Belonging To The South
Leaving the hotel was the best way to throw people off their trail, so they will remain gone for an hour or two then come back in through the side doors. Hopefully, they saw them leave and think they were only restaurant patrons and not guests staying in the hotel.
Troy heads to the River. His parents and himself spent time at Fairview Beach when he was little, and he wants to see how much has changed.
"Where are we going?" She asks, looking around for anything familiar.
"Right now I am going to take you to a beach I spent time at when I was a kid. I'm trying to kill time before we go back to the hotel. Hopefully, anyone who saw us will be gone, and we can sneak in a side door. Just to play it safe, we will leave around 6:00 am and get back on the road."
"Can we watch the news when we get back? I want to see my dad, even if it's just through a T.V. screen." At his look she continues, "I know I can't call him or reach out to him, you have already explained the safety risks; I just want to see his face. I want to know if he is eating and sleeping. When my Mom died, he lost so much weight, and he didn't sleep in their bed for two years. We would find him watching old home videos all hours of the night. I finally threatened to drop out of school to take care of him, and the next day he was on the mend. He has to be dying inside not knowing what happened to us. I just need to see him."
They only spent an hour at the beach. It was a little chilly, and storm clouds cover the moon, so she couldn't see much. There are several businesses they passed that reminded her of an old fisherman's wharf in looks and smell. Troy said he used to go fishing there with his dad, and he has fond memories of that place. He was quiet on the walk back to his truck; She's sure he was thinking of his loss.
When they arrived back at the hotel, he had her stay in the truck and lay down on the seat while he checks for anything suspicious. He has only been gone for five minutes when he opens her door and pulls her to her feet. With his arm wrapped around her, they walked through the side doors and into the elevator without incident.
As promised, when they climbed into bed he turned on the T.V. to a local news station. She stares at the reporters intently, willing them to show her anything about her family. She just wanted to see her dad, to assure herself that he's okay. She doesn't know how long she watched, but nothing ever shows before she fell asleep wrapped in Troy's arms.
She's so warm and comfortable; She doesn't want to move, but Troy keeps nudging her. She just fell asleep so why is he bothering her so soon?
"Amber," he whispers, "Baby, we need to get moving," he says a little louder.
"Nooooo, I need to sleep," She whines, "just another hour."
He leaves me alone, but he is not quiet. She heard rustling, noisy zippers, and water turning on and off.
How much sleep does he think she could get with all this noise?
She stated quietly. She never spoke loud enough for him to hear, but his chuckle told her otherwise. The man must have super-human hearing.
She heard a door open and close and wonder if he's gone to get her coffee. Ten minutes later he walks back in, to her disappointment, not gone long enough to get her coffee. The next thing she knows, she was scooped up out of bed with the top sheet still wrapped around her. He carried her out the door and into the elevator as she stares at him in shock.
"Baby, I warned you, we have to leave early. Now you can travel in my shirt and your panties unless you want to strip down in the cab of the truck and give me a show," he winks."
"What about the sheet? You can't just steal the sheet!" She shrieks.
"For the price they charged me for the room, I can take any damn thing I want."
Still feeling really bad about asking for the best room they had just to show up the receptionist at the counter, She told him again,
"I'm sorry about that." He just laughs.
That was the funniest damn thing he'd seen in a while. It was worth the price, but he's still keeping the sheet.
Four hours into their drive, she was happy he kept the sheet because she's still tired and uses it to lie down across the seat. While sleeping peacefully with her head on his lap, she was startled awake by cursing.
"God damn son of a bitch!"
With her heart in her throat, she jerks up to look at the time on the dash, and it reads 2:23. She's been asleep for a little over three hours. They passed a Welcome to Georgia sign then they were pulling off on the next exit toward Savannah, GA.
"What's wrong?" He doesn't answer, just turns up the radio.
"We have a special report on the two missing sisters from Ocean City, Delaware. We have reason to believe that one of the girls has been spotted in the Virginia area traveling with a sinister looking man. He is over six feet tall with dark hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark gray shirt and black pants. Our sources report that the man quickly removed the woman from a restaurant bar "when patrons recognized her. It is also reported that they are heading south on I 95. The two sisters went missing from a local nightclub in Ocean City, on April 15th. This is the first possible sighting reported. For updated pictures, watch Channel 2 News at 3:00 p.m. We are pleading with travelers to keep a look out for these young women. Contact your local police with any information you may have. "
The radio reporter continues …