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Because the others and I want to try a crazy plan to stay
together? He’s jealous over Victor because I smiled at him more? True reasons, but for Kota, I wasn’t sure how to respond. “I just get that feeling. I don’t know if it’s true or not. I could be wrong. He could just be tired because we got woken up so many times. Now he’s still on the run with McCoy. I might be reading into things.” That was true. I hadn’t even thought of how Gabriel being tired might make him more upset about the ordeal. Looking for something to say to Kota made me rethink of reasons why Gabriel would be unhappy.
“He does get moody when he hasn’t slept,” Kota said. “He’s usually fine, though. You just have to let him have a day off once in a while.”
“It’s just last time I actually talked to him, he seemed upset. I wanted to talk to him about it.” I held up Gabriel’s cell phone. “Now he’s really short with me. It’s hard to tell if he’s mad, or if he’s just busy running around and sleepy.”
“Sometimes you have to wait until you’re face to face with him,” Kota said. He turned the car into the parking lot of a small motel not far from the highway. “We’ll talk inside. Just hang on a minute.”
I sighed, holding Gabriel’s cell phone to my chest. Kota didn’t seem to take it as seriously as I did. He didn’t fully understand the situation, either, so I didn’t blame him. I could possibly be overreacting.
Luke was concerned though. Luke was closer to Gabriel than anyone. If he was worried, I should be.
Kota left me in the car while he went inside to rent a room. He kept an eye on me through the window while he waited at the front desk. I blushed at the thought of him renting a room for us. I knew the others would be here soon, but I’d be alone with Kota for a short while. It’d been the same when North had rented a room. It was almost exciting, but also awkward, since we were only a couple of miles from home.
I still hadn’t been able to talk to Lily. I didn’t have her number on me, but I didn’t want her to feel like I was blowing her off.
I checked the number Gabriel had gotten. I wondered if I could get a message through to Lily through whoever this was. They were Academy. They’d probably understand if we swapped phones. Lily could verify with Gabriel.
I needed to figure out what I could do for Gabriel, if anything. They said he was cranky from lack of sleep. They hadn’t heard him last night. And his eyes today...I couldn’t put my finger on it. Plus, the way he was responding made me unsure. Luke knew something was off.
I needed to know he was okay. I needed to figure out how to connect with him.
Lily might help. But I couldn’t risk a phone call and hanging up on her when Kota got back. He’d want to know who I was talking to.
I couldn’t stand waiting idly by either. I needed to do something.
Sang: Hi. I’m not sure who this is. I borrowed Gabriel’s phone. This is Sang. I wanted to ask Lily some things. I can’t call right now, though.
Sang: I know she said call, but I needed some help. Gabriel might be upset with me.
Sang: I think it might be learning about the group staying together.
Sang: I’m worried about pushing him too hard to find out if he’s mad or just busy, but I don’t want him so angry he’ll never get over it.
Again, I told myself I’d have to delete the messages later before Gabriel got his phone back. I sent all of that, and was ready to send another text to try to explain things further and to ask politely for Lily’s number so I could text her.
Unknown: Hang on, Sang. I’ll find out what’s going on.
I gritted my teeth. I had no idea who this was. Did he mean he’d talk to Gabriel? I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. I didn’t mean to go around his back. I meant to only get advice on what to say or how to approach him. How do I get Gabriel back to being himself?
I leaned my head on the headrest. I was trying not to overreact. Kota and North said he needed sleep. He couldn’t right now because of McCoy. Would they let him rest if they knew how upset he really was?
Luke and Victor might understand. Victor was there last night and Luke knew Gabriel wasn’t himself right now.
I gritted my teeth. Did I want Victor to talk to him? Did I really need another person bothering Gabriel when this all could be my imagination? Maybe Victor was the last one to talk to him about this, since Victor seemed to spur Gabriel’s jealousy.
I knocked my knees together, fidgeting. I held onto the phone, staring at the doors, willing whoever was checking in with Gabriel to be quick in responding. Waiting was difficult.
I jumped at the sound of the driver’s door opening. Kota’s green eyes widened behind the glasses. He smirked. “Did I scare you?”
Yes. “Was just thinking,” I said. “Wasn’t paying attention.”
“You look tired,” he said. He handed over two card keys and hopped in, starting the car again. “Room 234.”
I forced a smile. Maybe he was right. I needed sleep. Maybe it wasn’t Gabriel. Maybe it was me.
