Free B008GMVYA4 EBOK by Rebecca Ann Drake Page A

the taxi had travelled up the road until it was out
of sight. Reluctantly Madison turned towards the two full length glass doors,
grabbing the suitcase to which her arm protested immediately sending flares of
pain up to her shoulder. She lugged the suitcase awkwardly towards the doors;
they opened automatically as she approached. Inside the lobby the walls were
painted a simple cream, stylish and modern paintings hung from each wall
representing that the Travel Lodge was located in a stylish part of London. The
colours of the painting swirled into each other - an array of different shades
of reds and purples, beautifully separated with a thick strip of gold paint
between each variance of colour. A few large pot plants filled empty corners of
the room, making the lobby seem more homely. Three red, sink sofas circled
around a glass coffee table centered in the middle of the room. The sofas were
furnished with a cream cushions and fluffy white throws. In the centre of the
far wall was a long wooden desk, it curved round so each side was closed off
against the back wall. A wooden hinged allow reception staff members to enter
and vacate the reception desk. The desk was a sandy beach colour which was
varnished to shimmer under the bright florescent lights of the lobby. A mass of
curly blonde hair was visible from the top of the receptionist desk.
    Madison took another deep breath and proceeded to walk
slowly across the lobby to the front desk, pulling the suitcase behind her. The
wheels of the suitcase squeaked on the polished wooden floor. As Madison
approached the front desk, a young woman in her early twenties looked up and
smiled at her. She had shoulder length strawberry blonde, curly hair and her
features were soft - almost childlike. She wore little makeup apart from a
tinted red lip gloss on her slim, small lips. She dressed a Travel Lodge
uniform, which consisted of a light grey suit jacket, a grey skirt and a white
shirt with a gold name badge which read, Tracey .
    “Hi Welcome to London Bridge Premier Travel Lodge, my name
is Tracey. Can I offer you a room for the night?” she said vigorously, a toothy
smile spread across her face.
     “Yes please” Madison said faintly, surprised at the
level of excitement in her voice.
    She placed the palms of her hand down on the smooth surface
of the front desk, letting go of the handle of the suitcase. Madison needed to
steady her shaking hands more than anything. The events of the past few hours
had taken its toll on her and now her body was starting to suffer the effects.
She was emotionally and physically drained, it was a constant fight to stop her
eyelids from falling shut and being sucked back into the dream world. Her mind
still wondered over what had occurred with Phil and the distorted faces of the
two hooded boys. The irritating ache of her damaged face still ate away at her
and the crippling pain of a crushed heart remained beneath the surface.
    “Name?” Tracey asked.
    “Madison Davies” she said reluctantly.
    Tracey fingers tapped furiously on the keys of the keyboard,
her eyebrows narrowed as she concentrated on the computer screen.
    “That’s £45 for the night” she said, looking up from behind
the computer screen. Her eyes focused on the inflamed red patch on Madison‘s
cheek, her smile slowly began to fade. Concern and curiosity flickered through
her eyes as her brain ticked over all types of conclusions for Madison’s
injury. Madison cleared her throat breaking Tracey’s stare. Tracey blinked
several times, composing herself and making eye contact with her once again.
Madison placed her handbag on the desk, unzipped it and pulled out her purse.
She pulled out her debit card and inserted it into the chip and pin machine – thumbing in her pin number. Madison put her debit card back inside
her purse once the transaction had been approved and returned her purse to her
bag.
    Tracey opened a small draw in the desk fiddled around for a
few seconds until