by Abby Osuna
Drew tilted his head in thought. I neared him and stood beside him. “Hmm. Maybe Lea wasn’t
aware of that,” he whispered to me. “Well,” he said, going back to address the old man, “how
many rooms are available then?”
Without checking his list, the old man said, “Three.”
I smiled. “Can I have a room?” I whispered to Drew, slightly begging.
He just looked at me, before final y answering, “You can’t.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
“How many beds in one room?” he asked the old man, ignoring my question.
“There is one room with two beds, which was taken by Mr. Tanner and Mr. Riley a while ago.
The two other rooms have single queen sized beds.”
I stared expectantly at Drew. “Don’t tell me a girl can’t have her own room?”
He smiled politely at the old man. “Okay. That’s fine. We’l take the two other rooms.”
“Identifications please.”
Identifications? Hotels require that now? Despite my thoughts, my hand flung to my pocket but
suddenly Drew held them in place. “I’ve got it. You two forgot your important documents so I
took care of them for you,” he smiled a little too sweetly, and there was a glint in his eyes which said I better not interrupt him. I swallowed nervously, knowing there was something quite wrong
with what was going on.
He handed the man three ID’s, all of which unfamiliar to me. But I saw that our pictures were on
each card. I tried my best not to react. Were those fake ID’s? I felt like we were in some sort of
undercover spies. I almost smiled at the ridiculous thought.
“Mr. Chan?” The old man’s voice broke my train of thoughts. He looked expectantly at the three
of us.
There was a sound of a falling object.
“Oh. My pen,” Drew stooped down to get it and I saw from my peripheral vision that he nudged
Anthony’s leg before final y straightening up.
“Yes?” Anthony answered the old man, though I could tell he too, wasn’t informed of our new
names.
“You and your wife are on room 107,” he handed him the key. I blinked. Wife? I was the only
girl here, so that means…
“Mr. Tyree, you’re on room 108.” He handed Drew the key. I smiled at him sweetly, silently
cursing my uncle for everything that’s been going on since they found us. He spun on his heel.
“Rooms are?” he called out to the old man.
“On the end of that hal way.” He called out. I smiled at the old man, and Anthony thanked him.
When we turned, Drew was a good three feet from us, obviously wanting to get to his room
before I get to him.
I cleared my throat as Anthony and I tried to keep up with him.
“Uhm, excuse me Mr. Tyree,” I tried to make my voice calm, sweet even.
“John, just call me John,” he smiled at me. I was now in step beside him.
The name got stuck in my head. Once I realized where he lifted the name, I rolled my eyes.
“Dear John?”
“Did I just say John? It’s James. My bad,” he smiled again.
I groaned in frustration. “You could have at least told us!”
“I was about to, but your sleep talking got in the way,” he answered calmly and held my hand
which I didn’t notice was in midair. I had that awful habit of throwing up my hands in frustration.
“And, don’t hold your hand that way. They’re watching.”
I didn’t notice we were already in front of room 108. When I lowered my hand to my side, I
realized what he was talking about. Of course there were cameras in this establishment. My
gestures could have blown our cover.
“Your room is there, in front of mine. So don’t be so noisy. I need rest.” He teased.
I smiled at him sourly, inwardly feeling grateful that I didn’t blush a lot. “You sure need rest. And I’l make you pay for this.”
“Oh sure, I’l pay for this. I think I just did. Tanner and Riley did it for me. Good night Mr. & Mrs.
Noah and Allie Chan,” I didn’t notice that he already got his door unlocked and Anthony was
halfway in doing the same to the door of our room. For some reason, the names stuck on my
head again. Before I could frown at my uncle, he was behind the door, safe from my reaction.
Shaking my head, I turned to Anthony who was now turning the knob.
“The notebook,” he muttered, pushing the door and feeling the wall for the light switch.
I stared at him, gawking. “You too?”
“What? It’s a great story.” He shrugged, final y turning the light on. He held the door open for
me, and after I entered, he followed closely and shut the door behind us.
“I know it’s great. But it’s just too…”
“Impossible?” he supplied for me.
I stared at him, studying the authenticity of his words. Does he really believe that the story was
even possible? “Cheesy. I mean, men get tired eventual y. And they’re generally polygamous in
nature. Didn’t Noah find someone else along the way? The book says they’ve been apart for
fourteen years and the movie says seven, but still. He could have found another one within that
span of time.”
“You read the book?”
“Wel yea, it was interesting. But Drew just talked me into reading it.” I answered, not noticing
how defensive I sounded. Then I realized what he just did. “Hey, that’s not the point. What I’m
saying is that there’s no man in the world who could ever do that.”
He shrugged. “Maybe that’s why Drew named me Noah. He probably saw I have the makings of
him.”
I choked mockingly. He laughed.
I sat on the bed, enjoying the soft feel of it. He sat on the nearby easy chair, beside the coffee
table. He was suddenly silent, as if lost in thought.
