Stuck on a train

By now it was midnight and Rebecca and Anthony were back in the car, heading to where they would be spending the night. Anthony had reserved a room at a hotel near his parents' home, because he didn't know how today would turn out. He didn't know if, and how well, Rebecca and his parents would get along. Whether Rebecca would feel comfortable enough around them to want to spend the night in his childhood home. So, just in case, he wanted to at least have an escape for the evenings. He didn't want to risk Rebecca feeling trapped and having to spend the night somewhere she wasn't feeling fully comfortable yet, as she was adjusting to plenty at the moment to begin with. First and foremost being, the two of them no longer being just friends, but an engaged couple. This became evident once more when they arrived at the hotel.

Anthony pulled into one of the parking spots of the hotel when Rebecca slowly woke up from the nap she had dozed into. The gentle vibrations of the car and the passing scenery, made her eyes close almost immediately after they drove off. These two things always made her feel sleepy, but being as tired as she was, both physically and mentally, the drive knocked her out faster than it usually would.

When she opened her eyes, she looked around in a bit of daze, as Anthony chuckled and said, "Finally awake my fair princess? We have arrived at your temporary residence and shortly you will be in your bedchambers, where you can rest fully." Rebecca did not have the energy yet to play along with Anthony's act, and replied like her usual self as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "mm, good. I am so tired. Can't wait. I hope the bed is comfy, but with how tired I am, I think I would fall asleep on a rock." Anthony chuckled again and said, "Well, I am not sure how comfortable you will find the beds here, but I can guarantee you that they are more comfortable than a rock. Let me grab the bags and let's head inside."

As it was said, so it was done. They headed inside, with Anthony carrying both his bag as well as Rebecca's luggage. At the front desk Anthony talked to the lady behind it, showing his ID and going through the rest of the check-in process. Since it was quite late, there weren't many other people there in the lobby, which caused Rebecca to have very little to distract herself with, as her eyes made another attempt to close themselves for a nap. While she struggled to keep them open, she suddenly heard something that caused her to become wide awake. As the check-in process was wrapping up, Rebecca heard from a short distance, "Here is your room key sir. Please enjoy your stay."

Rebecca's eyes shot open and she looked at Anthony, who had now turned his back to the front desk as he was walking back to where Rebecca was standing, with a look of shock and horror. She tried to repeat the words of the front desk lady, and asked, "Did she just say, 'Room key'? As in, one room?" Anthony seemed a bit confused by this question and shook his head, with a confused smile, in a way that indicated that. He then said, "Of course there is only one room silly. What else did you expect. For an engaged couple to sleep in separate rooms?"

Rebecca's eyes now grew as wide as they could be. Although her mind understood what he meant, her heart wasn't on board with what he was saying. She had not been prepared for this at all, and the thought of now having to share a room, and potentially a bed with Anthony so out of the blue, gave her a level of anxiety she did not account for. She felt her heart going into overdrive, beating so quickly and loudly she was convinced all the people around her could hear it. Panic struck and she followed Anthony, who seemed a bit unaware of Rebecca's current mental battle, into the elevator in a daze.

She didn't quite know what to do or say. Everything had been going so great up until now, and she didn't want to ruin it by making a big deal out of it. She knew that saying 'no' at this point, would hurt Anthony's feelings. But even if she did, the odds of there being another room available to her this late at night, were slim at best. BUT, she didn't know if she would physically survive sharing a room with Anthony. Everything was so new to her, and she was not ready for this type of development in their relationship. It was like she was stuck on a train that was heading for a cliff. If she stayed in the train, and continued its course, she would plummet to the ground. If she jumped out of the moving train, her body would break from the fall. So, right now, she was being forced to choose between plummeting to the ground or letting her body break from the fall.