I finally got out of bed at the crack of dawn. Although I didn’t want to overexert myself before the treacherous marathon the elders had set up, I hit the gym to stretch, and then I went to the kitchen and asked Evelyn for a high-protein breakfast. I mentioned I was planning on going for a run this afternoon. I didn’t clarify in what form I’d be running or the reason I was running, and God bless Evelyn, she didn’task.
She boiled three eggs, grilled fat slices of whole wheat toast, and fried two sausages. I took my breakfast back to my bedroom and ate on the small balcony, watching the sun rise and fill the world withcolor.
Trailing in the smell of fresh cigarettes, Lucy dropped by my room around nine, and it wasn’t to wish me good luck. She came to ask me to tidy the guestbedrooms.
“But I have to be at the headquarters atnoon.”
My aunt had styled her red hair, and it fell in almost child-like ringlets over her milky shoulders. “Better hurrythen.”
She swiped her fingers across my desk as though inspecting it for dust. She wouldn’t findany.
“What did you do with the potpourrijar?”
“What?”
“The mason jar I fill with potpourri. The one I put in every bedroom. What did you do withit?”
“Oh. It’s on the balcony. The smell is a little…strongfor me.” Which was true, but the reason I’d set it on my balcony was because the desiccated, flowery scent reminded me of Lucy. Sharing a roof was grating enough without the constant olfactoryassault.
“The petals will rot,” she muttered as she traipsed to my balcony door and rammed it open. Heels clicking on the plywood floor, she scurried to recover her precious, eye-wateringmix.
How could Jeb stand the smell? And Everest? Didn’t it botherthem?
She walked back into the room and then headed toward my bedroom door, clutching the jar to herbosom.
“Lucy, can I work tomorrow instead of today? Please? I’ll put in a doubleshift.”
“You might not be physically competent to work tomorrow. Besides, Saturdays are always busier than Sundays. You should know that by now.” She leveled her hazel eyes on me, daring me to complainagain.
She wasn’t being fair, but perhaps this was the reason she was making me work. As I donned my gray uniform, I called Everest to ask him if he was still taking me to the meeting, but he didn’tanswer.
I textedhim.
Noanswer.
An hour into my morning chores, I texted himagain.
The headquarters was a good fifteen miles away from the inn, up mountain roads where driving faster than twenty miles per hour was downright treacherous. It would take me close to an hour to get there, and it was 10:30, which meant I would need to leave in thirty minutes to make it ontime.
At 10:45, I finished cleaning the bedrooms and loped to my own room to change back into shorts and a t-shirt. I called Everest again, my patience dwindling. When five minutes later he still hadn’t answered, I jogged toward his suite and then banged on thedoor.
Noanswer.
Fuck.I ran to the front desk, ready to grovel with Jeb to take me, but Lucy informed me he’d left with Everest on anerrand.
“An errand?” It came outshrilly.
“Keep your voicedown.”
“Everest promised to bring meto—”
“He must’ve forgotten. Why don’t you borrow one of thevans?”
A breath snagged inside my throat. “I don’t have alicense.”
“You don’t say.” From the lilt in her voice, I gleaned she knewthis.
The clock on the wall behind her ticked so loudly I felt it inside my chest. “Could you driveme?”
