I turned over and glanced at the clock. It was almost one o’clock! Mia and Carmen were still sound asleep beside me. I reached under the pillow where I had kept my phone all night. I had messages from my friends back in Eastfox, from Mom and Dad, and one from Bryant. I opened up his message.
“Hey, don’t know when you girls are going to get up, but David and Josh and I would like to get y’all some coffee. Just message one of us your order! Hope you slept well!” I smiled at the text and quickly answered back what the girls and I would like. Mia always loved an iced coffee with caramel, Carmen loved the sweet frapes, and I loved a iced caramel late. I laid my head back down and looked out the window. The bright sun was streaming into the room and the sky was a crystal blue with not a cloud in the sky. Carmen stirred next to me and rolled over. I gently rubbed her arm until she was awake enough to comprehend what I was saying.
“Bry and the boys are getting us coffee. Might wanna get up and get the sleep out of your eyes before they get up here.” She mumbled a reply but shoved her face back into the pillow. I sighed seeing how I was the only one awake. And quietly crawled off the bed and grabbed my clothes to change in to. I was putting my hair into a black claw clip when my phone lit up.
“Got your coffee, Ace! We’ll be on the balcony whenever you want it.” I quickly but quietly made my way out the doors onto the balcony. Sure enough David and the boys were on the porch with the coffees.
“You boys are legit the best!!” I squealed as they handed me the cups. Josh brushed off his shoulders and said,
“I know!” I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.
“And you’re so humble about it too I see! Ok, I’m going to take these in to the girls, but I’ll come back out to talk if you’re wanting to! Be right back!” I went back into our room and placed the drinks beside each girl. I gently woke them up and told them it was there when they wanted it. They groaned and balked at getting up, but after drinking some of the coffee, they were up and getting dressed. Soon I was back out on the balcony with the boys.
“How did y’all sleep?” I asked. “Pretty good!” and “Horrible” were voiced at the same time. I held back my laughter because I knew who said what.
“Poor little Josh and Bry had a hard night, huh.” I said in a mocking baby voice. Josh crossed his arms and huffed.
“Oh yeah. Guess who snored all night!?” Both of them quickly glared at David who quickly threw up his hands.
“Hey, I’m sorry! I can’t help it!” And as I guessed, the three boys went into an argument that was filled with burns, jokes, and sarcasm. I sat down with my coffee and became amused with this put-on show. No sooner had the argument started, it ended with the boys making it up. And with that Josh and David walked back into their room. I shook my head and Bryant looked at me. He shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the railing.
“How are you doing, Ace?” I smiled at the nickname he called me. For some reason taking the “Gr” off my name made me “less scary” as he told me. I never saw how, but whatever floated his boat.
“I’m doing good! Slept like a rock so I’m feeling good.”
“Oh that’s good!”
“Hey thanks for getting the coffee for us this morning! I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime! I figured y’all could use it.” As Bryant and I continued talking, he stiffened up and started listening. I watched his facial reactions and knew something was wrong. I went to ask what, but he held up his finger to say be quiet. He walked to the other side of the balcony and peered over the edge. He motioned me to look over as well. I hopped over the railing and softly ran over to his side. As I peered over, I saw several SUVs in front of the hotel. However they weren’t the same ones as yesterday. No sooner had we seen the vehicles, our phones started ringing. Bryant and I pulled it out and saw it was a group call from Mr. Lenn. Everyone else was outside with us with phones in hand. Almost simultaneously, we answered the call.
“Listen gang,” Mr. Lenn said over the phone, “Mr. Webster said that there are some men downstairs who are going to be acting like the London Police. However they are not men to trust. If they knock on your door, just say you’re here on a trip with some family. Do not mention anything about why we’re really here.” We all voiced our understanding and quickly made our way back to our rooms. Mia and Carmen had everything put back into place when a firm knock was heard on our door. We quickly glanced at each other and I made my way to open the door. As I opened it, two men barged in almost knocking me down. Mia and Carmen let out a small gasp and stepped back a few steps. The men quickly looked around the room and at our things.
“What are you doing here?” one of the men snapped at us. Poor Carmen and Mia were so scared they just mouthed words. He stepped forward towards them, but I quickly stepped between them.
“On a trip with some family. What do you want.” I said sharply. The man and I held eye contact but I had fire behind my eyes.
“We’re from the London Police and we have official business with you and your so-called family. We need you to come with us.” I let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Oh no you don’t. Do you have papers that say you can? You have no authority to take us with you, because we’ve done nothing wrong.” I stated. My voice was firm, but my hands were shaking. The other man was glaring at me from the side of the room but I didn’t show my fear. As the man and I held eye contact, someone else opened the door. We all turned and saw Bryant in the doorway.
“What do you want, kid?” the man said. Bryant’s jaw clenched and his face soon became red with anger. But he held his tongue and walked over to my side. Bryant faced the man and spoke in a very firm tone.
“Some of your friends just came over to our room. They had no proof to take us in. And you have no right to barge into the girls’ room and do the same thing. So I would advise you to leave before you make me mad.” I glanced at Bryant’s face and saw he was furious. The man continued to hold my eye contact, but I slightly smirked knowing Bryant was right. Finally the man huffed and quickly exited the room. His companion was right behind him, however he stopped in the doorway and looked back at me. He smiled and winked at me then was gone. I scrunched up my nose and Bryant gagged.
“I swear if he had been in here a moment longer, I would have knocked the living daylights out of him.” Bryant mumbled. I slightly snorted and shook my head. I could already tell this trip was going to be a lot harder than we we’re expecting. A few moments later, a soft knock was tapped on our door. Bryant went over and opened the door allowing Mr. Lenn and the other boys to come in.
“Grab your things right now. Mr. Webb is demanding we get out of here NOW. Those men are suspects in the case. And they now know we’re here. We’ve gotta leave as soon as we can.” And with that, we all frantically packed our things back up, and were in the car within 15 minutes heading to our safe house.
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