Disastrous

25

"Kiara?" Kavin's eyes lit up as he saw me, excitedly grabbing my shoulders, "You're alive!"

"Yes, I'm alive!" I said with a giggle as I wrapped my arms around him, "What are you doing here?" I asked, pulling back from him but not removing my arms from him.

"Well, grandpa died a little while ago and Father got a ton of money. He surprised us with this weekend trip and we're staying upstairs. How did you get here?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously, going from sadness over the loss of our grandfather to wariness.

"It's a long story, but I know about Grandpa," I sighed, staring down at the ground, "What room are you staying in?"

"Uh," He glanced down at his hand, where I saw three numbers written with permanent marker that sent a bowling ball into my stomach, "Four eighteen,"

"Shit," I whispered, half to myself though surely Kavin couldn't hear over the sounds of the music blasting from speakers all around the room, "Kavin, do you trust me?"

Kavin, as he should, looked unsure and hesitated before nodding slowly.

"Okay," I sucked in a deep breath before looking at him and digging in the many pockets of my jeans, "Something really bad is going to happen here, tonight. I'm going to give you enough money to fly to New York, and then some extra to keep yourself stable. But I'll meet you up there soon,"

My pockets did not fail me, full of money that Colby had given me just in case I needed something important. Well, this was important enough.

I handed Kavin all the cash I had, at least three thousand dollars.

"Kiara, can I ask where you got all this?" Kavin shoved the money securely in his own front pockets, "I have so many questions,"

"Well I have no time to answer those questions, at least not now," I patted his shoulder in a rushed manner, leading him through the crowd to the front door.

"What about Haiti?" He asked about our sister, "And Mother and Father?"

I opened the door to the bar for him, letting him lead the way outside.

"I can't give you that information," I shook my head. I could damn well tell him every single thing that's about to happen, but for his own safety and for mine I refused to.

"Okay. You promise you'll be in New York?" He turned and hugged me, holding onto me so long I thought he'd never let go.

"Yes. I'll find you. Try to get yourself in Brooklyn, get a hotel or something," I began to adjust his rather fancy suit jacket, "Don't show anyone the money. Don't brag, don't mention family, nothing. And most importantly," I stared into his large, wide brown eyes, "No sharing your last name. Got it?"

He looked confused, and taken aback slightly. But Kavin nodded anyway, and I kissed his cheek, "I'll see you soon,"

I turned around, making my way back into the bar. It took my ears a moment to get adjusted to the noise once more, and even longer for me to find the four boys I came here with.

I spotted Jake first, messing around with one of the many strangers we were partying with. He caught my eye, glancing at me one more time before recognizing the familiar face.

"Oh, Kiara! There you are!" He scanned the crowd with his eyes before they lit up, "Colby! Sam! Corey! She's over here!"

Within seconds, the three of them met up with us after shoving through the people.

"Where were you?" Colby demanded, his eyes filled with anger, and his lips tight against his teeth, "We've been looking all over this damn place for you!"

"I was in the bathroom," I kept my voice quiet, swallowing nervously. I didn't realize I had been gone longer than what they anticipated.

"Brother, relax," Sam placed his hand on Colby's shoulder, "She's here now. Let's just go,"

Colby stared into his friend's eyes, debating on whether or not to continue with what he was doing or just to drop it.

He chose the latter, relaxing his arms and unclenching his fists. It was odd for me to see him in such a state, being that he hasn't acted like that around me in quite some time.

With a shake of his head, he led the way back to the entrance of the bar. By now, I'm sure this is more than just a bar because of how many people were there, but it was irrelevant to try and figure it out now.

The five of us walked down the street in silence, going into a hotel that was nearly the whole way down the block.

"Everyone has their own rooms," Sam explained, "They're all nice, all connected. I talked to the owners, and usually they don't let people have this room but we are of higher importance than normal people," He glanced over at me, as if he was personally telling me this information though he was talking loud enough for everyone to hear.

We walked through the lobby, not taking the normal, main staircase of the building or the elevator. Instead, there was a door next to the receptionist desk that led to a metal staircase, only going up to the third floor.

Corey took the lead, opening the final door once we got to the landing. He held it open for everyone, and nobody bothered to mention how nice the hotel was.

The carpets were black with gold and red designs in it, the lights a warm color that made the walls appear darker than usual. The hallway wasn't long, maybe only a few feet before leading to matching french doors and another solid door behind those once.

I excitedly opened all the doors, not bothering to shut them behind me since Jake and Sam had yet to enter the room.

After the door there were six different doors around the parlor room, probably leading to bedrooms or bathrooms. I opened the first door I reached, Corey doing the same with the neighboring one.

"THERE'S A SQUIRREL!" Corey shouted, either the walls were incredibly thin or he was screaming incredibly loud.

"WHAT?" I responded, not bothering to rush to his attention.

The room was massive, with a beautiful bed and matching white dressers. The room was fairly empty, but it was extravagant all the same.

I heard the door click behind me, and I looked back to see Colby in the room now, with the door shut behind him.

His eyes were unreadable, and I was unsure of his intentions. I stayed quiet, waiting for him to speak, but I assumed he was doing the same.

"I, uh, didn't mean to yell at you back at the bar," Colby rubbed the back of his neck, seeming embarrassed to have to bring it up.

"I'm a grown adult," I crossed my arms in front of myself, "I don't need searched for when I was hardly gone for five minutes,"

"What we're doing is incredibly risky, Kiara," He pointed out, "Five minutes of waiting could be five minutes too late,"

I could see where he was coming from, it wouldn't take long for someone to put a bullet through my head.

"Why do you care?" I asked, feeling myself boil up with annoyance.

Colby didn't hesitate, blurting out the first thing that came to mind, "Because I love you."