Remy drove a twenty minute distance in ten in the dark, swerving to avoid deer or another cars. I held on tightly to the handle above the passenger seat door, hoping we wouldn't crash and die. All I could see was the few feet in front of the car that was illuminated by the car's headlights.
"Remy! Slow down! The wolves can't possibly run fast enough to keep up with a car. We are in the clear! Remy! REMY!" I called repeatedly.
Remy ignored me, staying completely focused on the road until we made it to the Creek by Gnawville in Graythrope. My heart continued to pound in my chest. He quickly slammed on the breaks and turned the car into the same side of the road that Eleanor had parked when we went to the creek together. My heart stopped for a moment.
I gasped, I was shaking and confused.
"Justin and Roman will be meeting us here. If they are all good, we are gonna go to the address listed for Mommy. That address is listed in Graythrope and will likely be a much safer place to explore." Remy said, calmly. As if his best friend and brother didn't just get attacked by wild wolves.
"IF THEY ARE GOOD! THEY JUST GOT ATTACKED BY WOLVES! They need to go to a hospital or something." I screamed. I hardly lost my temper, but this time I couldn't hold back.
"If it's just a couple of scratches they will be fine." Remy brushed off my comment.
"INFECTION REMY! HEARD OF IT!"
"Elora, I understand you are rattled, but you are okay. I am okay, and they are probably okay too."
Remy reached a hand out and started rubbing circles into my back. I took a moment to breathe and take in my surroundings.
"Can't we wait to go to the Mommy address? Rest up, recover. It's a school night anyway. Mondays are bad enough as it is, adding no sleep on top of that wouldn't be very fun." I pleaded. Begged even. I wasn't ready to continue on as if that never happened.
"We can't. They are gonna realize we broke into their warehouse and then they might up their security. I'm surprised they already haven't to be honest after we broke into Renaissance Dog Man's house." Remy argued.
I put my hands to my face. What was I doing anymore! We sat for a few minutes and then saw Roman's green pickup pull up. Thank goodness! Roman waved at Remy from the passenger seat, and then Remy started the car back up.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"They are all good. We are going to "Mommy's" house."
"How do you know they are all good?"
"Telepathy." Remy said dully.
"Is that a sibling thing?"
"Um. Yeah." Remy said awkwardly.
I must have made him uncomfortable because I excluded the other people in the farmhouse. Nolan seems to communicate solely using "sibling telepathy," so it's probably bad that I left him out. But Remy should understand my impulsive statements by now.
As we pulled into "Mommy's" house we realized that "Mommy" was definitely home. Of course we didn't realize this until we parked and saw her shadow through the window. Her car must be parked in the garage. Weird to see someone who actually uses their garage and doesn't keep random storage in it.
I turned to Remy, "What should we do? If we back up now it will seem suspicious. Especially since we have been here too long to just be turning around."
"Roman will drive around nearby. We should go knock and say hello. Maybe we can pretend we have the wrong address or something."
"Okay. But how will Roman know?"
"Sibling Telepathy."
"I thought you had to see one another and read each other's body language for that to work."
"Don't worry about it. Let's just go."
We knocked on the door. For some reason this felt worse than when we actually broke into someone's home.
"Hello. Oh goodness! I don't normally take clients this late but I can see this is an emergency. Come inside, I'll get my kit ready."
"Mommy" waved at us to enter so we did. Was she going to be selling drugs? Is that how she knew Renaissance dog painting man?
"Sit down honey, I'm gonna start with your hair." She led me to a salon chair and began pulling out combs and sheers.
"Okay, thanks." I said as I sat down, pretending to be more confident than I was.
"So how did you hear about my home salon?" She sang out as she began letting my hair down from its usual messy bun.
"My boyfriend." I smiled. It was Remy's bright idea to come in so he could come up with a bright idea to get me out of this mess too.
"Oh, wonderful. He told me he was gonna tell those boys he was working with about my place. I'm gonna have to treat him to something nice."
I can't believe Remy got off so easily. I wanted him to sweat a moment. I will have to find another way to get him back. Especially after he dragged me here. "Mommy" continued,
"My goodness, do you always wear your hair up?"
"Yes, I do." I shrugged.
"That's no good! You need to vary your styles or your hairline will start to thin out. It's called traction alopecia." She said as she examined my hairline.
"I'll keep that in mind." I said as I reflected on how tightly I usually pull back my hair. Maybe it would be fine to wear looser or down every once in a while.
Once "Mommy" finished giving my hair a light trim and plethora of treatments I couldn't name, she started on Remy, and then gave us both a bag of skincare items that she said would make us glow.
Considering how much work she did, she hardly charged us. Well, charged Remy; I don't carry cash around. Then we were on our way. We didn't learn anything new for our investigation, but we finally know Renaissance dog painting man's secret to shiny hair and youthful skin.
I could be disappointed at the lack of leads we found during our makeovers, but the experience was refreshing. It really helped me calm down after the warehouse incident. I wonder if Justin and Eleanor are going to be jealous at school tomorrow?