The Jaguar Versus the Wolf
Chapter 22 - A New… Mattress
Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 22 - Oops! companion
I had two sets of IDs – license and passport, and a credit card for each identity, all thanks to the Cullens. Randomly pulling out the Nathan Hernandez set, leaving the Nick Rodriguez ones in my wallet, I checked into the most expensive hotel I could find in New Hampshire. Wentworth by the Sea, in New Castle was also said to be the best five-star hotel in New Hampshire and judging by the opulence of the lobby the review I read was correct.
The Cullens owed me. At least that's how I saw it. Renesmee already had a mate and her family still let me try to pursue her. How could they? How warped, sick, and twisted was she; and the whole lot of them?
And still the words I told my sister over and over again were true - Renesmee was my only chance. Could I really be with her, while the dog was with her as well?
I needed time to think. And I needed time away from her, but not too far. I didn't want to leave the area. As unlikely as it felt right now… what if I changed my mind in the future?
After signing for the room and seeing the price I started to regret my decision. I could probably rent a motel room for a few months at this price; possibly the entire year.
Tomorrow I'll check out and find some place more affordable, more suitable. But tonight, while I was here I decided I would enjoy myself. After getting up to the room, I didn't have any clothes to unpack (I'd need to go shopping and get some new clothes and other essentials soon) so I picked up the phone and ordered some room service.
The food was delicious. I gorged myself on their Grilled Creekstone Farms Beef Tenderloin, Grilled Northeast Family Farm's Long Bone Veal Chop, and an East Coast Halibut with Hand Spun Pasta. Bella's cooking was good but this stuff was beyond amazing.
The next morning, after I checked out, I started regretting not borrowing one of the Cullens cars. The concierge gave me a funny look when I'd asked her if she could point me in the directions of where I could find accommodations that were the complete opposite of the upscale Wentworth Hotel. Running towards the motel she suggested was not as fun as I had once found it. It was only a few towns away but I had gotten used to riding in a car. Walking and running now seemed so pedestrian. I guess I would have to get use to it once again.
The motel reminded me of the ones I would frequent back in South America when I wanted to feed and screw. The walls, what was left of them, had either gaping holes in the plaster or were covered in dirt, grime, and a host of bodily fluids my enhanced sense of smell and eyesight was able to perceive without effort. The sheets and blanket were the same, but those I could easily wash, having little faith that the motel staff would be doing so. The mattress was going to be harder to get sanitary.
Nothing like this had ever bothered me before, but before I moved in with Carlisle and Esme I had been used to sleeping on the jungle floor, or up in a tree. Animals would deposit their waste all over the place and I didn't care about that. And some of the hotels I would frequent had smelled a lot worse than this one. I never even had a problem with the back alleys I occasionally made use of. It seemed that living with the Cullens had ruined more than one thing about me.
When my stomach churned I thought about ordering some take out, but looking around realized that I couldn't eat in this filth. Knowing that I was planning on staying here for awhile I stripped the bed, then after dropping everything off at the nearest Laundromat, I headed to a store and picked up some cleaning supplies. The store also had small appliances so I grabbed a mini fridge and microwave. The Cullens would probably cut off the credit card as soon as they discovered I was using it and I wanted to get as much as I could before that happened, so after cleaning the room as best I could I loaded up the fridge. But I bought more than could fit in the tiny thing. Maybe I should have found a full size one?
Then again I didn't have a truck to transport the thing. I was a hybrid and easily capable of carrying it the three and a half miles back to the motel, but it would attract attention and that was the last thing I wanted so instead I went back and bought another, and another one after that. The three mini fridges equaled almost one full sized one and fit all the food I bought. Now when I no longer had access to the Cullens money I would be able to still eat for a little while. Maybe by then I will have made a decision about my life.
It was getting late. The sheets should be done by now.
"Here ya go," the woman behind the counter said as she practically threw my items at me. "We did the best we could, but some of that stains wouldn't come out. JoJo," she pointed to some greasy looking guy half hidden by steam in the back, "tried everything, and I've seen him get some of the nastiest crap I've ever seen outta things. I'm not gonna tell ya what to do, but if these were mine id burn em and buy new ones."
It hadn't even occurred to me to do that. It was late now and most stores were probably closed but tomorrow, if the credit card was still active, I think I was going to take her advice and also buy a new mattress. Oh, I hadn't even thought of towels. I'd need to get those too. And I still needed clothes.
The next day I found a discount mattress store less than four miles away. Perfect! Now I only had to worry about the card still working.
"That'll be $175.79 with tax," the sales woman said as I handed over the card. "And where are we delivering it to?"
