“It definitely feels like it.” The corner of his mouth tips up in a little smirk when my stomach growls again.
“Shut up,” I grumble.
He grins. “Did I say anything? And if it makes you feel any better, mine was growling up a storm while you were resting. You’re not the only one who’s starving.”
I shrug and look back out the window, but for some weird reason, his confession does make me feel better.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been completely useless since we were abducted, and the only reason I’m even still breathing is because of him. I’ve also spent the last hour passed out while he’s been driving, so knowing he’s hungry too makes him seem a bit more human and makes me a little less pathetic.
“Do you have a room?” I ask.
He nods. “I’ve got one booked at the Château de Ville.”
I shoot him a surprised look.
“What?” he asks, glancing between me and the road.
“That’s where I’m staying.”
“Really?”
I nod. “I’m on the seventeenth floor.”
“I’m on the twenty-first.”
I shake my head in disbelief. It’s not like there are only a handful of hotels to choose from in the city, so us booking rooms at the same one is yet another weird coincidence that makes this whole situation even crazier.
Silence stretches between us, and I duck my head down so I can look up at the sky through the windshield. It’s a clear night, and the stars are bright and vivid thanks to the lack of light pollution around us.
“What are your plans for the rest of the break?” he asks, breaking the silence that’s fallen between us.
Another thing that makes Silvercrest different from every other college is that we only get two weeks off at Christmas—the week of, and the week after, instead of the usual longer breaks other students enjoy.
There are a few days left of the break before the weekend before classes start up again, and just like every other year, I’m heading back to campus early.
And after everything that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours, I’m looking forward to having the dorm to myself so I can do whatever I want instead of being trapped in a hotel room for the next five days.
“Nothing,” I say, my voice smaller than I mean it to be. “I’ll probably head back to school either tomorrow or the next day. Depends how I feel.”
He lets out a thoughtful hum.
“What are you getting up to for the rest of the break?”
“Well, I was supposed to be spending it in my hotel room with my date for the rave, but since she stood me up, I have no idea.” He pops one shoulder in a shrug. “But whatever. I’m sure I’ll find something to do.”
We fall silent again, and a few minutes later we pass a sign that says we’re almost at the city limits, and for reasons I can’t explain, cold dread washes over me when I see the glow of lights from the city in the distance.
“Do you want to stop and get something to eat? Or just go right to the hotel?” he asks, breaking the lengthy silence.
“Right to the hotel,” I say reflexively as more of that weird dread wraps around me.
I’m starving, and thirsty as hell, but even the thought of hitting a drive-through is too much right now.
“Okay. Bear with me while I try to find it,” Xave says as we approach the sign welcoming us to the city. “I’m pretty sure I know where it is, but I only checked in a few hours before the rave, so it might take a few tries without a map.”
“I’ve stayed there before,” I tell him. “Not sure how helpful I’ll be since the last time was almost seven years ago, but hopefully I’ll be able to help.”
It takes us almost thirty minutes to get to the downtown core, and another thirty minutes of circling around before we find the right area. Then it’s a matter of following the roads as they lead us to the massive country-style castle that is our hotel.
