They sat in silence for the remainder of the trip. When the car pulled up in front of The Cornhusker Hotel, the snow was coming down even harder. The building was decorated with red and gold ribbons and lights; one of the few reminders Cadence had seen that it was almost Christmas. She had to press thoughts of the most joyous time of the year out of her head, however, as the driver opened the door, waiting for Hannah to slide out.
"I'll go on to the other hotel," Eliza said, as Cadence slid past her to get out of the car. "We are staying at the Embassy Suites. I'll see you guys when you get back. Good luck, Cadence," she said, squeezing her friend's arm gently.
Cadence smiled in thanks and joined Hannah and Elliott on the sidewalk, glancing up at the building and collecting her thoughts. "Okay, let's go," she said, following Elliott through the door.
Taylor had sent a text earlier to let her know what room they were in, and as the elevator neared the appropriate floor, the lump in Cadence's throat grew larger and larger until she felt that she couldn't even swallow. When the doors opened, she hesitated, and Hannah took her by the arm and pulled her gently along, her feet like lead.
It was Jack's dad, Steve, who opened the door. "Cadence!" he declared, opening his arms and embracing her tightly. It was evident by the look in his weary eyes that he had been crying recently, and as he embraced the girl his late son had loved so much, he began to weep.
Despite Cadence's access to Hannah, being in the presence of so many grieving friends and family members brought tears to her eyes as well. As the friends greeted each other and hugged, the tears flowed freely from all of them, and the fact that their numbers had dwindled in the last few weeks was evident. Taylor and Sydney were there, as was Kash and his best friend Jon. And that was it. All that was left of their circle of friends, which used to number seven.
"Cadence," Alice, Jack's mom, said as she released her from a tight embrace. "We're so glad you are finally here. We know how very much you meant to Jack."
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here," Cadence replied, taking both of Alice's hands in hers.
"I know," she confirmed, squeezing Cadence's hand gently. "I know. It's okay."
Cadence wasn't sure that she believed that, but she did recognize the fact that there was nothing she could do about it now. "This is my friend Hannah," she said, introducing the tall blond to the shorter brunette and the rest of the group. "And I think some of you have met Elliott."
Pleasantries were exchanged, and both Hannah and Elliott stated how sorry they were that Jack was no longer with them. There were several seats in the small living area of the suite, and Alice motioned for Cadence and the rest of the party to sit, which they did. Cadence hesitated to ask any questions at all, not wanting to make anyone relive their experiences of the past few days. Besides, Taylor's messages had given a pretty clear description of what had transpired. There was just one issue she was unclear on. Where exactly was Jack now? She wasn't sure how to broach the subject, so she waited, hopeful that the topic would come up without having to ask. She still wasn't clear that she had understood what Taylor was trying to tell her during their conversation before she had left Kansas City. Was Jack actually gone, and if so, how was that possible?
Cadence was sitting on the couch between Sydney and Taylor. Sydney had her head resting on Cadence's shoulder, as if she had finally become exhausted, and Cadence was the only one who could revive her. Cadence attempted to focus on the conversation going on around her, though she was having trouble. They were rehashing the events of Jack's last few days, for her benefit, but she didn't necessarily want to hear all of it. For some reason, everyone seemed to think that she would be glad to know that he had been asking for her. However, that just made her feel guilty for not being there, and so she made an attempt to tune them out.
A vibration in her pocket caught her attention, and she pulled her phone out, realizing suddenly that her parents may have no idea that she was in Lincoln. She had sent them a text when she left Paris, but that was it, and though she knew they were part of the extensive network of Hunters and Guardians who shared information, she wasn't sure exactly what they knew. Glancing down, she saw that it was her mom, and she said simply, "Glad you're back, honey. We love you. Call us when you get a chance." She wasn't sure who had informed her parents, especially since Aaron was at least temporarily out of commission, but she was glad they knew. She didn't want to be rude, so she slid the phone back into her pocket, saying, "Sorry. That was my mom."
Alice had been talking about how Jack had woken up long enough to eat some Jell-O just a few nights ago and paused briefly in her story to nod an acknowledgement that she understood that Cadence needed to check in with her own parents before she continued. Again, Cadence partially tuned in but couldn't stay focused on what Jack's mom was saying. Her mind was bouncing to memories of times she had spent with Jack, thoughts of Drew, and a mixture of snapshots of all that had transpired these last few days.
She realized that Taylor was asking her a question. "Don't you think, Cadence?" she asked again.
Of course, Cadence had no idea what she had been asking. The puzzled expression on her face gave her away only to her teammates. "She said 'it seems odd that the hospital hasn't called yet, don't you think Cadence,'" Elliott interjected through the IAC. Then he added, "What the hell is she talking about??"
"Thanks," Cadence responded before replying to Taylor. "About that," she said, turning to her friend. "I'm not sure I understand exactly what you meant. Did you say, the hospital can't find him?" Her words ignited an explosion on the IAC from her teammates, who clearly saw this bit of information as pertinent, though; Cadence was under the belief that there had simply been some sort of mix up at the hospital.
It wasn't Taylor who answered, however, it was Steve. "They said they are pretty sure he was just accidentally moved to a different part of the morgue," he began. "They were hoping to perform an autopsy to see if they could tell exactly what this disease was. They are concerned that it could be something infectious. But, since none of us are sick, you're not sick, and his roommate, Byron, isn't sick, they are not too concerned. Nevertheless, when they returned to do the autopsy, Jack's body wasn't where they thought it should be. They said they would call us as soon as it was located so that we could contact the funeral home and begin making arrangements."
"But, that was this morning," Taylor argued. "Shouldn't they have found him by now? After all, it's nearly 5:00."
Cadence didn't really have an opinion, considering she had no idea how large the morgue beneath the hospital might be, nor did she know the protocol for storing bodies. Since she declined to answer, the rest of her friends chimed in with their opinions, and she refocused her attention to the IAC.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Elliott demanded, followed shortly by, "Does Aaron know this?"
"Calm down," Hannah advised, though, she could tell by Elliott's reaction that she had not forced him to do so. "Don't jump to conclusions."
"Dammit, Cadence. You've gotta let us know this shit," Elliott had replied, clearly not listening to Hannah.
"Elliott," Hannah warned, "Let's just give this some time."
The conversation had stopped coming through to Cadence at that point, though it appeared to her as if Elliott and Hannah were continuing the discussion. She felt very confused, not sure why Elliott was so upset that the hospital had lost Jack's body. She felt fairly confident that it was just a mistake, and they would find him soon.
