Chapter one

"I love you too mom." I kiss her forehead for the sixth time. She sobbed and tried to clutch to my baggy sweater with our state team on it. Tears ruined her face and smeared her makeup. Her brown eyes were blurry with water.

"Please don't leave me." She whispered. I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her again.

"Don't be so dramatic, I'll be back." I soothingly pet her blonde hair.

"Stay safe kid," Dad patted my back. I looked up and smiled at him. He had a receding brown hairline and vibrant goldish eyes. He stood a head taller than me and my mother.

"No promises," I wink and beam at him. With a couple of more hugs, my father helped me haul my suitcases into the back of my silver Suv. I kissed his cheek before climbing into the front seat. I adjusted the mirrors and started the car, waving as I left. My eyes dart to the rear-view mirror. I had gotten my father's colors. Yellow-gold eyes and rust-colored hair. But my mother's round face, plump lips, freckles, and dimples. I passed an orange truck and continued on my trek across the country.

I had made a friend online back when I was sixteen. We've been talking for three years now. I'm nineteen she's eighteen. We both promised to meet up and move in together. She lives in Wisconsin, and if I'm being honest I was tired of the California heat. So I promised Eliza I'd move to her home.

After an hour of driving, my Bluetooth started to ring. I look to the screen in the center of my dash and chuckled. I clicked the answer button and the soft radio that was playing before had shut off.

"Eliza! What can I do for ya girly?" I look behind me while turning on to the freeway.

"Hey, Dan! I just wanted to make sure you were on your way and you hadn't changed your mind." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh please, and miss the opportunity to not sweat every time I step outside? Very funny." Her light soprano laugh jingled on the other side.

"You have no clue how excited my mother is to meet you! I told her everything about you!" My brow lifted on its own.

"Everything?"

"Everything!"

I snorted and flipped my blinker on, the small red Chevy behind me let me in front of them.

"She's gonna think I'm crazy." I click the blinker off and waved as the petite car passed.

"Don't worry, she's pretty crazy. Oh, also I should warn ya..." She trailed off. I looked down at the screen confused.

"What, do you have aliens in your barn?" She stifled a laugh but it slipped through anyway.

"No, no, but my horse can act like a creature from another planet sometimes." She said seriously. I chuckled when she cleared her throat.

"No but seriously...this isn't California Danielle." The switch snapped in my head. All joking was aside when she pulled the full name out.

"We get bears, cougars, and sometimes even wolves," My eyes widen. "Your safety is very important here Dan, so when you get here promise me you'll be safe and follow my grandfather's rules." I nodded then face-palmed.

"Of course," I answer. She sighed on the other end.

"Alright Danny, drive safe okay?" She was suddenly in a rush.

"Uh, yeah I will." I heard some sort of metal clang together and a small grunt.

"See ya." She spat out in a hushed tone.

"B-" The ring of the end call tuned through my speakers before the music returned to the background. As I continued to drive, I stayed bewildered by her sudden change of tone.

A couple of hours after my interesting phone call with Eliza, I came face to face with the sunset. According to the clock on my dash, it was 8:34. I keep my eyes peeled for a motel of some sort. All I could see at the moment though was woods.

My headlights suddenly beamed off a sign on the side of the road. I squinted my eyes to read the big white letters on a dull brown background.

"Welcome to Nevada!" Under the letters was a population number but I passed by too quickly to read it. I know it started with a three. That sign was it for a couple of more miles.

When a small light shone ahead of me and the speed limit slowed down to thirty, I sighed in relief. I could feel how heavy my eyes were due to driving for seven hours straight with only one stop for gas. I was suddenly in town.

There were warehouses with white roofs that were slowly rusting. There were dumpsters with trash overflowing over the lids. Barbed fences were torn open in some places. The streets were bare of any pavement and no car was seen for miles. Almost every building and even some sidewalks had graffiti painted along it. The houses looked wilted and old. The grass was dried up and discolored.

I stopped at a red light, my left foot bouncing uncomfortably. A squeal of bad brakes has me turning my head to the left. An old and rusted-looking truck pulled up beside me. Bumper stickers covered the gray tailgate and the back window. The door facing me was also gray but the rest of the square body was a dusty red like Arizona dirt. The door and tailgate must have been from a different truck. Along the side of it was graffiti that was slowly chipping away along with the chalky paint.

My breath hitched when the passenger side window creaked down. I was safe inside my small car with my windows rolled up and my doors locked. Right? The guy leaned back away from the manual window. He had a thick and greasy black beard. He had a toothpick sticking out of his chapped lips. There was no hair on his head but he had bushy brows to make up for it. Tattoos lined his arms and neck. He had coal-black eyes and a nasty smirk the made me uncomfortable. His lips moved as if he'd said something but when I turned back to look at the light, I supposed he knew I hadn't heard him.

"Hey, there little lady!" I look back when his scratchy voice hit my ears through the glass. He had a strong accent that sounded like Texas or somewhere around there. Hey, there little lady sounded like Hea thur lil' ladie. I looked back at him and then to the light. When I looked back he was rolling his wrist in a circle. As if he was asking me to roll my window down.

The green light reflected off my windshield and my foot slammed down on the pedal before I could even look back at the road. It was hard to catch my breath and my body felt tingly with fear. His exhaust roared when he floored it as well. Black smoke swirled up behind him in my mirror. I saw his angry face glaring at me. I shuddered in terror. My eyes frantically flickered to each building, pleading for a motel.

