It took her a minute before she remembered where they were, why they were there. Mark was yelling at her, but she didn’t know why. He’d forced her into a seated position on the bed. He’d manipulated her legs so that her feet were touching the floor.
“Where’s Gerome?” she said. Her mouth was sour. Her lower back was sore.
“That’s what I’m telling you,” he said. “He’s been hit. Get up. Get out of bed.”
Mark was handing her things, pieces of clothing. He was trying to force a damp shirt over her head. She pushed him away.
“What are you doing?” she said. “Get off. What are you doing?”
“Get out of bed,” he said. “Get up. Come outside.”
“Why is Gerome outside?” she asked. She pulled on her T-shirt and stood. Her knees cracked.
Before she could look for them, Mark had placed her shorts in her hands. They too were damp, and she pulled them on slowly. Her legs were wobbly, as though maybe they were still asleep. “You left him outside alone?” she said. It didn’t make sense. “Is he in the car? Did you leave the a/c running?”
“Please,” said Mark. He was pulling her. He had taken her by the wrist, and now he was pulling her.
“My shoes,” she said. “Do you have my shoes?” Her shorts weren’t yet buttoned. She couldn’t see where she was going. She took a step forward and ran into something hard with her toe. “Fuck,” she said.
“I have your shoes,” he said. “But please, Maggie. I need you to wake up. I need you to concentrate.”
She was trying to take her shoes from his hands. He seemed unwilling to give them to her. Her toe was in exquisite agony. She sat back down on the bed.
“Maggie,” he said.
She closed her eyes. It felt so good to close her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so soundly, so peacefully.
Mark slapped her.
She yelped.
Her eyes were open again.
“I’m sorry,” Mark said. He was kneeling down in front of her now. “Are you listening?” He was rubbing both her knees with his hands. “Can you hear me?”
Her cheek was on fire.
“Maggie?”
She stood, slipped on her shoes, and pushed past Mark.
All at once she understood. All at once the last two minutes came into focus. It was as if she’d lived there her whole life, the way she pivoted the turns in the dark, the way she maneuvered the corners so effortlessly.
She was out of the room, out of the hallway, out of the hotel in an instant.