied, eyeing Louis with hatred.  I smiled as I looked down at Lainie.  “Men have to be trained.”

          I felt Louis’s stare as I spoke to Lainie.  His stare was burning right into me with anger and I was enjoying every moment of it.

          “But that’s something that I’ll have to teach you when you’re older.”  I picked up my menu and flipped through it.  The food choices were odd from what I was used to seeing in America.  The food ranged from bone marrow to wiener schnitzel.  The pictures didn’t look too appetizing for me but I was hungry and was willing to eat anything.

          By the time I had finally made my decision the waitress had made her way back to our little table.  “Have you decided what you wanted?” she asked.

          “I’ll have a few kiwi burgers,” Louis replied.

          “Are you sure?” the waitress asked.  “I think an attractive man so as yourself should eat more than that….”

          “Why are you flirting with a man whose here with another woman?” Louis asked, kind of snapping angrily toward the waitress.

          I dropped my mouth in disbelief.  I couldn’t believe how rude he was being.

          The waitress obviously was surprised as well as she stared with wide brown eyes.

          “What?  Are you some kind of---?”

          I kicked his shin before he could finish the sentence.  Something had been bothering him and whatever it was ticked him off.

          Lainie stared at Louis with wide eyes which revealed tears.

          Louis took a deep breath and turned his attention toward the waitress.  “I’m sorry…. I’m just having a hard time right now,” he apologized, feeling kind of bad for what he had just done.

          The waitress moved her eyes over toward me.  “What about you, Miss?”

          “I would like to try some bacon na-an?  I’m sorry…. I’m visiting from America and I don’t know how to pronounce some of these words.”

          “Well, let me see….”

          I pointed to what I had decided and she nodded as she wrote it down.  When she was done, she smiled down at Lainie.  “And what would you like?”

          “Mac ‘n’ cheese,” Lainie replied.

          I smiled at the choice for kids.  It was something that they made on every continent I guessed.  It was so simple.  If I had known that was even a choice whether or not for kids, I would have probably had ordered that instead.

          “Okay, I’ll be back with your orders.”

 

          After dinner, we sat at the table letting our food digest when the waitress walked past and placed the bill on the table as she picked up our dirty dishes.  I went to reach for the bill but Louis had stopped me.  “Whether I like you or not,” he said, “a woman shouldn’t have to pay for the meal.”  He took the bill and examined it to make sure that it was what he had figured it would be in his head.  I watched him slowly nod as if he had been right.

          I was kind of surprised that he had been willing to pay for me even though I was the one person who he seemed to hate the most.

          “Why don’t you two go out to the car?  I’ll pay for the meal.”

          “Okay,” I nodded.

 

          I held Lainie’s hand as we walked over to the car.  The sky was covered with stars and completely dark blue.  I loved it.  I looked down at Lainie and smiled.  “Lovely night huh?”

          Lainie looked up at the sky with sadness in her eyes.  “Do you think that my mummy and daddy are staring that the stars too?”

          “I don’t know for sure but I bet they are…. I bet their thinking of you as well.  Thinking about your smile, your beautiful hazel eyes, your long, nicely brushed blonde hair…. Lainie, I think their missing you so much right now…. But they want you to be safe…. Me and your uncle aren’t going to let anything happen to you and they know it.”

          Louis walked out and over to the car as he looked around wearily.  “We need to go…. I have a bad feeling.”

          I nodded and helped Lainie into the car as Louis climbed into the front seat.

 

          Louis drove for about an hour or so when he started getting tired.  I could see the weariness in his eyes as he shook his head to stay awake.  It kind of worried me.  “Pull over and let me drive.”

          “No,” he replied.

          “You’ll falling asleep…. You’ve been driving almost all day…. You need a break.”

          “I’m fine….”

          “If you don’t let me drive, then at least pull into a hotel for the night so you can get a good night sleep…. Do it for Lainie’s sake.”

          He glanced into the rearview mirror then nodded.  “I’ll pull into a hotel for the night, but first thing tomorrow we have to leave.”

          “Okay.”

 

          He pulled up to a small little inn which the sign had read vacant rooms.  It was the only place he could find that wasn’t full.  It looked deceit for a small inn.  It wasn’t flashy but it wasn’t worn down either.  It looked like a nice little place to stay.  He parked into one of the empty parking places which stand right in front of the building.

          “Is this where we’re staying?” Lainie’s sleepy little voice asked.

          I looked back at her and nodded.

