"Alright, that's it. We're stopping for the night, I can't drive any longer."

"What's a motel even doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Who cares, we're stopping here."

The car pulled over into the motel, parking in front of the building, a large sign declaring it to be the Roadside Motel, as two women got out, one middle aged and one young, the older one named Grace taking a little longer to pull herself out of the passenger's side. She was forty-five and traveling with her twenty-one year old daughter Janet, on their way across the country for their vacation. She was wearing a blue floral dress and had brown hair in a tight bun, while her face was one of someone who was once very pretty, but age had caught up with her and many lines creased her face, while grey streaks ran through her hair.

Her daughter Janet was a college student driving her mother across the country, just finishing an eight hour drive. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans, and had short brown hair, similar to her mothers, white looking much like her mother had when she was younger. Currently, she was debating whether to bring their luggage inside as the sun finished going down behind her.

"Don't worry about it, we'll just leave it in there for tomorrow." Grace said as they began to walk over to the reception.

"So how much longer do we have to go before we get there?" Janet asked.

"Not much, just five or so. After a good night's sleep, you'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say." Janet grumbled, rubbing her exhausted eyes. "You didn't have to drive all the way here." They reached the reception, a woman in her early thirties waiting for her. She was wearing a white blouse and a thin pair of glasses below long black hair, and currently holding what Janet thought was a very disconcerting stare. Grace didn't seem to notice, and began to talk to the woman.

"Hello, we'd like to get a room for the night. We'll be leaving early tomorrow, so we shouldn't need to get anything fancy."

The woman's eyes didn't change as she gave them a smile, saying, "The only room we have available right now is the family room. We hope you don't mind having too much space."

Janet took a quick look back to the building. While it wasn't particularly large, with no more than eight or nine room, it didn't look like it was full, and she resisted the urge to ask why she had set up a motel on a route that not many people took, and far away from the rest of the world. She turned back to have the same disconcerting gaze un her, and tried to hide her nervous look. Her mother hadn't noticed, and searched through her purse for some money to pay the woman. A moment later, and they were in their room, a very spacious single room with two beds, a king sized bed, presumably for the parents, and a much smaller bed for a child.  There was a shower in a doorway in a corner, and Grace took the moment to have a shower as Janet brought in their nightwear.

Fifteen minutes later, after Grace had dried off, she came out, a towel wrapped around her, to find her daughter with a slightly worried look on her face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, Janet looking up. She still hadn't gotten over her misgivings about the woman at the reception, and had been feeling slightly strange since they got into their room..

"I'm just wondering if this trip will be worth the drive." She said, deciding not to worry her mother.

"Don't worry, it'll be fun. Besides, it'll be your last vacation before you go to college." Her mother told her, before walking off to put on her night gown. Janet decided to put away her thoughts and take a shower, and try to forget about that woman. Another fifteen minutes and she was out of the shower, walking out with a slightly petulant look on her face. Her mother put away the magazine that she had been reading and gave a slight sigh, deciding to go confront her teenage daughter before she started yelling at her later.

"So what's wrong now?" She asked, as Janet turned to face her with an indignant look on her face.

"This whole vacation is stupid. I'm tired of having to wait for hours in that car!" She said to her mother, who gave another sigh. Even since her daughter had entered her early teens, she had become a bit of a brat, and she pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face, now devoid of lines, with her pure brown hair hanging loosely over her shoulders.

"You'll be fine once you get there. Now go to bed." She went back to read her magazine, before moving onto a book. An hour later she decided to finish up for the night, and went to make sure that her ten year old daughter was asleep. After confirming that fact, she got into her own bed, quickly falling asleep. A few hours later, she was pulled back awake by her daughter tugging on her arm.

"What is it dear?" The young mother said to Janet, who looked scared as she spoke to her mother.

"Mommy, I had a nightmare, can I sleep in your bed tonight?" She asked, which Grace of course couldn't refuse. Ever since she had turned four, she had been having problems with nightmares, and this was a common situation for Grace, who pulled her daughter up the side and tucked her in, feeling Janet curl up next to her, before going back to sleep.


The next morning, Grace walked up to the woman at the reception, who said good morning to her before she spoke.


"Sorry, I know I said I'd be leaving early, but ever since I got the baby, I've been sleeping a lot more. " She gestured towards her plainly obvious belly, eight months in and covered by a plain white t-shirt, held by a pair of wide maternity jeans. The woman gave her a much warmer smile than before, and assured her that it wasn't a problem. Grace walked out with her ponytail swinging slightly to her car, now lighter by one suitcase, and adjusted her chair back to fit her belly, not wondering why it wasn't already put back, before driving off, the woman at the reception watching her go with a look of satisfaction.