Page 94 of Pipe Dreams
Thank you so much for everything. Hope she hasn’t been too hard on you. (But I’m willing to bet she has.)
Can’t wait to see you tonight.
Love you,
M.
Aw. A few hours with a grumpy teenager weren’t so bad. She tucked the note into her purse and hung her garment bag in the closet.
She unlocked the door which adjoined Elsa’s room, but when she opened the door, she found that Elsa had already closed hers. TV sounds came through the door.
Leaving Elsa in peace, Lauren took out her eReader and climbed onto the bed. A nap sounded good, which was odd. She hadn’t napped in years. But this week she’d felt oddly tired. So tired, in fact, that she didn’t even make it through five pages of her book before falling asleep.
When Lauren opened her eyes again, she was disoriented. The room had deepened into shadows, and for a moment she wasn’t sure where she was. When she woke completely, her eyes flew to the clock. It was six thirty. She’d slept more than an hour.
Jumping up, Lauren went into the bathroom to splash water on her face and brush her teeth. Feeling almost human, she went to knock on the door adjoining Elsa’s room. “Honey? Will you be ready to go in thirty minutes?”
Silence. Even the TV noises were gone.
Lauren tapped again, but the girl didn’t answer, and she didn’t hear any movement. Grasping the knob, she tried to open it.
Locked.
A chill snaked up Lauren’s spine. Her mind offered up an ugly scenario. What if Elsa got even with her by disappearing? She could only imagine the phone call she’d have to make to Mike.I’ve lost your child.
Don’t panic, she coached herself. While a rogue thirteen-year-old on the loose in Detroit was not ideal, there was no reason to think that any harm had come to Elsa.
Luckily, Lauren had held onto one of the key cards to Elsa’s room. If the kid was just playing possum in there, Lauren would know in a moment. She grabbed Elsa’s key and went out into the hall. She knocked briskly on the door. “Elsa, please open the door. I’m going to come in either way, okay?”
Nothing.
Having no other choice, she waved the card in front ofthe scanner, pushing the door open when the light turned green. Elsa’s room was beginning to darken, too, though nobody was napping on the bed. Her heart dove toward her shoes, until she saw the strip of light under the bathroom door.
Thank you, baby Jesus.
Lauren tapped on the door. “Elsa? Couldn’t you hear my knocking? It’s almost time to go.”
She waited, expecting to hear the teen say she’d been in the shower. But Elsa didn’t say a word. Though... Lauren listened harder. She heard a sniffle.
“Elsa? Are you okay? Can you open the door?”
“N... no.”
The tingle at the base of her skull was back. “Are you ill?”
“I...”
Lauren heard a sob. “Honey? You’re scaring me. Open the door, please.”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t? Why?” Her mind began offering up explanations, each more frightening than the last.Elsa had slipped and hit her head. Elsa had slit her wrist with a razor blade. Elsa was experimenting with heroin.
Okay, the kid’s carry-on would never have passed inspection if those last two were true. But still.
She tapped again. “Open this door.” She tried the knob. It was locked, of course.
“God! Just go the fuck away!”
