Paradox (Travelers Series Book 2) (12 page)

“
Bienvenidos
, do you have a reservation?” Her English is pretty good. I can detect a strong Spanish accent, but she seems comfortable speaking a language other than her native one. Makes me wish I paid more attention in French class, not that it’ll help here.

“Uh, no. Actually we’re looking for a guest of the hotel. Miss Jenny Prado,” Cooper says.

The nice receptionist frowns for the first time since greeting us. “Miss Prado, yes. She is not expecting guests.” She isn’t asking if Jenny is expecting us. It was more along the lines of, Jenny doesn’t expect guests.

“Does she ever?” I ask. I don’t mean to sound snippy towards the otherwise nice receptionist, it just comes out that way. My nerves are still jumpy from the crowded airport and the armed goons we saw during our scenic tour of the city.

“Miss Prado?” She vehemently shakes her head. “No. No guests.”

“I see.” I tap my fingers lightly on the counter, indicating my frustration.

Cooper takes a more subtle approach. “Do you happen to have a bar here in the resort?” He asks as if it’s no big deal whether we can see Jenny or not. This seems to calm the receptionist down.

“No room?”

“Not today, thank you. The bar?”

“
Sí
…yes. El Bar is located near the courtyard, down that way.” She points in the direction of the main lobby.

“
Gracias
,” I offer, pleased to be able to say something in her native tongue and it’s my way of apologizing for my curt attitude. I don’t want her lasting impression to be that Americans don’t have manners.

I allow Cooper to lead the way, heading in the direction of the lobby. I don’t know why he wants to stick around if we don’t know what room Jenny is staying in. And a bar? Since when does he drink? I’ve never heard him ask for anything other than tea or coffee when asked over for dinner.

“Why are we going to the hotel bar? Do you think Jenny makes a habit of getting plastered?” This doesn’t sound like Jenny either. At least, not the two versions I know of. She likes to party, sure, but to drink and lose control is not exactly Jenny’s style, even if her family wealth comes from the sale and distribution of beer.

“It’s just an excuse to roam around the place, darlin’. This way, we don’t raise suspicion.” He seems to know where he’s going and makes a left turn down another corridor. There, we pass the courtyard, where the lounge is located, and I’m surprised to find out it’s actually called El Bar. I thought the front desk lady was simply referring to it in generic terms.

As we pass the bar, I’m still chuckling over the name. “So, where do you think we’ll actually find her?”

“The spa,” he says.

Of course!
That’s exactly the type of place she’d be found hanging out. Much more logical than a bar. “Lead the way,
señor.
”

Locating the health spa is pretty easy. We follow the signs leading us a bit further down the hallway. We reach the front desk and the spa attendant doesn’t seem as pleasant as the front desk receptionist, so I don’t know how we expect to get any information from the guy.

Cooper stands directly in front of the counter, looking right at the attendant. “Yes, my sister and I were here yesterday. There was a woman who lost her sunglasses on the deck, only she left before we found them. We came by to return them to her in person.”

I could kick Cooper for saying that. His sister? Really?

“Your name, sir?” The attendant doesn’t flinch a facial muscle, nor does he seem to be too impressed we’re guests of the hotel. Aren’t they supposed to ask for your hotel key or something? This guy is just taking it on Cooper’s word that we belong here.

“Oh, we won’t be in your books. We’re guests of a friend who’s staying here. We’re kind of in a hurry though and we’d really like to return the sunglasses to the young woman staying here.”

Thankfully, the attendant appears to be buying Cooper’s story. He obviously isn’t as protective of the guests as the young lady at the reception desk, despite his demeanor. I mistook his stern expression for one of boredom.

“Do you know her name?” The attendant asks.

“No, actually. I was hoping you could help us. She’s young, about seventeen, maybe eighteen, with long blonde hair.” Cooper is trying a different tactic with the spa attendant than the receptionist. By not knowing Jenny’s name, it gives our story more credibility somehow. Suspicion usually arises when you are looking for someone specifically.

“
Ah, Señorita Prado, s
í
.
” It’s so obvious he has a crush on Jenny. His face immediately perks up at the mention of her.

“Yes, that’s it. She was really nice and I’d hate for her to think she’d lost her sunglasses,” I say. This time, I’m not as rude as I was with the hotel clerk.

