Chapter Four- Small Comforts

Lorenzo stared on as the words left Mia’s lips. The woman barely realized what she had just said. She wasn’t one to be so upfront. Regardless, the offer had been made and so she waited patiently for Lorenzo’s response. Mia could tell that the man was struggling. He didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t that he was trying to find a polite way of accepting or rejecting but he was so tired that he couldn't think of the words. The haggard look in his eyes only edged Mia on further. “You can wait at my place till your ride comes. I think he’s gone somewhere. Or maybe if he’s left you alone…?” Lorenzo glances up, as if seeing that he’s still in the vicinity of the gas station. He must be exhausted if he can’t tell that he’s still stuck here. All that Mia gets from him in the form of an answer is the nodding of his head. That other man must have either ditched him or maybe he had somewhere to go for an emergency. “Come to my place then. You can text that guy to pick you up from there. It’s cold out here and I’m shutting the shop anyways. This is my way of saying thanks and showing gratitude. I don’t have anything else to offer you other than this.” The man merely blinked up at Mia. No words escaped his mouth and he seemed like he wasn’t even thinking of anything. He was utterly drained out. “It's a five minute walk. Not very long,” Mia tempted. That would be her final attempt. She wouldn’t be weirdly pushy about some guy staying at her place. No woman would like if some random man were being pushy for her to stay at his house, why should different rules apply to her? “Sure, I guess.” The words were spoken so softly that Mia barely heard them. She stared at him in surprise, not expecting for him to agree. She had even taken a few steps away from him to get heading in the opposite direction. “Oh. Perfect. Follow me then, I guess.” Mia was never one to feel conscious. She loved her tiny dingy motel room. It was great having your own space after having a cell mate twenty four seven. Having the peace of using your toilet to pee in peace was heaven in itself. A lot of things that people took for granted were now great things for the woman. A double bed, a single shower, a door that wasn’t simply made up of bars. As the two walked towards her motel, she felt slightly uncomfortable. This was most likely a rich man, or at least so she assumed from his attire, and she was leading him to a dingy motel. It was odd having a motel in such a fine neighborhood but the rich kids used this place as a hangout spot to shoot drugs and do other illicit dealings. No one actually stayed here longer than a few hours. Mia was the only one who stayed entire nights and days for weeks. It was an odd occurrence for the motel and it was exactly why the management was so lenient on her. The walk would have been pleasant if not for the freezing cold and the lack of conversation. It felt almost awkward as Mia and Lorenzo walked on in silence. The woman was full of questions just threatening to burst out. The man was completely silent. His mind ran rampant but his tongue laid still. The exhaustion of his troubling thoughts would have knocked him out flat if he didn’t have a mental wall up. Mia would take peeks here and there, taken by his looks. He really was handsome. The motel soon came into view. The neon green sign flashed out the words; “Offside Motel. Multiple vacancies available.” Lorenzo shows no reaction. Not even a facial muscle twitches as she digs through her side bag, looking for her keys. Her room is on the second floor which she prefers. It always scares her at night at how her room is so close to the road. Anyone can knock her door down and barge in. Opening the door, Mia enters her room and takes in a deep breath. The temperature inside the room is much more comfortable than the biting cold outside. Taking her jacket off, Mia spreads her arms around her as she looks over to Lorenzo. “Welcome to my humble abode.” Lorenzo dips his head in acknowledgement, too weary to say anything else. “It’s a temporary space. Just until I get my head in order. I’ll be out of here someday.” Mia didn't mention how Mikey had just told her that he had a vacancy in his own accommodation. The man had multiple businesses and owning an apartment complex was one of them. It wasn’t top of the line or anything but a few tenants had moved out and so he offered the spare place to Mia. The woman was grateful and asked for Mikey to take a cut out of her earnings. It wasn’t much but she needed to repay him in some way. Mikey deserved all the gratitude and more for helping Mia to get back on her feet. Lorenzo nods his head once more and walks over to the edge of the bed. He sits down on it before staring off somewhere into a corner. “Would you like to take a shower? Maybe you can warm yourself up. The heating here isn’t the greatest.” Lorenzo barely had the energy to do anything let alone shower but he relented. He had no spare clothes and his bulking physique would definitely not fit into Mia’s clothes. Still, it would be some sort of reprieve. Lorenzo always felt calm in the water. It was like the mass of liquid made him feel at peace with everything going on. Lorenzo didn’t dawdle in the shower but he definitely felt refreshed after it. He was still tired but his aching bones thanked him for the hot spray of water. He slipped back into his own clothes while Mia went off to shower as well. Donning her sleeping clothes, Mia stepped out with another towel. She offered it to Lorenzo who sat there with water dropping down the back of his shirt. That feeling was something that Mia detested. Lorenzo took it and thanked her. “Is that man coming back any time soon?” “No. He had an emergency he had to run off to. He’ll be back first thing in the morning. Don’t worry. I’ll get out of your hair.” Mia wondered what to do. She wasn’t best friends with the man but he hadn;t done anything alarming yet. Instead it was the opposite. She should learn not to be so trusting but it went against her better nature. “You can stay here. I sleep on the left side. Or you can sleep on that side if you want. I don’t really know which side you prefer…” The man faltered with the towel which he had been running through his hair. Mia pretended like this was something she did daily; grab random men and bring them to her hotel room to shower and sleep beside her. It was so out of her comfort zone, anyone who knew her would have thought she had lost her marbles. Lorenzo protested but Mia shrugged him off. “It’s your choice honestly. There are other vacancies here but the manager is always missing at this time. You know where the door is if you want to leave. There’s no pressure from my side.” Mia shut the light off and got into bed, pretending as if the man hadn’t weighed the blanket down by sitting on the bed. She held her breath as she turned her back to him. She was listening for any signs of his movements. The man sat silently for a long while. He wasn’t making any noise until he let out a long sigh. Mia had already been nodding off, entirely tired by the event of the day. She hardly realized the pillow that had been placed next to her body, creating a wall as he laid down on the opposite side. The woman tried to sleep but her mind wouldn’t switch off. She was vividly aware of the man so close to her. It had been a while since any man had been sleeping beside her. Her body was abuzz with nerves. It was like static in the air. Mia smiled to herself and loved how she so effortlessly dragged on. She wasn’t worried about anyone barging in this time. Lorenzo, the mystery man, was there to fend anyone off. All Mia had to do was quench the rising tide of emotions inside her. This wasn’t the time for that.