It's A Hoot (mxm)

Chapter 2

Toren purchased his jerky and water, deciding to add some gas to his vehicle. After filling up the tank, he mapped the nearest hotel. Turns out the small town only had an inn and a bed and breakfast.
He decided on the bed and breakfast, setting his course and navigating through the maze of streets.
He took a little extra time to eye his options for later that afternoon while eating his jerky. Plotting where he'd check out job opportunities and searching for "now hiring" signs. He saw a few, much to his surprise, noting where they were in accordance to the bed and breakfast.

He pulled up to the building and found it quaint, like most of the town. It seemed homely and welcoming. Though at that point it could've been run down and he wouldn't have minded. He was exhausted from driving all night.

He yawned and locked his car, heading inside. He shouldered his backpack that had all the essentials he'd need, everything else could stay in the car.

Blinking slowly, he took in the entry. It was a little room that served more as a lobby, with a seating area in the corner around a big fireplace.

An older woman turned from where she stood near the staircase. She looked like she was about to head up. She smiled when her eyes landed on him. The way her face lit up and crinkled reminded him of his mother. He felt warm, but then cold as he was reminded that she was gone.

"Hi, I'm Betty Myriat, welcome to The Myriat's Bed and Breakfast, how can I help you?"

Toren ran his fingers through his hair and tilted his head towards her. "Do you have any rooms available?"

She hummed and nodded, turning towards him. "Two, how long you staying, hun?" She made a light gesture to follow her towards the counter where she began to turn on her computer.

"Three days."

"We can fit you in, can I get your name and home address?"

"Toren Grettly, no address," he responded curtly.

She glanced up at him for a moment before finishing typing out the data. "You know we get a lot of people just passing through here, a few vacationers, but not usually this time of year. Miller Town isn't exactly the prettiest place during winter."

Toren blinked slow, much slower than usual. He hummed in response and fished his card from his pocket. He tapped it on the counter, catching her attention.
She took it, telling him how much it was going to cost, but Toren was beginning to grow drowsy and only nodded numbly.

"Alright," she passed him back his card once she was done with it and snagged a key from under the counter. "Follow me, I'll show you your room."

She led him up the stairs. "We do breakfast and dinner, you're welcome to join if you'd like. Dinner is at six and breakfast is at eight." She gestured down towards the end of the hall where there was an open door. "That's the bathroom. There's two that guests share. The other is the first door on the right, here." She continued down the hall and stopped at the middle, opening one of eight doors. "This will be your room, if there's anything you need just come and find me. I'm usually around somewhere." She smiled and held out his key, which he accepted.

He entered the room and closed the door behind him, immediately dropping his bag by the bed and flopping over onto it.
It was a nice change from the car and it didn't take him long to doze off. He didn't bother changing, he was too tired to muster up the energy.

He only planned on sleeping a few hours, but a whole seven of them passed before he stirred awake.
His eyes fluttered open and he groaned searching for his phone to check the time. It was two in the afternoon. He still had time to check things out.