Chapter 18: "Motel"
"Maybe we should stop off at a motel somewhere for the night, let all of us all get some rest" Greene said as he pulled the van from the side of the road and started driving down the road, his concern for Luka having went up.
Greene kept checking in his rear view mirror to see if Luka was doing Okay. Ever since they had stopped at the side of the road 20 minutes ago they had to stop four times so that Luka could be sick; the exhaustion now taking effect on his body. He had taken off his jacket and threw it into the boot of the van; it had fallen out of the car the second time in his haste to get out and was now drenched through. Greene had given him a large blanket that he kept in his van, and Luka had it pulled tightly around his shivering frame, which was turned inwards slightly his head resting on the back of the seat; he had fallen asleep several times only to be woken up by the nauseous feeling in his stomach, but it seemed to be at bay for now.
"I think it's at the next left up here" Greene said as he increased the power of the window wipers to get a clear view of the sign that read 'Motel' in black letters with an arrow pointed left, illuminated with a light that flickered every few seconds.
"Great, I really need to stretch my legs" Carter said accompanied by a yawn which was stifled by the hand over his mouth. Benton looked over at Luka and noticed that he seemed to be stirring, "Hey, we're at the motel now" Benton said, his voice quiet. Luka nodded slowly and rubbed his eyes with his fingers trying to get the sleep out of them.
Greene pulled into a parking space that was relatively close to the entrance of the motel. It was large, its worn-bricked arms stretching out far, surrounded by two willow trees, the rain sliding off the sloping branches like a waterfall. There were lights outside each door, the numbers lit up showing the rusted colour. Benton and Greene got out of the van,
"We'll go see what rooms they have left, then come back and get our stuff" Benton said as if he was instructing to hyper-active teenage boys to not mis-behave before shutting the door and running over to the entrance along with Mark.
The silence in the van was only disrupted by the howling of the wind, and the occasional piece of litter rolling across the graveled parking lot. Carter was feeling tense in the silence which was oppressive to him; growing up in the Carter Mansion meant that it was a rarity it was quiet, the parties that were held or just the sound of the maids entering and leaving the rooms. He decided to break the silence, "So, how are you?" He asked, hoping his voice didn't sound like he was asking because he felt he had to, but the genuine concern he felt for Luka, knowing that this must be tough for him,
"Okay…I've been better" Luka said his voice shaking with the chills that rattled through him. Carter could not stop the floodgate that opened the memories of Chase and his addiction, hoping that he could help Luka and he wouldn't end up like Chase did, overdosing and now spending the rest of his life in a vegetated state. The silence that had surrounded the two young men evaporated when a dry cough escaped from Luka's throat, followed by several sniffles. Carter knew that Luka had probably caught the cold from staying in wet clothes for so long. Carter was going to offer him a drink from his bottle of water when he heard a rapping on the window. Both the men's heads shot round to the passenger side window, and seen Benton and Mark standing outside with their coats over their heads trying to keep at least that little part of them dry. Benton opened the back door and got inside, moving over so that Mark could get in also.
"Fortunately we got a room, but only one" Mark said as he leaned over into the boot of the van and pulled out a bag, followed by two others.
All four men got out of the van, Mark, Benton and Carter all holding their bags with some clothes inside; Luka not having a change of clothes as he had decided that he wasn't going, and when he did they thought better than to wait incase he changed his mind. By the time they made it over to the motel room they were all soaked, Luka having forgotten his jacket, to busy trying to keep the nausea at bay until they made it inside. As soon as they made it inside Luka went to the bathroom and shut the door behind himself; he ran over to the toilet and started vomiting, but since he had had nothing to eat all day it was mostly just dry heaves. When he felt safe enough he flushed the toilet and moved back so that his head was leaned against the cool tiles. His body was trembling slightly but he managed to get to his feet and walk over to the sink where he rinsed his mouth. For the first time that day he looked in the mirror, and was disgusted; the dark of his hair a sharp contrast with his deathly pale face, and his sharp cheekbones and gaunt face. But the feature his could not look at was his eyes, knowing that he would only see pain, and how much they have changed, once bright and full of life, now dull and desolate. He quickly turned off the faucet and opened the door. When he entered the room he looked at it for the first time. There where two beds, both covered with dark blue sheets with four white pillows on each, there was a small table in-between the two beds with a small lamp with a plain white shade which was turned on. Carter and Greene where sitting on the bed farthest away from the bathroom and had their bags at their feet, Benton was sitting on the one beside the bathroom, when Luka walked into the room all three turned towards him, and he felt very self conscious and wrapped his arms around himself before sitting at the edge of the bed which Benton occupied.
"So, what do we do now?" Carter asked as he picked at his fingernails.
"We should probably change into dry clothes, and get some rest" Greene said as he picked his bag up off the floor and unzipped it. Benton also lifted his bag up and pulled out a pair if clean blue scrubs and handed then to Luka,
"Here, you can put your clothes on the radiator to dry off" Benton said and Luka took them off him and nodded his head, "Thanks".
The men took it in turns to change in the bathroom. Carter had changed into a pair of grey sweat pants and a navy long sleeved jumper, Mark had put on a pair of scrub bottoms and a white jumper with the words 'I LOVE N.Y.C' on the front in big red letters. Benton just emerged from the bathroom and had changed into a pair of navy sweat pants and a white t-shirt. Luka had already taken off his shoes and walked into the bathroom closing the door silently behind himself. Luka set the clothes down on the edge of the bath and walked over to the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror that hung above it. His hair was still wet which made it appear darker, and contrasted with the pale pallor of his skin; his dark eyelashes clashed with the paleness of his skin also giving him the effect of a corpse that should be in the morgue and not a doctor trying to stop patients from going there. His sharp cheekbones jutted out and made his face look gaunt. Luka tilted his head and looked into the reflection of his eyes and immediately averted his gaze at the dead look he saw staring back at him.
Ten minutes later Luka came out of the bathroom and Greene could not help but think how tired and defeated he looked; the scrubs that Benton had given him were obviously too big as he seemed to drown in the top, the bottom's tied tight but not enough as they lay on his hips exposing the sharp lines of his hip bones, a sign that he had not been well for quite some time now. Luka put his wet clothes on the radiator and walked over to his side of the bed and lay down before turning over so that he was facing away from the other occupants in the room and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.
"Well goodnight" Carter said with a slight chuckle before also succumbing to his exhaustion before Greene and Benton also lay down and turned off the light and the room was plunged into darkness.
Sorry for taking so long to update but I had exams and what-not, but I am going to try and start writing again so reviews would be greatly appreciated !
