Escaping The Witzler

“I repeat, the city and police department have dropped their recommendation for staying off the streets. It’s now safe to travel. Thank you again for your patience and understanding, and have a Happy New Year!”

Dalton Pierce's announcement over the hotel's speaker system sent people scurrying out of the dining room, bar, and ballroom. The lobby immediately filled up as people raced to their rooms to gather their suitcases or hurried to the front desk to make arrangements. One small group celebrated the news for a different reason.

“It worked!” Brown Glasses exclaimed.

“You did it, Anna!” Freckles screamed, jumping for joy. “Anna melted the ice!”

“Yay!” Over a dozen young children cheered, their joy infectious as Frightened Girl and Freckles hugged each leg of Tamsin, the annoyed Anna.

“Sweet Christmas!” Chastity squealed, happy more for the frightened children than for being able to leave the hotel. “Let's give a true hip hip hooray for Anna, everybody. One, two, three!”

DJ Abbott nudged Trey to join in the cheer, but the youngest Day grandchild had already started clapping. Still, he prodded the distracted Kordell Dawkins to participate while wondering where the six-year-old found a donut to munch on.

Tamsin fought hard not to roll her eyes at having to playact a film character to please Chastity and her flock of followers. She'd already been long delayed in fulfilling her duties for Graham and made it known to Diamond Corp's most popular receptionist.

“Chas, am I done here? I have stuff to do for Graham before I can leave.”

“Galloping gremlins! Kids, Miss Moneypenny has a secret mission she must finish for Mister G. Let’s form a line and make a path for her to get through the crowd. Which way do you need to go, Tam?”

“Yeah, I’m fine finding my own way. Um, thanks anyway, kids,” Tamsin added, seeing several disappointed expressions. “Uh, why…why don’t you kids help Chastity? I know she’s going to need a lobby cart. You two, why don’t you steal one for her?”

Thoroughly enjoying the newfound fun of taking after his twin cousins, Trey nodded eagerly as his new friend grabbed his elbow to drag him along. DJ immediately darted around the scrambling guests as she focused on a possible lobby cart they could grab from one of those inattentive guests. Still munching on his donut, the younger Kordell slowly followed.

"Heavens to Betsy, Tam. We can't encourage thievery," Chastity pointed out in a hushed voice.

“Thinks of it as more of a quest,” the personal assistant suggested before vanishing into the growing mob of people.

Chastity fidgeted at the children stealing someone else’s cart until she found the appropriate Disney cartoon comparison. Once the rationalization filled her mind, the bubbly blonde relaxed. Everything is fine; the kiddies are on a quest for the magical carpet.

The sudden wave of guests leaving the hotel split into two camps. The first used the automated check-out systems on their room’s television. The other raced to get in line at the front desk to check out the traditional way. The latter group included some guests who preferred to avoid any traces of their stay by paying with cash.

One batch of guests must have had the TV remote in hand, ready to check out as soon as the ice melted. This family and associates marched through the lobby almost like an unstoppable ****.

“Ah, the rats flee the sinking ship, and here comes the first vermin family of Honey Hollow,” Daisy noted, watching the Oleskys approach her spot.

After finishing breakfast, Daisy decided to stick around the lobby while Ramsey got Lacey's lowdown on the breakup. Unlike when Daisy practiced her observation skills last night by theorizing about hotel guests and their lives, the dirty blonde had the school newspaper's youngest reporters play that game. Of course, Norah proved almost scary in hitting bullseyes on the names and lives of the local guests. Daisy knew the reason behind this success, so she **** the quiet brunette to speculate on out-of-town strangers.

On the other hand, Dexter often struggled with this game, even if Daisy had been making him do it for several years. The older sister suspected her little brother failed more often as he was embarrassed to form theories either because he knew the individuals or that Daisy or Norah might be disgusted by his guesses. Yet, Dex occasionally showed a flare with his postulating. It didn't happen often, just enough to please his sister and raise Norah's eyebrows. Daisy frequently wished she had one more year to prepare her brother for the work he'd need to do next year.

