The Secret Sister (Book 2 in The Secret Series)

Chapter 18: The Motel

Chapter 18: The Motel

“Hey, it’s time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, grumbling slightly and turning in the seat, still in the comfortable state of being half asleep.

“Leave me alone…” I mumbled, pressing my face against the cold glass window.

I heard Tony chuckle mischievously, but was too sleepy to take any notice.

“You asked for it,” He murmured in a lilting voice, and I swatted my hand in his direction.

“Leave me be, mortal.”

I felt my seatbelt unbuckle, and snap back into place, but I still refused to open my eyes and wake up fully.

I heard the car door open and then slam shut.

Wearily, I opened one of my eyes slightly. Too tired to care, I shut it again and leaned against the door, deciding that Tony must have gone off by himself.

Suddenly, the door I was leaning on was flung open. My eyes flew open in surprise as I tumbled out of the car and onto the hard concrete.

Shocked, and lying on the floor, I heard Tony laughing loudly from somewhere in front of me. I got to my knees slowly, and gave Tony a burning look.

He tried to say something, but was laughing so hard he couldn’t manage it.

Angrily, cheeks flaming, I stood up and ignored the fact that the ground beneath me was beginning to melt.

“I hate you, Stark,” I snarled, which only renewed his amusement.

It was dark outside, the moon bright and high in the sky. We were stood in a deserted car park outside a rundown motel. The motel was originally named “Motel”, and was written in neon lighting which flickered irritatingly every few seconds.

I folded my arms and waited impatiently for Tony to shut up. Finally, he was quiet, but there was a smug grin on his face which annoyed me even more then his laughter had.

“You are so immature,” I growled, and he shrugged lightly, still smirking.

“I’ve been called many things, but immature isn’t one of them.”

I scowled, waiting for an apology, even though I knew there was no chance of getting one. Tony was just as stubborn as I was, if not more so.

“What are we doing here?” I asked finally, changing the subject, but my voice was icy cold. I wasn’t going to let him get away with waking me up so rudely.

“It’s called a Motel, honey – it’s where people go to sleep.”

“I know that!” I snapped, and he gave me a condescending smile.

“Obviously this is where our new best friend is hanging out,” He continued, his gaze travelling to the building and a look of disgust forming on his face as he regarded the “Motel”.

“Who would choose to stay here?” I asked in disbelief, and Tony smiled humourlessly, beginning to move toward the Motel.

“Someone who doesn’t want to be found.”

“What’s the mutant’s name again?” I asked, falling into step with him despite still being annoyed.

“You know, I don’t think he’ll be too thrilled if you keep calling him ‘mutant’,” Tony said wryly.

“Fine, but what is his name?”

“Logan. But most people just call him Wolverine.”

“Wolverine? He’s not going to be part animal, part human, is he?” I asked weakly, not sure what the title of mutant would entail, but Tony snorted.

“No, he’s not. He has – well, I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” He said secretively, and I would have punched him if we weren’t stood outside of the glass front doors of the Motel.

Tony entered and held the door open for me, his eyes glinting mysteriously.

The lobby was empty apart from two grimy looking white leather sofas and a cracked reception desk. The carpet was an ugly, old fashioned pattern, and the colour was faded. An old man sat at the desk, reading a newspaper. He looked up blearily out our entrance, and then frowned before slowly folding his newspaper.

“You here for a room?” He asked, sounding tired, and I rolled my eyes. What else would we be doing at a motel?

Tony, clearly a better people-person than I, flashed the man a winning smile.

“That’s right. Do you have any left?”

I glanced at the rack of keys behind the man’s head, and then gulped.

“We got one left – it’s yours tonight for twenty dollars,” The man replied, confirming my fear.

Tony, completely at ease, paid the man and took the keys with an amused look in his eyes. Flustered, I looked away.

The old man eyed us thoughtfully.

“Where’s your luggage?” He asked suspiciously, and Tony shrugged unconcernedly.

“We travel light.”

“Oh. Well, have a good night then,” He said, already returning to his paper as we headed back out.

“I’m sure we will,” Tony replied, an impish smile on his face. He winced as I accidently-on-purpose slammed the front door in his face as I went outside, and I heard the old man laugh from inside.

“She’s a feisty one,” The man chuckled.

“Tell me about it.”

Tony joined me outside, and I followed him to our room, silently worrying.

“We’re not actually staying here tonight, are we?” I couldn’t help but ask nervously, and he stopped outside a door.

“Not if you don’t want to,” He winked, unlocking the door and going inside. I shivered, even though it wasn’t cold outside, and reluctantly followed.

The room was just like I’d expected it to be – grimy, and empty apart from one double bed. I didn’t even want to look at the bathroom.

We were awkwardly silent for a minute or two, which was very unlike Tony, and I had to fight to stop myself from looking over at him.

“Is it time to go and find Wolverine now?” I asked quickly, finally allowing myself to look at him.

Tony was watching me with a strange expression, which quickly disappeared with my question and was replaced with a crooked smile.

“Sure. But I want to put my suit on first – I left it in the car.”  

“You brought your suit?” I asked, eyebrows raised.

“Of course I did, but it’s just the travel one.”

I snorted – how could I have forgotten about his travel edition of the Iron Man suit?

“I’ll be back in a few minutes – don’t set anything on fire when I’m gone. I don’t think this motel has insurance,” He said lightly, and I waved him off.

He disappeared out of the room, leaving me alone. I sat on the bed hesitantly, and then sighed, running a hand through my hair in exasperation and staring blankly at the floor, trying to make sense of my jumbled thoughts and emotions.