The Hotel Between by Sean Easley

Author:Sean Easley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

16

Like Branches on a Tree

I’m back. My clothes are in the dresser. My squeaky bed invites me to lie down and forget all the chaos and magic of the Hotel.

It’s like waking from a dream.

I glance back at my bedroom door, now bound to the Hotel instead of the hall leading to the living room. Bound to bizarre people, and places unknown, to doors all over the world and . . .

I don’t want to think about it.

I pull my chest of drawers away from the wall and slide it in front of my door—blocking Rahki and Sev on the other side. I sit on the edge of my bed, wringing my hands. I failed. My one chance at stealing into the Old Man’s office, and I blew it. I’m back where I started, sitting in Oma’s house with no hope of finding Dad and less than five days to do it.

Oma. I wonder if she’s here. She’d know what to say to make me feel better. I miss her, and Cass. Are they okay? Was Cass able to come home from the hospital yet? They’re going to have so many questions. But if Sev or Rahki come through that door, they’ll talk me into going back. I don’t know what to do.

So I pace. Back and forth. In a circle. Clenching and unclenching my fists. My posters and junk remind me of who I am. I’m not staff at a magic Hotel. I’m Cam, the boy who locks himself in lockers and hides in his room and collects safety guides. The kid who dreamed of finding his parents but never knew where to look for them. Who takes care of his sister the way no one else can. It was dumb of me to leave in the first place.

Knock-knock. “Cam?” Cass’s voice filters through the wall. “Is that you?”

I stop. The pin and my dresser are all that stand between us. Should I answer? The door jiggles, and I’m not sure whether it’s coming from the hall or the Hotel, or even if Cass can get through while the door is bound. I’d have to un-pin it, wouldn’t I? I’m not sure how it all works. But it’s Cass! She’s okay! She’s back home, and well enough to be rolling around the house. At least that’s a relief.

I sit against the dresser and put my head in my hands.

“Cam, let me in.”

“I can’t,” I say. Now she knows I’m here.

“Where’ve you been? Why’d you leave?”

“I—I wanted to fix everything. But I messed it up.”

“What? Let me in,” she says. “I want to see you.”

I fidget with my necklace, feeling the contours of Dad’s coin. “I can’t,” I say again. And it’s not because I don’t want to. If I unbind that door, if I move that chest, I’ll never finish my mission to help her and Oma. I still want that, even if I’m afraid of failing. They deserve it. . . . No, we deserve it.

“This isn’t funny,” Cass says.

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