In Vendetta House (The Vendetta Series #1)

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Jesse? Eric?"

Nope.

I back out of the first floor South Wing common room.

"Where did they go?" I murmur to myself.

They aren't in the first floor West Wing common room either. I sigh, and start towards checking the fourth floor. I stop outside my dorm, and slowly ease open the door. Sasha sleeps inside, tucked into her covers and sniffing. I shut the door, leaving her to be.

Poor girl.

I turn, ready to climb the stairs. Then I realize I haven't even checked their room. Crossing the hallway in two big steps, I knock on their door. Actually, I more or less pound on it with my fist.

"Open up! This is important!" I demand. On the bright side, it looks like I have my energy back.

"Feisty, aren't ya?"

"This is important!"

"I'm changing!"

"Jesse, I swear to flying pigs everywhere, open up or else-"

He opens the door. Half-naked.

"Oh my god! Put on a shirt!" I complain, storming in as he rolls his eyes.

Eric sits on his bed reading a comic book.

"Hey," he greets.

"Hi," I sigh, flopping down next to him. He almost rolls off from the impact, but rights himself, shooting me a dry look.

"Nice room," I say. Their dorm is obviously similar to mine. Just more... boyish. It smells like dude deodorant.

"What's so important you couldn't wait until I opened the door fully dressed?" Jesse says, sitting onto his messily made bed.

"It doesn't take more than two seconds to put on a shirt."

"But you liked what you saw," he teases. "Mind-reader, remember?"

I narrow my eyes at him. Purposely opening my thoughts, I send in the goriest image I can summon of him dangling over a tank of sharks.

He grins. "Kinky."

I throw my hands up, trying to remember why I was here in the first place.

"We need to go to West Wing," I announce suddenly.

Eric bolts up. "Aren't there spirits in West Wing?"

Jesse nods. "Okay, start from the beginning," he says, sobering. "Why the need to go to West Wing?"

I tell them about Ruby's message, deliberately cutting out the bit where she could see into the future. My eyes drift towards my ankle as I speak. I reach forward and tuck the jean leg down to cover the blinking yellow light.

"How is your name not common?" Eric asks after I finish.

I shake my head. "That's not important right now. I think she knew Garnet knows something about why Vendetta House was founded. Don't you want to know what it is that caused all these people to disappear?"

"Yeah," Jesse says, hesitant. "But what makes you think she'll be one of the spirits in West Wing? It could easily be people before."

"Cecily sort of implied that all the tethered ended up in West Wing. Garnet's got to be there."

"Cecily?" Jesse asks.

Oh shit. And I let the word 'tethered' slip as well. At least he didn't pick that up.