9. Julian #2
She nods slowly. “I understand. I can flag the bag as priority if I can have his ticket? I can’t guarantee anything, but I would say it’s certainly not lost permanently. Things are just crazy right now. It’s most likely just been sent to the wrong airport because of the sudden shutdown.”
“So it will be found?” I need something concrete here. Even if it’s just words.
“I guarantee it will,” she says firmly. “It may take a few days, but it will be located.”
She writes something down and slides a sticky note toward me. “This is the airport number and my personal extension. My name is Mina. I’ll personally keep checking. Call me with where you’re staying, and I can have it sent straight to you. I promise.”
“Thank you,” I say, tucking the sticky note in my pocket. “Really, thank you.”
“I’m also going to be honest with you,” she adds gently. “Finding a place to stay will be hard. Most travelers won’t stay in the airport. I’d start looking right away.”
“That bad?”
She nods. “I’d be surprised if you find a room now. This storm came on fast out of nowhere, and it’s already heading up the coast of Florida with the chance of another one right behind it.”
I thank her again and walk to Ian. “Well?”
“She’s going to personally keep checking,” I say. “She says the bag is probably on the wrong flight, and with the sudden shutdown shit is just a mess right now. It will be found. It will be fine.”
“We can’t go back home without that bag.” He exhales shakily, sinking down into a chair, clasping his hands on the back of his head, and curling forward. “I shouldn’t have checked it.”
I sink down onto the chair beside him and rub his back. “I know this isn’t what we planned, but let’s focus on what we can deal with. One thing at a time.”
He unfolds himself, nodding, his eyes vacant. “I don’t have a death wish, or I’d send Anna a middle finger emoji.”
“My phone’s dead, but if you want I can train a raven to send her a message.”
His eyes pinch. “I’m not even going to ask.”
“I could do it. I’ve had training.”
“You are so weird, Jules.” He smiles weakly. “Come on.” He stands with his hand outstretched. “Let’s go find a place to sleep tonight.”
Rain hammers down around the cab. We’ve been driving around for ten minutes now, and I know our driver is getting annoyed. We have no idea where we are or what we’re going to do. All the hotels near the airport are booked.
“I’ll have to let you out soon,” the driver says apologetically. “Traffic’s getting bad and the storm is only getting heavier.”
“Sorry,” I say to him and watch Ian nervously look through his phone.
“None of these hotels have rooms,” Ian mutters. “Everything’s booked.”
“If you’re looking for a place to stay, I know a place nearby,” the driver offers. “Small bed and breakfast. Not many people think of it.”
“Really?”
He nods. “It’s close.”
“That sounds fine.” Ian shuts his phone off. “Thank you.”
We drive for a few more minutes before our driver turns down a driveway. A large house looms ahead. Holy shit. “Um,” Ian says and his eyes widen. “Um.”
“Yeah . . .”
“This is literally a haunted fucking house,” Ian hisses to me. “He’s going to kill us.”
“No.” Our driver smiles back at us from the rearview mirror. “It’s a family-owned bed and breakfast. They’re good people. The house, yeah, it’s rough, and there are a few huge hotel chains close by, so I don’t think they get many vacationers here.”
“Will this house even withstand the storm?” I look at the pale yellow house with chipping paint.
There’s a sad looking garden to the left that looks like it hasn’t been weeded in years and an ominous metal playground.
The porch is starting to warp and buckle.
The chipped, painted sign says, “The Tea House Bed and Breakfast.”
Our driver idles at the entrance. “Look, it’s a bit rough, but you’re not going to get anything better right now. This storm came on quick. They’re nice people. Tell them Benny sent you.”
“Right. Thanks uh, Benny.” I thank him again and follow Ian out as the trunk pops, and I grab my bag. Rain hammers around us. “Just for the night.”
“We’re getting possessed. I can’t deal with that. I can deal with a lot, but I don’t fuck with demons, Jules.”
“Hey now, that’s not right. We deal with Anna every day.” I smile weakly. “It’s . . . cozy.”
“No,” he says. “No, it’s not.”
“Just for the night.”
He shakes his head and follows me up the stairs.
The door opens with a scraping creak, and the entrance is empty except for a small desk at the front with a dim desk lamp.
There’s a room to the right that shows tables and chairs.
Maybe the dining area. There’s also a sitting room to our right.
The entire house is pretty drafty. “Hello?” My voice echoes.
“We’re getting murdered,” Ian whispers.
“The plane crashing was illogical, but being killed by shadow people is not off the table?”
“Shadow people aren’t to be fucked with,” he hisses.
“It’s just for the night,” I whisper. “Hello?”
A voice echoes from somewhere deep in the house. “One moment!”
Footsteps approach before we see a short Asian woman appear in the doorway, blinking at us as if she can’t quite believe we’re real. Oh, we’re real, lady. Real fucking scared of this house.
“Oh!” She claps her hands together. “Sorry. I didn’t—” She shakes her head. “Hello.”
“Sorry, um, is this a bed and breakfast?”
“Yes, yes!” she exclaims. “I’m so sorry, we don’t get many guests.”
“Uh, Benny sent us. We um, we just flew in from New York. Our fight out got cancelled.” I try to explain while Ian stands there looking around the room as if this house is about to bite him.
“Oh, you poor boys. Terrible thing, isn’t it? This storm just came out of nowhere.” She laughs nervously.
“Mama!” A small child runs into the room.
“What did I tell you about running in the house?” She loops her arm around the girl who hugs her knees. “Sorry, please excuse me.” She crouches down to her level. “Go find your father. Tell him we have guests.”
Ian glances around the house and the dim lighting. “Can we rent a room?”
“Yes, of course, um.” She sits for a moment. “You see um, we are actually in the middle of renovating, and some of our rooms are inaccessible at the moment.”
“Some?”
“Uh, well, all. All of our rooms. Except one. We are um, yes, renovating.”
“Xia?” A White man walks into the entryway, looking between us and her. “Violet says we have guests.” He looks at us sympathetically. “I’m sorry, we’re kind of—”
“We are in the middle of renovation.” She blinks at him. “Renovating, sweetheart.” His brows pinch. “We have one room available, but um . . .” She looks between us. “It has one bed in it.”
“It’s just for the night, or maybe two,” Ian says to me. “Can we please rent it? Let’s just say two nights to be safe.”
“Of course!” She fills out a book and looks at her husband who still looks confused.
“It is eighty a night. So the total would be one sixty.” Ian moves me aside to pay her.
“Now, if you need anything, just let me know. There’s a TV in that room and free Wi-Fi.
The password is in the drawer with the remote.
We have breakfast at nine in the morning, but if that’s too early, we can—”
“Xia,” her husband says.
She waves him away. “We can always move it. Dinner is at five. If either of you have any allergies, just let me know. I can make whatever you like.”
“We don’t, but he doesn’t like fish,” Ian says.
“I just don’t like it, but I’ll eat whatever. It’s not that big a deal.” My mother raised me to eat whatever was put in front of me when I’m a guest in someone’s home, and if that room has a soft warm bed and Wi-Fi, I’ll eat whatever seafood this woman cooks.
She smiles warmly. “You got it. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. Your room has a private en suite, and you’re welcome to use the balcony if you’d like.”
“Thank you.” Ian smiles at her and takes the key.
I follow him up the stairs, and for the first time since the storm hit, I feel like everything may actually be okay.