The Ray of Hope

Sarah yawned and rolled her shoulders as she finished cleaning the last room for the night. The Lengram Motel had two main buildings with a parking lot in between them. Each building had about thirty rooms and only one person to clean them all.

With a heavy sigh, she put the garbage bags on her cart, did a final check and locked the door. As she turned around, she bumped into someone.

He wrapped his arms around her and caught her before she fell over.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she spluttered.

He released her and stepped back. "No, it's okay."

She looked up at the man and her lips parted. She hoped she didn't look as stunned as she felt. He was probably about 6'4 and had the build of a professional football player. He had perfect black skin that looked porcelain smooth. His hair was short and curly and he had an exquisite jawline. The black vest he wore barely contained his incredible muscles. It was a very tight fit and she could see a perfect outline of his six pack and his big pectorals. His arms and shoulders were enormous and a few thick veins ran down his biceps.

She noticed he had a black eye and several cuts around his jaw and cheeks. Sarah was about to ask him what happened, but decided not to.

"Um, well, have a good night," he said, giving her a polite smile. His voice was deep, but he sounded a little nervous and although he smiled, there was no happiness in his eyes.

"Uh, y-yes. Also. You. You, too. I mean, uh, have a good night, too."

She mentally kicked herself for sounding like an idiot.

His smile widened a bit and he gave her a nod.

She watched him enter his room, which was beside the one she just finished cleaning. He had a beautiful back and the way his ass flexed as he walked made her breathe in suddenly. It looked like he wasn't wearing underwear. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

She pushed her cart along and couldn't help glancing into his room when she sensed a sudden movement. The curtains weren't fully drawn and through the sliver, she saw him slip his vest off and use it to wipe his face and chest. She gasped at his broad, sculpted back. The summer heat made him glisten with sweat and she couldn't help but stare at a few drops run down that rock hard body.

When he dropped his vest onto the floor and climbed onto the bed, she quickly moved on before he noticed her peeking.

It had been so long since she had been with a man and even longer since she felt any sort of connection with anyone and someone as stunning as him appears out of nowhere just to tease her. She tried not to think about him and focused on her work.

She threw the garbage bags into the dumpster, put away her cleaning supplies and walked to the motel's front desk.

"Hi, Cheryl. I'm all done for today."

Cheryl looked up from her phone and those green eyes watched her from behind thick glasses. "Alright, then. Head off to bed."

"Okay. Good night."

"Hmph."

Cheryl was an elderly woman who was almost fifty. Her greying black hair was always cut short. After her husband died, she took over managing the motel. She was the reason this place didn't go out of business.

Sarah headed to her own room and locked the door behind her. She had left her radio on and heard the announcer talking about the police looking for someone.

"Anthony Anderson, wanted for assault and theft, is still missing. If anyone has any information, please call the authorities."

She maneuvered around the piles of books scattered around and written notes all over the floor and switched the radio off. She cleaned to earn money, but never cared to straighten up her own room. Cheryl always gave her a hard time about it. She pushed the thought away and went to take a quick shower. She dried herself off and slipped on an old t-shirt and shorts.

Her textbooks were waiting for her at her desk and she wasted no time getting to work. She opened her laptop and turned it on. Sarah switched on her lamp while it booted up. It was incredibly old and slow, but it worked. She bought it for fifty dollars off eBay, so she supposed she was getting her money's worth. It normally took the computer several minutes to load one webpage, but she told herself it was better than nothing. She loaded up the website for her bank account and checked her balance. She was edging closer to her goal and she felt her lips curl into a small smile.

Next, she went to the admissions page for her dream college and stared at the photo of a group of students. A memory she did her best to keep buried suddenly resurfaced.

She felt her eyes sting. "I'm not stupid," she told herself. "I'm not stupid."

She held back her tears, put on her glasses and started studying.

***

Anthony hugged his pillow as he laid down on his bed. The argument he had with his stepfather, Michael, still rung in his ears. When things got out of hand, he left as soon as he could with nothing except the clothes on his back.

He needed to figure something out very soon before he became homeless. He thought about the girl he bumped into just outside his room and felt his heart jump. Her name tag said "Sarah." Anthony thought it suited her. It was a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.

