In Bloom - Felix Volturi

15. Payphone

The confrontation with Felix put me extremely on edge, but the apartment was small and there was no way I could slink away quietly and hide. So, instead, I ran my hand through my hair and ponied up; hiding out in the kitchen all night would just make things weirder.

"We should go before anyone shows up," Felix said as I stepped back into the living room. He was peering out of the window, at the street below.

"Go where?"

"Italy. Where else?'

"I don't know," I replied. "I'm just...I'm not really in the mood to go back and get chewed out by Aro at the moment."

"Okay. Where would you prefer we go? It wouldn't be wise to stick around here."

"Well, all of my stuff is still back in Texas. We could take a detour and pick it up before heading home," I suggested.

"That's quite a detour."

"It's all I got," I shrugged.

"Hmm," Felix mused. "I wouldn't mind an extension to our trip. But, I think you should at least call Aro and give him an update."

"Can you call him?" I asked.

"I think he would rather hear from you."

"I really don't want to get chewed out," I insisted.

"I know, but leaving the continent without letting him know will only make things worse," he pointed out.

I rubbed my eyes and sighed. "Fine. Let's get rid of the body, and then I give him a call. We can catch a flight out of here after that."

"Do you need to sleep?" Felix asked. His expression was relatively neutral, but I could see the concern in his eyes.

"I can sleep on the plane," I said, glancing down at the body in the middle of the floor. "The sooner we get out of Amsterdam, the better."

"Don't concern yourself with the body. I'll take care of it," Felix assured me. "Go find a payphone and call Volterra. I'll find you when I'm done and we'll go from there."

"Okay," I said, choosing not to argue. The copious amount of alcohol I'd consumed was at work, calming my nerves and exacerbating my apathy.

It was only a five minute walk to the nearest gas station, which was well-lit and in pretty good repair. Definitely not the creepiest gas station I'd been to in the middle of the night.

I found the payphone quickly, spotting it on the outside of the building, several yards away from the front entrance of the convenience store. I picked up the phone and dropped a few coins into the kiosk, choosing to call a taxi cab service first, before placing a call to Italy.

After three rings, the phone picked up, but no one greeted me.

"Valentina, it's me - Lucy. Can I talk to Aro?" I was more than ready to get the damn call over with.

"Lucy!" Valentina responded with enthusiasm. "Yes! Of course. He'll be so glad to hear from you. One moment."

I glanced over my shoulder, at the parking lot, while I waited for Valentina to transfer my call.

"Lucy?" Aro asked when the line was picked back up.

"Hey, er— Dad," I replied, taking the opportunity to start buttering him up right away.

"Where are you?" he asked. "Are you with Jane and the group?"

"Yeah."

"What were you thinking?" he scolded, "Running off on a mission like this? It's incredibly dangerous."