“What? The hotel has rats?” Dexter questioned, his head snapping around in horror. His mind immediately conjured up the boiler room where Seth and Fletch had dragged him to late last night. The younger Kirby sibling shuddered at what might have been lurking in the dark corners of that room.

“Dex,” Daisy said, her tone relaying her disappointment and mild disbelief at her brother. Before she could respond, a curious interaction occurred, so she told Norah to explain what she meant.

“Why do I always have to be the one?” Norah groaned.

“Because you two need to know how to work together as a team for next year,” Daisy responded, her eyes meeting Olena’s glare. The hate behind the white-haired girl's blue eyes spoke volumes to the young reporter.

Olena knows. Somehow, she's figured out I'm on to her, even if I don't know what she's entirely up to. I wonder what the clue was. Oh, who am I kidding? It was probably something Dex did. Well, this should be fun. Miss Wannabe Queen Bee doesn't know what she's in for.

Daisy never broke eye contact with Olena as the Klasses, several minor families, and a few remaining Laffonts, who hadn’t fled the hotel in humiliation after the egg-throwing incident, followed the Oleskys into the lobby and out the front doors. Not to be outdone, Olena even turned to glare through one of the large windows at the newspaper crew while her family waited for a valet to bring around their car.

“Norah, bring over the file you have on Veronica tomorrow,” Daisy ordered.

“My file?” the mousy brunette repeated, hiding her surprise that Daisy knew about her personal files.

“Yes, I think we need to focus on Olena’s closest ally to solve this riddle.”

"File? What do you mean? Like a dossier?! Holy shit! That's like espionage! Why do you have one of those on Veronica Klass?" Dexter challenged, his voice rising with each question while slowly backing away from her. "Who are you?"

“Odette’s going to love this,” Daisy smirked, knowing The Buzzy Bee’s wild child hated Olena.

---

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

A semi-stern and weary face broke into a broad smile as Pepper Fallon saw the group standing outside the hotel room. Immediately, she recognized this group could snap her granddaughter out of her funk while also delighting in knowing that she'd likely see these young women often in the coming weeks.

“Pey, some young ladies are here to see you.”

“Finally! Okay, Merry, how bad is Lana act–oh, it’s you,” Peyton said, coming around the corner.

“I’m sorry, Peyton, but we–” Beatrice began before getting cut off.

“Miss Tarver,” Kizzy hissed the reminder, which caused her cheer captain and Zara to roll their eyes. The younger brunette beamed as Pepper winked at her correction.

“Fine. I’m sorry, Miss Tarver, but we aren’t allowed to take sides in your disagreement with Lana, owing that she’s a former cheer captain and you’re now an honorary member,” Beatrice explained cheerleader protocol.

“But we’d totally take your side if you want us to!” Kizzy added.

“Kizz!” Beatrice admonished.

“Okay, okay, okay,” Kizzy reassured her captain before lowering her voice. “The Beal and Peel team got your back. Just message us with orders.” A throat clearing in the back caused her to add, “YoYo is down too.”

“Kizzy,” Beatrice groaned.

“Just because you can’t stand Cadence doesn’t mean we break rules because Lana’s her cousin. Think of Lacey!” Zara pointed out.

“Crap,” Kizzy muttered, realizing she liked Lacey too much to get payback against her older sister.

“Please, no,” Peyton moaned, rubbing her forehead at the thought. “I don’t need Lana even more riled up. Just leave her…Wait, is that why you came up here?”

“Oh, no, Pey–Miss Tarver,” Beatrice started, elbowing Kizzy back. “We wanted to inform you that we’ll be leaving shortly.”

"Not that we want to! I can stay longer if you need anything," Kizzy stated hopefully.

“You know that’s not what your mom said,” Harley reminded, finally speaking up.

“Mom just wants Katie home as she heard what happened with Palmer!”

“I think she also mentioned something about your swinging kick,” YoYo mumbled.