She effortlessly took his breath away. She was curvy and voluptuous with an incredible hourglass figure, a tiny waist, bright blue eyes and her golden blonde hair was tied up to reveal her pretty neck. When he caught her, he felt her breasts push against him. They felt big and soft and although he wanted to hold her for a bit longer, he had to let her go so she wouldn't feel his growing erection. When she stepped back he noticed them jiggle a little bit and he felt his heart stutter.

What he liked about her the most was her wonderful Southern accent. He wanted an excuse to speak to her again so he could listen to her talk.

He shook his head and tried to forget about her. He had more important things to worry about. The bruises from the previous fight he had with Michael and the bruises from the fight before that still ached when he breathed. When he ran out of the mansion, he left behind the picture of his mother. Stupid, stupid thing to do.

"And don't you ever come back!" he could still hear his stepfather shouting. "You were never my son!"

He tried to get some sleep, but was too afraid and paranoid to relax. He wished his mother was still here. She would know what to do.

There was a knock on the door and Anthony nearly jumped out of his skin. He jumped out of bed and put his best on. Maybe he should jump out the window and run away. No, if it was the police, then they would have to announce themselves, right? Did someone notice him?

They knocked again. "Anthony, it's me. Open up."

A huge feeling of relief washed over him when he recognized the voice.

He opened the door. "Kyle. You made it.""

"Yeah, I made it."

He stepped past him and entered the room. Kyle was an old detective with white hair and a bushy mustache. It didn't matter what mood he was in, he always looked worried.

"Is there any news?" Anthony asked, shutting the door.

"Yeah, but you're not gonna like it."

Anthony sat in the armchair. "I know, but tell me anyway."

"Well, Michael has a bunch of cops looking for you and before you ask, no. I wasn't followed."

"Okay."

"Michael's also contesting the will."

"What?!"

"He's saying that you were never Martha's son and he claims he has the documents to prove it, so the next beneficiary would be him."

"That's impossible!"

"I know. He must be forging the documents, but right now, we have no proof."

"That's...How could he do this?"

Kyle shrugged. "Because he's a snake, Anthony. He's after your mother's money."

"I never did anything wrong."

Kyle sat on the bed. "Of course, I know that you never did what Michael is accusing you of, but he's telling the public that you're a criminal who took advantage of his kindness and assaulted him. People believe him because on the surface, Michael is a model citizen. He donates to charities, hospitals, organizes fundraisers and everyone sees him as a man who just lost his wife."

"So...so, what do I do? You know I don't have a lot of time left, Kyle."

"I know, Ant. I know. We're working on it. Do you trust me?"

Anthony nodded. "Yes. I trust you, it's just...doesn't running make me look guilty?"

"Yes," he replied honestly. "But if they take you in, Michael will stop at nothing to send you to jail. He's a powerful man with a lot of influence and like I said, the public loves him. Just try to keep a low profile."

Anthony didn't know what to say or what to think. Kyle stayed and assured him for a few more minutes. Anthony told himself that panicking wouldn't help him, so the best thing he could do was to pull himself together.

Kyle stood up to leave and he opened the door for him.

"I'll come through for you, Ant."

He nodded. "I know you will. Thank you."

"Um..." The detective hesitated. "I just want to say that I'm sorry about Martha. She was a good woman."

He didn't know what to say, so he just nodded. With that, Kyle left and Anthony closed the door. He sat down again and put his head in his hands, doing his best to keep the tears at bay. How could everything go so wrong so quickly?

***

Sarah woke up and noticed she fell asleep at her desk again. She checked the time on her radio and saw it was a bit after six in the morning. When she sat up, a page was stuck to her cheek and her glasses were crooked. She pulled them both off and got dressed for work. She rummaged through her things until she found a protein bar and a juice box.

After wolfing them down, she brushed her teeth and went to the front desk.

"Oh, hi, Adam."

Adam always wore his hat backward and always smelled like marijuana. His acne flared up and he could never look Sarah in the eyes. Adam showed her the ropes when she first started working here and had asked her out a few weeks later, but when she said she had to focus on school, he became cold toward her. Whenever she came to him with questions, he would tell her to figure it out herself or just give her a shrug. She tried to explain that it wasn't anything personal, but he didn't seem to believe her.