“We could share,” as soon as the words were out, I suddenly felt the weight of their implications.
Me and Anthony on the same bed? That would be very awkward.
“No, I’m fine.”
“No you’re not. The bed’s big; we could stay on opposite sides. Don’t worry, I just sleep talk. I
don’t sleep bite.” Another awkward comment from me. Me and my big mouth.
He laughed, and stretched. “Okay, I guess that’s fine.”
There was a knock on the door. Anthony and I froze.
“Mr. Chan? Luggage.”
I blinked. “We have luggage?” I whispered to him. He shrugged.
He went to the door and slowly opened it. Then I saw the old man in the reception enter the
room and put two average-sized bags on the floor near the coffee table.
“Thank you,” I called out to him. He smiled faintly. He looked tired.
Before closing the door, Anthony smiled and thanked him too.
“Where did this come from?” I wondered out loud.
He shrugged again. “Your uncle, maybe.” Then he neared the bags and examined them.
Uncle? He sounded a bit confident when he said the word.
“They even have tags.” He sounded amazed.
I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
The bags looked a bit stuffed with what I assumed were clothes. They were tagged accordingly.
Noah and Allie Chan.
I yawned, after I took a peek at the bags. “I think I should wash up now.” I picked up the bag
with my pseudonym, and headed toward the bathroom. It looked fairly large and homey, minus
the tub. After a few minutes, I emerged from the bathroom, feeling and smelling fresh.
I placed my bag on the small
rack near the bathroom. I know shoes should be placed there, but
I didn’t want to open the built-in cabinets. Horror movies have taken their toll.
After placing the bag neatly on the rack, I scanned the room. Only one light was turned on now,
and I saw that the room was empty. Paranoia swept through me that I dashed for the door.
When I opened it, I saw Anthony approaching from my right, with two canned-soft drinks in one
hand and two bags of chips stuffed on his other arm.
“You’re through,” he smiled. That favorite smile.
I sighed in relief. “That scared me.” I admitted.
“Sorry, I just grabbed a few midnight snacks.” He said as he final y reached the door. I backed
away and turned on the other light. He placed the food on the foot of the bed.
“Where’d you get the money?” I asked him, perching on the bed near the food. I felt like a little
girl with all my favorites in front of me. It was such a pleasant surprise that he knew my favorite snacks.
“From the bag,” he said as he placed the coin purse back inside his bag. Wel , Noah Chan’s
bag.
I nodded, suddenly wondering if there was money on mine.
I thought he was going to sit near me but he suddenly returned to the bag. “You go ahead and
eat. I’l just have a quick shower.” He picked up the bag and entered the bathroom.
“I’l wait for you. I’l just check up on Drew while you’re there,” I called out a little too loudly to make sure that he heard me.
“Sure.” I heard him call out.
I smiled as I got up from the bed. I’m starting to wonder if it feels this comfortable without the
pretension. I mean, if ever we get to be real Mr. and Mrs.
I shook my head vehemently. I should not have these kinds of thoughts!
Within minutes, I was in front of Drew’s door.
I knocked twice.
“James?” the name was so awkward. That was the name of his best friend in London. The one
who betrayed him and ‘stole’ his girlfriend. But in a way, that was good since Drew knew what
kind of friend he was and girl she was.
I counted in my mind while waiting and Drew opened up on the sixteenth count. But I added one
more to make it seventeen. I smiled to myself.
“Something funny, Al ie?”
It was real y funny using the names.”Nothing, James. What took you so long?”
I entered and was shocked when I saw his bed. It was a king-sized one.
“I thought they only had queen-sized?”
He shrugged. “Dunno.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What time are we leaving tomorrow?”
“Oooh. So you don’t get a little too engrossed with---“
I punched him on the arm. Hard.
He grunted. “You have to grow respect.”
“You have to grow manners.” I countered, rolling my eyes at him. I spun on my heel and opened
the door ready to leave.
“Four A.M.” he said, voice stil in pain.
“Thanks James,” I feigned sweetness. “Good night,” I said, closing the door behind me. I sighed,
suddenly grateful that everything seemed normal. For now.
I entered our room and was shocked to find Anthony perched on my spot earlier, taking a sip of
his soft drink.
“Done already?” I neared him, sitting in front of him. He handed me my drink, before shrugging,
“Athletes have to be quick.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Okay,” I said in a teasing tone. He chuckled and opened my bag of chips
before handing it to me.
I obliged and we were silent for a few minutes, both enjoying the food.
He was the one who broke the silence. “You remember the Little Prince book?”
I furrowed my eyebrows in thought. Was he referring to the same one…
“In my locker? You were the one who put that there?”
“Yes and No,” he munched on his food and washed it through with his drink.
I waited for him to continue.
“Yes, the same book in your locker, but I wasn’t the one who placed that there.”
