The Unexpected Visit

Chapter 26

It doesn't take us long to renew her license, and when we get back, we see that the boys got the cell phones quicker than we got our job done, it looks like they got a phone for Jackson and one for Anna. At least they paid the marina for parking the boat. I hope Anna doesn't say anything about what happened earlier; at least for now. I'll tell them when I'm ready.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Owen asks as he approaches, looking at me with concern.

"It was fine. Anna can drive us around now, well, once we get a car, that is. Maybe there is a car dealership around here?" I ask hopefully, ignoring Owen's concerned look.

"There is one 12 miles away, so if you want to start walking, be my guest. It would probably take almost all day," Jackson says sarcastically.

"That's not a good idea. We might get heat stroke walking that far, especially because our water bottles wouldn't last that long. Is there a place that sells scooters around here? We could get a few: one for me, one for Jackson, and one for Owen and Rebecca to share," Anna says, looking at me.

"Yeah, I saw a place on the way to the phone store," Jackson says.

"Wait a minute, how come you two get your own and we have to share?" Owen asks, clearly not seeing the obvious reason.

"You and Rebecca need to talk, and it saves money," Anna replies simply.

"........." Owen just looks at Anna with annoyance but glances at me once again, concerned.

It doesn't take us long to buy the scooters; luckily, Jackson is a smooth talker and got us reduced price for all three--and fully fueled. We also bought "motorcycle" helmets for protection if we crash, although they do make us look rather cool. We reach the car dealership sooner than we thought, and realize that by buying the scooters, we now also need to buy something to put them in when we travel. I guess we would need a trailer sometime soon anyway, but we weren't expecting to spend this much money on the first day. Jackson and Owen pick out a truck while Anna and I start negotiating. Jackson and Owen soon leave to find a trailer. I hope they find a cheap one because a crew cab truck isn't cheap. Plus, the boys weren't happy with an F-150; it had to be a F-250 at least. Anna and I wouldn't budge further than 250 because of the price.

"Alright, so we got the truck, debt, a trailer, and more debt. I say today was pretty successful. We still need to find a place to stay, though," Jackson says sarcastically.

"We have a place to stay; it was provided because you and I are both head coaches, remember? You should lose the sarcastic tone before we get there or you won't be getting a girl on this trip," Anna says, glaring at Jackson.

"Why, are we being greeted by a hottie?" Jackson asks, clearly hoping so.

"If you think getting involved here is and then leaving in hopefully six months, be my guest, although it would probably be a good idea to not get attached to anyone here," Owen states.

"Let's just get to the apartment. Once we are there, well, I don't care what you do as long as you are quiet. You two have an apartment next to ours. You two will share and Rebecca and I will be next door. If you need us, come over but text before knocking," Anna says, taking me to the truck, taking my hand because of my slightly pale face.

About a half hour after we left the dealership, we arrived at the apartment building; it doesn't look horrible. Anna told us on the ride there that the apartments are already furnished; all we need to do is claim our keys and go. I almost fell asleep on the ride here. It's physically disorienting being back on the mainland; Anna seems to know what's going on while I have no idea. Perhaps there was some kind of medication that was in my food back at the compound and I am suffering from withdrawal.

"Hey, are you ok?" Anna asks me softly as I get out of the truck and almost fall.

"I hope so." I reply simply, regaining my footing.

"Jackson and Owen, we are going in. Owen could you grab our stuff, please?" Anna asks. Owen looks at me, concerned. "Don't ask," she says, looking at Owen with a pleading look.

"Come on," Anna whispers, knowing I need encouragement to even move right now. She always somehow knows exactly what I need.

We get into the building with no problem. Anna picks up the envelope in front of the door at the end of the corridor. It has her name on it, so I guess this door leads to our room. She mentioned that someone would be greeting us, where are they? Although, if I'm honest, I'd rather they not come at all; this is the worst I've felt in my life.

"Hi, you must be the new coach! My name is Valerie; most people call me Vallie, though. I'm an assistant coach on The Warriors. You must be Beca. I've heard from Anna that you're pretty good. Anyway, you must be tired. I will talk to you more tomorrow, since you missed the first debriefing," Valerie says cheerfully, especially for it being almost midnight.

"Yes, thank you. We're almost there Rebecca, hold on," Anna says, opening the envelope for the key.

"We're almost where?" I ask groggily.

"Somewhere you can get better, and where I can figure out what's wrong," Anna mumbles at the end.

Anna gets the door open and immediately shows me my room before heading to her room to where she pre-ordered some medical books. I wordlessly go into my room and change, then immediately go to bed. I can't stand another minute; my legs feel like jelly.