Chapter Four

When Cody awoke the following morning, he was surprised to find that Sharyn wasn't in her bed. He didn't hear the water running or see any other indication that Sharyn was really in the room; he found himself laying in silence. Sitting up quickly, he rushed out of the bed and went to the window, pulling back the curtains and shielding his eyes from the pale, yet blinding sunlight. His car was still there; that was a good sign. At least he knew she hadn't stolen the car and taken off. Another thought hit him. Man, I hope she didn't try to make it on foot, Cody thought. He told her he would take her there, and he meant it. Shaking his head, he went to gather his slippers and his keys before bolting out of the door. The air was crisp; autumn like as he made his way towards the front desk. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Sharyn emerge, a cigarette and a lighter in either hand. He stopped dead in his tracks; she did the same.

"Where were you?" he asked, taking a breath of relief. He had been worried for a second.

"I know I haven't smoked for months, but fuck, I need one right now." Cody shook his head and took the cigarette out of her hand. "Come on!" she whined. Cody shook his head.

"This stuff will kill you. Didn't you learn anything in school?" With a twitch of his fingers, he snapped the cigarette in two and threw it to the ground just off of the platform. Sharyn's face darkened and Cody's remained in a relieved smile, still thankful that she hadn't stolen his car and taken off. "Look, Sharyn, I know you're under a lot of stress...but you've obviously done a hell of a job with quitting. The last thing you need is to fall back into that. As long as you're with me, I'm not going to let you start smoking again, all right?" She sighed; he was right. "Come on. We'll go out for breakfast; then we'll hit the road, all right?" She nodded, her eyes shifting to the cigarette that lay in pieces on the ground. He smiled. "You had me worried. I thought you ran off." She looked agitated.

"I guess I should be answering to you now," she muttered. Cody sighed.

"No,that's not it," he told her with a shake of his head. "I mean, it's not like we really know each other. I just...look, if I'm taking you halfway across the country and whatnot, I just want to keep you safe, all right?" She nodded. Cody realized his words and his actions weren't coming off too well. For a man who lives his life from sunrise-sunset, you sure aren't a morning person, Rhodes, he thought to himself, watching Sharyn's sheepish expression. With a sigh she took a step ahead of him and went back to the hotel room. Cody wasn't far behind.

"Sorry...I didn't mean to make you think I ran off. It's just...I feel like I'm going to be followed. It's stressing me out, and I needed a smoke."

"How did you quit smoking in the first place?" Cody asked her. She shrugged.

"I got sick of my mom borrowing smokes off of me all the time, so I just quit. Cold turkey."

"Cold turkey? That's impressive. All the more reason to keep you off of that stuff," he said as she went to her backpack. She pulled out some clothing and grabbed her jeans that were drying on the heater. She disappeared into the bathroom while Cody got changed in the room. Sliding a black T-shirt on over his head when the bathroom door opened, Sharyn emerged, dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans. She flashed a smile at Cody while she went to her bag and dug through it for a brush. She pulled out a tiny brush and began to brush through her hair, yanking roughly and wincing when the brush connected with her knots. Cody went into the bathroom to run some water through it and style it. He couldn't wait to get back on the road. He didn't want to admit it to Sharyn; but she wasn't alone in her feeling of being followed. There was something about that Snitsky character that really made him feel uneasy. He stared into the mirror and shook his head. You're being paranoid, Rhodes, he thought to himself. How in the hell would he know where to find us? Seemingly satisfied at the logic, Cody made his way out of the bathroom. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she said, zipping up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. "Cody...I am sorry about freaking you out."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm just a little sketchy in the mornings." She nodded and he grabbed his key to take to the front desk. He went into his jeans pocket for his keys and handed them to Sharyn. "If you want to wait in the car, I'm just going to run this to the front desk." She nodded and made her way towards the car. She unlocked the door and climbed in, resting her head against the seat. He was being way too nice to her.

She was surprised that he thought she would run off. But she remembered how she had been the night that they met. Cody didn't really have a lot of reason to trust her; he didn't really know her. This was going to be an awkward trip, but she knew Cody was right. Eventually, she was going to need to open up to him more. There was just no two ways about it. She saw him emerge from the front desk office and he flashed her a reassuring smile as he made his way towards the car. She smiled back.

"Is this the farthest you've ever been in your travels?" he asked her. They were sitting in a Denny's, eating breakfast. She was picking at her food; she was too tense to relax around Cody. He could pick up on it. She was looking out the window of the booth, watching the world go by. She stared at him and nodded.

"Yeah. My family's never been much for vacations," she replied.

"You ever thought about traveling?" he asked her. She nodded.

"Of course." A smile crossed her face. "I've always wanted to travel to Spain. I've seen pictures and read about it...it just seems so beautiful." He smiled; it wasn't much information, but it was definitely a start. "I wouldn't mind doing the backpacking thing through Europe, either," she replied. "Kind of revel in the experience, you know? See some of the World War II monuments, visit the landmark churches." He nodded. She was surprised; he actually seemed interested in what she was saying. She sipped her orange juice. "How about you? I mean, you must be into traveling if you're looking at wrestling for a profession."

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess the travel is a nice bonus. I just like the idea of performing. I guess it runs in the family."

"Your brother wrestles, doesn't he?"

"My half-brother Dustin wrestles. He's a bit of an oddball, but he's still pretty cool. Our dad taught us everything about the business; what to look for, how to manage things like finances and the nightlife. He's seen it all and done it all, and he's even survived a few wild nights with Ric Flair, so I have no reason not to listen." He chuckled as he sipped on his coffee.

"So what do you think you'd be doing if you weren't wrestling?" she asked. Cody stopped and thought about it a second. He sipped his coffee again and put the mug back down on the table.

"Truthfully...I'm not too sure. I mean, when your dad is 'The American Dream', it's practically in your blood that you're going to do this," he told her. "I guess the short answer would be I have no idea." She smirked. "What about you, Sharyn? What have you always wanted to do?"

She smirked and took a bite of her breakfast. "God, I have no idea," she confessed. "I'm one of those people where it changes every fifteen to twenty minutes." Cody smiled at her. "You must think I'm a total tool."

"Nah. Not at all. It's normal. What do you like to do?"

She shrugged. "I like to read. Write. My grandmother, God rest her soul, always wanted me to be a journalist." Cody cocked an impressed eyebrow.

"So why not go into that?"

"I don't know," she confessed. "I guess it's because I'm not half as good as people seem to make me out to be."

"I doubt that," Cody replied. "One of these days, you're going to have to let me read something you wrote." Sharyn stared at him oddly. For her to do that, it would mean that they would have to remain in contact after he had dropped her off at her father's. Did he mean it? Or was he just trying to be nice? The look on his face told her that he was sincere, but she couldn't be sure. The men she had been associated with in her life always held that look of sincerity, but they were always the first to hurt her.