Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love Novel)(105)

Eden, I needed Eden, my comfort, my purpose, the other half of my heart. I picked up speed and Xander jogged to catch up with me, not asking any questions, seeming to understand why I was in such a hurry.

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Xander used the key to open the hotel room door and I practically pushed him aside to get through. "Eden?"
All the curtains were open, showing the night sky. The beds were made and everything looked like it'd been straightened. But where was Eden? "Eden?" I called again.
I dropped all the bags in my hands on the bed, my heart rate starting to increase.
"In here," she called, walking out of the bathroom. I breathed out, putting my hand over my chest.
I rushed toward her and picked her up in my arms and she laughed as I squeezed her tight.
"Success?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, burying my nose in her fragrant neck. I drew in her scent, feeling at peace. "We got money and clothes and food."
Eden sucked in a breath. "Big success. Let me see. Oh, and I'm starving. Feed me."
I laughed and put her down, leaning back to open the bag with the food in it.
As I got all the food out, Eden went back in the bathroom. When she came out a few minutes later wearing the small sundress and sweater, I stopped what I was doing and simply stared. Her slim, but shapely legs were fully on view, and the fitted sundress showed her curves, her creamy cleavage on view at the top. I raised my eyes to look at her face and she was biting her lip, waiting for me to speak. "You look beautiful," I said. "Almost too beautiful. I'm going to have to get used to the way people dress out here."
Eden let out a breath and smiled, looking down at the bright fabric and raising her eyebrows. "Me, too."
I looked back at Xander and he was staring at Eden, too, a small smile on his face. "Whoa," he said. When he saw me looking at him, the smile vanished. "It's really . . . bright, that's all."
I looked back at Eden and she started laughing first, and I couldn't help but to join her.
We sat down on the bed and ate bread, broken off pieces of cheese, and apples. We told Eden about our "adventures" in the aisles of Target and the pawnshop.
As Eden and Xander laughed and chatted about something, I chewed my apple and watched them, a small smile on my face. Whatever happened from here on out, whatever struggles we had, I'd never forget this moment. For some reason, it felt important to take a mental picture that very second. I shook my head slightly, and focused back in on their conversation.
"I'm gonna try Kristi now," Xander said. "Eden, will you walk me through this phone thing?"
Eden and Xander went over to the phone on the bedside table while I cleaned up the food.
I looked back when I heard Xander say, "Kristi?"
Eden came over and wrapped her arms around me from behind and nuzzled her face into my back. I turned around and gathered her in my arms, kissing the top of her head as I listened to Xander give Kristi a brief breakdown on what had happened since yesterday. Had it only been yesterday? It seemed incomprehensible that life had changed so much in twenty-four hours.
"Yeah," Xander said, "okay . . . right. Half an hour? Okay, yeah."
I looked at him questioningly over Eden's head.
Xander hung up the phone and stood there for a second, looking at the wall. Finally, he turned toward us. "Kristi's going to pick us up in half an hour. She said the police were all over the ranger station today asking about Eden."
Cold dread ran down my spine.
"She said we're not safe here at a hotel, especially one of the first ones at the entrance to the city."
I nodded and Eden stood back. "Right. Okay," I said, starting to gather up our stuff. "Is it safe to go to Kristi's house?"
"Probably safer than here. She suggested we get out of town as quickly as possible."
"Out of town?" Eden asked stuffing things into the canvas bag we'd brought.
"Yeah. We can ask her when she picks us up."
"Can we get our money back for the room?" Eden asked.
Xander shook his head. "We have a thousand dollars now with Kristi's money. I don't think it's worth drawing attention to ourselves right now."
We were packed up in ten minutes and watched the clock for the next twenty. I paced while Xander and Eden sat on the bed watching me. The police were looking for Eden, which meant Hector had called them. I didn't know why I had doubted he'd call the authorities. True, Eden was a minor, for now, but she wouldn't be for long. And Hector had always seemed so adamant about keeping our community separate from the big community, operated by its own laws. The laws of the gods as spoken to him.