"Can I just carry it out?"
"Unfortunately all we have here are floor samples, your mattress will be coming from the warehouse, but it's guaranteed to be there in 24 hours," she said with a smile. Why was that something to be so happy about?
"Fine," I replied and then told her the address.
"That's a motel," she said after typing it into the register/computer.
"Yeah, I know. I'm staying in room 214. Is that going to be a problem?"
"No, we can do it, she hesitantly said. "It's just a little unusual. Didn't the room come with a bed?"
"It did, but it's gross." I didn't know why, but something about her made me go on to explain that I was going to be staying there for awhile and had no intention of sleeping on something so disgusting.
"Oh," she nodded, seemingly understanding.
I ended up paying extra for a rush delivery (hey it's not my money) so the mattress was set to be delivered at eight that night. That was good because I couldn't spend another night on that flea infested thing. Last night was rough, I couldn't even sleep on the floor, it was also disgusting. But that was wall to wall carpet and I had a feeling the motel management would notice if I ripped it up. After delousing the thing I was thinking of buying a large area rug to at least put down on top of it but that would have to wait. Right now I was trying to figure out how to de-clog a sink. And a toilet. And a shower. When that was done I needed to figure out how to stop the dripping. Apparently the only thing that had been holding the water back before was the layers of crud on the faucet and shower spouts.
After that I found a store nearby that seemed to sell a little bit of everything and bought the linens and clothing I needed, then went back to my room where I went to work cleaning the bathroom.
Another trip to the store had me buying a few gallons of Drano, some light bulbs to replace the ones that were burnt out, can after can of bug killers, and the largest rug they had.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was no clock in here, but that must be my mattress. I hadn't realized it had gotten so late.
"Where would you like it?" the sales women from the mattress store asked when I opened the door.
"I thought it was coming from the warehouse?" I'd assumed a different crew would work there than the store.
Yeah… about that, I lied," she confessed, while running her fingers slowly up and down my arm. "I have your mattress strapped to the roof of my car. What to help me get it down?"
"I think I can handle it," I told her before going to the only Honda in the parking lot with a mattress on it and sliced easily through the ropes with my hybrid strength and carried the thing into my room. "Well, thanks for delivering it," I said awkwardly.
She was just standing in the middle of the room. I never invited her in, yet there she was. "My pleasure," she replied. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Nathan?" she asked, using the fake name on the credit card, while running her fingers between the plunging neckline of her blouse; suggestively grazing over her cleavage.
If this had been two years ago I would have taken her up on her offer. Hell, in a week I might be running back to that store. But right now I was conflicted. I wasn't sure of my feelings for Renesmee, and couldn't do anything until I had made a decision.
"That's very tempting, but I unfortunately have plans tonight," I lied. No need to burn a bridge that I might want to cross later. "Is there a number I can call you at, if they fall through?"
Her frown turned into a smile, believing she wasn't being completely rejected. "Here," she said, handing me a business card for the store with, what must have been her phone number, written on the back.
"Krissy," I said reading her name off the card, "it was very nice to meet you. I'll give you a call later." Then I lead her to the door.
Over the next week I finished fixing up the motel room, going back to the hardware store multiple times to pick up paint, spackle, lamps, a clock, some art for the walls, and a number of other things. Surprisingly the Cullens credit card was still working. Either they hadn't bother checking to see if I was using it, or (much less likely) they had found out and were allowing me to keep it. I wasn't going to press my luck and regularly refilled the fridge as much as I could, while also adding a storage freezer to load up on even more food. It was pretty cramped in the motel room now with everything I put in but it didn't really matter.
Now that everything was done, and I wasn't completely grossed out by my surroundings, boredom was starting to set in. I thought I would be using the time to think about what I was going to do about Renesmee and myself... and the dog. Which I did. But my thoughts also kept wandering back to Krissy. Sure her physical appearance didn't even come close to the perfection that was Renesmee, but she wasn't a hybrid. She was however mildly attractive for a human. Her hair was slightly wavy and dirty blond. There were a few extra pound around her middle, but she in no way could be considered fat or even slightly overweight. In no way at all did she resemble Renesmee… maybe that they both had brown eyes, but that was it. And she was friendly, and nice, and she wanted me; which I wasn't sure if Renesmee did.
I spent the next week thinking about Renesmee. And not thinking about Renesmee. And thinking about not thinking about Renesmee. And also warring with myself of whether or not to call Krissy. Finally on the eighth day I broke down and called. She showed up four hours later when she got off of work.
A.N. Hmmm... i wonder what's going to happen there? Please review and thanks for reading
