As Laura dritted off to sleep, she felt grateful for her sister’s presence and the unexpected adventure they were sharing. Despite the long day and the less–than–luxurious accommodations, she fell asleep quickly, looking forward to continuing their journey in the morning
Laura stirred as the rumble of a passing truck vibrated through the thin motel walls. She blinked, momentarily disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. The garish floral wallpaper came into focus, reminding ber of their impromptu road trip. She glanced at the bedside clock–6:30 AM.
Stretching, Laura sat up and looked over at Jen, still fast asleep in the other bed. She smiled, remembering their childhood sleepovers. Some things never changed.
“Jen,” Laura called softly. “Time to wake up.”
Jen groaned, pulling the covers over her head. “Five more minutes.”
Laura chuckled “Come on, sleepyhead. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”
Reluctantly, Jen emerged from her cocoon of blankets, her hair a wild mess. “Fine, but I need coffee first.”
They quickly got dressed and packed up their belongings. Laura did one last sweep of the room to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything
“Ready?” she asked, hand on the doorlaub.
Jen nodded, shouldering her bag. “Let’s hit the road.”
But as they stepped outside, their plans for an early start came to a screeching halt. Laura froze, staring at the empty parking spot where her car should have been
“Jen,” she said slowly, “where’s my car?”
Jen’s eyes widened as she scanned the small parking lot. “Maybe we parked it somewhere else?
They split up, circling the motel, hoping they’d simply forgotten where they’d left the car. But with each passing minute, the knot in Laura’s stomach tightened. There was no sign of her vehicle anywhere
“This can’t be happening” Laura muttered, running her hands through her hair. “We have to get to Phoenix. We can’t be stranded here!”
Jen put a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Let’s talk to the motel staff. Maybe they saw something.”
They hurried to the office, but the elderly man who had checked them in was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a middle–aged woman with a sour expression stood behind the counter, tapping away at her phone.
“Excuse me,” Laura said, trying to keep her voice steady. “We need help. Our car is missing”
The woman barely looked up. “Not my problem. Call the cops.”
The room was small and dated, with parish floral wallpaper and a bedspread that had seen better days. But it was clean, and at this point, they were too tired to care about aesthetics.
“Check out this TV,” Jen said, fiddling with the ancient set. “I think it only pers three channels
Laura laughed, flopping onto one of the beds. “Well, we’re not here for the entericmer”
They quickly got ready for bed, brushing their teeth and changing into paumes. Alther serted into their respective beds, Laura telt a wave of nostalgia wash over her.
“This reminds me of when we used to share a room as kids,” she said softly.
Jen smiled in the darkness. “Yeah, it does, Remember how we used to stay up way past bede, whispering and giggling?”
“Mom would always catch us,” Laura recalled with a chuckle.
They lay in comfortable silence for a moment, both lost in memories…
“I’m glad we’re doing this together,” Laura said finally. “Even if it’s for a sad reapon
“Me too,” Jen replied. “Goodnight, Laura.”
“Goodnight, Jen.”
As Laura drifted off to sleep, she felt grateful for her sister’s presence and the unexpected adversus they were sharing. Despite the long day and the less–than–luxurious accommodations, she fell asleep quickly, looking forward to ong their journey in the morning
Laura stirred as the rumble of a passing truck vibrated through the thin motel walls. She bitked,
accenned by the
unfamiliar surroundings. The garish floral wallpaper came into focus, reminding ber of the impromp. She glanced at the bedside clock–6:30 AM
Stretching, Laura sat up and looked over at Jen, still fast asleep in the other bed. She smiled, remembering their childhood sleepovers
Some things never changed.
“Jen.” Laura called softly. “Time to wake up.”
Jen groaned, pulling the covers over her head. “Five more minutes
Laura chuckled “Come on, sleepyhead. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us”
Reluctantly, Jen emerged from her cocoon of blankets, her hair a wild mess. “Fine, but I need coffee first”
They quickly got dressed and packed up their belongings. Laura did one last sweep of the room to make sure they hadn’t reg anything.
“Ready?” she asked, hand on the doorknob.
Jen nodded, shouldering ber bag. “Let’s hit the road.”
But as they stepped outside, their plans for an early start came to a screeching halt, Laura froze, staring at the empty parking sp where her car should have been
“Jen,” she said slowly, “where’s my car?”
Jen’s eyes widened as she scanned the small parking lot. “Maybe we parked it somewhere else?”
They split up, circling the motel, hoping they’d simply forgotten where they’d left the car. But with each passing minute, the lost in Laura’s stomach tightened. There was no sign of her vehicle anywhere.
“This can’t be happening,” Laura muttered, running her hands through her hair. “We have to get to Phoenix. We can’t be stranded here!”
Jen put a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Let’s talk to the motel staff. Maybe they saw something
They hurried to the office, but the elderly man who had checked them in was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a middle–aged woman with a sour expression stood behind the counter, tapping away at her phone.
“Excuse me,” Laura said, trying to keep her voice steady. “We need help. Our car is missing”
The wornan barely looked up. “Not my problem. Call the cops.”
CHAPTER THIRTY–THREE – Who Will Make the First Move?
Jen stepped forward, her tone sharp, “Look, we’re paying customers here. The least you could do is show some concern.”
The woman sighed dramatically and
cally and put down her phone. “Fine. What do you want me to do about it?”
“Did you see anything suspicious last night?” Laura asked. “Any strange cars or people hanging around?”
“Lady, I wasn’t even working last night,” the wo
woman replied. “And we don’t have security cameras. If your car’s gone, it’s gone.”
Laura felt her frustration mounting. “Can we at least talk to the man who was working last night? The older gentleman?”
“That’s my father, and he’s asleep. I’m not waking him up for this.
Realizing they weren’t going to get any help here, Laura turned to Jen. “We need to file a police report. Is there a station nearby?”
The unhelpful clerk grudgingly informed them that the nearest police station was in Lexington, about ten miles away. With no other options, they called for a taxi.
“It’ll be there in about an hour,” the dispatcher told them
Laura groaned as she hung up. “An hour? Seriously?”
Jen shrugged. “Welcome to small–town America, I guess.”
They waited on a bench outside the motel, watching cars zip by on the highway. Laura couldn’t help but think of all the miles they should be covering right now,
“Some road trip this turned out to be,” she muttered.
Jen nudged her shoulder. “Hey, at least it’s memorable, right? And we’re in it together.”
Laura managed a small smile. “Yeah, I suppose so
Finally, atter what felt like an eternity, their taxi arrived. The drive to Lexington was quiet, both sisters lost in their own thoughts about how to salvage their trip.
At the Lexington Police Station, they were greeted by Officer Jolson, a middle–aged man with a kind face but tired eyes.
“Car theft, you say?” he asked, scribbling in his notebook. “Can you describe the vehicle?”
Laura rattled off the details of her car, watching as Officer Johnson took notes with agonizing slowness.
“And you’re sure you didn’t just forget where you parked?” he asked, not for the first time.
Laura bit back a sharp retort. “Yes, we’re sure We’ve been over this.”
