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Kendall rattled out the name of a motel and the room where she was.
“Okay, got it,” Chess said as she mentally took notes. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”
Chess waited for Kendall to say something but when all she got was silence.
“Kendall?” Chess took her phone off her ear to check the screen only to find that her friend had already ended the call.
Worry gnawing at her, Chess called for a cab while she was in the elevator. She only had to wait outside the building for about five minutes before a cab pulled up. She gave the directions to the motel. While in the cab, she tried to call Kendall again just to make sure she was fine. But she got sent straight to voicemail, which sent her anxiety up by several notches. By the time the cab stopped in front of the motel, her stomach was in knots.
The motel was nothing to write home about. It was an old, two-story building that had seemingly been painted white when it was first built. That white had now turned into a dreary beige that was only broken by the dirty red doors and curtained window. No one would ever describe this place as high end.
What in the world was Kendall doing here? This place was far from her house and not even in the direction of the hospital.
Chess tried to call Kendall again as she got out of the cab, but again, there was no answer.
Just as she was about to put away her phone, it rang. It was Tazeem.
“Hello?” She picked up while walking into the building.
“Hi.” His deep voice echoed over the line. “Did you guys get to the hospital okay?”
“Actually, we’re not at the hospital.” Chess revealed, “Kendall told me to pick her up from a motel.”
“Motel?” Tazeem sounded just as confused as Chess was. “What’s she doing at a motel?”
“Dunno.” While walking to the reception, Chess went on to describe the phone call Kendall had made and why it had alarmed her. “I’m at the motel right now, looking for her room. This place is sketchy to the max. Give me a sec.”
She put Tazeem on hold while she approached the male receptionist.
“Hi, my friend is in room two-o-three.” Chess asked, “What direction should I go?”
“Upstairs,” the receptionist said. “Four doors to the right.”
“Thank you.” Chess followed his directions even while coming back to her conversation with Tazeem. “Everything inside me says something is wrong. I don’t know why she would come to a place like this. She’s even turned off her phone.”
“She might have gotten sicker.” Tazeem sounded just as worried as Chess. “Keep me on the phone with you so I can rush there with the car if I need to.”
“Okay.” Chess made her way up the stairs then down the hallway. When she got to the door of Room 203, she said to Tazeem, “I’m here.”
Then she knocked.
It took some time for Kendall to get to the door, but when she did, she didn’t even open the door completely. She kept the chain lock on and peeked through the little space. “Are- are you alone?”
“Yeah.” Chess still had the phone to her ear and Tazeem on the line as she asked Kendall, “Are you okay?”
Before Kendall could answer, a voice from inside the room whispered, “Tell her to come in.”
Instantly, Chess’s alarms started to blare and she took an involuntary step back. “Who’s in there with you?”
“Someone is with her?” Tazeem asked over the phone.
“Yeah,” Chess answered while still keeping her eyes on Kendall. “Kenny, are you with someone?”
“Umm... n… no.” Obvious fear in her eyes, Kendall glanced backward, presumably at whoever was inside the room with her.
“Tell her to come in.” The voice was louder this time and familiar.
Chess frowned. “Evie?”
