Kids These Days

Chapter 17: Ronan

Ms. Allen is waiting for us back at the motel. Judging by her stony expression, she hasn't gotten over her fight with Finn. (The fight he doesn't remember having. That's going to be a problem.) Luckily, Becca's arrival throws her for a loop, and I sneak Finn into the motel without detection.

Behind us, I hear Ms. Allen exclaim, "You're from Lightlake, too?"

And then: "Yeah, it's kind of a long story."

I usher Finn into the bathroom and close the door. There's a cigarette butt in the sink. I rinse it down the drain — sorry, frogs — before Finn can notice.

"Uh... what's going on?" he asks, wiping his bloody hand on a bath towel.

"You got in a fight with your mom," I say in a rush. "It was brutal. She told you that your dad quit his job, and you reacted... poorly. I think she's still upset."

"Wait. My dad quit his job?"

"Yeah. Apparently, he doesn't want to be a cop anymore."

Finn pales. "Did she give you an explanation?"

"No. The conversation deteriorated pretty quickly after that."

"Shit. This isn't good." He wipes his hand more frantically, leaving bloody smears all over the white towel. I wonder how the Super 8 room service will react to a blood-stained bathroom. Then again, they've probably seen weirder shit. "My dad is arriving in Dusty Valley today. I think we're supposed to meet him at Floyd's ranch."

"What about Becca?"

Finn lets out a strangled laugh. "God, I don't know."

"Her cousin drove her here all the way from Arizona. That's got to count for something. I know you two have history, but it seems like she genuinely wants to help."

"I don't want her help." Finn glances out at me out of the corner of his eye. "How did she know I was in Dusty Valley, anyway?"

"I might've called her..."

"Ronan, no! Why?"

I fight the urge to reach for the cigarette in my back pocket. I wasn't planning on telling Finn about my phone call with Becca, but I might as well bite the bullet now. "You don't understand what it was like for the rest of us while you were gone. It was scary. Really, really scary. I didn't know who else to call."

"I told you to take me to Dolores. Why didn't you listen?"

"I'm not a Dusty Valley native, Finn. I had no idea who you were talking about." I drag a hand over my eyes, trying to resist an inevitable headache. "Could you please not freak out about this? We have way bigger problems at the moment."

He huffs incredulously. "Like what?"

"Like the psycho real estate lady who thinks you're possessed by her dead sister! And who might have secret witchy powers!"

"Rachel isn't a witch. She's a psychic, just like Dolores and Becca."

"How do you know that?"

"Leigh told me."

"The dead chick?"

"Don't call her that," he says, slapping me with the bloody bath towel. I yelp in protest. "And she's not really dead. She said she was stuck in a metaphysical waiting room."

"What the ever-loving fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know! It was this place in the desert, a white Joshua tree surrounded by a circle of deer skulls... You're looking at me like I'm crazy. Why are you looking at me like I'm crazy? This is why I didn't want to tell you --"