Sinners Are Winners [bxb]

Chapter Twenty Five

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE- Cheap Motels and Plans

"Why the hell do you know so much about going into hiding?" Grant asked, raising an eyebrow as Xavion hung a sheet over the motel's only window. I noticed a particularly large stain on one of the beds and went to poke it. Grant, who glanced over at me, quickly grabbed my wrist. "Ew, Ishmael. Don't touch that."

Xavion secured the sheet and glanced over at us. "Well, in third grade we just go a whole year trying to stay hidden while all the teachers are on the lookout for us. The winning class gets a pizza party. So, you get pretty good at staying off the grid."

"I have major concerns about Hell's education system."

Xavion had walked us in, paid in cash, and put down a fake name for the room. When we walked in, he even had us cover our faces to hide us from what he called 'security cameras.'

The living space itself smelt like cigarettes and sin. The bedsheets were crinkled and stained, there was even this off-white yellowish hue to them.

"Hell's education system is the best in the universe." Xavion scoffed. Once he was done making sure the sheet would stay, he plopped down to the balls of his feet again and turned to face us.

Grant scoffed. "What's 42 times 63?"

Xavion looked at Grant like he grew a second head. "Ew. The only math we do in Hell is learning how to draw 6's."

"Why 6?" I piped in, raising an eyebrow.

Xavion scowled at me. "Obviously to draw 666 on random people's walls in blood to freak them out." He rolled his eyes. "I swear, Ishy-doo, sometimes you astound me with your idiocy."

I scowled. "You didn't even know what 42 times 63 was."

"Neither do you."

"It's 2,646. Obviously." I mocked his former tone with my 'obviously.' My retort made his lip curl up in amusement, which tugged my heart slightly. Fuck these demon allergies (that are definitly not a crush because that's impossible and Xavion's a loser).

"You just pulled that number out of your ass." Xavion's lip-curl broke into a full, cocky grin.

Grant frowned and pulled out his phone. After typing the numbers in a magic equation-solver, he shrugged. "Ishmael's right. Huh."

Xavion's amusement shattered. "They make you do math in heaven? That's so lame. I'm literally starting to think that Hell's the real paradise. Wifi, no math, legal arson, rad parties. What does heaven have? Clouds and math."

I opened my mouth to protest, because the lack of legal arson in heaven was actually a good thing. But, Grant cut in with a wave of his hands. "As riveting as this conversation is, it's really not helping anything. We need some sort of game plan. We can't just stay at this motel forever."

I scowled and crossed my arms. "Well? What else are we supposed to do? That stupid church just pops up every time we try to move somewhere. Plus, that angel's out looking for us. We're sorta stuck."

"I still say we fight fire with fire and burn down the church."

"No." Grant and I both deadpanned before looking at each other in surprise.

"Jinx!" Grant pointed at me.

My eyebrows creased in, not even trying to hide my confusion. "Who's jinx?"

Amusement danced in Xavion's eyes. "My God, Ishy-Ishy, you remind me of a toddler sometimes. Jinx is just something people say when they say something at the same time."