“I miss you too. You can come home, Alice, whenever you want. No pressure.”
“I know. But I have to help. It shouldn’t be that long, I don’t think. We’ll find Peter, and then come straight home.”
Jack started saying something about the Finnish wilderness being complex, but Ezra came out of the bathroom, distracting me. He had changed into flannel pajama pants and a tee shirt, and he ruffled his hand through his damp hair, looking at me questioningly.
“It’s just Jack,” I told him, holding the phone a little way from my mouth.
“Ezra’s there? Let me talk to him!” Jack demanded.
“You don’t need to talk to him,” I sighed.
“I take it he knows we’re in Finland then?” Ezra asked me, and I nodded sheepishly. “Oh well. He’d find out sooner or later.”
“Look, Jack, I should get some sleep anyway. I’ll call you soon and let you know how things are going,” I said. Ezra rolled down the teal bedspread, meaning he was getting ready for bed and I should probably do the same.
“Alice…” Jack was almost whining, and he realized it so he stopped. “Just call me soon, really soon. And take care of yourself, okay?”
“I will,” I promised.
When I hung up the phone, I fought the overwhelming urge to sob. Hearing his voice only made things worse. My heart ached in my chest, and my body felt completely out of whack. I hated that I could barely even survive being away from Jack.
“You didn’t have to get off the phone because of me,” Ezra said.
I swallowed back tears, staring down at my phone, and heard the rustle of blankets as he settled himself into bed. Even though I’d just gotten off the phone, I thought about calling Jack back. It wouldn’t do any good to make me feel better, so I decided against it.
“I know,” I said. Setting my phone on the nightstand, I crawled underneath the covers myself. “Are you going to call Mae?”
“Not until I know anything. Jack can fill her in.” He rolled onto his stomach and rested his head on the pillow. “Are you going to be okay with all of this?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I nodded, and I wasn’t sure if I was lying or not.
Rolling over so my back was to him, I allowed a few silent tears to slide down my cheeks. He didn’t say anything, and eventually, his breathing had the regulated quality that comes with sleep. Unfortunately, sleep wouldn’t be as easy for me.
Ezra tore open the shades while the sun was still up, and I squinted and pulled the blankets over my head. The little experience I had with the sun so far made me tired and cranky, and I had no urge to relive that. Fully dressed and whistling an old Neil Young song, Ezra went about the room, and I knew it was time to get up.
“What time is it?” I mumbled, still buried underneath the thin hotel comforter.
“It’s a little after one, but we need to get going. We’re burning daylight.” He chuckled at his own joke, and I was starting to think that I didn’t agree with his sense of humor.
“You’re actually expecting me to get up now?” I poked my head out, braving the blinding light that filled the room.
“We do need to get going.” He checked something on his phone, then he glanced back at the open window. “I can close the shades, if that helps.”
“You know it does,” I yawned.
Ezra complied, still fiddling around with his phone, and I hoped that meant that he had a lead on something. His half of the room was already completely straightened up, the bed made and everything, and I wondered what time he had gotten up.
“I wish I still drank coffee or Red Bull or something,” I said as I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. (Fun fact: Vampires still pee. Blood is a liquid, after all.)
“Just take a cold shower. That’ll perk you right up,” he said.
Following his advice, I took a quick, cold shower, and it helped some. I dressed in a hurry and blow dried my hair so it wouldn’t freeze outside.
The hotel was alive with people today, and I pulled my scarf over my mouth and nose to muffle it. When we were walking out, I noticed the décor in the hotel was distinctly green. Potted plants were everywhere, probably to counteract the long winters and oblique white window views. I enjoyed winter, but it would be odd to live in a place that had snow eight months out of the year.
It really wasn’t that cold out, only in the low thirties, but I bundled up in a winter jacket and boots, like any normal person would. There wasn’t that much snow yet, only enough to crunch underneath my feet.
“So what’s the plan?” I followed him out of the building, and he walked towards the silver Range Rover he’d rented yesterday.
“We’re going for a drive,” Ezra answered vaguely, and I wondered if he was purposely infuriating or if it was just force of habit. He got in the driver’s side, so I hopped in.
Without looking, he whipped the Rover into reverse and sped out away from the hotel. Usually, he was a mild driver, but it became apparent where Jack’s driving skills came from. As he sped down the road, I pulled my hood up over my head and sunk lower in my seat, hiding myself from the sun’s rays as much as I could.
“How is this gonna work?” I yawned when we’d been on the road for ten minutes. Already, I felt like napping, and I knew as the day wore on, I would only get sleepier.
“We’ll be in tree cover most of the time.” He motioned to the thick pine trees that filled the world around us. “You have your hood and sunglasses, and when we get back in the morning, we’ll both eat. We’ll be fine.”