"Zip it, Yo!" Kizzy ordered. "Mom will just sit us down and ask about our feelings. Why should I have any new feelings about Katie and Palmer? They've broken up more times than I can count! And then Uncle Bruce will drop some sage advice about dating and relationships. Ugh! This from the guy that screwed his brother's wife before marrying her!"

“Okay, take a breath, Kizz,” Harley reminded.

“Sooo, as I said, we’re leaving soon and wanted to check if you needed anything before we left,” Beatrice resumed, ignoring her friend’s outburst.

“No, I don’t need anything. I’m fine,” Peyton replied. Then, she caught her grandmother’s doubtful look. Pepper did so while rubbing Kizzy’s shoulder in a consoling manner, which annoyed her granddaughter slightly. “I’m fine, Grandma.”

“If you say so, dear,” Pepper responded, her tone clearly showing she didn’t believe her.

“Look, I appreciate your asking, but Sean’s your responsibility, not me,” Peyton added, knowing if she didn’t thank the Babybees, her grandmother would point out that it was rude.

“You’re right! I could…I mean, one of us should drive back to Whitney’s cabin with you. Somebody needs to be there for Sir Sean!” Kizzy pointed out, scrambling for a reason to go with.

"Your mom wants you back home soon." Zara reminded, getting an annoyed brush of the hand from the **** brunette.

"I'm not even sure if we're returning to the cabin today. We might be stuck in town for tonight," Peyton admitted, causing Kizzy to gasp.

“But who’s going to take care of the hero?!”

“Now, relax, dear. My daughter is with Sean, and she is a doctor,” Pepper reminded the concerned teenager. “Harvey and Whitney are also there to help him.”

“Yeah, take a chill pill. We’ll see him in two days when we start our school rotation,” YoYo pointed out.

“Not for two days?! Th-That’s not right! Can we even trust Whitney? She can be mean!”

“Okay, take her out here, Harley. She’s having one of her panic attacks,” Beatrice said.

“I am not!”

“How about we take a moment out in the hallway, Kizzy? Just me and you, okay?” Pepper asked, leading the upset girl out of the hotel room.

“Uh, she’s not always like this, is she?” Peyton inquired, suddenly wondering if she should head back to Arbor Corners before school resumed.

“Not really. It’s mostly when things build up. She’s worried that her sister will go back to Palmer again, concerned about Sean, and not looking forward to her mom’s questions,” Harley relayed. “She’ll be fine once she gets some sleep too.”

“Oh, okay,” Peyton responded, feeling a bit guilty for being brusque and impatient with the teen at times. “Well, still, I’m good. I don’t need anything.”

After Kizzy’s outburst, Peyton didn’t roll a single eye as each girl moved over to hug her goodbye. She prepared to follow them out into the hallway to offer a mild apology but stopped as a thought entered her head.

“Actually, I do need something. Have you seen Lacey lately?”

Suddenly, the door reopened, and Pepper's voice carried in.

"Dear, you have some more people here to see you."

---

“Look, we were only going to get something to eat, I swear!” Jared roared upon entering Suite 805. “You can ask Newt!”

Jared and JoJo entered the Strattons' suite and abruptly stopped when they saw the room filled with waiting people. The group included Rachel, Clive, Gabriela, Jeff, Finn, Skye, Cormac, and Graham. Immediately, Jared had a bad feeling.

“Shit,” Jared muttered before turning to whisper at JoJo. “I think it’s an intervention for us.”

“What?!” the buxom brunette squealed, spotting her mom slightly hidden in the back. Jillian pointed at herself and at her daughter, meaning they would talk later.

“Did you do something? You’ve barely been gone. What did you do?” Gabby questioned. “And where is your alleged alibi?”

“Nothing,” JoJo squeaked.

“Newt was with us. I swear! But his…he stopped to talk to his mom,” Jared revealed.

“Good. That’s everyone except for Lacey, Ramsey, and Peyton. We’ll fill them in as soon as we can,” Rachel began, nodding at her husband.

“That bitch better not step one damn foot into this suite! You got that, Mom!” Lana screamed, her head popping out of the master bedroom’s door.

