The sun was shining brightly through the window. It hit Elle directly in the eyes, turning the insides of her eyelids a mango orange. She stared at the vibrant color and let it warm her face before opening her eyes. She noticed that she was alone in bed and looked over her shoulder to check the adjacent. It was empty, too. She sat up and heard the shower running. While she was alone, she quickly dressed and made the beds.
"Good morning," Gabriel said stepping out of the bathroom. He was fully dressed and his hair was damp.
"Good morning," Elle replied. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Where is David?"
"He went to the lobby to get something to eat. You should go, too. We have a lot of driving to do today."
"Aren't you going to come?"
He shook his head and stepped away from her. "My stomach is already full of butterflies."
She walked to the door and paused with her hand on the doorknob. She felt terrible that she couldn't do more to ease his nervousness. It pained her to see him so anxious, so unprepared. "Okay then. I'll be right back."
She made her way to the lobby and saw David standing next to a table of doughnuts. She walked up and stood next to him. "Good morning, David," she said casually. She was still worried that he had been awake the previous night. He didn't respond. "So, what's good here?"
He looked up at her, his eyes wild. The fear on his face made her heart quicken. "What, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"We have to get out of here, away from your boyfriend." He spoke quickly and quietly.
Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What? What do you mean? We're not just going to leave—"
"We have to," he cut in. "He's going to kill us both. I know who he is. He's a killer, a murderer. We have to leave right now if we want to live."
His panic was upsetting her. Had he seen something in Gabriel that she had missed? Had Gabriel said something to him earlier that had sent him into this sudden alarm?
"I know who he is," she said, trying to keep her voice strong. "Gabriel is not going to kill us." She leaned closer to his face, whispering. "Look, whatever you've heard about him, he's changed. He's different."
David was shaking his head. "No, he's no different."
Just then, Gabriel walked in through the door. Elle rearranged her confound expression to hide the conversation. "Everyone ready to go?" he asked, approaching them.
Elle looked at David, all fear and paranoia gone from his face. "All set. You sure you don't want anything to eat?"
Gabriel shook his head. "I'll be fine, thanks. Let's go."
He took Elle by the hand and led her out to the truck. David got in the driver's side and started it up. She buckled her seat belt and glanced over at him.
What the hell was that? she thought to herself. What had gotten into David? Why was he so suddenly afraid of Gabriel? Was there something she had missed?
She looked to her right at Gabriel. He was staring out the window, lost in his thoughts. Suddenly she felt scared of him. Was he planning something? Something sinister? She wanted to trust him so much. She believed that she loved him. Whatever was going on, both men were doing a good job at hiding it. He's going to kill us, David had said. Goosebumps appeared on Elle's arms at the thought of Gabriel killing her. He wouldn't. He loved her. Didn't he?