Hotel Nigh

Chapter 22

The Second Lodger's Exposed Secret
Betty Eastwick: Revealed

"You know her?" I asked, gesturing to Betty with my thumb who was guiltily grasping the snacks tightly, though not at all sufficiently since they were threatening to spill from her clutches.

"She's my sister," Melina breathed, still awe-struck by Betty's presence. "The one I was telling you about." She finally turned to me and I perceived just how uncharacteristically pale her cheeks were.

"She's six years younger than you?"

"Makeup makes you look older," Betty said, her voice dripping with bravado, but the way her grasp was faltering on the snacks, I didn't think it matched her body language. "I'm fifteen."

Now that she mentioned it, the outfit choice didn't hinder the endeavour to appear older. She was wearing baggy, cropped jeans with a flannel shirt, a bandana tied in her hair and a dark top underneath the open shirt. Her makeup was quite extravagant if you were to ask me. It virtually made Melina appear almost makeup-less in comparison to Betty.

"What the hell are you doing here, Betty? You know how dangerous it is to be here right now."

"So why are you here?" she fired back, but she had to frequently readjust her arms so none of the snacks plummeted to the floor.

"Let's just keep our voices down," I said calmly, using my hands to gesture between the two. "We really don't want to arouse anyone, do we, Melina?" I said sternly, facing her.

She stared at me and after a pause she turned back to Betty and asked in a placid voice, "Betty, does Dad know you're here?"

She shrugged, and this was a fatal blunder because a packet of crisps fell to the floor. She bent down to retrieve it and a can of some sort of fizzy drink I'd never really heard of before clanged against the floor. Now she was definitely struggling, but with the leisurely pace she was executing this with, it became apparent that she was just trying to squander away time so she had longer to generate some excuse.

"Betty, does your dad know you're here?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Sighing, she stood up and said, "No, he doesn't. They think I'm visiting a friend."

"So why are you here?"

"I needed to get out of the house," she whined, bending her knees and stomping her foot. Despite the older appearance she had implemented onto herself, her actions brought her age level down to about ten, so it all balanced out when you properly observed Betty. "Dad's got a new girlfriend and they are really arguing and sometimes I can hear plates or vases being thrown at the walls. I hated it. And school is going downhill still. Something happened and now all my friends hate me." She whined like a ten-year-old as well.

"So, your name is Betty Nicole?" I clarified.

She nodded solemnly, and her eyes abruptly appeared glossy. Was she about to cry?

"What did Dad say about you visiting a friend?"

"He was fine with it, Melina. He was more than happy to get me out of the house for a few nights. I think he's using this time to sort things out with his new girlfriend." She paused, scrunching her nose up and at that moment, she could not have looked any dissimilar to Melina. "She's nice enough, but when they argue... I hate it."

Melina glanced at me and I nodded.

"Betty, we really need to get going. Stay in your room – lock the door – whatever. Just stay in your room. If Jason or I knock on the door exactly six times, okay, only open the door then. Whatever you do, do not open the door to anyone else," Melina instructed, pointing her finger at Betty. "Six times, got it?"