“Not now, Lana!” Rachel snapped back. “Kiki, please.”

“Oowww! The hell! Stop pulling my hair! That fucking hurts, you whore!” Lana roared as her head got yanked out of sight again.

“Sorry about that,” Zaylie apologized, appearing in the doorway for a second before vanishing. “Stop blaming Ki, sugar.”

"Alright, we just need to get through this," Rachel said more to herself than anyone. She pinched her brow as the headache grew.

“Okay, let’s begin by saying you two are not in trouble for whatever reason you think,” Clive told the two recent arrivals. “We called you up here to discuss the situation with our trip. After talking with Bridget and Harvey, it’s been agreed that we won’t go back tonight.”

“We’re not going back?!” JoJo exclaimed. “But what about Sean and the others? Are they okay up there?”

“Yes, they’re fine,” Rachel reassured. “The power is out around the lake, but Harvey’s generator is working fine. However, Bridget reported that many branches, if not whole trees, came down. The rangers and county workers will need time to clear them.”

“I imagine the biggest problem is that winding stretch before you reach Wirchie’s. Many of those trees tower over the road,” Jeff remarked, recalling past downed trees around that section.

“So what are we doing? Are we staying here tonight?” Jared asked, glancing around. His eyes noted Jillian’s presence, which worried him that JoJo’s mother would take her home.

“That’s why we called you back up here,” Gabby said. “But if you already got in trouble…Just remember that you are grounded when we go home for fighting and breaking Harvey’s furniture.”

“I know,” Jared grumbled.

“Alright, so the new plan is to return to the cabin in the morning to grab our stuff. I guess we’d likely only be there for a few hours, maybe have a final lunch or something. So the question is, who wants to go back just for that, and who wants us to grab their stuff and bring it back to town,” Rachel laid out the likely options.

“We’ll have to go back,” Jared said, realizing that was his family’s only option as Rattle Ridge lay northwest of the cabin.

“I want to go back. And not for that reason, Mother,” JoJo declared, notching her mom’s expression. “Somebody needs to help Sean, and I’m his best friend.”

“I’m not arguing that you can’t, Joanne,” Jillian remarked. “Although, you will answer any of my calls or messages from now on.”

“I am going back for Sean,” JoJo said firmly.

"And I fully expect Lacey to want to do the same for Whitney and Sean. Ramsey will also likely tag along. And Peyton will want to go," Rachel rattled off. "Also, Bridget mentioned something about damage to Harvey's SUV. I'm not sure how bad it is, but we probably need to make sure we have enough cars to bring everyone and our things back to town."

“I should go back to get my bags. With changing rooms several times, I’m not sure everything is in one place,” Skye said.

“I’m not sure if I shouldn’t stay here and watch over my dad,” Finn admitted.

"Yes, I talked to Harvey about your dad. Larry will stay in town for a few days to monitor him. So you don't need to handle that chore, kid. Also, we've discussed getting your dad some help later this week when Harvey is back and Dalton has time."

“Help? What do you mean?”

“We’ve talked to Sybil, Finny. Your aunt agreed it’s time to get your father into a place for treatment,” Rachel revealed as diplomatically and gently as she could.

“I don’t think he’ll go willingly, and I know you can’t **** him unless he does something much worse,” Finn pointed out.

“Well, Harvey and Dalton came up with an idea. It’s still in the early stages, so keep that in mind,” Clive responded. “The idea is to use your grandmother.”

“Grandma? You want to get Grandma involved from Arizona?” Finn questioned, sitting up straighter.

"Not necessarily. The plan would be for your Aunt Sybil to threaten to call your grandmother if Fred doesn't go willingly. It's more that we hope the threat will work than actually calling her," Rachel relayed.

“Threatening to call Grandma? That just might work. If anything can **** Dad to go to rehab, it’s that. She’s the one person in the world who scares the crap out of him,” Finn stated, rubbing his head as he pondered the scheme. “Well, if Larry is going to stay with him, I better drive to the cabin if we need an extra vehicle.”

