My Brother's Ghost Pt. 02

1:17am. I awake from a nightmare that feels all too real to a seemingly unnatural chill inside my hotel room. Instead of crawling out of bed to adjust the heat, I toss and turn. After staring at the plain white walls for awhile, I eventually roll over onto my back and gaze at the ceiling. Before long, I kick the covers off me.

Unable to go back to asleep, I wrap a blanket around me. Then, I turn up the heat and pull a chair close to the heater. When the chill finally goes away, I slide the curtains back just far enough to peer out into the night.

It's peaceful outside. Snow flurries are already accumulating in places, but it doesn't appear to be much more than just a light dusting on the ground. Ever so often, a car pulls into the parking lot and headlights shine in the hotel window when it passes. I'm tempted to go out for a late night stroll. Instead, I elect to stay inside where it's warm. Before too long, I drift off to sleep in the chair.

Several hours later I awake; sweating. Sunlight is shining through the window. As I come to my senses, I realize I'm naked from the waist up with the curtains partially open. Snatching the blanket over my breasts, I stumble to my feet. My head; aching.

"Fuck," I cuss, closing the curtains.

A rumbling sound in my stomach motivates me to get dressed. After packing my belongings and freshening up a little, I slide the dresser away from the door. A set of fresh footprints in the snow at my window unnerve me as exit my hotel room heading to the reception desk.

"Are you checking out," the receptionist asks.

"One night is enough," I say.

"How was your stay," he inquires.

"Let's just say it was eye opening experience."

"Eye opening?"

"I'll leave it at that," I say, laying the key on the counter.

I should mention what happened last night, but there's no point. I won't be staying another night. Anyway, after I leave, I head across the street to the restaurant for a bite to eat.

A gust of wind whips my long hair as I make my way across the street. My paces quickens. When I reach for the door, a hand grabs a hold to my shoulder. Without thinking, I spin around and slap someone across the cheek. Before I realize it's Scott, I whip my hand back around.

"Damn, take it easy," he hollers, grabbing my wrist.

"Don't scare me like that," I say, yanking my arm from his grasp.

"Sorry."

"Are you alright," I inquire.

"I will be after a cup of coffee."

"C'mon, I'll buy you a cup. It's the least I can do."

"Works for me," he says, opening the door.

"What're you doing here," I

"I told you I would be yesterday."

"I forgot."

The restaurant is jammed packed with people, mostly tourists. Once we find a place to sit, I order us a cup of coffee and something to eat. For the most part, Scott seems distant. After being an ass to him yesterday, I wait for him to start a conversation.

"You seem edgy," he says, looking over the rim of his coffee cup. "What's eating at you?"

"I didn't sleep well last night, Scott."

"I told you that hotel was cheap."

"Someone came into my hotel room last night and stole my panties."

"Must've been a tourist," he says, sitting his cup down.

"They left a note on the nightstand."

"Hahaha...," he chuckles. "Definitely a tourist."

"It was kinda sick - and disturbing," I mention.

"Don't let it bother you, Amanda."

My eyes water as my emotions get the better of me.

"I'm not, but - ," I pause, sniffling, "but I'm a long way from home with no one to talk to."

"You can talk to me."

"On top of that, my brother is missing," I add, wiping a tear from my eye. "I don't know if he's hurt - or worse."

"Everything will be okay," he says, placing his hand on my thigh, "I promise."

"I'm sorry about yesterday," I say, sliding his hand to a more appropriate spot.

"It's water under the bridge," he says.

"I thought about your offer."

"And," he inquires, retracting his hand.

"It sounds a lot better than hiking."

"Cool."

"Don't get any ideas, though."

"You wouldn't want to go hiking alone up there anyway. It's over 100 miles to the other side of the park."

"I didn't think about that."

"At best, it's a three hour drive."

"Really," I inquire.

"That's if we don't stop," he adds.

"Anyway, I could use some help searching for brother," I say, pushing my empty cup the side.

"We probably should at least wait until the roads thaw some."

"That's fine," I say, glancing up at the clock on the wall.

"Sorry for the wait," Susan says, sitting our food in front of us. "We're busier than normal today."

"We're just killing time, Susan."

"It's supposed to snow again tonight," she mentions.

"That doesn't surprise me," he says.

After Scott and I eat, I pay the bill. Then, we sit and chit chat about this, that, and the other until noon. When he gets up and heads to the door, I follow him to his car.

"Thanks for the food," he says, holding the door open.

"Don't worry about it, Scott."

"I can pay you back - it's just - I lost my wallet the other day."

