Chapter Text
We ended up wearing the sunglasses. I only wore them because it made Rosie happy and Mico shut up.
The cool breeze of the night feels nice, though. It’s around 8:30 right now, the sun down. Mico has gotten more coherent now, and he can walk without completely leaning on me. Though, he still has a hand on my shoulder for support.
Rosie is walking, which is nice because I don’t know if I have the energy to carry her right now. I feel like I’m taking care of two kids now.
“We should stop somewhere for the night,” Mico suggests, looking at me to see if I agree.
We probably should stop, but I don’t really know where we could go. We’re walking and there are a bunch of random shops around us, but they’re all closed right now. Maybe we can find another motel. Yeah, I’ll try to find one on my phone.
“Yeah, probably a good idea. We can stop walking for now and sit down somewhere,” I say, holding Rosie’s hand as I lead her to a bench nearby.
_____________________________________________
After a bit, I am able to find a place to stay nearby for only 98 dollars, and it’ll be better because Mico and I can split the cost. We’re currently walking to it, and I’ve already told Mico the cost and that it has two beds –one for me and Rosie, and the other for Mico– a minifridge, microwave, etc.
We approach the hotel and I take off my sunglasses after telling Rosie to sit down on one of the chairs in the corner. Mico and I then walk up to the front desk lady. She has pretty wavy blonde hair and is on the shorter side. I ask her if I can book a room right now, and she looks at the time, then at me:
“Miss, it’s almost midnight.” The lady tells me, and I nod.
“I know, can I book a room right now, please?” I repeat for her, trying to give her a ‘help me with this’ smile.
“Well, yes, but it’ll be an extra fee if you want to check in right now.” She explains, looking at me first, then at Mico.
“How much?” Mico asks, leaning a little on the desk.
“Twenty dollars, sir,” She pauses, “Oh, and I’ll need an ID,” She clarifies.
Worth it, I guess.
“I’ll pay it,” I tell them both, getting out my wallet to pay.
“Can we have a room with two beds, please? Just for one day.” I ask her while getting the correct amount of cash. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mico take out a card, along with his ID.
“I’ll pay for it,” He says while handing the lady the card.
Like hell, he will.
I give him a look, and he looks confused, his face contorting a bit. Then, he realizes what he sounds like he’s doing and clarifies:
“Oh, you’ll pay me back later.”
I nod and put my wallet back.
We get our keycards and head towards our room.
Rosie has gotten tired so I am carrying her now, one of my arms under her knees and the other holding her upper back.
The room is pretty average, and I lay Rosie on the bed farthest from the door, “You’re sleeping on the bed closest to the front,” I tell Mico, tucking Rosie in.
“Whatever, I’m tired,” He mutters while unpacking his bag enough to take his pajamas, toothbrush, and toothpaste out; then, he walks to the bathroom. I quickly change into my pajamas and sit down on my bed when Mico walks back into the room. “You think that extra bar of soap is good enough to clean my jacket?” He asks.
I’m sure that’s fine enough, so I nod.
“Cool, ‘cause I’m already washing it like that.” He walks back into the bathroom and stays there for around 10 minutes. Then I hear the door creak again and shut, Mico’s quiet footsteps trail across the room, eventually stopping in front of his bed, replaced by the squeaks of springs from the mattress.
The comforter feels nice against my bare skin and it feels good to be able to lay down again. Mico turns off the lamp on his side of the room, and I do the same with mine. Rosie is already asleep, and her arm found itself around mine a few minutes ago; I can feel her soft, stable breaths on my shoulder, along with the sound of Mico’s slow, heavy breaths across the room.
Surprisingly, I find it more comforting that I have someone else here that can protect Rosie, or at least be aware and confident with their defensive skills.
I hear shuffling from across the room, then a loud thud, followed by a groan. I shoot up from out of bed, more alert than ever when I remember that Rosie is asleep next to me. I quickly turn to make sure she’s still sleeping and put the blanket back over her as I hear more shuffling.
I walk over towards the noise and see Mico’s silhouette. “Was that you?” I whisper, trying to hold back a laugh.
“What do you think?” He mutters, rubbing the back of his head with his good arm, presumingly aching from the fall.
“How did you even fall?”
“I move a lot in my sleep,” He explains, moving back to get into his bed, and I follow him, sitting on the edge.
“That’s inconvenient,” I state, leaning back onto my hands behind me.
“I’m well aware–” He pauses, looking at me, “What are you doing?” He asks.
“Uh, sitting down?” I tell him, but it comes out as more of a question.
“Why?”
I pause, furrowing my eyebrows, “ ‘Cause I’m tired.”
He props his elbow up on his knee and leans his chin onto his hand. “Then why don’t you go back to bed?”
“I was just curious,”
“About what?” He pushes, the finger on his left hand traces circles on his leg.
“You. Like, why those agents were more after you than me?” I clarify after clearing my throat.
He hesitates, taking a deep breath. “Well…I don’t know..” He adjusts how he’s sitting, then moves back to his original position, deeming it more comfortable. “Maybe my parents are after me too.” He jokes.
That’s weird. He doesn’t tend to joke about our family like that. He only has a few things he won’t make fun of or joke about, and his family and the past that goes with them are included.
Why would he even mention it? He doesn’t like to admit it, but his parents do care for him. At least enough to not order men to kill him. Would the BTPA be after him? If so, why? I didn’t think he messed with those kinds of things anymore, considering he was laying low in a small apartment thingy.
“Mico?”
“What?”
“Your parents wouldn’t go after you, especially if you haven’t done anything. Why did the agents blatantly go after you instead of me?” I query him, turning to stand up.
“How should I know?” He disputes, throwing his arms up in the air before quickly hissing, moving his good arm to his injured shoulder. I move to grab the small towel in the bathroom, wetting it with cold water, then ringing it out significantly. I grab one of the thin shirts from my backpack and wrap it around so his wound doesn’t get wet. I walk back over to him, handing him the not-so-good icepack. He takes it with a quick “thanks” and holds it to his shoulder. I lean against the nightstand between the two beds and cross my arms, staring at him.
“So there’s absolutely no reason why the company would be after you?” I probe once again.
He looks up to glare at me. “Correct, Zaylinne.”
I scoff, “No,” I start, “Incorrect, Mico.” I choose to whisper because of Rosie. “The BTPA would never go after someone without a reason. That’s how they have lasted this long.” I back off the nightstand and walk up closer to the bed. “Just tell me already!” I whisper-yell while my hand slams down onto the bed; but the only sound that comes from the mattress is a muted thud.
Mico doesn’t flinch. Instead, he rolls his eyes.
“It’s just something I refused to do earlier. They’re just pissed off that I didn’t listen to their every word and follow them blindly.”
I blink a few times, processing what he just said. I didn’t know he was still that involved with the BTPA. Especially to the point of them demanding him to do important tasks.
“What was the assignment?” I pick at the skin on my thumb.
He pauses, most likely determining how to word his next few sentences. He clears his throat and looks up at me.
“To…kill you.”