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Chapter 10

“Addie, wait!” Ryder reached for my arm. Not constricting, but as if he was reminding me that he was there.

“You need to get down to the basement,” Asher said from my other side. I looked between the two boys with bemusement.

“I need to make sure everyone gets somewhere safe. Not a lot of people have weather alerts on their phone, and, even if they did, they wouldn’t believe that a tornado is heading towards us. Hell, I barely even believe it.”

As I spoke, I quickened my pace. I reached the front desk at my last word.

“Addie?” a young man, whose name constantly escaped me, asked with a raised eyebrow. He glanced between me and the two men gripping each of my arms. His eyebrows furrowed together with concern. “Are you alright?”

“There’s a tornado in the area. Can you set an alarm or make an announcement to get everyone to the first floor?” I knew the safest place would be the basement - it was below ground and had numerous rooms with no windows - yet employees were the ones with the key to access that level, and only certain ones at that. I doubted even Asher had a key.

“Are you sure?” The employee asked in disbelief. I resisted the urge to slug him.

“I’m pretty damn positive based on the weather alert,” I huffed. “Can you make an announcement or not?”

He still eyed me with skepticism, but he eventually nodded.

“Yeah, I can make an announcement over the intercom.”

“Thank you,” I said stiffly. I knew I was being a bitch, but I didn’t care. Those seconds he spent arguing with me were precious seconds taken away from people finding shelter. Now how was I going to communicate with the people hitting the slopes? Hmmm...

“Now that you have that taken care of, let’s go to the basement,” Ryder said, grabbing my arm once again. He attempted to drag me towards the elevator, but I dug my heels into the carpet.

“What about the people outside? And the other boys? And my parents?”

“It looks as if security is handling the people outside.” Asher nodded his head towards a group of men heading towards the resort’s doors. They looked far too casual for the disaster that was about to occur if the tornado struck here. The bastards didn’t believe me!

I was tempted to shove the phone in their snotty faces, or maybe just hit them repeatedly until they gained common sense.

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” Asher mused. “We kind of need them conscious to spread the word.”

“Get out of my head!” I snapped, slightly irritated. He snorted.

“Quit speaking aloud.”

Damn him and his logic.

“I texted the guys,” Ryder broke in. “They’re meeting us here.”

“They’re meeting you here,” I corrected. “I need to go find my parents.”

The boys both looked at me as if I was insane. Well, more insane than normal because I’m pretty sure they already knew I was a few screws short.

“Why?” Ryder sputtered.

“Because they’re my parents, and they’re too stupid to move without me pushing them.”

And them pushing me back, I thought but didn’t say.

“Why do you even bother with them?” Asher asked, voice rising with disbelief. I shrugged. I didn’t quite understand it myself, so I knew it was pointless to try and explain.

“They’re my parents,” I admitted at last. “The egg and sperm donor that made me into being. Sure, they’re emotionally and physically abusive assholes, but I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.”

Their faces darkened at my words, but they didn’t refute my claim. Mom and Dad may not have been family, but they were blood. That had to count for something, right?

Then why did the thought of finding them make my skin crawl?