"Forget it."

Once we round the corner of the restaurant, I see Scott's Camaro. It's nothing to jump up and down about. With fading black paint and patches of rust on the hood, it's definitely seen better days. Still, it beats hiking alone in the mountains.

When he crawls in and starts the engine, I toss my backpack into the backseat. Then, I get in and close the door. Suddenly, my whole body twitches. The longer we sit there, the colder I feel. Soon, my head begins to ache.

"Are you ok, Amanda?"

"I'm freezing," I say.

"I can't do anything about that until the engine warms up," he says.

"And my head is aching," I add.

"Do you want my jacket?"

"I'm fine, Scott."

Soon, we're mobile, leaving the restaurant parking lot and heading towards the entrance of Skyline Drive. When we enter the park, I fold my arms against my chest and stare out the window. After a few minutes, I lean my head against the glass.

At first, our ascent into the mountains is slow. In no time at all, however, we gain elevation as we round the sharp, winding curves. Off in the distance, I can see portions of Shenandoah Valley.

For a brief moment, the majestic snow covered landscape takes my homesick thoughts back to Denver and the Rockies. As we climb higher in altitude, the stone barrier beside the road begins to obstruct my view. Eventually, I lose interest in the scenery.

"Do you want to tell me a little bit about your brother," he asks, turning on the heat.

"He moved here after college," I say.

"Why here?"

"He thought this was a good place to grow as an artist."

"Not many people do that around here," he says.

"He didn't have much success."

"Did you stay in contact with him?"

"Kevin and I are close, enough for me to know he wants to be a woman."

"Your brother is a gay?"

"He identifies as a woman," I say.

"I don't think I could handle it if my brother did that."

"He didn't want our parents to know," I explain.

"I bet that's the real reason he moved here."

"Probably, but I our parents wouldn't disown him because of it."

"How do you feel about it," he asks, glancing over at me.

"It's not my life to live, but I still love him."

"I can tell."

"Anyway, six months ago, he told me that he was taking hormones and considering a sex change."

"So how'd you find out that he was missing," he inquires.

Suddenly, a deer wanders out onto the road.

"Watch out!" I shout, bracing for an impact.

"Jesus!" He shouts, hitting the breaks.

The car fishtails on a patch of ice as it skids to a stop. Everything seems as though it's in slow motion. Soon, the deer crosses the road and disappears in the trees.

"Oh, my God," I gasp, slapping my chest with my hand. "That scared the Hell out of me."

"You can say that again," he says, glancing in the rear view mirror as he takes off again.

"I wasn't expecting that."

"That's pretty common around here," he says, pausing. "Anyway, you were saying?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, a detective called last week and told us."

"Did he say anything else?"

"Not really - just that his roommate was the one that reported Kevin missing."

"Do you think he's a suspect?"

"I'd like to think my brother is still alive," I say.

Scott's comment has me fearing the worse. Feelings of hopelessness begin to settle into my thoughts. Soon, I distance myself from the conversation while I scan the roadside. Before long, he pulls over at a lookout point.

"Why are we stopping," I question, sitting up in the seat.

"I've got to pee," he says.

"Do you think it's odd the detective wouldn't give me the name of my brother's roommate?"

"Hold that thought," he says, opening his door.

Crisp mountain air fills my lungs as soon as I step out of the warmth of Scott's Camaro. It's quiet and peaceful up here. The fresh layer of snow crunches beneath my feet as I walk over to the mountain edge to stretch my legs. From my vantage point, the view of the valley below is worthy of a thousand words. Oddly, though, there's not a single bird in the sky.

Suddenly, the unnatural chill returns, wrapping itself around me. The eerie feeling soon ushers me back to the warmth of the car. Strangely, Scott isn't already in the car when I open the door.

Minutes tick by as I wait in the car. Soon, my head begins to hurt - so bad I just want to cry. Unable to focus on anything but the immense pain, I hang my head over my lap and wrap my hands around my face.

When I close my eyes to block out some of the pain, horrifying visions start playing inside my head like a sick, twisted movie. After awhile, I begin to hear some sort of distorted, haunting voice whispering my name. When I hear the car door open, I raise my head.

"Are you okay," he asks, closing the door. "You don't look so good."

"My head is killing me," I say, massaging my temples. "I almost want to give up and go back to the hotel."

"We won't find your brother if we turn back."

"You're right, Scott."

"That's the spirit," he says, patting me on the thigh.

I'm half tempted to slap Scott again, but I let it slide. Right now he's my best chance of finding Kevin. Besides, I can't go back, not after I've come this far.