"Just A Bed Motel." I huffed out a breath of relief but sucked it up again when I remembered the man behind me. I dared to check. Just a quick flicker to my mirror told me he was still there. The sign was poorly lit, the "B" and the "L" were blacked out. I turn into the motel and he slowly passed by until he's out of sight. I sighed loudly and parked at the office. My body stayed glued to the black leather seat. I gave him ten more minutes to show up, and when he didn't I slowly popped the door open.

I scurried up the dark gray sidewalk that was poorly lit by the yellow LED lights that only illuminated the office. I push the door open, a jingle sounded from the bell above me. The office was small and uninviting. The yellowish walls were peeling and the white carpet was stained with multiple colors. I overstepped all of them, especially the reddish-brown ones that reminded me of old blood. The brown rounded desk was sanded down on the corners and scratched up. The top was clustered with soda cans, erotic magazines, and cigarette butts. My eyes swiped the mess in disgust and found the small bell at the far corner. When the noise filled the eerie room, a small groan could be heard from behind the desk.

My brow lifted and I got on my tippy toes to look over the counter. A body laid on the ground, a magazine in the person's face and a lit cigarette in their hands. They lifted the magazine from their face and stared up at me.

"Yeah?" She asked in annoyance. She had died hot pink hair and crystal blue eyes. She was tan as the perfect marshmallow and looked hollow. Her cheeks in-caved into her face. Her hair was cut short, barely kissing her shoulders. She had dark makeup on and piercings all over her skin. She stood up, maybe a couple of inches shorter than me. She had gages in both ears and then four more earrings above them. She had a hoop piercing in her left brown eyebrow. She had a lip piercing a tongue jewel. To finish it off with a nose piercing in the shape of the Leo horoscope sign. Her roots were brown like her brows, the brown and pink didn't mix very well.

I would assume she was from here.

"I'd like a room please." She lifted a brow and eyed me up and down. She blew a bubble with the gum in her mouth.

"You ain't our regular customer." She had a heavy accent too. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and she bit her lip while looking me up and down again.

"Uh...well yeah..." I chuckled nervously. She popped her gum again.

"Your accent, ain't from here I reckon?" I nodded uncomfortably.

"Welcome to Nevada then, word of advice," I looked up while she twirled a knife in her fingers. "Watch your back." She laid the knife down on the counter between me and her. Both my brows elevated in shock.

"Take it, Callie." My eyebrows scrunched together then. She chuckled.

"Your jacket." I peer down at my California state jacket.

"Right." I pick up the knife that felt like a hundred pounds and put it in my back pocket.

"Since your new, I'll give ya a deal." I smiled slightly at that.

"I'll give you our best room for thirty bucks." My eyes widen. I grabbed my wallet out of my back pocket and opened it.

"Another word of advice," her brow was raised as if she was asking if she could tell, she continued when I nodded. "Don't carry your wallet in your pocket, put it somewhere safe which is not on your person." I handed her a twenty and a ten with an extra five. She stared at the bill for a moment of confusion.

"For the advice." She glanced at me then shrugged, shoving the five into her bra. She turned away from me, revealing her entire back since she was wearing a shirt that tied around the neck. She had scars and tattoos along her shoulder blades. She turned back before I could focus on any of them. A black object soared through the air and I caught it instinctively.

"17 darlin'." I thanked her one last time before walking out and bee-lining it to my car. I pulled out of my spot and drove down the rows of rooms. A couple of cars sparsed up the nearly empty parking lot but they looked unusable. When I found 17 I parked in front of it. I stared at the door for a moment, letting the car idle while I contemplated whether or not I should just sleep in my car. I rolled my eyes and got out of the warmth of my Suv. After grabbing my needed bag for the night I click the "lock" button on my key several times before feeling satisfied. Even then, my stomach flipped in worry for my car.

I walked up to the rusty brown door. The 7 was hanging upside down, daring to fall to the ground. I stick the key in the doorknob and twist. It protested but creaked open anyway. The room was dark and nightmarish. I fumbled against the wall, searching for the light switch. Cold sweat dripped from my temple. I was terrified that a scene from a movie was about to become a reality. Like a hand already being on the light switch when I find it, or a threat written in blood along the wall with a dead body under it. When I found the switch, the lights stuttered on. I shuddered in disgust.

The room was a pale blue, the walls stained and shedding. The ground was covered in broken tile. Note to self, keep your shoes on tonight. I slowly crept into the room, allowing the door to shut behind me. The bed was a small twin, the blankets had some floral pattern. Placing my bag on the floor in front of the rotting dresser, I make my way to the only other door in the room. It was a small square with an odor you couldn't quite put your finger on. It was a bathroom once I turned the barely working light on. My nose scrunched up. The mirror was so foggy to the point where it was unusable. The toilet was clogged and the shower was stained with no shower curtain.

I walked back to the bed and ripped all the sheets off. I reached in my bag, grabbing my blanket with a tiger printed on it. I grab my portable mirror and my makeup wipes and begin to remove the daily face. I stared into my own yellow eyes, seeing the determination and joy that this room was destroying. I scoffed, I wouldn't let this small encounter ruin this for me. Eliza and I have been so excited about this, I couldn't stop now. Nevada was just one of many stops. I walked up to the bed and laid down on my blanket, not wanting to touch the actual bed. I stared at the ceiling and let my mind wander.