The Dangerfields

Chapter Eight

"Hello, I'd like to rent a room please," Mom tells the lady at the front desk of the hotel. Carrie is embroidered into the front of her shirt.

"Of course, can I get a name?" She asks politely.

"Sure, Betty Tucker," Mom says, using her mother's maiden name, in case there is something in the news about us.

"You'll be in room 307, and if you need anything, just call down to the front desk. Enjoy your stay!" Carrie says with a smile, giving us our room keys.

We take the elevator up two floors, and I note that we're less likely to be found in this smaller, nine floor hotel than we would in one of the thirty floor hotels further in the city, or the two story motels scattered around.

We step out of the elevator onto the third floor, and locate our room without any trouble.

"This will definitely do!" I exclaim happily as I launch myself onto one of the two queen size beds in the hotel room.

The door clicks shut, and Mom stretches out on the other bed. "Yup, this will be fine," she says with a smile.

Ryder, after his day alone, relaxes and allows himself to lay out on the bed next to me on his back. He puts his hands behind his head and closes his eyes.

Now that I've been awake for awhile, things start to catch up to me. Mainly, things I forgot to ask Mom about that need explaining.

"I'm guessing the car was destroyed in the fire?" I ask first.

"Yep, which is unfortunate. It was a great vehicle, and it could've spared us from having to meet Rick," Mom says with a shudder at the mention of Rick.

"Yeah, he was unbearable," I laugh, then turn serious again. "What did you do with Grandpa's body?"

"We got him cremated, because I didn't want the government to be able to dig up his body and run their tests. We buried him next to my mother." I appreciate this, because I know that's what Grandpa would've wanted.

"What were those objects that came flying out of the house before it burned down?" I ask, not wanting to forget about them.

"Those were a few objects that I couldn't bear to see destroyed, along with a bag of supplies. I always keep a backpack with some spare clothes, a few cans of food, a pot for water, and a blanket. I knew that because we're Temerarys, there was always a chance that people might drive us away from home, and I wanted to be prepared."

"That's really smart. What objects did you summon?" I ask, curious.

"I'll show you," She says, getting off of the bed and walking over to get them out of the bag.

The first two things she hands me are pictures from her room. One is from when she was a kid, a family picture with my grandparents, my mother, and another girl I don't recognize, a few years younger than my mom, who was about eight in the picture.

"Who is this?" I ask, pointing to the grinning little girl with the red pigtails.

Mom looks a little sad, and a bit angry and resentful as she says, "She was my best friend for a long time, but ended up betraying me. I haven't seen her for years."

I want to know what she did, but the look on Mom's face makes me drop the subject. I move onto the next picture. It was taken by Mom less than a year ago, and we didn't even realize she was taking it.

It shows Ryder, Livia, Grandpa and I playing a card game in the dining room. We are all laughing, and Ash looks like he is about to fall off of Ryder's shoulder. The memory is happy, but tinged with sadness as I look upon the faces of Grandpa and Livia, who won't get to laugh like that again.