As soon as I turned the wheel to make a right turn into the parking lot of the Desert Motel, there was one more loud bang and the engine died completely.

Fortunately, the motel was dead and there were only two vehicles in the entire parking lot. I was able to maneuver my car into a parking spot, even though it was difficult without the assistance of power steering.

I rested my head on my steering wheel and was tempted to scream at the top of my lungs. The day just kept getting worse and worse and there was no end in sight. I’d planned on sleeping at my sisters house that night, but instead, I was going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

There was no use in dwelling over it because there was nothing I could do to change the situation, at least not right at that moment. The only thing I could do was grab my bag from the bag seat and walked inside.

The Desert Motel and Bar had definitely seen better days. It had a musty smell, was desperately in need of several fresh coats of paint, and just looked run down in general. The carpet was old and matted, looking as though it hadn’t been cleaned since Reagan was in the White House.

Even though it was not the nicest place and definitely not somewhere I would have stayed under normal circumstances, it might as well have been the Hilton on that night because it was literally the only place around.

The reception area consisted of one small counter, which was completely unmanned at the moment, and a door to my left with a hand painted sign that sign ‘Guests Only.’ Judging by my surroundings, I could only assume that this was the type of hotel that would rent cheap rooms by the hour if that’s what you were looking for.

“Hello?” I yelled out, hoping that whoever was manning the front desk would pop up and help me

Another door, which had been badly damaged and never repaired, had the word ‘Restrooms’ painted on it in white. The only door to my right was being held open by an old paint bucket and contained the only signs of life in the building.

There were two men looking up at an older television hanging on the wall while nursing a beer and eating from bowls of peanuts sitting at the bar. The thought of how long they must have sitting out or how many hands had been in those bowls made my stomach turn.

Behind the bar was a girl who would have been surprisingly pretty to be working in a place like that had it not been for the fact that she was wearing too much makeup. I wasn’t small chested by any means, but she had amazing cleavage that left me a bit jealous.

Figuring that nobody was going to come help me any time soon, I went through the doors and walked about halfway to the bar.

“Hello?” I said once again.

All three sets of eyes turned and were trained on me as I made my way up to them.

“How can I help you?” the bartender asked.

“Hi there. My car started acting up on the highway and I managed to make it to your parking lot before it died completely.”

“Oh hell honey, that’s not good at all. I could take a look for ya, but I doubt I’d have whatever you’d need to fix it,” one of the men told me. “This here’s a small town and everything but this motel and car closes at 5:00. Unless you got someone you can call to come pick you up, you’re gonna have to stay here tonight.”

“If you can wait until morning, I can give Ed a call and he can come get you towed to his shop. He’ll have you up and running in no time,” the other man spoke up.

I wasn’t sure who Ed was, but judging from the way the man was speaking, he was the one and only auto mechanic in Prescott.

“Thank you,” I said, not really sure how to respond to them.

I really wished I would have opted in to the breakdown coverage when I took out my insurance policy, but Steve talked me out of it, saying that it would be wasted money because he’d be able to fix my vehicle is something went wrong with it.

One thing I never considered was my car breaking down when I left the cheating bastard. The breakdown coverage would have covered the cost of the tow truck, given me a loaner vehicle, and after I paid my deductible, cover the cost of repairs. How could I have been so stupid?

“Hi, I’m Katie,” the woman behind the bar announced, extending her hand out to me and bringing me back from my thoughts.

“Hi Katie, I’m Sara.”

“Welcome Sara, can I get you anything?”

“Sure, I’ll take a beer. A bottle please.”

“Coming right up, hun.”

I sat down at the barstool, figuring that it had been a long, hot drive so I needed a beer. That was my reasoning, anyway. The reality of the situation was that I probably needed more than just a beer. I could use several straight shots of Jack, but there was no way I was drinking the way I wanted to. Not in the shady motel I found myself at. I watched enough of the ID Channel to know how bad of an idea that was.

Knowing that I was going to have to let my sister know I wasn’t going to be arriving at her house that evening, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to give her a call. The battery was flashing red.

There were 23 missed calls from Steve and who knows how many text messages. I had my phone on vibrate so I wouldn’t have to hear his ringtone, but him calling 23 times had killed my battery.

“What a fucking asshole,” I said out loud, causing one of the men at the bar to give me the side eye.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as a heavyset woman made her way to the check-in counter. I jumped up and ran over, not knowing how long she’d stay there. I’d been at the motel for close to a half-hour already and this was the first time I’d seen her.

“Hi there, I’d like to get a room please,” I said, trying not to sound annoyed that she hadn’t been around to do her job.

“Let me see if we have anything available,” she replied. She had to have been joking but if she was, she had a really good poker face on as she turned and looked at the corkboard that held all the keys, with only one or two missing.

“Good news,” she continued. “Our presidential suite is available. That’ll be $49.”

I pulled out my debit card and tried to handing it to the woman, who shot me a disgusted look as though I’d just groped her grandmother.

“We are a cash only business.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My mistake.”

I pulled the cash out of my purse and handed it to her. She handed me a small card to fill out and then handed me the key.

“Room 4. Right through this door that says guests only. Your room is second on the right.”

“Thank you,” I replied, but she ignored me, once again leaving the front desk and disappearing back to wherever she came from.

I walked back to the bar and asked for another beer. Every now and then, the two men would glance in my direction only to be met with a look that said don’t fuck with me. I seriously wasn’t in the mood.

As I was sitting there nursing my beer, my stomach was beginning to rumble. I’d skipped breakfast that morning and had been too upset to even think about food since then. I knew that if I was going to be drinking, I needed to get something in my stomach.

“Hey Katie, do you guys serve food here by any chance?”

“Well, our head chef Jim only comes in on the weekends,” she laughed, the two idiots at the bar laughing right along with her. “There’s a few restaurants about 15 miles up the highway, but since your car isn’t working, you’re going to be stuck with whatever you can find in the vending machines.”

“Ugh, that doesn’t sound so good. Better than nothing, I suppose. Where are the vending machines?”

“Right through the door you take to get to the rooms. They’re right on the other side.”

“All right, I’ll be back in a bit.”

I grabbed my bag, figuring I’d take it to the room while I was already down there.

Since I was starving, everything in the machine looked like fine cuisine. I grabbed a bag of chips, candy bar, and an iced honey bun, throwing them on top of my bag and going to my room.

The accommodations were about what you’d expect for the type of place I was in. Much to my excitement, the room was exceptionally clean. It still had a slight musty smell, but it didn’t differ much from rooms with a much higher price point.

Of course, there were no frills at all. There was a single bed, one dresser with a television on top, and a sitting chair. There was no microwave, mini-fridge, or coffee maker. Still, it was just what I needed for the night.

I hurried up and ate my snack and used the restroom. As I was watching my hands, I heard a faint noise that got louder and louder by the second. The barely audible sound grew until it became a loud roar, and it sounded like it was coming from right outside of my window.

After quickly drying my hands, I rushed to my window to try to get a look at where the sound was coming from. Unfortunately, it was too dark and being close to the window, I could now tell the noise was coming from the front of the building.

Grabbing my keys, I left the room and made my way to the lobby to see what was going on. I didn’t know what it was, but I had a feeling that things were about to get interesting.