“Of course. You come at a good time. You can find her at the pool.” He points in the direction of the doors I assume lead out to the pool deck. He continues to smile as he directs us to where Jenny is.

“Thank you. We know where it is.” I smile back. I’m glad we noticed the pool entrance before we spoke to the guy. If we stick to our storyline, we were supposed to have been here yesterday. If we have to ask, it’d blow our cover.

We walk through the double doors that lead us directly to the pool area. “Really, Coop? Your sister? You didn’t have to say anything regarding our relationship. The guy was so indifferent, he wouldn’t have cared if you said we were aliens from another planet.”

He laughs. “I know, I just like messing with you. You look so cute when you get mad.”

I shoot him a cold glare and walk in front of him as I go in search of the telltale ash blonde shade I know belonging to Jenny. How I handle our first encounter will dictate the rest of our relationship, so I decide to take the lead on this. If I allow Cooper to handle it, she’ll never regard me as an equal.

We find her sunbathing in a tiny white, barely there bikini. Just what I need, Cooper getting an eyeful of what goods Jenny has to offer.

“Don’t worry, darlin’. Trust me, I’ve seen better,” he assures me with a wink.

Still mad at the sister crack, I pretend not to hear him and walk directly in front of Jenny. I cast a shadow over half of her body, as I step over her and say, “
Hola
, Jenny.”

Her eyelashes flutter and she shoots me an annoyed look. “You’re blocking my sun.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say, as I make room for myself on the lounge chair, pushing her legs aside. “Is this better?”

“Etta.”
Be nice
, Cooper mouths.

I move ever so slightly from my position on the chair, giving Jenny a chance to see Cooper for the first time. “And who are you?” There’s a twinkle in her eyes as she addresses him.

He takes a step in our direction. “I’m Cooper,” he introduces himself. “And this is Etta. We came a pretty far distance to speak with you.”

Her attitude changes in an instant. “You’re Americans,” she says, eyeing us with suspicion. “What do you possibly have to say to me?”

I breathe a heavy sigh. “Same ol’ Jenny. Always too self-absorbed to bother with other people’s problems.”

Jenny’s body stiffens as her upper body rises up from her relaxed position. Her eyes squint as she stares directly into mine. “Do I know you?”

What I want to say is,
Yeah, you’ve made my life miserable the last four years.
But I know this Jenny doesn’t deserve that—yet. Instead, I opt for, “No, you don’t.”

“Then why are you here?” She begins to relax back into the chair, as if any business we have to discuss is insignificant and not worthy of her time. Typical Jenny. Is Cooper sure this is the right one? I can’t imagine being friends with this alternate version of Jenny either. I think he made a mistake.

Cooper steps in before she and I get into it and end up getting kicked out of the resort. “Jenny, do you remember a man by the name of Oliver Thornberry?” He asks her.

There’s no emotion in her face, other than her eyes narrowing into slits at the mention of Thornberry’s name. “He’s the man that murdered my parents.”

“We need your help to overthrow him,” I say.

“
¡Coño!”
Her demeanor changes in that instant and gestures for Cooper to sit on the chair next to her. “Please, sit. Let’s talk.”

I
‘m exhausted after our quick foray into Mexico. In the end, Cooper was right. It didn’t take much convincing on our part for Jenny to agree to join us. She readily agreed to let him take her to the Thornberry alternate world in order to prepare. We were only gone a day, but it seemed like a week. Since I’d already skipped two days of school, I figured why not miss Friday too? I doubt I’ll be missed.

After clearing my absence from school with Aunt Maggie—in which I claim jet lag—I take my breakfast outside on the deck. At this point, both my dad and aunt are at an impasse on how to handle my newfound role. My father seems to have made a one-eighty and has granted me permission to continue on with Cooper, enlisting all the others who are going to help me defeat Thornberry. My aunt on the other hand, while she still remains supportive, insists that my studies are still important. And it doesn’t help that I’m only a few weeks away from graduation. If I fail finals between now and then, I don’t graduate.

“Senior Skip Day is still two weeks away,” I hear coming from the side entrance to the backyard. It’s Alex. I didn’t expect to hear from him after our break-up in the quad on Monday. I guess I underestimated my importance. Someone noticed my absence from school after all.

