And still, all she did was stay silent while she chewed her food.
“What do you do for a living?” I asked.
Her eyes glanced over at me, but the silence on her end still filled the room.
“Oh, come on,” I said. “I answered that question, at least.”
“After I Googled it, yes,” she said.
“Should I Google you then?”
“I’m not important enough to pop up on Google.”
It was the way she said it that shed a little more light onto her current circumstances. She didn’t feel important. Did her ex make her feel that way? Did her job make her feel that way? Was she unfulfilled in her career choice? Or maybe she’d lost her job?
“Everyone’s got something that pops up on Google,” I said.
“Then try your best.”
“Look, you’ve been asking me non-stop personal questions about myself ever since we got into the car at the airport this morning.”
“And you haven’t answered any of them,” she said.
“Because I don’t have to,” I said.
“Well, ditto.”
“Ditto?” I asked.
“Yep. It means—”
“I know what it means,” I said.
“Then don’t act like an idiot. It doesn’t fit in with your whole ‘rigid and intelligent’ persona you give off.”
“Rigid and intelligent?” I asked.
“Like that. Don’t do that. Makes you sound dumb.”
This woman really was a piece of work. She grabbed her bag of chips and started for the bathroom. I watched her throw open the door to the toilet and close it, barricading herself away from the situation. Was she serious? She was going to eat her snacks on the toilet instead of just sitting next to me? Was she that upset and insecure about the questions I was throwing at her?
“Abby?” I asked.
“Pooping!”
“No, you’re not,” I said. “Come back out here.”
“No, thanks. I’ll come out when I’m ready.”
“You’re being childish,” I said.
“And you’re being an idiot.”
“I’m not—”
I choked back my words and drew in a deep breath through my nose. She was as volatile as a teenager, and had the vocabulary to boot. I swallowed down the last of my honeybun before I peeled my jacket off my shoulders, discarding it on my side of the room. If we were going to be here through the night, then I was at least going to be comfortable. I took off my suit and folded it up, then grabbed one of the extra trash bags and placed it carefully into the bag.
I didn’t want to put this thing in there with the rest of my clothes.
I pulled out some warm pajama pants and a t-shirt. At least the heat in the room was still working, so I cranked it up in order to combat the frigid temperatures we were bound to experience tonight. I searched around for another set of sheets, hoping there was something I could use as a barrier between my body and this musty-scented fitted sheet.
But when I found nothing, I simply resolved to taking deep breaths while I slid underneath the covers.
Abby still hadn’t emerged from the toilet, and I was at a point where I didn’t care. If she was that offended by me pointing out the hypocrisy of what she was doing, then she could be offended behind that wall. My stomach was rumbling with hunger, but I didn’t have the desire to eat, so I tossed my chips and crackers over onto my suitcase.
I noticed it was taking the heating unit a while to heat up, and I sighed while I stared at the ceiling.
Of course, we wouldn’t have any heat. What else could I have expected from a day like this?
Chapter 10
Abby
I finished my snacks while sitting on the toilet. My hands shook as I lifted a chip to my mouth. I could’ve sworn this hotel was getting colder, but I honestly wasn’t sure anymore. Who in the world did that man think he was? He didn’t know anything about me. He thought he could use his business, voodoo, mind-reader trick or whatever to figure me out, and he didn’t have the first clue as to what was going on with me. And he wasn’t going to guilt-trip me into talking about myself, either. I asked him all those questions because he was so stern. So serious. I just wanted him to crack one little smile because it was Christmas, and I’d never in my life encountered someone so damn serious over the best holiday of the year.
But now that he didn’t want to talk, I’d gotten off that horse. And it was time he got off his.
I finished my snacks and licked my fingers. I went to move off the toilet and felt the crust of our prior encounter cracking on the insides of my thighs. I crinkled my nose while I moved, my hand opening the door as I stepped out into the hotel room. I needed a shower, and I needed to wash my hair, so I stepped right across to the other door and slipped in.
I shed my clothes and kicked them to the side. I hopped into the shower and turned on the water, humming when the lukewarm water hit my body. I stepped underneath the stream and got my hair wet, ready to soap it up after washing down my body. But then, the lukewarm grew colder, and soon, it felt like icicles were raining down onto my back.
I jumped out of the shower while my hair dripped down my back. I stood there and waited for the water to heat up, but it got colder and colder. It got so cold that it physically hurt my fingers to touch it, so I grabbed the only other towel I could find and went running out of the room.
I heard Colin shoot up from the bed while I shivered next to the
