Elle

I glance left and right to make sure I’m not being watched before pushing into the room. I’m not sure what I expected but even for a rest stop, this place is bare. A double bed with a ratty sheet, a mirror over a sink, a cracked toilet with no seat to protect me from the cold and a showerhead that's dripping despite being turned off. Good job all I want from this place is sleep. I’ll probably get a few hours after blue eyes leaves and that will be enough for me to get back on the road without crashing my van. 

I drop my bag on the floor and walk across the barren room to grab the sheet off the bed. I shake it out and almost choke on the dust that floats off it. I use the sheet to cover the mirror, then walk back to my bag and pull out a small black device from the side pocket; to anyone else this will look like an old phone but it's actually been adjusted to look for bugs and video connections. My time at The Academy taught me that people are always watching and that the illusion of privacy is something only the weak fool themselves into believing they have. The device clicks and cracks so I slap it against my hand a few times; the low-frequency hum tells me it's working so I start walking slowly around the room. I make sure to lift the device into every corner and dace over every part of exposed brick. I don’t take a full breath until I’ve cleared the whole room and powered down my device. I toss it onto the bare bed and start stripping off my clothes. I unhook my knife and toss it onto the bed so it's within grabbing distance from the shower; if someone decides to attack while my defences are down, at least I’ll have a chance to defend myself. As soon as I’m naked, I walk over to the shower and flick the small switch to make the water sputter to life. I don’t need to stick my hand under it to know it's freezing; I can feel the chill washing over my body and I know that if I wait, the water won’t get any warmer. The sound of the shower fills the room as I pad across the overworn carpet to grab a towel and a long t-shirt out of my bag. I toss them onto the bed and quickly dash under ice water; I have to grit my teeth to stop myself from screaming out. The water is like ice shards slicing against my skin. I don’t make any attempt to clean my body; I just turn under the spray until the sweat of the day has been driven from my body. It takes me two attempts to flick the switch and make the water stop; my teeth are chattering and my hands are shaking. I’m covered in goosebumps but at least I’m no longer covered in dust and sweat. I wish I could say this was the worst shower I’ve ever had but it pales in comparison to some of the punishments at The Academy. At twenty-three, the memories of my time there are still raw in my mind and some things, like the cold shower, fling me right back to that old building. 

I try to keep my mind from reliving my past as I pat myself dry and pull the shirt over my head; it drops to just above my knees and covers my body but it will also allow blue eyes the access he needs to help me sleep. I’m twisting my wet hair into a messy bun when a soft knock comes to the door. I know it's probably blue eyes but I grab my knife and silently walk over to the door. I don’t relax my attack stance until I look through the cracked peehole to see blue eyes looking right at me. I take a moment to enjoy his handsome scarred face before tossing the knife back on the bed and opening the door. I stay behind the door so that blue eyes has no choice but to walk into the room before he sees me. 

“I like what you’ve done with the place.” Blue eyes laughs as he takes in the covered mirror. I could explain why I’ve done it but a confidant is not what I want from him. I’ll let him draw his own conclusions; as long as he can wear out my body, then that will serve my purpose. 

“Get naked and lie on the bed.” I growl as I close and latch the door so no one can get in without some effort; that will give me the time I need to protect myself.

“I’m –” I cut blue eyes off with a firm shake of my head and hold up my hands; he’s going to tell me his name and I don’t care. 

“Naked. Now.” I snap; his eyes go wide and then narrow for a second. I think he’s going to refuse and demand that we do the whole meet-and-greet thing but then he drops his hands to his jeans and starts undoing them while toeing off his heavy boots. 

“Alright, I can play submissive for the night.” He winks at me like this is some kind of game; little does he know that he’s just a warm body for me to take out my stress on so that I can finally close my eyes and sleep. I’ve tried many times over the years to get rid of the nightmares that haunt me but I’ve found this to be the easiest way. Drink and drugs do nothing but when my body is humming after a decently applied orgasm, my eyes close and I get a solid seven hours without reliving my past.