(after the) #happilyeverafter

Chapter 13: Interrupted Sleep

Hiya, Elise!!!

Well, no rest for the weary, huh? Or is it the wicked? I can never remember how that phrase goes...

Anyhoo, yeah, Josh.

After I wrote to you last, I did actually go back into the hotel room and must have fallen asleep pretty soundly, because the next thing I knew, there was a horrible banging noise that wouldn't stop -- I sat bolt upright in bed with a huge gasp. A little bit of dim amber-hued artificial lighting was streaming in from the crack between the otherwise-effective blackout curtains and I could see Noah, on the other side of the bed (I'd just pulled the covers off him), calling out "Wha? Ya..." and waved an arm in the air rather wildly, eventually patting at the pillow I'd just vacated. "Lindzi? Are you OK?" was his next question, still in a panicky voice.

The pounding at the door -- that was the banging -- was still going on. "There's someone at the door, Noah," I said, patting his still-reaching hand reassuringly. His fingers tightened around mine and I had to yank my hand back. "I'll just see what they need."

"No," he said blearily, pushing himself up off the bed, "Let me. This sometimes happens..."

It was kinda nice to let someone else deal with the unexpected for once, although I kept sitting up and listened after he opened the door a crack, chain lock still engaged. I couldn't hear the mumbled conversation but I did hear my name, and after a bit he shut the door, came back to the bed -- my side -- and sat down next to me on the edge of it.

"Turns out it was for you after all," he said in a low voice. "I wanted to make sure it wasn't one of my fans -- I've had incidents before -- but it's legit."

"What is it?" I asked, a little absently because it just JUST A LITTLE DISTRACTING that he was sitting like TWO INCHES away from me, CLEARLY SHIRTLESS and smelling just a LITTLE TOO GOOD. Arrrgh. I thought some sleep would have cleared my head. Obviously I hadn't had enough.

"One of the matches... Josh something? He's missing, and the police are here questioning people about it. I guess they've got Elise in an interrogation room, and there's no one to babysit the matches."

"Oh my gosh!" I said, horrified into full wakefulness, surprised enough to put a hand on his arm, then snatched it back as if scorched -- I shouldn't really be feeling that kind of ZING with NOAH of all people -- "Josh? JOSH CIPRINI? Are you sure it was him?!?!!!"

"Yeah, that sounds right," Noah said, sounding a little distracted himself. "Josh Ciprini. Why is that such a big deal?"

"Oh no," I moaned, clutching my head in my hands. "He's our network's owner's son. Like, the heir. And we LOST HIM??? I KNEW that turning off my phone was a BAD IDEA!!!!"

"Relax, Lindzi," Noah said, patting my blanket-covered knee. Then he sort of hesitantly put an arm around my shoulders for a side hug. "You've dealt with worse than this, like a thousand times. It'll be fine. It's not a match wielding a chainsaw, after all!"

I couldn't help but laugh, to be reminded of THAT SITUATION, and for a second it felt A LITTLE TOO GOOD to relax against him, but then I had to FACE THE MUSIC.

"Well, no chainsaws this time, but we've got a TOTAL VIP in DANGER and I'm going to have to do something about it. Or anyway, he's LOST."

His arm tightened around me for a second -- the boy is STRONGER than I remembered, weird -- then he nodded, as if making a decision. "OK, then, I'll come with you. I've seen this batch of weirdos as much as you have."

"Don't mock! You were one of them once upon a time!" I said, falling back into our usual give-and-take about #life.

He shuddered dramatically and stood up, pulling me with him. "Let's hope I learned something," he said, then snorted. "HEE-HAW!!" he cried, and doubled over laughing, letting go of me.