Among the Stars Read online

  Chapter 12

  By the time we got to the hotel I was exhausted. After waiting for our luggage, getting the rental car, and driving through the city to our hotel, all I wanted was to take a shower and curl up in bed. It seemed the universe had other ideas though. Orion was currently in an argument with the manager over a mistake they made with our rooms. An employee had given our rooms to someone else and Orion was none too happy about it. Tired of standing I sat in the lobby while Orion sorted everything out. After what seemed like forever Orion finally came back but he still didn’t look pleased.

  “So what’d he say?” I really hoped we didn’t have to find a new hotel.

  “Good news is that they are giving us a discount for the problem.” He picked up my bag and we headed for an elevator.

  “And the bad news?”

  “They could only give us one room.”

  “What?” Shocked that we would be staying in the same hotel room I was no longer sleepy but nervous.

  “Don’t worry, there are two beds.” I would hope so. Thinking about staying in the same room with him, I start to sweat. I really need to calm down. It was just a hotel room. Everything was going to be fine.

  “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Orion stares at me.

  “I’m fine.” I avoid his gaze by staring at my shoes. The elevator door opens and we walk down the hallway to the room. He holds the door open for me and I enter the room. The room is huge. There’s two king sized beds, a couch with a coffee table, a kitchenette, and a huge bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and glass shower. There’s even a balcony with sliding doors. I’ve never stayed in someplace so fancy.

  “Wow,” I whisper in awe, checking out all the features.

  “Pretty nice, huh?” Orion sets our bags on the beds and walks over to the balcony. “Come over here. I want to show you something.”

  I follow him out onto the balcony and the view takes my breath away. The city stretches out around us. New York City is alive with lights and sounds. We are close to the top of the hotel but it’s only one of many tall buildings. I’ve never really been a city girl but I can definitely see the appeal, especially with a view like this.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Orion stares out at the city.

  “It is,” I agree.

  “I’m not a fan of the city as you’ve probably figured out by now but there’s something about them at night. It’s the lights. I don’t know what it is, maybe because it seems so alive.”

  He was right, I had known from the beginning he was more jungle than concrete jungle. I look at him out of the corner of my eye.

  “I never felt lonely in the city.” He looks at me thoughtfully as I continue. “My aunt lives in San Francisco. I stayed the summer with her one year and the lights, they keep you company, make you feel like someone is there. No matter what time it is, there are always lights on in the city. Someone is always awake. Not like a small town. Small towns can get pretty lonely. Does that make sense?”

  There were times I couldn’t sleep growing up and I’d sit, looking out the window, feeling like I was the only person in the whole wide world.

  “It makes perfect sense.”

  We stand there a little while longer staring out into the city but soon my exhaustion comes back.

  “I think I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.”

  “Alright.”

  I leave him on the balcony and go take a shower. When I come back he’s already in bed. He’s faced away from me so I can’t tell if he’s asleep or not. I tip toe to my bed and turn off the light. As soon as my head hits the pillow I fall asleep.

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  A noise wakes me up. I look at the clock and it’s almost four in the morning. I look over to Orion’s bed but he isn’t there. I look around the room but I don’t see him. Then I hear the noise again. It sounds like singing. I look over and the sliding door leading to the balcony is open a little bit. Orion is standing outside, his dark outline a contrast against the lights of the city. He’s singing a song I don’t recognize. He’s very quiet but I can still make out the words.

  Come and hear the tale I have to tell

  It’s a tale of a man, a man with snow white hair

  He roamed the earth, in search of someone fair

  Lonely he wandered and sadly he wondered

  If he was meant to find someone fair

  Roaming the waters, alone but never scared

  He found a girl, a girl with golden hair

  She took his hand, showing him she cared

  The girl, the girl, the girl who was fair

  Together they wandered, never to wonder

  If they would find their someone fair

  Then one night they woke to screaming air

  Torn apart from their someone fair

  Now sadly they wander, alone and not a pair

  Yes I’ll tell you the tale

  Of the man with snow white hair

  His voice is hauntingly beautiful. I lie there listening to him sing, wondering at the meaning behind the song. Soon my eyes start to close and I’m fast asleep.