She tried to rekindle their friendship a few times, but when Cheryl suspected that someone was stealing money, Adam told her that it was Sarah. Cheryl threatened to toss her out onto the street and the more Sarah denied doing it, the angrier she became. When Sarah suggested she check the security cameras, Cheryl asked if she was implying Adam stole the money.

"Are you telling me that my own son is stealing from me, you little inbred bitch?" she screamed.

It was nearly impossible for Sarah to hold her tears back. "No, I'm saying that we don't know who did it, so it's not fair to blame me. I don't even have the key!"

"You came crawling to me after your whore of a mother threw you out of her fucking trailer! This is how you repay me?"

Sarah stayed silent as Cheryl kept shouting at her while Adam tried to contain his laughter. It was $1500 that went missing, so Cheryl said she would take it out of Sarah's pay. For weeks, she had to dig through garbage cans for food and wear the same clothes because she couldn't afford to do her laundry. Ever since then, she did her best to stay away from Adam.

"Mom wants you to clean all the empty rooms, get the payment from the guy in room 202, uh...you know what? Here. Just take the list."

He threw a piece of paper on the desk and pretended like she wasn't there.

Sarah felt her blood turn cold. "Wait. Room 202? You mean Mr. Morgisen?"

"Yeah, him."

"U-um, but..."

"Don't tell me you can't knock on the guy's door and ask him to pay what he owes?"

"No, it's just...Cheryl is normally the one who --"

"Yeah, well, Mom isn't here."

"Adam? Adam, please don't make me go to his room. Not after what happened."

"Grow up and just do your fucking job. Now, get out of my face already."

She left the front desk and looked over the to-do list. Her hands were trembling as she tried to compose herself. There was a great number of things she needed to get done before the day was out. Most of the things Cheryl wanted her to do was for the manager, not the cleaning staff, but complaining about it wouldn't make it better.

Whenever she thought of Mr. Morgisen's face, a wave of fear shook her body.

She leaned against the wall and tried to pull herself together.

"It'll be okay," she whispered to herself. "It'll be okay. Just ask him for the money."

First, she decided to get to work cleaning and grabbed the cart from the janitor's closet. When she walked by the room her mystery man was staying in, she noticed the curtains were open. When she gazed in, the bed was made and everything was in its proper place. She supposed he checked out.

She tried not to feel too saddened about it. Guests didn't tend to stay here for very long anyway. She moved on and started cleaning, which took up most of her day. She had to deal with the usual forgotten socks, food waste and condom wrappers.

Every day, she told herself that she wouldn't be here forever, that this was just temporary, but she had been telling herself the same thing for five years now. What if she would spend the rest of her life cleaning and living in a motel?

She was twenty-four and completely alone in the world.

She stood in the room and rubbed her eyes, forcing herself not to cry. If she kept thinking like this, then she definitely wouldn't get out of here. She almost had enough money and then she could move on.

"Hey, Sarah? Are you okay?"

She turned around when she heard the voice. A man in a flannel shirt and jeans stood in the open doorway. He had a thick beard and smelled like cigarettes.

"Oh, um, Mr. Morgisen." She sniffed loudly. Her heart was hammering in her chest. "I'm fine. I was just leaving."

He took a step forward and she backed away until her back touched the wall.

He raised his hands. "It's okay! I'm not going to do anything. I just wanted to give you this." He took a wad of cash out from his pants pocket and put it on the table. "It's the money I owe Cheryl."

Sarah glanced between him and the cash.

"I just wanted to say that...I'm sorry about what I did to you. I'm so sorry."

"You're...you're sorry?"

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but you should know that...I'll spend the rest of my life regretting what I did. You'll never see me at this motel again."

Sarah didn't know how to respond. She stared at Mr. Morgisen with her mouth hanging open, not believing what she was hearing.

"I wish you luck with everything," he concluded before he turned around and left.

His words echoed in her head over and over, thinking this whole thing must be a dream or some sort of prank. After everything he did, he would just apologize and leave and that was it?

She ran out of the room to see him walking away. A taxi was waiting for him and the driver was putting a suitcase into the trunk. The two men exchanged a few words before they both entered the vehicle and drove off.

