RANSOM I woke with a start. For a second I didn’t know where I was. The glowing red numbers of the digital clock on the bedside said it was 2:00 a.m. Then it all came back to me, the accident, the hotel room and Lexie. Lexie. I couldn’t see her in the dark, but felt the steady stream of warm air from her lungs as she slept. I disengaged my body from hers, needing to piss so bad that I was sure my back teeth were floating. I stumbled to the bathroom, feeling like I had been through hell and back. A dull ache worked at the back of my brain as if I still had a hangover. I was starving, and couldn’t recall the last time I had eaten. My stomach growled loudly as if in response to my thoughts. When I flicked on the light in the bathroom I noticed that I looked as bad as I felt. There was a few days growth of dark stubble on my chin and my hair, that was due for a cut, looked as if someone had gelled half of it like a punk rocker then had run out of goop part way through. My eyes were bloodshot, as if I hadn’t slept in days.