“I haven’t been feeling too well,” I say. Why I’ve been avoiding school isn’t really his business anymore. Not that anything in my life has been any of his business. Everything up to this point has been a big bad secret. That’s probably why our relationship was doomed to fail. “What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have someone else to bother?” Meaning Jenny, of course.

“What can I say? I’m full of crap,” he says, pulling up a chair next to me. “I didn’t mean what I said the other day at school. I was just confused about the whole break-up thing.” He looks up at me with those crystal blue eyes of his. “Do you really not want to see me anymore?”

My breakfast at this point has turned cold, so I put my fork down and look at Alex square in the eye. “I’m sorry, Alex. To be honest, I really don’t know what to say. I guess I’m pretty confused too. The night of the Spring Fling, Jenny hanging out with you whenever I’m not around; I just don’t know what to make of that.”

“I told you, it was all a misunderstanding. Besides, I can say the same of you. Spending time with that older guy.”

“Coop is just a friend.”
Oh, yeah, and my future husband.
“And for the record, he’s not the reason I want to take a break.”
It’s because I am not the girl you believe me to be.
The Etta he thinks he knows, is the girl I should’ve been, had I never gone to the other reality. I’m essentially a fraud. Even if I don’t have feelings for Cooper, Alex deserves better than an imposter like me.

“Are you really not going to class today?” He eyes my plain blue p.j. set, as he waits for me to answer—I learned my lesson after the incident the other morning and threw the smiley cloud ones away. Even after everything I read in my diary, coupled with his reaction to our conversation earlier this week, he truly looks sad over the break-up.

“Really, I’m just not feeling very well. It’s probably one of those twenty-four hour bugs. I’ll be back on Monday,” I assure him.

Alex doesn’t seem too convinced, eyeing my plate full of food. “Does this have anything to do with Jaime? She hasn’t been around all week and everyone is starting to talk.”

“What are they saying?” This is what I’ve been afraid of and if I’m honest with myself, this is one of the reasons why I can’t face going to school. It’s like a constant reminder that I’ve failed somehow. Sure, I know Oliver took her in his haste to escape, but it doesn’t make it any less my fault. I just don’t know how to deal with all the questions without breaking down.

He kicks back in his chair, seeming more comfortable, now that the conversation’s switched from talking about us to someone else. “That her parents gave her back to the state, she has mono, and my personal favorite, she became addicted to meth and went to Aspen for rehab.”

“Aspen?”

Alex shrugs. “Isn’t that where they send folks for drug rehab? To some fancy resort?”

“Seriously, Alex. They’re saying all that?” I’d hate to think what they’re saying about me and I’ve only been absent two days. It’s probably why Alex came by to see me this morning. To make sure I wasn’t sick, dead, or
my
personal favorite, lost in some alternate reality.

Now he just looks embarrassed at having spread the gossip. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. By Monday, the vultures will find someone or something else to talk about.”

Yeah, me.
“I suppose. Look, I really appreciate you coming over to check-up on me, but I’m fine. I just need to rest for awhile.” It’s my way of indicating it’s his cue to leave.

Alex takes the hint. He rises from his chair and heads towards the side entrance. “Sure. See you on Monday?”

“Yup.” Only, I hope he doesn’t take this as a sign that I’m willing to give him another chance. Making decisions that could very well jeopardize my future is not something I want to mess with. I just don’t think I have it in me.

•  •  •

My mood is kinda sullen after Alex’s visit, so I go up to my room for a nap. I’m super tempted to try to astral to search for Jaime again, but my desire to not get into trouble, after I specifically promised Aunt Maggie I wouldn’t, definitely outweighs any decision to go back to the government facility, where I’m likely to get caught for sure. As I debate on which punishment would be worse, I fall asleep.

I wake-up to find I’m starving, having left most of my breakfast on my plate this morning. I make my way down to the kitchen and spot my aunt, already working on lunch. Looks like tuna salad is on the menu for today. It’s getting close to summer and my aunts says it means no more heavy rich foods to fill our bellies. I make my way to the island where she’s cooking and take a seat on the kitchen stool, so I can watch my aunt work her culinary magic.