| 1959 The noise in the distance woke Cheryl from her sleep. She had always been a light sleeper, and it had its disadvantages. She pulled on a robe and her slippers before slipping out into the hallway. The bumping noise sounded again, and she continued to make her way towards where it was coming from. At the end of the hall she came face to face with a beautiful creature. He smiled at her in a friendly way. �Good evening. I didn�t wake you did I?� Cheryl blushed. �Not at all.� �Don�t lie. I know I woke you. I apologize. And never be afraid to tell the truth.� �I�never mind. I�m Cheryl. And you are?� �Cole. Once again, I apologize for waking you.� �It�s quite alright. I�m a light sleeper.� �CHERYL!� Joshua�s voice yelled down the hallway. �CHERYL!� He stomped towards her, angrily. �What is going on?� �Nothing. I heard something and came out to see what it was. I was just about to come back to bed.� Joshua still scowled at her. �Well, I wish you would have woken me up. What if it had been something dangerous?� �I�m sorry,� She bowed her head once more. �Good. Let�s go back to bed now.� Joshua ushered her away from Cole. �I�m sorry she bothered you,� he quickly apologized to Cole. �She wasn�t the one bothering me,� Cole muttered under his breath. Once back in the room, Joshua pointed to the bed. Cheryl sat down, nearly crying. Joshua closed the door before turning on her. �WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?� �I told you. I heard a noise and went to see what it was.� �BULL SHIT! YOU WERE OUT THERE COMING ONTO THAT MAN!� �No I wasn�t,� Cheryl whispered. �DON�T LIE TO ME, BITCH!� Joshua�s eyes raged red. He paced towards her, menacingly, �DON�T YOU EVER LIE TO ME!� �I�m not lying,� Cheryl said a bit louder. Joshua pulled his hand back and slapped Cheryl across the face. �DID YOU JUST CONTRADICT ME?� Cheryl felt the burning in her cheek. She could sense tears forming in her eyes, but she tried to hold them back. �ARE YOU GOING TO CRY?� Joshua screamed. �YOU�D BETTER CRY. YOU�D BETTER BAWL, YOU SIMPERING WOMAN!� With that he hit her on the other cheek. Both sides of her face were throbbing now. Tears finally began flowing down her cheeks, cooling the pain just a bit. She put her face in her hands and began sobbing into them. �That�s what I wanted to see,� Joshua sat beside her, grinning sadistically. �That� s exactly what I wanted to see.� He began to pet her head softly. �Now go to sleep. We�ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.� |
| This time, the sheer brutality of the dream was what woke Dana. She sat up gasping, shocked at the final image, Joshua stroking Cheryl�s head while he grinned like that. �I need a drink,� Dana reasoned as she put her head in her hands. �You could call room service,� a voice piped up. Dana whipped her head up to see Nick standing over her. �I didn�t know you were in here,� she laughed �You should call room service for a drink,� Nick suggested. �They�re open all night.� Cheryl reached over to the phone. �What�s the number?� she asked. �I believe it�s 8-5056,� Nick said after a few seconds. Dana dialed. A sweet male voice answered her. �Room Service, Captain speaking.� �Hello, this is Dana from room 213. I�d like to order something to drink. What white wines do you have?� �White wine? We don�t have any white wine.� �What?� �We don�t have any white wines. We haven�t carried anything like that since the late 60�s.� �The late 60�s?� �Yeah, I think it was 1969.� �We haven�t carried that spirit here since 1969,� Dana muttered, shocked. �What?� Captain asked. �Nothing. Never mind.� Dana hung up the phone, and then recalled the next lines of the song. ��And still those voices are calling from far away. Wake you up in the middle of the night just to hear them say�,� Nick joined in ��Welcome to the Hotel California. Such a lovely place,�� he reached out and took Dana�s chin in his fingertips. ��Such a lovely face. Plenty of room at the Hotel California. What a nice surprise, bring your alibis.�� Dana looked into Nick�s eyes and almost felt herself getting lost in them. The face, the sculpted good looks, he was gorgeous. He was� �Are you alright?� he asked Dana as he released her face. �Fine. I�ve just been having weird dreams.� �Really? Is that why you needed a drink?� �Yeah. It�s just too much right now.� Nick laughed. �I know the feeling. That�s how the first time here always is.� �But it gets easier every time?� �Exactly. Some people leave and have to come back, others just never leave.� �Which kind are you?� �I was the kind who left and came back.� �I figured.� �But the important thing is I came back. I�m still here. Now if you�ll excuse me, I have to go make sure everything�s alright.� Nick left her alone once more, and Dana was left to think about what he�d said. As she pondered, she paced, until something caught her eye. It was a newspaper clipping under a book on the nightstand. She picked it up, unfolding it carefully, then dropping it in shock. The headline read �Local Student Missing.� The picture was of Nick. |