Page 11 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

"I can get that," she said.

"It's fine." I pulled it over my shoulder. "Let's go check in."

She quickly followed me into the entrance. There was an old man sitting behind the desk sleeping. I cleared my throat and his eyes immediately opened. A smile spread across his face.

"Welcome to the Indy Inn. How many nights will you be staying with us?"

"One night. And two rooms please."

He looked back and forth between me and Hailey. "Alrighty." He grabbed two keys from behind his desk. "Room 202 and 203. Are adjoining rooms okay?" He set the keys down on the counter.

"That'll be fine."

"Are you paying separately?"

"Yes," Hailey quickly said from behind me.

"Okay, I just need a method of payment for your room first then," he said to me.

I pulled out my wallet and handed him my credit card.

He slid the card into the reader. "Alrighty, Mr. Stevens. I hope you enjoy your stay. Check out is at 9 a.m."

"Great. Thanks." I picked up one of the keys off the counter and stepped to the side to wait for Hailey.

"And I'll need a method of payment for you as well, ma'am," he said.

"Of course." She rummaged around in her purse and pulled out a wallet. "You can go ahead, Tyler."

"It's okay, I can wait."

"No, it's fine. I left my phone in the car anyway so I have to go back and grab it."

"I can go get it for you while you check in."

"No, really, it's okay. It's late. Go get some sleep."

I wasn't going to fight with her. She was right, I was exhausted. I pulled the duffel bag off my shoulder and set it on the ground. "See you in the morning, then, Hailey."

"Mhm."

I walked back out into the parking lot. I hit the button to unlock the car and made my way up the stairs to my room. Before I went into my room, I looked back over my shoulder. She hadn't come back out yet. I went into the room, switched on the lights, and closed the door behind me.

It looked like any other motel I had ever been in. A little dingy and a little musty smelling. It was becoming homey to me. I pulled my toothbrush and toothpaste out of one of the plastic bags and quickly got ready. Before I climbed into bed, I stared at the door between our adjoining rooms. I opened up the door on my side. Hers was still closed.

I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing. But it felt strange not saying goodnight to her. I tapped on the door. "Hailey?"

There was no answer. She must have already fallen asleep.

"Goodnight," I whispered to no one in particular.

***

I knocked on her door again. "Hailey?"

I had tried her when I had come back after my run to let her know I'd be ready to get going again soon. But she had still been sleeping. Check out was in ten minutes now. I knocked on the door a little louder. "Hailey?"

No answer.

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