"Besides Fred, I also won't be returning to the cabin," Clive revealed, causing mild surprise. "Cormac will drive his mother and me back to our house. Blair's organizing an emergency campaign meeting tonight at the house. So, along with a few others, they might stay the night."

“Obviously, Austin won’t be returning either,” Rachel said before slapping Gabby’s poking finger. “Stop it!”

“But you won’t tell me what has Miranda pissed off. Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“No! I’m not dealing with that right now. All you need to know is that we’re bringing Austin’s things back when we head home. Miranda or Rory will pick them up,” Rachel passed along. “Finn, could you grab his stuff from the bunkhouse?”

“Sure,” Finn agreed while Jared offered to help. Neither guy wanted Lacey to perform the chore.

"Now, I assume Kimberly will also stop and grab her things tomorrow. However, I'm not in the mood to deal with her, so that's why she wasn't invited to this meeting," Rachel continued.

“That brings us to room arrangements,” Clive began. “Despite my not liking the appearance of an underhanded deal, I’m going to keep this suite another night. We’ll see who needs a bed, but Rachel, Lacey, Lana, Finn, and Peyton are the most likely to stay here.”

“What?! That monster better not be sleeping under my bed! What the fuck, Mom?!” Lana shrieked from the master bedroom.

“Lana, would you fricking–” Rachel began to reply.

"—shut up!" Finn finished.

“Now, Dalton knows things might be a bit tight, so he offered to comp your rooms,” Graham said, looking at Jeff and Gabby.

“I don’t need any charity. We can afford another night,” Jeff responded indignantly.

"Which is what Harvey figured you'd say. So, you're staying in his suite instead," Graham finished, passing along the offer.

Jared immediately locked eyes with JoJo before remembering her mother was in the room. Gabby ignored the look as she was more interested in Harvey’s offer.

“The big shot’s penthouse? Oh, we’re so taking him up on the offer.”

“Gab, I don’t think—” Jeff began to argue.

“Hush! I want…no, I need a dip in that hot tub. We’re staying there,” Gabby declared, leaving no room for any arguments.

A knock at the door led to Newt entering the suite. Once inside, the teen was quickly updated on the recent developments. Jared asked what he wanted to do.

“I’m very sure that Newt wants to stay with us in Mr. Diamond’s penthouse,” JoJo guessed, her eyes flickering over at Skye.

“Uh, I can’t stay, and I’m not going back to the cabin tomorrow,” Newt revealed, causing a couple of gasps in the room.

“Why?” JoJo asked, suddenly concerned that something happened.

"My mom wants me to head back home to check on the house. I guess the power was on and off in the neighborhood last night. She has one or two more patients in the ER, so she needs to go back. These kids sure seem to eat the wrong things on holidays."

“I have to drop a few of Zoey’s friends off, but I can probably squeeze you into our car,” Jillian offered.

“Thanks, Mrs. Gibble. I left Mom talking to Mrs. Kappmeyer. They’ll take me home when they leave in a few minutes,” Newt replied.

“I can’t believe you’re not going back with us to see Sean,” JoJo whined.

“I can just walk over tomorrow night to see him when you get back,” Newt responded, not understanding the big deal. “Uh, can you grab my things? I brought most of the important stuff with me here.”

“You mean your phone and tablet,” Jared chuckled. “Don’t worry. I know where your clothes are at.”

“It’s not a big deal, Jo. Actually, I’m looking forward to some alone time. I just hope the power is working. I have a new project to work on.”

JoJo’s face showed her confusion as her close friend leaned closer.

“I’m going to research candidates to be my first girlfriend.”

“Wha?” JoJo gasped.

“Now that I’ve had sex, I want more of it. And I guess the proper way to do that is to get a girlfriend,” Newt announced softly.

“Yeah, it doesn’t always work that way. I’ve gotten plenty of puss–Hey! Oh, uh, right. Sorry, Jo. Uh, never mind, Newt,” Jared corrected his advice after a sharp foot stomp from the busty brunette.