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I winced.

“Have we taught you nothing?” Janet asked.

“I mean, I could list twenty different cases off the top of my head of girls who followed strange men somewhere and were never seen again,” Jill added.

“I know. It wasn’t my smartest moment. But I’m okay. He even walked me to my car in case Perry was still around somewhere.”

“Just because you got lucky doesn’t mean you should let your guard down,” Janet said.

“I know.”

“You’re sure he didn’t follow you here?”

“He was still standing in the street while I turned the corner. There’s no way.”

“Okay. Well, we’re glad you’re not dead in a dumpster somewhere,” Janet said.

“And that the bastard has been served. That’s a big step.”

“But we should probably remind you—” Janet started.

“That when a man is served a restraining order or divorce papers is when he is the most dangerous,” I filled in for her.

“So, you have been listening,” Janet said, nodding.

“I have. As far as I can tell, Perry never even saw me, so he couldn’t have followed me. And I’m hoping the lawyers can handle things without me for a while. I don’t want to see him if I don’t have to.”

“Yeah, don’t let him rope you into any kind of meeting,” Jill agreed. “I saw that black eye. That man doesn’t deserve a moment of your time.”

“I agree with that. Did you guys get your new episode up?”

“Just barely. The Wi-Fi has been so crappy tonight,” Jill said.

“I will give it a listen while I make dinner.”

“We appreciate it,” Janet said.

“I’ll let you guys relax.”

“We’re still on for our laundry date tomorrow?” Jill asked.

“Absolutely. Wouldn’t go without you guys,” I said as I made my way to the stairs.

That wasn’t a lie.

The laundry room—while well-lit and clean—gave me the creeps. This was likely only because when I first started to stay at the motel, I’d brought all the bed linens down to wash the heck out of them, and some random guy had come in and kept making creepy overtures, no matter how many times I rebuffed him.

Then Janet and Jill came bustling in with their towering piles of laundry, sussed out the situation in point-five seconds, looked at the guy, and said, “1E, stop being such a fucking creep, or I will anonymously tell your wife’s lawyer that you’ve banged a different sex worker every night since you’ve been here…while trying to convince her that you still want to be married.”

Ever since then, we’d been laundry buddies. It was the only day of the week when I had any kind of meaningful conversation with another human being.

I walked along the railing, the bright blue-green doors passing in my periphery. Unlike the sisters, I had no interest in spying on everyone and knowing what weird or creepy things they were up to. Not knowing was probably the only way I was comfortable staying at this place.

I unlocked my door, reaching inside to flick the light on, then left the door open while I did a quick tour of my room, checking the bathroom and closet, before going back and locking and bolting the door.

Janet and Jill really had rubbed off on me.

Exhaling hard, I turned and looked at my space.