Now or Never

through the door. The lobby was clean, at least, though the walls could use a new paint job and the coffee smelled days old. Grayson walked up to the counter, nose wrinkling as she took in the clerk’s appearance.
    He wore the typical staff uniform of a button-down and khakis, but had a huge beer gut that hung over his pants, completely concealing his belt. His hair was curly, and he had a bushy mustache with some kind of white stuff in it. He gave her a once over, his eyes staring too long at her breasts.
    Creepy , she thought with a shudder. “I need a room.”
    “You all alone, sweetie?” His voice was too high-pitched for his body.
    Never let a strange guy know you’re by yourself . Her big brother taught her better than that. She thought fast and blurted out, “No, I’m here with my mom; she’s waiting in the car.”
    “That’s good.” He glanced over her again, and Grayson fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest. “It’s not safe out there for young women as pretty as you to be on their own.”
    Grayson slid her credit card across the counter, ignoring his leering eyes. “One room, two beds.”
    “You got it, pretty girl.” The clerk reached for the card before she could pull away, and his fingers brushed hers.
    Yuck.
    Key cards in hand, she was thankful to leave behind his beady eyes and made her way back out to the Jeep. She felt his gaze on her even as the Jeep pulled away from the curb.
    Creepy.
    She probably shouldn’t have stopped so late, she thought, taking the parking lot around to the back of the building. If she wasn’t about to fall asleep at the wheel, she probably would have done otherwise. Tomorrow, she would have to be smarter—drive during the day, stop for dinner, maybe.
    She needed to be safe inside before the sun went down, bottom line. That unfortunately meant not a whole lot of sleep would be happening tonight. She had been in such a rush to leave; she hadn’t planned anything out. Grayson both needed and wanted to put as much distance between her and Josh as possible.
    132 was a corner room, but when she shoved open the door—hitting friction on the carpet—she clicked on the light and groaned. It was tiny and musty, with industrial-grade furnishings and a comforter so worn it looked as old as her grandmother. On the bright side, it didn’t reek of cigarette smoke. Grayson dropped her bags on the single armchair by the window, then bolted the lock and slid the chain into place.
    She sank into the bed, exhaustion hitting her even more now that the car was no longer buzzing beneath her. She looked down at herself—she’d spilled coffee on her T-shirt somewhere near the state line, and had a dirt-stain on her jeans from getting in and out of the jeep. She realized she hadn’t showered since early that morning.
    She still smelled like Josh.
    Oh my God, EW.
    Fifteen minutes later, scrubbed twice over and in clean pajamas, Grayson fell into bed. With a thin line of light peeking from the bathroom, and the room smelling of soap, she was fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

CHAPTER 4

    Sunlight spilled through the crack in the curtains, and Grayson groaned, rolling over to cover her face. Her neck was stiff from the flat, shapeless pillow, and the musty covers across her cheek were rough. She definitely wasn’t in her familiar bed.
    Her eyes snapped opened, and everything came rushing back. She sat up, gripping the covers for support as she looked around the tiny, drab hotel room. She really did it. It wasn’t a dream.
    She was free .
    No more Josh, no more being treated like crap—and absolutely no more tiptoeing around or pretending to be someone she wasn’t. A slow smile spread across her face, and she flopped back to the pillow, all the weight of the past three years lifting from her shoulders. She felt like screaming her excitement at the top of her lungs. Instead, she pressed both her hands to her face and smiled like a goofball.
    After basking in the exhilaration for a few moments, Grayson sat back up and stretched.
    Now what? What was that saying? This is the first day of the rest of your life or something like that. Kind of corny, but it seemed to fit her situation just perfectly.
    The first thing she had to do was contact her mom and sister. Surely, Josh had called them by now, as he always did anytime Grayson didn’t answer her phone. But she’d been gone an entire night without contact, whereas before she’d always missed just one