OMG guys, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. IT was amazing to get so much feedback. Any suggestions, I'll try take on board. Hope you enjoy this on Please keep those reviews coming. Love you all x x x
A/N: All representations of characters are for story purposes only
"Can the car be traced? Can you identify fingerprints? … Is there anything we can do, besides waiting here for fucking hours?" Joe shouted at the chief inspector, kicking the leg of the table.
Joey and Mr Lopez sat and watched the exchange silently. Joey had been careful with what he'd said to Lauren's parents and the rest of the team. They were only after saying goodbye to Lo, and he was afraid. What if all this came to nothing? Re-opening old wounds and giving them a false sense of hope. Lauren's father had insisted on accompanying him though and Joey knew there was no questioning the man's decision. On the way to the gas station they'd got a call from Joe, saying to meet him at the police station. They'd been directed to a visitor's room on arrival and had been there since.
Looking at Mr Lopez now, Joey felt for the man. It wasn't right that a parent should have to see their child go before them. Lauren had inherited his chocolate brown eyes and Joey felt a lump catch in his throat as he noticed, in her father's hands, a tattered old photograph of Lauren. At a guess, Joey would have said she looked about six or seven in the picture as she stood beaming beside a much younger version of the man that sat alongside Joey today,
"The fingerprints have been sent to the labs and we have the car's registration on nationwide look out," the inspector replied steadily, unabashed by Joe's flaring temper.
"Let them do their job son," Mr Lopez said quietly, "we know she's alive, that's a hell of a lot more than we had this morning."
Joe closed his eyes and reopened them again, taking a deep breath, "I know… it just feels like now that things are moving again I'm afraid if we pause for just a moment, we won't be able to keep going."
The chief inspector nodded curtly at the three men before taking his leave,
"Was she injured in any way?" Lauren's father asked shakily after a few minutes of silence, "was my baby girl ok Joseph?"
Joe looked directly into Lauren's father's eyes. What could he say to the man. Yes, she looked wonderful Sir. The truth was Lauren had looked scared and nervous; a shell of the effervescent smiling girl they'd known,
"She looked unharmed, but I don't know," he replied lowly, breaking their gaze. He could feel Joey's eyes on him as he hunched over in his seat, putting his head in his hands. He closed his eyes in exasperation as his phone began to ring. Pulling if out from his pocket he pressed the ignore button, not bothering to check the number. After a few seconds the ringing started up again. Again, he clicked ignore. However as the phone rang for the third time, Joe put the mobile down on the empty seat next to him letting it go to voicemail.
By the time Shane pulled into the motel, sheets of heavy rain were pelting down onto the windscreen, making it near impossible to see out. A flash of lightning lit up the ominous dark sky causing a shiver to run down Lauren's spine. They parked the car as close to the motel door as possible, pulling their coats around them as they made a run for it. Lauren breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped inside. She was drenched, even from the split second they'd spent running from the car to the door. Shane headed straight over to reception where a bony middle aged woman sat smoking a cigarette. She looked up as they came over and quenched the tip,
"A double room for the night," Shane said, throwing a bunch of dollar bills onto the counter. The woman snatched the money and counted it, choosing to keep quiet the fact that he'd paid almost double the normal rate,
"Here's your room key," the motel receptionist said blandly, sliding a card across the counter, "I'm afraid the lift is temporarily out of service but there's a stairway through the door there. Your room number is 204."
Her voice sounded crackly from, what Lauren presumed, years upon years of smoking. She gave Lauren a dirty look as she caught her staring at her before leaning back in her chair, moving an out of date gossip magazine to the side and picking up a nail file. It struck Lauren as odd that no form of identification had been requested. She knew that Shane possessed fake documents, for both of them.
Shane took the key and led them towards the door, stepping back to let Lauren go ahead as they began their climb up the dirty stairway. She looked around. She had the feeling that she'd been here before. The 'temporarily' broken lift, the faded carpet and the lazy receptionist all seemed familiar.
It was only when they opened the bedroom door that it occurred to her. She'd stayed here before, in this exact motel, just over 7 months ago during the Apocalyptour. Their bus had gotten a flat tyre just a few miles up the road, forcing them to stay the night. The place was a dump, but it had been cheap and convenient at the time. Now it brought back memories of a happier time,
"I'm gonna take a shower," Shane announced lifting his shirt off over his head and stepping out of his damp jeans. He spread them out over the back of the moth eaten couch,
"You look exhausted Lauren, get some sleep," he said, kissing her head, before padding off into the bathroom. Lauren sat down on the bed, hearing the springs protest. Since the gas station, all she could think about was Joe. The last time she'd seen him he'd been bleeding to death in her hands. He'd survived...Seeing him reminded her how much she needed him and how much she loved him. She didn't want a life that he wasn't in with her. She jumped at the sound of the shower being turned on.
She was still quite close to Chicago. If she could just contact Joe in some way, he'd remember the motel. Her eyes searched the room for a phone but there was none. Her gaze fell on Shane's jeans. Looking back to make sure the bathroom door was closed, she slowly got up and crept over towards the couch. Hurriedly she shoved her hand in the pocket, feeling her heart rate quicken as her fingers closed around a phone. Usually there were watching eyes always on her, but this was her chance. She knew as soon as they left this motel, they'd been reuniting with Marcus and Kate and the rest of the group.
She pulled the phone out. It was one of the disposable ones that Marcus had given Shane before they'd left. She dialled Joe's number frantically, having to re-type it twice due to her fingers shaking. She knew she was dead if she was caught but the adrenaline kept her from backing out. She listen nervously as the call connected. It began to ring, however after a few rings it was cut off.
She knew her time was limited and these disposable phones had a limited number of calls that could be made. She redialed, cursing as the call was cut off once again,
"Please pick up Joe," she whispered under her breath as she tried once more.
This time the ringing continued until eventually going to voicemail,
"This is Walker, leave a message or leave me alone," the recorded message played out. Lauren felt her heart contract as she heard his voice. She remembered him recording that voicemail. She bit her lip as she heard the beep,
"Joe... I don't have much time but I'm at a motel... It's called something like Sunset Lake I think... we stayed here before during the tour last May when the bus got a flat tyre," she took a deep breath as she continued on in a quiet voice, terrified that at any moment Shane would catch her. Thankfully the noise from the shower covered up the sound of her voice,
"I miss you Joe…I miss everyone. I hope you get this message before it's too late… I'm scared Joe, please just pick up this message... please."
Another beep sounded, signalling the end of the message. Simultaneously, Lauren heard the shower switch off. She hadn't realised it but she'd started crying and her cheeks were now damp with tears. She placed the phone back in Shane's pocket, careful to make sure that everything appeared untouched. She quickly stripped out of her wet clothes and climbed in beneath the covers in her underwear. She curled up in a ball as the bathroom door opened, attempting to warm herself up.
The thin scratchy quilt cover served little benefit. She squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Shane climb in next to her. His body heat, warmed her up a bit as he switched off the bedside light. All she could do now was hope that Joe listened to her message before it was too late. Shane would find out eventually that she'd used the phone, it was unavoidable. She just prayed that Joe would beat him to it.
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