I scooped a handful of chips and stuffed it in my mouth. Gee, talk about being demure. “Then
who did?”
“Carl.”
I grimaced. “So I was right.”
“But it wasn’t his. It was mine.”
My eyes turned toward him. “Yours?”
He nodded.
“Then why didn’t you just hand it to me?”
“It would spoil the tradition.” He said nonchalantly.
“What tradition?”
He straightened up in his seat, and crossed his legs. “It was my uncle’s. He gave it to my
supposed-to-be aunt when they were still in school. Same way, he left it in her locker.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. He sounded like one of the main characters of a Nicholas Sparks
novel. Quite cheesy. “Really?”
He nodded. “She was Ria.”
The name was familiar. Then the names came back. “And Tony---“
“Was my uncle.”
“Wait, you said that she was supposed to be your aunt. What happened?”
“They got engaged but my uncle died two months ago. They were quite a couple. Being college
sweethearts and all.”
I cringed. Mom was right. Anthony’s uncle was kil ed by the syndicate. The time of death fits
perfectly.
“Drei, are you alright?”
I nodded, willing my mind to think of another topic.
Clearing my throat, I managed to compose myself. “The notes, did Carl place them in my locker
too?”
He nodded. “But Kris wrote them, since Kristine was around when Carl was supposed to write
them. Kristine overheard and you know---“
I smiled, following his point. “She was rooting for Kris and me. I get it.”
He laughed, then suddenly grew serious. “But I was the one who wrote the be careful note. Carl was acting strange those days, and I thought I should warn you.”
The morbid family picture came to mind. I forced myself to stay calm. Then a thought crossed
my mind. A diversion.
“I know she has a crush on you.” I continued.
“Who? Carl?”
I rolled my eyes playfully. “She.”
“Oooh. Kristine.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Before you came, I was a bit grateful that her
actions were obvious. Her behavior sort of drives the fans away. At least some of them.”
I took his words in. “Then why didn’t you just court her?”
He shook his head right away. “Didn’t want to.”
“Because Kris was your friend?”
He stared at me in disbelief. “No.”
I continued to guess. “Hmm. Maybe---“
“I was waiting for my Al ie to show up,” he interrupted me.
“And guess what?” he smiled, “She did arrive. And I’m sure she’s worth the wait.”
*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 30
I couldn’t remember exactly when I fell asleep.
I tossed and turned, hoping for sleep to come visit me again. Judging by the darkness outside
the curtained window, it was still night time. Which was great since we were supposed to leave
before the sun came up. I checked my watch in the dim room illuminated only by the street light
outside, it was one AM.
A couple of hours ago, Anthony forced me that he’d be fine with the couch for tonight. I
reluctantly agreed, knowing that arguing with him would only lessen our time for rest. I was
about to turn in my bed to look at him when suddenly there was a pound in the door. Th
e sound
gave me a start. Who would possibly do that in this time of night? Earlier, Drew dropped by our
room to tell us that for our own safety, we should have a signal when we’re about to enter each
other’s rooms. We should slip a note or a piece of paper under the door. But to my dismay,
there was none.
I slowly inched my way out of the bed, careful not to make a sound. I slipped the hotel slippers
on and made my way to the couch where Anthony had his back on me. He had the blanket
rolled up until his shoulders. I gave his shoulder a gentle tap. He didn’t stir. There was another
rap on the door. I willed myself to stay calm, though almost all my senses were beginning to
stiffen. I tried to wake Anthony again. This time he stirred. I glanced at the door again and back
to him.
My jaw dropped.
Even in the dim room, I couldn’t be wrong. Carl was on the couch, stretching from his nap.
Before I could react, he gripped my wrists immediately, holding me in place and I heard noises
from outside. From what I could hear, it was clear that someone was struggling. Was that Drew?
Anthony? Gosh. I could only pray that they were fine.
Carl was on his feet now and he towered over me. “Miss me?”
I almost spat at him. But I knew better, so I just glared at him. For all I know, he would hurt me
once he found even the slightest reason to do so. I knew he would get back at me for escaping
him like that in Carley’s mansion.
He dragged me to the door and opened it in an instant. I shrieked as I saw Anthony on the floor
just outside the door. He was knocked unconscious. Was he the one knocking a while ago? I
should’ve opened it on the first knock. I was so stupid!
Zed and two of his men emerged from Drew’s room and had my uncle’s hands on his back as
they dragged him outside.
“We meet again, Drei,” Zed greeted me sweetly, which annoyed every single cell in my body. I
rolled my eyes at him and Carl dragged me to the direction of the reception area. I heard the
others trailing behind us. I turned to see if Anthony was okay and saw that Zed had him. He had
one of Anthony’s arms over his shoulders and he was dragging his unconscious body.
“Don’t worry Drei, we won’t hurt you. Just do as they say and you’ll be fine.” I heard Carl assure