The hotel had rooms facing outside like small apartments. There weren’t many cars in the lot. Kota parked and lead the way up the stairs to the second floor and our room for the night. I shivered, feeling eyes watching us, but suspected it was unlikely. Most of the people staying here were probably in their rooms resting and didn’t care about us.
Normal people weren’t worried about people chasing them.
Kota opened the door with a card key. The inside was dark, the shade drawn. He flipped the light switch. Two large beds, a couple of small chairs and table, and a dresser with a TV. I’d seen similar rooms on television. Crowded. The smell of bleach was heavy, along with that of dampness. I wrinkled my nose, trying to get used to the scents. The bleach was making my eyes water.
“I was going to get a nicer room,” he said. “But the suites only have one big bed, and I think North and a few others are staying tonight. So we needed at least two beds.”
My insides squirmed at the thought of at least a few of us spending the night here. This felt more adventurous, more like one of their sleepovers, only more exciting because we were somewhere new.
Without much else to do, I stepped over to one of the beds. I sat down, ready to plop over.
“Hang on,” Kota said. He draped his book bag on the back of the chair, and put his keys, wallet and the key cards on the table. He approached the bed, encouraging me to get up with a wave of his hand.
I stood back. Kota gripped the cover on the bed and pulled it off. He flattened it at the foot of the bed, tucking it under a little to give room to walk around.
“You moved the blanket?” I asked.
“It’s not a blanket,” he said. He pointed to the thinner blanket still on the bed. “It’s a bed cover. Keeps the linen fresh when the bed isn’t being used. The cover is probably dirty. They don’t usually wash them every single time after other people have been here.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling weird. I tried to remember the hotel I’d been in before. I didn’t recall it having a bed...cover. If that hotel didn’t use them, why did this one? Or maybe it did and I couldn’t remember. It was embarrassing to show how much I didn’t know about what seemed a common thing.
Kota didn’t say anything about it. He pulled back the actual blanket and sheet. He patted the pillow. “Want to lay down for a while? The others may not be here for a few hours still.”
I let out a breath, nodding. I was tired. Maybe after a nap, I’d be less reactive, and could think more clearly about Gabriel.
I kicked off my shoes, and climbed into the bed. The smell of the bleach was stronger now. I held my nose, trying not to sneeze. I knelt on the bed, in my jeans, and considered. “North has my bag, but I don’t have any other clothes with me for tomorrow.”
Kota fished his phone out of his pocket, and tapped at it. “I’ll have Nathan bring you some. He’ll probably want to come by. He’ll be alone on the street tonight, so he’s going to want to come here.”
I smiled at the thought of Nathan tagging along. “Won’t they notice if everyone’s here? If th
ey’re watching?”
“I hope so,” Kota said. “I’m hoping if we shake them all, except for Gabriel and Luke running around, they’ll get together and talk, or call Mr. Hendricks. If the manage to find us after this, then we know something’s off and that they are tracking us with something more sophisticated. I’m personally hoping they’ll go talk to Hendricks.”
“Is that good?” I asked, drifting down toward the pillow. I pressed my cheek to it, sniffling a bit at the strong smells. I covered my nose with my hand covered in the sleeve of the hoodie to block it.
“Any time they talk, it’s good. It’s one more chance to listen in and see what’s going on. It’s especially useful when they’re rattled.” Kota put his phone down and then looked at me. “Are you comfortable wearing that?” he asked.
“The hoodie?” I asked.
“The jeans,” he said. “If you’re going to nap...” He smiled weakly and his cheeks tinted again. “Sorry, I was just thinking, maybe you’d want to take them off, but...”
I secretly giggled at Kota, not thinking, asking if I’d like to take my clothes off. “I don’t have anything else, but I guess this hoodie covers up enough.” The hoodie reached below my butt, so it’d be like wearing a big shirt.
Kota moved to the door, grabbing his keys off the table. “Hang on,” he said. “I have some spare clothes in the car. Let me see what I’ve got.”
Gabriel was right; I needed an overnight bag.
Kota was being extremely cute. He jumped to help or do things for me. I didn’t realize it until he was willing to go down to his car for something when I’d already said I was okay with using the hoodie to cover myself.
Kota returned with a small green duffle bag. He placed it on the table and started pulling out clothing items that had been rolled up inside. “Boxers or pajama pants?” he asked.
