Secrets in the Springs

The Secret to Lies

"Sarah? Can you hear me?"

A voice calls me back into consciousness. Ben's trying to wake me up.

"Ben?"

Not my first choice of someone to see when I've just woken up, but I'm glad to be awake.

"Easy, easy," he says as I try to get up. He has no idea, but he's right. "What happened? We heard you scream all the way downstairs."

Did they? I must've yelled loudly, then.

"I- I did?"

I couldn't even formulate the question I wanted to ask. Fainting- wouldn't recommend.

Topher decides to add, "Last person I heard scream like that was in a movie, and she was being chased by zombie rats."

Jess gives her son a look, to which he says, "What? It was terrifying!"

"Wait, what happened to the ooze?" my own son chimes in. Wyatt could at least pretend to be concerned about me-

"Okay, okay. No more talk about ooze or zombie rats," Jess intervenes.

Jess is a good friend, all things considered. For the most part.

"But I saw it- it disappeared!" I say. They have to believe me... don't they?

Topher gives some sort of little speech about the ooze and ghosts... I'm not exactly sure what he said, I was only half paying attention. That kid talks too much sometimes. I do manage to catch that the story we're going with if anyone asks about room 205 is a busted pipe. Hopefully the kids don't blow our cover on that one. Though I'm not sure it explains my scream, but I can cross my fingers that nobody will question it.

The kids all go back downstairs, and Jess tells me something about a reporter, and questions. My mind is still spinning.

"Well then, we'd better get back down to the party!" I say, trying to change the subject.

Ben looks me dead in the eyes. "You passed out, Sarah."

When I look at him, I see... concern? That's not normal. Is he sick? He probably thinks I'm sick. I'm not, but if I have to think about ghosts and the hotel and Ben and the kids for another second, I will be.

"I was running around all day and forgot to eat," I lie. I've gotten pretty good doing that in the past couple months. But so has Ben.

Luckily, he doesn't see through me, because he replies, "Come on. Let's get you some food."

So I don't have to worry about him realizing I'm not telling the truth. But Jess gives me a look that might be anger, concern, questioning, empathy, or a mix of all four. She once told me I'm an open book, which is not great for me, but also not true considering I haven't been caught in a lie yet. It's Jess and Ben that are the open books.

We head downstairs to the party, and Jess gives me a plate full of food. It looks appetizing enough, but I don't want to eat. I can't eat, not now. About half an hour later, I'm sitting on a chair in front of the main desk, still with a full plate of food. Jess walks up to me, but I only see her out of the corner of my eye since I'm pretty much spaced out.

"Guess I won't be asking you to write a review," Jess says.

I don't process her comment. "What?"

She chuckles, "The food? Is it that bad?"

"Oh. I'm sure it's delicious. I'm just... I'm not very hungry." I tell her. Not technically a lie.

"Thinking about what happened upstairs?" she wonders. Could she please just go away? I'd like to just sit here and think, thank you very much. I am thinking about what happened upstairs, but I'm also thinking about other things. I could explain the whole thing to her, because she's meant to be my best friend, but I don't. Because this is Jess I'm talking to. "I still can't get over seeing that door bulge out."

So I tell her what's not a lie but not the full truth either, grateful that she's focused on one subject: "Didn't seem real. It... feels like my... eyes are playing tricks on me."

"Oh, it was real," Jess seems to agree, "A real-life nightmare! Oh, could you imagine if Ben hadn't gotten the water turned off?!"

Of course. Ben. He's always the hero, isn't he? I can't stand talking to Jess anymore.

"The way that door would have given out, sending a wave of who-knows-what all over the place! Talk about bad reviews... Of all the nights for a pipe to burst!" She continues and lets out a sigh.

Disappointed that she can't see what's right in front of her, I say, "Right. Pipe."

At that moment, Ben comes into the room, followed by the plumber. Ben's the last person I want to see, if I'm being completely honest. The plumber is holding some sort of blue crystal. I feel drawn to it, but I don't know why... I can't take my eyes off of it. I'll have to explore it more soon, when Ben's not in the room.

"Found the problem," he says, "It was in the pipe."

A/N:

Hi! I'm Sarah (not the one from Sulfur Springs; I'm a real person)! Thank you so much for reading this, and I look forward to updating very very soon! (I promise I actually will, it's the last week of school!) I love SOSS! Trust me, this story will get wayyyy more exciting.