Page 60 of The Monster of Hotel No. 7
Dad? Mom?If it’s them, could I talk either one into keeping Sullen safe?
But I think of the formal dinner on Halloween we had to attend at the hotel, years ago. I remember Sullen in his uniform of a hoodie and black jeans. I remember wanting to disappear with him. And I remember the way my father ensured I didn’t have the chance.
They will always choose Writhe. They wouldn’t even pickmeabove it, let alone Sullen.
And if it’s Von, or Isa… they are the same. Maybe more reasonable, more open minded, but they would turn him in, too.
And if it’s Mads or… Stein… I…
Another car door opens, breaking apart my thoughts. Then a voice says, “They were spotted near Alexandria U. Get in.”
The door shuts. The steps hurriedly retreat, the person gets in the car, then it peels off loudly, engine squealing.
Relief makes me feel off balance, slightly giddy, but I don’t move.
Only when the car is down the ramp and out of hearing range do I lift my head and find Sullen’s eyes are closed tight, too.
He doesn’t open them, his long lashes draped over his cheekbones, skin dewy from sweat.
I marvel over how beautiful he is, how he doesn’t understand it.
And for a long moment, I simply stare at him and wonder what it is he sees behind his eyelids.
* * *
We findthe van is unlocked. It’s a dark green color, three rows of seats, and two booster seats in the middle row, crumbs from long-ago snacks littering the floorboards.
It’s on the second level; we had to go up the stairs to find a car we could easily slip into without shattering a window. I watched as Sullen winced with every step, despite the fact he tried to hide it with his face ducked behind his hood.
Now, we are in the back bench seats of the older model van, doors locked and no security alarms blaring our break-in.
I don’t know who was looking for us—Sullen didn’t offer insight into that either—or why they thought we were at Alexandria U, but no other cars have entered the parking garage since that one. I know there must be cameras here and Writhe certainly has the resources to tap into them, but for whatever reason, they have not yet found us.
I am pressed close to the tinted back window with my hands fisted in my skirt as I stare out the glass, watching the exit to the stairwell and elevators; worried we will be found out before we have a chance to truly run.
“Do you know how to hotwire a car?” I ask quietly, my breath fogging up the glass for a moment before the condensation retreats. It is chilly in here, but my body is hot, the sick feeling winding and turning in my gut. I still need to pee but doing it in front of Sullen… I think I’ll wait.
“I took a train to the hotel. I don’t even know how to drive a car.” His throaty voice is deadpan, but I am smiling all the same; sometimes it feels like every serious thing he says is a joke. But I remember him looming over me when I was strapped in the dental chair; his mouth on me, his hands, too. The way he told me the horrors of his life.
I do not know when he’s joking or not. And maybe right now I should be afraid of him, but it’s as if, since we ran for our lives together, there is a brittle truce between us.
I swallow past the tightness of my throat; the urge I have to hold him like he held me behind the Maxima. I refuse to think of why he can’t drive. The ways he has been both an experiment and a prisoner in his own life.
“We will need to change. You inthat,me inthis,they’ll be looking for these clothes. Maybe we should split up when the mall opens so we don’t attract—”
“No.”
My pulse flies and I smile broader, but keep my head turned away from him. There is a sliver of a middle seat between us, and I wish there wasn’t but I don’t move toward him.
In the glass, though, I catch the gleam of his dark eyes and I can’t help it.
I turn to look at him.
He is staring at me in silence, his hands on his thighs, head bowed as he looks up at me through his lashes. I don’t think he knows how veryendearingthat is.
“Writhe has resources. Stein will tear this city apart to find us. We can’t make it easy for them.” I say all my worries out loud.
He is still silent, his expression stoic as he watches me. But he doesn’t seem annoyed or angry; perhaps he is simply exhausted, like I am. Partly why we found this temporary solace. Even if wecouldsteal a car, I don’t think we would have the energy to get very far. I don’t remember when I last slept, aside from being sedated, and that seems to have added to my exhaustion, not stolen from it.
