Before they left Horizon, Joseph made sure Chara’s taxi app was set up for Auge Island, and that she knew how to use it. She hadn’t expected to be separate from him long enough to need the knowledge.
The cab driver was half twisted in his seat, straining his neck to peer back between the headrests, staring as Chara tried to shove Zephyr up onto the backseat.
Chara reached down to see what was catching. Then she moved Zephyr’s foot up and over the edge of the floor. “Um,” she said, pulling her shawl back up onto her shoulder, “I’ll pay you double if you don’t talk about this.”
“Lady,” the man said, readjusting his cap, “This is far from the weirdest thing I’ve seen.”
Chara hadn’t been to the hotel yet, but she’d been paying enough attention when Joseph explained how to get there. She told the taxi driver to pull up behind the building, then she came around and went in the front, got her key at the desk, found the one way door in the back, and let Zephyr in. After an incredibly tense elevator ride—Chara was certain somebody was going to get on and catch her helping him stand—they made it up to the room.
When Chara finally closed the door behind them, Zephyr sort of slumped down onto the rug in the hallway. For a moment, Chara considered joining him—the last half an hour had been rather tense and exhausting—but she figured at least one of them needed to be responsible.
“You should get up,” Chara said, trying to summon an authoritative tone. “There’s a chair by the window.” And if he was sitting, she’d be able to tell if he passed out.
For a moment, Zephyr lay perfectly motionless. Then, slowly and petulantly, he lifted his arms and crossed them over his chest.
Chara rolled her eyes. Then she stepped over him and into the bathroom.
Hotels came with little packages of things—soaps and lotions and teas and whatever—so maybe there was a first aid kit, or a sewing kit, or something else useful. Actually, she wasn’t sure what she was looking for, since she hadn’t figured out how Zephyr was hurt. He hadn’t spoken once while she was hauling him here, so she had a feeling simply asking him wouldn’t do much good. And really, he could be some kind of alien with completely inhuman biology. How should she know what to do with that? Zephyr’s best bet was probably to contact a friend to come pick him up. Maybe Current was around here somewhere too. She’d have to warn Joseph about the possibility of random superheroes stopping by their window.
Suddenly, Chara couldn’t breathe. She’d felt this kind of jolt before—it always came afterward, when she’d made it back to her room, or out of the car and into school. The dikes her mind had set up to help her act in danger burst open, and all her fears came flooding back.
Stiffly, Chara stepped back out of the bathroom into the entryway, trying not to look down. She grabbed for the handle of the door, but her hand was shaking, and it slipped off the end. Swallowing, she tried again. This time the latch turned, and she burst out into the hall.
Joseph only picked up on the fourth ring, which meant he’d been busy.
“Chara!” Joseph said, voice full of that innocent excitement he always carried. “Where are you?”
Chara took in a breath. That was what you had to do, to say something.
“Chara, are you okay?”
“I—yes,” she said.
“Okay,” Joseph said, “Okay—where are you?”
Chara looked up and around her, and she recognized the stairwell she was sitting in. “It’s—I’m at the hotel.”
“That’s good,” Joseph said. “I figured you’d have more fun there anyway. But actually, I also headed back to our room a bit ago, and—”
“I’m sorry!” Chara gasped, and then she dug her knuckles into her mouth.
“Why?” Joseph asked,
“I—” Chara started, and that was it. She didn’t know how to continue. Joseph wasn’t talking like he’d come back and run into Zephyr—but then, Joseph had a tendency to act more generously than anyone could reasonably expect.
“Chara, I think you’d better come up here,” Joseph said, nonchalant. “Can you find your way back?”
“Sure,” Chara said, and hung up. Maybe this was the other shoe she’d been waiting for—Joseph hardly ever told her to do anything.
Chara wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting to encounter upstairs, but it wasn’t this. Zephyr wasn’t laying on the carpet anymore, and she didn’t see Joseph at first either. Puzzled, she closed the door behind her and stepped forward into the room.
When she came past the corner, she spotted Joseph to her left, sitting at a desk up against the wall. He looked up, saw her and pushed his tablet away. “There you are! Did you have any adventures while I was busy?”
Chara felt the air stir, pushing her skirt against her legs. As if drawn by a string she turned her head and looked. The window was open.
“Joseph,” she said, suddenly understanding, “Was there anyone here when you came in?”
“No,” Joseph said, brows furrowing. “Chara, are you really alright?”
Chara covered her mouth with her hands, then slowly shook her head. He still didn’t know. She was going to have to tell him.
“Did something happen?” Joseph asked.
“I—I brought Zephyr back here!” Chara blurted. This was her rush of bravery—she’d have to get it all out how. “I ran into a fight back at the conference building, and I thought he might be in trouble and so I didn’t think about it, I just knew we had to get away from there, and I didn’t—I’m so sorry that I—”
“Chara,” Joseph said.
“I didn’t mean to do it, and I know that I shouldn’t have, but—”
“Why not!” Joseph exclaimed.
Chara cut off, blinking. Her eyes were watering again.
Joseph held out his hands. “Come here,” he said.
Slowly, Chara walked over to him. Joseph took her hands in his.
“Chara,” Joseph said, “I trust you.”
“Why?” Chara said.
Joseph shook his head. He was smiling, but it wasn’t his normal expression. He seemed sad. “Because you love me.”
A sudden sob tried to escape her, but she caught it, choked it back. “You know that’s not true.”
“You do though,” Joseph said. His thumbs rubbed over the backs of her hands. “I think you don’t like me much, sometimes, but you love me. Why else would you be so torn up about this? Why else would you be here on this trip in the first place?”
The next couple of minutes were sort of a blur. Chara cried more and more, until she had to sit down and think hard about how breathing worked. In the meantime, the peanut gallery of her mind gave a running commentary. At least she’d learned to be a quiet crier, so she wouldn’t be a bother to the neighbors. Joseph was still sitting in the same place—why hadn’t he left for one of his meetings, or got up to search the bathroom for a tissue box. Normally he got nervous when she cried like this. What face was he making now? If she pulled it together quickly enough, could she still look up and catch it?
Finally, the fog in her forehead cleared, and she found herself sitting with her back against the desk drawers, legs folded in front of her, staring across the room at the window. She’d long missed her opportunity to respond appropriately, and she wasn’t sure how to start a new conversation. The knobs were poking into her back.
“I wish I could have met him,” Joseph said. He had his elbow on the desk, his hand under his chin. The light from the window fell on his back, casting a shadow over his face.
“Why?” Chara asked. She’d never come home to find a stranger in her room, but she didn’t imagine it was a pleasant experience.
Joseph shrugged. “I just wish I knew what it's like, when you see him.”