Worst Impressions

Chapter Fifty Four

To say I was anxious on the plane would be an understatement.

It was a private jet William's mother had hired, because we couldn't get seats on any commercial flights that day. Apparently, money was the key to getting just about anything a person wanted. I wouldn't complain about it when it got us off on our journey so quickly. I tapped my feet rapidly on the floor, the confined space making me increasingly frustrated. I felt like I should be up walking around or doing something productive. It was impossible to sit patiently when Lisa was in potential danger.

What if she got hurt?

What if I never saw her again?

I hated not knowing what was going on. And even worse, I wasn't there to make sure Jenny, Meg, and Chrissy were okay. They must have been shocked when they found Lisa missing. If I was the person Jenny had thought to contact, then it meant they thought this was something we had to face together. After so many years sharing a dorm, we depended on one another for support. I felt like I had let them down by not going to Italy with them in the first place. I felt even worse for ever thinking our splitting up to head off to different universities at the end of the year meant that we would be anything less than friends, that we would all just disappear from one another's lives.

To reassure me, or just because he couldn't stand my fidgeting, Will put his arm around my shoulders. No one said anything, but I caught Dad and Charlie looking over when he did. He squeezed my shoulder, and I leaned into him. He whispered, 'It'll be fine, I promise. We're going to find her.'

Against my better, more rational judgement, I believed him.

The hotel was one of the grandest in the country. It was no surprise that our school had thought it was the best to put their students in. It was too expensive for commoners and riffraff who might pose a risk to their precious girls. They should have been safe. However, that protection only extended to keeping undesirable types out of the building, and not to those staying within its walls. The teachers never would have suspected one of their colleagues would be responsible for potentially harming a student.

They rushed us through airport security and immigration checks. It was all a blur and had Will not been holding my hand, I may not have made it through so easily as I had. Private cars were waiting for us outside and we piled into them, our luggage stowed by the chauffeurs, and we were soon in motion. Italy flew past our windows. On any other day, during any other circumstance, I'd have had my nosed pressed to the glass in awe of the country that I'd always dreamt of visiting. Alas, I was too sick with worry to even notice the glorious countryside or historic buildings.

'Beth!' I heard Jenny before I saw her as we left the vehicles outside the hotel. She tackled me so hard that I nearly toppled backwards. Before I could regain my balance completely, Meg latched onto us, and then Chrissy.

As much as I'd have loved to cling onto them forever, we had a job to do and it wouldn't happen if we were group-hugging our way through our feelings. 'Okay, okay,' I said as I pried them off. 'Less hugging, more action.'

'Girls, go to Jenny's room and wait there,' Dad said. 'Jenny, is your mother here?'

'Yes, she's waiting for you all in the conference room with the teachers. Lisa's parents are on their way.'

'You four,' Will's mother encouraged her offspring, Chantelle, and Charlie in our direction, 'go with them, please. None of you should leave the hotel until we've come up with a strategy for dealing with this.'

'Mum, we can help,' Will insisted. 'Let us come with you.'

'No, she's right,' I said. 'Come on. We'll just be in their way.'

Will raised a brow, surprised by my uncharacteristically compliant response. I couldn't communicate to him I had something else in mind, nor that I had no intention of sitting around in a hotel while they did all the work. I cleared my throat and gestured that they should follow me. It slowly dawned on him I had a plot of my own, and he grabbed Charlie's wrist to drag him along with us. Chantelle, not wanting to be left out, followed behind with Amanda.

It wasn't far to Jenny's room. Thankfully, it was neat and tidy as always. She was obviously sharing with Meg rather than Chrissy. I could tell by the abundance of books and lack of dirty clothes strewn across the floor. I hung around in the hallway until everyone was inside, checking to see if we'd been followed. The adults were too concerned with the task at hand to worry about us, which was precisely what I'd wanted. They must have assumed that Amanda, being the oldest, would keep us under lock and key.

Confident that we weren't about to be interrupted, I closed and locked the door behind us and turned to face the room. 'I need a map of the city, Lisa's note, a pen, and something to write on.'

'I have a map,' Jenny announced.

'I've got my homework books and a few pens,' Meg added.

'I'll go get the note!' Chrissy darted around me, unlocked the door, and slipped out into the hall to retrieve it from her room.

'Your father told us to stay put, Bennett,' Chantelle said. She draped herself across a nearby chair and inspected her manicure. 'We should just watch television until they get back with your silly little friend.'

'What did you just say?' I challenged furiously.

'You heard!' she snapped. 'I don't see why any of us had to be dragged into her mess. Lisa is always doing something ridiculous, and now we're all stuck in this hotel waiting for other people to tidy up after her. Even if she has run off with someone, it's her own business. She's always been a little tart, and –'

'Shut up, Chantelle!' Meg bellowed.

My mouth hung open.

Well... Damn.