Page 145 of The Originals


Font Size:  

“What’s he doing?” Sean asks.

“Waiting for the other elevator,” Bet reports. “You’re a genius, Sean.”

“I have my moments.”

When Jarrod’s safely inside the working elevator, the four of us tumble out of the stairwell, fly across the lobby, and rush into the blustery Colorado day. In minutes I’m leaving Bramsford University with Ella and Betsey next to me, and for the first time in twenty-four hours, I feel whole again.

twenty-eight

“Tell me what happened,” I say the moment we’re off campus. Betsey opens her mouth to respond, but then Sean turns in the opposite direction from the highway. “Where are you going?” I ask him.

“I’m going to try to rent a hotel room,” he says. “I’m exhausted, and we need to figure out where we’re going next. It seems like the smart thing to do.”

“You can’t rent a hotel room; you’re not eighteen,” Ella says.

“I’ve done it before on trips with my friends,” Sean replies. “The eighteen thing isn’t the law; it’s policy. Sometimes they’ll rent to you just as long as you have a credit card.”

“And you do?” Ella asks.

“Yup.”

We hold our conversation until we get to the hotel. Thankfully, Sean was right: He scores the room. We park near the back entrance, and the second I see the two double beds, I’m exhausted, too. But there’s no way I can sleep.

“I think I’m going to take a shower,” Sean says, pointing toward the bathroom. “That okay?” I’m sure he’s curious about what’s going on, but I love that he’s respecting our need to talk about our family business in private. Not that I won’t update him on everything later anyway.

“Fine with me,” I say. Ella shrugs and Betsey smiles weakly. Sean takes his bag and closes the door; soon we hear the water running. I’ve loved having Sean with me on this trip, but when I find myself alone with Ella and Betsey, I’m relieved. Maybe it’s because I don’t have to put on a brave face anymore.

I sigh heavily as I plunk down onto the bed by the window. Ella sits on the same bed with her back against the headboard and her legs extended; Betsey joins us, folding her legs into a pretzel. I hug my knees and look from Betsey to Ella, then back again.

“So?” I ask when we’re settled. “What the hell is going on?”

Ella’s the one to talk; the usually boisterous Betsey is sedate.

“A while after you left, there was a knock at the front door,” Ella begins. “I opened it, and it was this woman.” She pauses, looking guilty. “I’d seen her before—I’d talked to her before… once at the bookstore. So when she asked to come in for a moment, I let her in. She said she had something important to tell me.” Ella shakes her head at herself. “Who does that—who just lets a stranger in their house?”

“It’s okay,” Betsey says quietly. “You were caught off guard.”

“How did she get to the front porch?” I ask, trying to sort out the logistics. “Through the gate?”

Ella shrugs. “Maybe she scaled it.”

“My guess is that she walked through after you left,” Betsey says, frowning. “We certainly didn’t buzz her in.”

“Anyway,” Ella says, “she asked if anyone else was home, and that’s when Betsey happened to come downstairs. Instead of acting surprised to see two of us, she said, ‘Oh, good: the more the merrier.’ ”

“Who was she?” I ask, gripping my legs.

“Maggie Kendall,” Ella says.

“Who’s Maggie Kendall?” I ask.

“I’m getting to that,” Ella says, crossing her legs and sitting up straighter, making herself a mirror of Bet’s position. “There we were, standing in the entryway. She obviously wanted to come in, but I didn’t invite her, so she just started talking. She didn’t ask if Mom was home: I think she probably waited until she was gone to make her move.

“Maggie told us that she knew Mom in her old life—as a scientist. She said that she does the same type of genetic research that Mom used to do, and that she needed Mom’s help.”

“Why didn’t she just ask Mom for Mom’s help?” I say sarcastically.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like