Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2) (22 page)

“Well, let’s go then,” I said. “Get your jackets, it’s cold out there.”

Johnathan waited by my bedroom door while I grabbed a jacket and ran a brush through my tangled hair. As soon as I walked out into the hallway he lifted me up so I looked down into his gorgeous face. I ran my fingers through his messy curls.

He closed his eyes as I played with his hair. “I just need another kiss. Who knows when we’ll be able to be alone again?”

I obliged his request. I pulled a little on the back of his hair to tilt his head up then I pressed my lips to his, soft and teasing. His arms tightened around me and he growled deep in his throat. I pulled my mouth away from his and, as he let out a sound of protest, I kissed his forehead, his nose, his cheeks. I teasingly brushed my lips across his, light as an artist’s delicate brush stroke.

“Paige…”

That’s what I was waiting for. The sound of his voice, the need in his voice, as he said my name. I pressed my lips to his and tightened my grip on his hair, pushing his lips closer to mine.

We reluctantly ended the kiss when Halli poked her head into the hallway. “Come on, you two lovebirds. Let’s go.”

Johnathan let me slide down the front of him until my feet were firmly on the floor. “I love you, Paige.” He kissed the top of my head.

“I love you, too.” I gave him one last squeeze before letting go. He took my hand and we met the others in the entryway.

I must admit I was a little happy about the fact that we were going to Mariah’s apartment. I kind of, okay
really
, wanted to see Katrina’s face when she saw me with Johnathan. I wanted to be sure she understood he was
mine
. Not because I wanted to rub it in her face or anything, I just didn’t want there to be any more confusion over the matter. Mostly.

e reached Mariah’s apartment around lunchtime. The air had turned from chilly to bitter cold as ominous dark clouds blanketed the sky and blotted out the sun.

Mariah looked surprised to see all of us at her door, especially me. She took my hand in both of hers and said, “I’m so sorry about my roommate, Paige. She’s a hopeless flirt. I told her to stay away from Johnathan. I don’t think that’ll be a problem, now. She was a little freaked out when you disappeared, then, when she saw how upset Johnathan was I think she realized it was a hopeless cause.” She smiled and squeezed my hand before letting go. “Oh, and I’m really glad you got your eyesight back.”

“Thank you, Mariah. I won’t hold your roommate’s actions against you. Just make sure she knows I’m a little like the Hulk—she won’t like me when I’m angry.”

“That’s no joke!” Alec said. He surprised me a little when he leaned in and kissed Mariah quickly on the mouth. I hadn’t realized their relationship had developed that much.

“You guys come in out of the cold. Have you had lunch? I can whip up some sandwiches and hot chocolate.”

“That’d be great, I’m starving.” Alec stepped all the way inside.

The small apartment was warm and became even warmer in a short time with all of us crammed inside. Halli and I sat on the small couch next to a girl that I decided must be Claire. Johnathan and Seth sat on the floor, Johnathan leaned his back against my legs. Joe sat in the only chair in the room and Alec followed Mariah into the adjoining kitchen area to help her make sandwiches.

Alec yelled from the kitchen, even though it was all just one big room and we could hear him fine without yelling, “Johnny! What do you want on your sandwich?”

Not even a second later, Katrina came bounding out of a doorway in the small hallway, dressed only in a T-shirt that barely reached below her butt cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me Johnny was here…” Her face went as white as her bleached out hair when she saw me.

Everyone went silent. I smiled, my teeth grinding together. “Katrina. We should talk.” I stood; Johnathan scooted out of my way. I looked back at him as I stepped toward Katrina—his face paled like he was ready to throw up.

Halli started to stand. “Maybe I’ll just come with you.”

I waved her off.

I had to give the girl credit. Even though her eyes darted around like a scared rabbit—like she wanted to bolt out of there—she stood her ground. She pulled at the hem of her T-shirt anxiously as I neared her. She took an involuntary step back when I purposefully invaded her bubble of space. I stepped with her, to keep the distance between us only inches. She had nowhere to go then, the wall impeded her retreat.

“I want to make one thing perfectly clear, Katrina,” I said, in my best psycho girlfriend voice. “Johnathan is mine. Stay away from him. I’m giving you a break this time because I’m not sure you knew that. Now you know.”

She swallowed and brushed her hair back from her face with one hand. “What if”—she swallowed again—“What if he wants me?” Her eyes darted behind me, to where Johnathan sat ten feet away on the floor.

“He doesn’t.” Johnathan’s voice was firm, leaving no question as to his feelings on the matter.

Katrina looked back at me and I smiled. She tossed her head and hurried back into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. I returned to my seat on the couch, brushing my hand against Johnathan’s face as I sat.

