Chapter 181: Old Town

Lorali

"No," I stated firmly, my tone dropping into an icy wall. "I actually have never thought about my parents, and I have zero interest in finding them."

Vanessa sighed gently, clicking her pen. "Oh. I just thought that maybe... if you started to talk about your parents, we could find a way to dispel some of the immense anger you possess."

I paused.

Dispel my anger? I thought, my mind suddenly short-circuiting as her words bounced around my brain. Wait. A strange, chaotic spark suddenly ignited in the back of my mind. "Hold on," I said, leaning forward in my chair, my eyes widening slightly. "You may actually be onto something."

Vanessa blinked, looking surprised. "I am?"

"Yes!" I declared, a sudden, wild burst of energy surging through my veins. "Look, I am always going to be mad. There’s just something inherently built into me. But now that you dive into it like that... I may be mad at my parents! I may be mad at everyone, at the whole damn system that brought me up! So... I’ll take your advice! I’m going to go find my parents and get some closure!"

Vanessa’s eyes went wide and her hands were flying up in sudden panic. "Oh! No! No, Lorali, don’t do that! Don’t go find your parents! Please don’t do that! I never told you to go do that! We are just trying to process your emotions here in this room! We are trying to lessen the anger you have so we can make progress in your pack life!"

"No, that sounds extremely boring," I interrupted, flashing her a bright, manic smile as I stood right up out of my chair. "I’m going to find my parents. Thank you, Vanessa! You’ve actually helped me a lot today!"

"Lorali, wait—!"

"I have literally nothing to do right now!" I continued cheerfully, smoothing down my coat. "The championship is over, and there’s nothing until next year! I don’t compete in those stupid little local matches anymore, so I am completely bored out of my mind sitting in that Spade penthouse! I desperately needed a project. Thank you! Bye!"

"No! Lorali! I did NOT say to go do that! Please sit down!" Vanessa shouted frantically after me, scrambling out of her chair.

I didn’t listen to a single word. I pulled the room door open and marched straight out into the hallway, leaving her desperate calls echoing behind me. I needed something to do. My heart thumped with genuine excitement for the first time in a week, and I just found it.

I pulled my phone out of my coat pocket as I walked down the corridor and dialed Erin’s number. He picked up on the very first ring.

"Hey," Erin’s smooth voice chimed through the speaker.

"Hey," I replied.

"Oh, wow," Erin chuckled on the other end. "You finally called. I honestly thought you were mad at me after that whole tournament situation."

I rolled my eyes, though a small smirk touched my lips. "Oh, yeah, I was definitely mad about that. How could you not tell me that you and Torin were childhood friends?! I mean, you sat there and heard me bitch about him for weeks!"

"Yeah... well, we are childhood friends," Erin explained smoothly, his tone laced with a lingering complexity. "It’s... complicated, Lorali. I never wanted to say anything because I didn’t want it to mess up or hurt our friendship."

"Yeah, well," I muttered, turning a corner toward the main lobby. "No secrets from now on, okay? Or I won’t be your friend anymore."

"Okay, I promise," Erin said instantly, a warm chuckle escaping his lips. "No secrets."

"Good. Now that that’s out of the way... I need your help."

"Oh? With what?"

"Well," I said, stepping through the glass lobby doors into the crisp afternoon air, "I’ve decided I want to find my parents."

Before he could even process, comprehend, or object to a single word I just said, I cut him off. "Meet me at Rest Orphanage in Old Town. Right now." I hung up the phone before he could reply, slipping it back into my pocket.

Suddenly, a massive, dark figure stepped directly into my path out of nowhere. "AGH!" I shrieked, jumping back two feet and clutching my hand over my heart, my pulse leaping into my throat. Oracle stood there like a dark omen, his eyes looking down at me impassively.

"Are we going home now?" Oracle asked, his voice low and gravelly. "Goddess above, Oracle!" I scolded, glaring up at him as I tried to catch my breath. "Stop appearing out of thin air like a giant, terrifying ghost!" Oracle flinched slightly, bowing his head. "Sorry."

I let out a heavy breath, shaking my head. "It’s fine. But we’re not going home. We’re going to Rest Orphanage in Old Town." Oracle’s dark eyebrows pulled together in mild confusion. "Rest Orphanage? Why?" I narrowed my eyes at him, crossing my arms. "Oracle... what did I explicitly say about asking me unnecessary questions?"

Oracle paused, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Oh. Right. Sorry."

"Let’s go," I said. We walked down the steps to where his black Aston Martin which was idling at the curb. We climbed in, and Oracle pulled out into the Prone City traffic. The drive to Old Town took about an hour and a half, to get there because GPS is stupid and kept taking us to the wrong place. I had to step in and direct with a very hazy memory of where I was directing too.

With my help we eventually got to Old Town and Oracle pulled up to the curb opposite a dilapidated, decaying three-story building surrounded by a rusted iron fence.

Oracle put the car in park, his eyes scanning the run-down property cautiously. "Are you sure this is the place, Lorali?" I leaned forward, staring out the tinted passenger window at the sagging roof, peeling yellow paint, and boarded-up ground floor windows.

"Yeah... this is the place," I murmured softly. Goodness, a cold wave of disgust washed over me. It looks a thousand times worse than when I was last here, which is an absolute technical feat in itself, because it looked horrific back then. What did they do with that money, they got when Alma bought me.

"You can definitely trust the old witch and the ogre who ran this place to have completely ruined it," I muttered out loud, shaking my head. I reached for the door handle. "Stay here in the car. I’m going in."

Oracle’s head snapped toward me, his brow furrowing instantly. "You want me to let you go in there alone?" I paused, turning my head to point across the narrow street.

A maroon maserati had just pulled up behind us, and Erin was stepping out onto the pavement, adjusting his dark jacket as he looked over at our SUV.

"I won’t be alone," I said, flashing Oracle a quick smirk as I gestured toward Erin. "I’m going with Erin. You just stay right here in the driver’s seat." I pushed the car door open and stepped out into the chilly Old Town air.