Chapter 25
Meredith felt more relaxed than she had in days. Vi had been absolutely right; getting drunk was the best idea ever. After leaving the hotel, they had driven down to the reservation to one of the casinos that flanked the freeway. Meredith had downed three rum and cokes before she stopped counting, and now she was draped over a nickel slot machine half-heartedly pulling the lever every so often.
Next to her, Vi wasn’t faring much better. She had gone straight to her own drink of choice, whiskey and soda. She pulled down the lever on her own slot machine, watching as a seven and then a second seven lined up on the screen. She sat up a little straighter, waiting hopefully as the third wheel lined up. It landed on a bar. “Freaking tease,” she grumbled, relaxing back into a slouch. “Ya know what, Mere?” She looked at Meredith but seemed to have trouble focusing on her friend’s face. Her eyes settled somewhere over Meredith’s shoulder.
Meredith turned to face Vi, leaning sideways and resting her cheek on the glass screen of the slot machine. “What’s that, Vi?”
“Mrs. Alvarez is a bitch. She was so mean. What’d you ever do to her?”
“No, she’s not,” Meredith said, shaking her head vigorously. The movement made her dizzy, and she held onto the side of the slot machine to keep from falling off her stool. “She’s just sad, Vi.”
“Whatever. It’s not your fault that you didn’t love her son. It’s not like you owed it to her to think that he shat sunshine or whatever.”
Meredith giggled. “Let’s not talk about it. I have a feeling I’m about to win it big.” She pulled the lever on the slot machine and watched the screen intently. One by one the wheels stopped spinning: seven, a bar, and a dollar sign. “Ugh, forget it. I’m already down, like, five bucks. That’s five dollars I will never get back, Vi!”
“Yeah, I’m bored anyway. What time is it?”
Meredith giggled again, whispering loudly, “This is a casino. We’re not allowed to know.”
Vi still had Rob’s cell phone in her pocket, and she dug it out, looking at the time. “Holy shit. We’ve been here for like three hours. And we’ve got six missed calls from your mom.” She looked up at Meredith with wide eyes, adding in a sing-song voice, “They’re gonna be so maaaad.”
“Oh my God, give me that,” Meredith said urgently, grabbing the phone from Vi’s hands. She quickly dialed Amelia’s number, but there was no answer. She scrubbed a hand over her face, attempting to sober herself. “We need to go back. What if something’s wrong?”
“Dude, neither of us can drive anywhere.”
“I know, but they’re not answering.” She opened the phone contact list and started scrolling through, looking for someone that they might be able to call for a ride. She whizzed right past James’s name, not wanting for him or Ivy to get pulled into her mess. It was bad enough that she was putting Amelia and Rob in danger. “I am so stupid. Why did I let you talk me into getting drunk?”
“As I recall it didn’t take much convincing,” Vi reminded her.
“I wanted to go hiking!” Meredith’s head was spinning, and she feared she wouldn’t be able to leave her post in front of the slot machine for some time.
“Just call someone,” Vi urged.
Meredith kept scrolling through the contacts looking for options. Davidson, Dickering, Diggs, Dowering… Dowering! Meredith stopped on Nate’s name. She was still mad at him for lying to her parents, but she couldn’t think of a better choice. He already knew about magic and the protégé, so it didn’t really count as dragging another person into their troubles. He had sought out their troubles, after all. Now he would just have to live with the consequences. She hit the send button and listened for his voice.
Nate answered almost immediately.
“Nate, we are in a bit of a pickle,” Meredith said, stumbling over the word pickle.
“Meredith? Where are you?”
“Um, the casino?” Meredith felt foolish and guilty for her current state, and she wanted more than anything to be able to blame it all on Mrs. Alvarez’s harsh words. If things had gone better with that meeting, maybe she wouldn’t have felt the need to blow off some steam. She shook her head to try to clear the tears from her eyes but only succeeded in making herself feel nauseated. “Can you come get us?” she asked pathetically.
“Are you drunk?” Nate asked incredulously.
“Yes, and it was stupid, and I’m sorry. But now I think my parents are in trouble and we need to go back to Eleanor’s house right away.”
“All right,” Nate conceded. “Tell me exactly where you are.”
Forty minutes later, they caught sight of Nate striding through the casino purposefully. Still at the same slot machines, they called him over. Meredith had switched to water and was feeling a little more like herself, but she still didn’t trust her feet to stay under her.
Nate stopped in front of them and looked around. “Where’s Miguel?”
Meredith had expected the question and was able to answer it with almost perfect composure. “The protégé killed him two nights ago,” she said matter-of-factly. She stood up slowly, teetering to one side before grabbing Nate’s arm for support.
“Okay, the drunkenness makes a little more sense now,” Nate said carefully, looking them both over for signs of damage. He was burning with curiosity about what had happened to Miguel, but he managed to swallow it for the time being, saying instead, “Let’s get you ladies out to the car and then you can catch me up, okay?”
Even in her drunken state, Meredith was impressed with Nate’s restraint. She nodded her assent, and then Nate lifted her arm over his shoulders and wrapped his arm around her waist. With his free hand he helped Vi out of her seat, supporting her in much the same way on his other side. They walked slowly across the casino floor toward the exit.
As they left the building, the security guard winked at Nate. “Good job, man!”
“He’s not picking us up, you idiot,” Vi scolded the guard loudly.
The guard laughed and ignored her, saying to Nate, “Watch out for that one!”
Vi scoffed and rolled her eyes while Nate gave the guard a tight smile. Meredith was too focused on staying upright to give the exchange much thought.
The sunlight outside was blinding, but the cool October breeze felt good on Meredith’s face. Soon they were safely packed into Nate’s car and on their way. Nate had dumped a pot of coffee into a thermos for them, and Meredith took a long swig. She offered the thermos to Vi, who declined it with a sharp shake of her head. Meredith gladly chugged down the rest of the coffee, grateful for Nate’s thoughtfulness. She hoped the shot of caffeine would help her sober up quickly, feeling a strong sense of foreboding as they raced toward Eleanor’s house.