Claire, still sitting on the couch, looked over at me nervously. “Umm, Seth doesn’t have a girlfriend, does he?”

I shook my head. “He’s all yours. Flirt away, Claire. Although, you do realize he’s only fifteen, right?”

She smiled at me and then at Seth, who sat cross-legged on the floor near her, partially facing her. His face turned pink, but he smiled back at her. “I know,” she said. “I’m only seventeen. I graduated early and came out here to work at the park.”

Alec and Mariah brought in a huge plate of sandwiches and a bag of potato chips. Halli jumped up to help them bring in unmatched mugs of hot chocolate. We all dug in. I was starving. I really hadn’t had anything to eat since Joe’s omelet the day before. I think I ate three sandwiches by myself.

“Alec,” I said between bites. “Are you going to ask Mariah about the favor we need?”

He swallowed the enormous bite he had in his mouth. “Oh, yeah. We need a ride… somewhere. Remember how I said technology doesn’t get along with our magic real well? So, newer cars are out of the question, because of all the computer chips and stuff. You told me your uncle that lives nearby has an old truck with a camper… which would be perfect for us. We could ride in the camper, far away from the engine that probably wouldn’t react too bad to us anyway.” He looked at her hopefully.

“Okay… I’m sure my uncle would let me borrow it. Where do you need a ride to and when?”

“Well, the
where
is kind of up in the air. We’ll be following a tracking device. The
when
is as soon as we can, today, right now if possible.”

Mariah shook her head. “I have to work this afternoon. Any idea how far this is?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Alec’s look of disappointment was so pathetic, I don’t think anyone could have rejected his request at that point. “Is there any way you could get out of working today?”

She looked at Claire.

Claire sighed. “I can cover for you. But, you’ll have to take my shift this weekend; Jay won’t want to pay me any overtime.”

Alec smiled. “How soon can you get the truck?”

“It’ll take me about ten minutes to drive over there and back. Can you be a little more specific about where we’re going?”

Alec’s grin disappeared and his face turned serious. “To find my mom. Maybe. I don’t even know if she’s still alive, but we found a way we might be able to track her.”

“I thought you were abandoned as a baby.” Mariah looked at him as she gathered cups and plates to take to the kitchen.

“I was. It’s a long story. I didn’t know anything about her until just recently. Now I know enough to maybe find her.”

“So… she could be anywhere? You realize this old truck is a total gas hog, right?”

Joe handed her his cup. “I’ll buy all the gas. We’ll know before long if the distance is great. I have a feeling she isn’t too far, the way the tracker is reacting.”

It was the first he’d said about being able to tell the distance from the tracker’s reaction.

“Okay, then,” Mariah said. “I’ll give my uncle a call.”

The camper was at least as old as the truck and smelled like dust bunnies and mold. There was a sliding window between the camper and the cab of the truck that we left open so Alec could sit there and give Mariah directions.

The arrow on the enchanted compass pointed northwest from Moab, so Mariah got on Highway 191 and headed that way.

I was tired, as I’m sure Johnathan and the others were. I hadn’t slept well on the floor of my parents’ abandoned house, and, they hadn’t slept well worrying about where I was and if I would be able to come back. I curled up on the small two-person seat across from the little sink and stove, laid my head on Johnathan’s lap, and took a nap.

I slept for over two hours. When I awoke I saw that Johnathan was asleep, leaning against the window. He woke up as soon as I sat up. He smiled and stretched, pulled me into a one armed hug and kissed the side of my head.

“Where are we?” I asked.

Johnathan turned to look at Alec.

Alec pulled his head back through the window to the cab. “We’re just past the big city of Price, Utah.”

I looked out the window, not a lot there to see. “What’s the tracker doing?” I asked Joe.

“I think we’re close. Still pointing northwest.”

“So, do you think she’s in Utah?” Seth asked.

Joe nodded. “She’s close.”

Alec’s leg started bouncing up and down at warp speed and his face turned ash gray. “Close…”

Mariah’s hand snaked awkwardly through the window and cupped his face. “It’ll be fine Alec. No matter what happens, you’ll at least get some answers.”

He nodded and brought her hand to his lips. “Thanks ‘riah. I can’t believe how great you are to do this for me. Thanks for trusting in my crazy stories.
True
crazy stories.”

Mariah pulled her hand back into the cab of the truck. “You intrigue me, Alec. And, you’re pretty darn irresistible, too.”

We drove for another hour. The tracker had led us to Highway 89. We passed a turn off near Provo and Joe said, “Turn around when you can… I think we need to turn on that road we just passed.”