Just Jump

14

“Flip… flop… flip… flop… flip… flop…” Darcie says as each foot touches the ground. “Flip flop flip flop.”

Ray groans at the pigtailed toddler. “Darcie, shut up.”

Darcie blinks her mismatched eyes at him. “Okay! Flip… flop… flip… flop…”

Ray’s hands curl into fists as we stop a stranger for directions to the nearest hotel. As Ray talks to the middle-aged man, I call Paul out.

“Paul.”

He looks at me with his inky black eyes. “What?”

“When we get to that hotel, you’ve got some explaining to do,” I say.

He fidgets uncomfortably. “I know, Ben.”

The walk to the hotel is silent and awkward, with everyone thinking the same things but no one having the courage to say them.

“Flip. Flop. Flip,” Darcie breaks the silence meekly, making Ray grin.

“Darce,” He says.

“Yeah?”

“The hotel’s right there. You see it?”

“Yeah.”

“Why don’t you run ahead?”

“Okay!” Darcie sits down slowly and removes her cheap shoes. Clutching them in one hand, she runs barefoot on the sidewalk.

Ray chuckles and turns to Paul, pointing his index finger. “Spill.”

“What do you want me to spill?” Paul challenges.

“Did you rat us out?” I ask. “In the hallway. Was that you?”

He lets out a shaky breath. “Yes. That was me. I snitched on you, and I’m sorry.”

“Why would you do that?” Sheila asks, disgusted.

Paul’s pace speeds up the tiniest bit, but enough for us to notice.

“Hey!” I grab him by the arm. “Sheila asked you a question.”

"Yeah,” Sheila backs me up. “Sheila did.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know why I told them so much. I’m sorry,” Paul offers.

Ray scowls at him and shoves him aside. “You fucking liar.”

Paul smirks. “Wouldn’t want to use that kind of language around the little one, now, would we?”

Ray shakes his head slowly and forcefully pins Paul to the nearest wall of the store we’re near.

“Hey!” Sheila shoves both of them. “We’ve already got one injury, we don’t need another. Now everyone just… chill.” She puts her hands out, palms facing down, as if she’s telling a dog to stay. “I’m tired. So no more fights. Got it?”

Ray nods curtly, but his hands shake with anger at the thought of Paul giving us away.

The short distance between us and the hotel goes by quickly. Ray, being in no state to talk to any other human being, nods at me to make the reservation.

“Can I help you?” The woman at the reception desk looks at me the way someone would look at a piece of gum a shoe.

“Yeah, uh, I’d like to make a reservation, please,” I stutter.

The dark-skinned woman places her hands on her heavy hips sassily. “If this is a joke, it ain’t funny, son.”

Sheila stifles a laugh from behind me and I kick her in the shin. “This isn’t a joke, ma’am, I’d like to reserve two rooms.” I hold my hand out behind me and Ray gives me the unorganized wad of bills. I slap it on the table and give the receptionist a smirk.

She thumbs through the money with a disdaining look on her face and frowns at us. “This ain’t enough, honey.”

“Darce? Come here.”

Darcie trots to my side. I scoop her up and place her so she’s sitting on the desk.

“How much is it for one night?” She asks with a sweet toddler smile plastered on her face.

"Two hundred and sixty-nine, sweetie,” the woman behind the desk answers. I glance at her name tag while Darcie does calculations in her head. Marissa.

“Well, we have five hundred dollars, so…” Darcie bites her lip. “She’s right, Ben. We’re thirty-eight dollars short.”

Marissa smirks as if to say, I told you so.

I take a deep breath as my heart rate elevates and curl my hands into loose fists. This is it. This is the end of our journey. We’ll never know why we can Jump, all because of money.\

We’re going to have to go back to Greenhorn.