so short that I was nonstop busy, and it made the day pass quickly. On the forth leg, I brought Silas his water with exactly two ice cubes—the way he liked it—and wrote on his napkin: Halfway done! ☺ The bad thing about these short flights was that the busyness made me really hungry and I had no money. But we were staying at my favorite hotel chain tonight in Burlington, Vermont, and they had complimentary snacks and fruit-infused water in the lobby.
The three of us were quiet as we bundled up and took a shuttle to the hotel. Seven takeoffs and landing in one day took a lot out of us mentally. I tried to keep my distance from Jake and avoid talking because he definitely gave me bad vibes. When we got to my room, the captain stopped.
“I’ll do the check,” he said authoritatively.
“No need, sir.” Silas stepped in and walked through my doorway and gave him a salute. “I’ve got it.” Silas breezed in without a backwards glance and I noted the annoyed look on Jake’s face.
“Thank you, though,” I told him, smiling to try and soften the blow. “See you in the morning.”
He gave a glancing glare through my doorway and nodded, leaving. I let out a breath and went in. We checked everything together.
“All good,” he said, not acknowledging the cockfight in the hall.
“Thanks.” I worked up the nerve to ask, “Is everything okay?”
He gave a tight smile. “Just do me a favor and avoid the first pilot, ‘kay?”
“Okay,” I agreed, wondering what the heck the man had said about me to upset Silas.
“Night,” Silas said.
“Good night.”
I relaxed fully once he left, and I changed into my lounging clothes. Then I went downstairs to check out the snack situation. My stomach was rumbling and I was starting to shake a little. I’d had two small bags of airplane snacks today and a microwavable serving of mac & cheese; that was it.
In the lobby I walked around and started to frown. I couldn’t find the complimentary table anywhere, so I went to the front desk.
“Hi, excuse me. I’m looking for the complimentary water and snacks.” Her head cocked to the side in confusion and I felt a wave of panic. “Usually this hotel chain has it in the lobby. Like fruit and granola bars?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry dear. We don’t have that at this location, but you can order takeout from the restaurant next door and they’ll deliver.” She glanced over my shoulder at something and her face softened. I turned and nearly came out of my skin to see Silas standing there in jeans and a fitted v-neck T-shirt. For a second my jaw locked and my face flamed with shame. Had he overheard that? He regarded me with a carefully blank expression.
“Okay, no problem,” I told the lady. “Thanks.”
I gave Silas a tight smile and hurried back to my room before my eyes filled with burning tears. It would be okay. I could skip a meal. I wasn’t going to die. There were plenty of fat cells that my body could burn for energy. My stomach could be temporarily tricked into thinking it was full by filling my belly with water until I could fall asleep.
I curled up on my bed feeling sad. I didn’t want to look at the dating app. I didn’t want to text my friends. I didn’t want to deal with the Shawn situation like I’d planned to do tonight. I just wanted to sit here with the television on murder documentaries and feel nothing.
One show aired and another was beginning when a knock came from the door. My heart gave a pound. Was it Jake? Gawd, I hoped not. It wouldn’t be Silas. He would text me. I tip-toed to the door and brought my eye to the peephole. A delivery man was standing there holding a bag.
I opened the door to tell him he had the wrong room when he said, “Harlow Robinson?”
“Yes?”
“Here you go, Miss. Have a good night.” He handed me the bag and walked off, leaving me blinking.
I took it in the room and opened it with shaking hands. Cheeseburger—an amazing one by the looks of it—with crinkle fries, and a side salad. The back of my eyes burned, and I bit down hard to push back the tears.
Silas had overheard. God, how humiliating. My heart gushed with appreciation, but my brain was firing off warning flares. This wasn’t okay. He couldn’t keep buying me