          “I want the both of you to go inside with me…. I don’t trust this neighborhood.”

          I nodded.  I opened the door and climbed while Louis pushed his seat forward to let Lainie out.  He picked up Lainie and let her lay her little head on his shoulder.

Before we headed inside, Louis made sure that both car doors were locked.

 

          As we walked into the lobby of the hotel I looked around.  It was small with a desk on the right of the room and some chairs surrounding a little coffee table on the left.  The coffee table was kind of covered with magazines and newspaper articles.  I followed Louis over to the front desk.  No one was there and the room was empty of life.  Louis hit a small round silver bell, hoping to get someone’s attention.  “I’m going to get two separate rooms.  One for the two of you and one for myself,” he informed me.  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for an unmarried man and woman to share a room together…. Besides, you have the child to look after…. I have to make sure that the both of you are safe…. So I’m going to get four keys for the rooms…. You’ll have your room key and my room key and vise-versa…. Just in case for any reason there’s danger…. Got it?”

          I nodded in agreement.

          “Okay good.”

          After a moment, a man wearing a button up t-shirt which was decorated with flowers and a grey tank top under it and light brown long shorts walked out.  He looked to be about in his late twenties and was kind of attractive with wavy dark brown hair which dropped past his ears and a dark tan.

“Ooo.”  I couldn’t help but stare.

Louis raised an eyebrow as he looked over at me.

“What?  I’m not a loud to look?” I whispered at the man.

“I didn’t say anything,” he defended himself.  I didn’t know why it had affected him anyways with the way he treated me.

“Sorry I was kind of busy,” the man responded and kind of smiled at me flirtatiously.

I couldn’t help but blush.

Louis raised an eyebrow again and I kind of got that odd feeling that he was kind of jealous but I didn’t understand why.

“How may I help you today?”

“I would like two rooms please,” Louis replied.

“Two rooms?  You two aren’t a couple or something?”

“No,” I replied.  “He’s kind of---”

“It’s a long story,” Louis interrupted.  “Two rooms for the night.”  The jealous was kind of starting to grow but I really didn’t know why he would be jealous in the first place.

“Okay then.”

“You think I’ll be seeing your little friend again?” the guy asked Louis.

“Nope, she’s not from around here and I don’t think you’d want her anyways….”  He looked back at me then to the man.  “She’s too disrespectful and she believes that men should be fed to the sharks.”

I dropped my mouth in anger at Louis’s words.  Why would he have said that?  He was ticking me even more that I figured he would.

“Ouch.”  The guy handed the keys for the rooms to Louis.  “You guys have rooms five a and b…. They’re both upstairs to the right and right next to each.  You shouldn’t miss them.”

“Alright.”  Louis dug into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

“That’s a hundred pounds please.”

Louis nodded as he pulled out the money in his pocket and handed them to the guy.

 

          Louis handed me a key to the room me and Lainie where going to stay in and a key to the room which he was going to stay in.  “You two take five a…. I’ll be in five b.”

          I nodded and rolled my eyes at him.  I was so ticked off.

          “What?”

          “Why did you have to tell that guy all that stuff that isn’t true about me?”

          Louis shrugged as if he didn’t know what I was even talking about.

          I slid the key to the room for me and Lainie and opened the door.  I walked in followed by Louis.  “That was so frustrating…. Do you realize that he---?”

          “Not your type.”

          I looked at Louis with confusion.  “How do you know if he’s not my type?  How do you even know what my type is?”

          “Ssshhh,” he said as he laid a sleeping Lainie on the bed.  He removed her shoes and stocks and placed her under the blankets.  He had done all of that without waking her up.  He stood up and turned toward me.  “I’ll be right back to get your bags so that way tomorrow you two can change and freshen up and then I’m going to my room where you’re not welcomed.”

           I eyed him as he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.  What a freaking jerk?  Why would he even consider saying any of those things?

 

          After I was dressed for bed, I had decided to climb into the bed with Lainie, pulling her closer to me so she wouldn’t feel alone in the unfamiliar room when she had woken up.  I closed my tired eyes and feel into a deep sleep.

          I walked inside of the mansion and Lainie ran up to me with excitement.  “Auntie Samantha, guess what?”

          “What?”

          “I’m going to be a big sister.”

          “You are?”

          Lainie nodded.  She grabbed my hand and dragged me into the family room where Annie was sitting on the couch and smiled at me.  Her stomach was kind of round indicating that she had to have been at least about a few months but not too far