Sarah stood there in disbelief for a few seconds. That didn't really just happen, did it? She took Mr. Morgisen's money, shoved it into her pocket and hurried to his room. She unlocked the door and noticed that all of his personal items weren't there anymore. Not only were all of his clothes and junk gone, but the room was clean.

No, it was more than clean. It was perfect. The carpets were vacuumed, the bedsheets were washed, all of the surfaces were wiped, the stains on the walls were gone, the garbage had been taken out, even the bathroom had been scrubbed until everything shone. Even the smell of cigarette smoke had somehow disappeared.

Sarah scratched her head as she thought what made him change so suddenly. Was it Adam? Cheryl? Did they say something to him?

When she moved to the next room, she found it was just as clean, so was the next one and the next one. Did Mr. Morgisen clean all the rooms by himself? No, that was silly.

If it wasn't him, then who? She didn't know who could have cleaned so many rooms in one night.

When she closed the door and walked outside, she looked across the parking lot to see her mystery man speaking with an older gentleman. They spoke for a few seconds before the older man nodded and walked away.

Her mystery man stood there by himself with his hands in his pockets and a thoughtful expression on his face. He looked just as tall, dark and handsome as he did before, but with the sun shining on him, he almost looked like an angel.

He touched his chin and their eyes met. Sarah felt her heart do a backflip. He gave her a little smile and waved. His beauty hypnotized her and it took a second for her to snap out of it. She smiled and waved back.

He walked back to his room and she couldn't stop staring. An explosion could go off and she wouldn't have noticed. His gorgeous body demanded all of her attention. She opened her mouth to call him, but realized she didn't know his name.

Before she could think of something else to say, he went inside and gently closed the door behind him.

Her heart was still dancing as she rolled the cart back to the janitor's closet and went to the front desk.

"Hey, Adam?"

"What?"

"Did you or Cheryl clean all the empty rooms?"

He looked at her like she said the stupidest thing he had ever heard. "Why would we clean the rooms? That's your job. If you don't like it, then quit."

"O-okay." She put the money on the table. "Here."

He took it without looking at her or saying anything.

She went back to her room and slipped inside. With most of her job already done, she had more time to study. Hopefully, Adam or Cheryl wouldn't check her room to see her in here instead of working, but she decided to take the risk.

She thought about everything that just happened. Mr. Morgisen left, the rooms were spotless and her mystery man was still here.

She peeked out of her window and looked around at the empty parking lot.

Maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought. Maybe she had a guardian angel out there.

***

Anthony could feel Sarah's eyes on him as he left. As soon as he looked at her, he felt himself getting hard and needed to run away so she couldn't see it.

He entered his room and closed the curtains. He wasted no time pulling up his vest and pushing his pants down. His throbbing erection pointed straight up and precum dribbled out of the hole.

He looked down at his chiseled body and how engorged his cock had become in just a few seconds. His large ball sack touched his inner thighs.

When he was nineteen, he measured his cock and found it was eleven and a half inches when he was fully erect and it was his greatest embarrassment. The women he had been with called him a freak of nature and if he ever got an erection in public, he always had to find somewhere to hide.

Sarah made him more excited than any woman he had ever seen, and he was so aroused, he may have been bigger than usual. He spat on his hard cock and stroke himself with both of his hands, feeling the thick veins and his big, shiny head pulsing. Sarah's perfect hourglass figure was so tempting. He wanted to jump on her and take all of her clothes off.

Her breasts looked so soft and warm. He imagined what it would be like to put his face in between them and what her nipples would feel like in his mouth. Her beautiful tits would definitely be a good match for his big dick. He was sure she could wrap them around it with no problem. He wanted to set her down on her back and shove his cock in between her tits while she sucked and bit on his head.

Today, he got a better look at her curves and saw how big her ass was. It was so big, he could see it from the front. He wanted every inch of her gorgeous body. He would get on his knees and worship every part of her and pleasure her with his lips and tongue. He wanted to lick and suck on her pussy and hold her big ass in his strong hands. His knees shook when he thought about her covering his ears with her thighs as he grabbed her ass as hard as he could.