Two
I found us a hotel, one of those cheap ones with dingy beds and bad paint jobs. But it had four walls and a roof… And a bathroom. We booked two double rooms, both with trundle-bed things. I sent Angle to the bathroom for a shower while Nudge and I stared absently at some crack-pot show on the box. It was very boring. The boys were doing whatever it is boys do before bed in their room. So long as they are all clean and alive in the morning, I didn't really care.
"Max?" Oh, here we go. "So, like, where are we going? 'Cause, you know, we can't stay here. Can we go to the beach again? Or maybe back to Disney world? 'Cause we didn't get to spend long there, and there are still like, heaps of rides to go on, and it'll be fun and -" Angle walked out of the shower. Grinning tolerantly at Nudge – she smiled bashfully back – I shooed her into the room. "We'll see," I added as she shut the door.
"Max?" I looked over at Angel. She was sitting on the corner of the bed, looking at me with a slightly puzzled expression. Can she read thoughts you're not thinking?
"No, but will you brush my hair?" I frowned at her, puzzled.
"Um, I guess so." She grinned, and I sat down behind her, pulling the comb through her wet curls.
"Do you know where we're going to go, Max?"
Angel's voice pulled me out of la-la land, and I looked down at her face, her head bent backwards to look up at me, a little smile on her face.
"No idea," I replied, grinning back, "how about we decide at breakfast tomorrow?"
"Ok," and I hopped up as Nudge came out of the bathroom, closing the door behind me. At least if we all decide, it won't be so bad when Erasers stick their ugly noses in. It sucks when you're the one making the decisions that end up leading to a pack of Erasers… Well, it does!
Sopping wet and wrapped in a towel, I wasn't prepared to greet my fuzzy-self in the mirror, and bit back a squeal of alarm as Eraser-Max glared back out at me. Like always, my hand flew to my face, then I looked down at it. Human. What was with these damned hotel mirrors! Were they hoaxed or something?
Respect the enemy, Max. Great.
And what does that mean, pray tell? Guess what? No answer. Big surprise.
I slipped out of the bathroom to find a single lamp on, and my girls lying down in bed, facing each other, whispering something. Total was lying across Angel's waist, looking intently at the pair of gossiping girls.
"We're not gossiping!" Angel sounded indignant as she looked up at me.
I frowned at her. "You're getting a little too comfy with reading my mind, Ange."
She grinned at me, blue eyes wide. Damn.
"Sleep time." I said instead, flicking off the lamp as I walked past, and ignoring the single trundle thingy, I scrambled over the top of Nudge – who protested between giggles – and stuffed myself between them.
"Night!" We stacked fists, and slept. Yay.