Lost in You

Chapter 7

The next day seems boring, compared to the chaos of the days before. Maja and I can sleep in again, we're not needed at breakfast anymore. When we finish our work, I find myself drawn down the corridor where I know Marius to still be in his room. I want to check on him, I want to have another conversation like last night. For the first time I don't look forward to going skiing with Maja, although the weather is nice and the route we chose for today promises some good views. At least Maja is too excited about it to notice my mood. All I have to do is ski behind her, agree with what she says and smile on the pictures. When we come back in the evening, my cheeks are red and I feel better. I still want to go further down the corridor, but I also had fun on the tour and realistic there's nothing for me to do down there. As Maja already once warned me, I shouldn't get attached. He's leaving soon and we won't see each other again. That it's a few days later than planned, doesn't change anything. "Do we have more sparkling water?" I ask and shake the empty bottle on our table as if that would fill it up again. Maja yawns. "No. We'll get it tomorrow. All I want right now is a get a hot bath and fall into bed." I take the bottle and walk to the door. "I'll get it now while you bathe." We couldn't get ready together anyway, so I might as well use the time. "Whatever you want as long as you don't want me to come along," Maja says and heads for the bathroom. I pull the cardigan closer around me and head out. The corridor is empty, but I hear voices and music wafting out from underneath some of the doors. I'm glad when I exit the lift in the lobby and hear see people again."You're still here as well." I turn to the bar to see Marius sitting there, wrapped in a cardigan as well with a half-empty cocktail in front of him. I raise my eyebrows. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" I sit on the chair next to him and put the empty water bottle on the counter. "I couldn't stay there any longer and I got the clearing that at least I'm not that infectious anymore," he says and takes another sip from his drink. He doesn't look like he should be here, still too pale, with a sickly gleam in his eyes, but I'm not the one to judge his actions. Instead, I explain my water problem to the barkeeper and he hands me a new bottle. "Anything else?" he asks and looks at both of us. Before I can overthink it, I listen to what my heart screams at me to do and order a cocktail to have an excuse to stay. Knowing Maja, I still have some time before the bath is free anyway. Marius looks at me in surprise when I take the first sip of my cocktail and close my eyes while the sweet, fruity flavour explodes in my mouth. He still stares when I open my eyes again, so I shrug. "It's not like I'm working right now. And it's warming me up after some long hours on the skies." "You've been skiing today?" he asks with something in his voice that I can't place. Maybe it would have been better to refrain from any mentioning of winter sports, though I'm at a loss what else we could talk about then. "One of the perks of working here," I say and smile as if I hadn't noticed his mood. He looks past me to the TV flickering over the bar. I follow his gaze. It's silent, but they show a recap of the sports events that day. Someone sailing in slow motion down a hill. Maybe it hadn't been me that made his mood turn. I lean a little bit to the side as if I could shield the screen from his view. At least it makes him look back at me. "I can imagine. I would have done the same today if I hadn't been sick. And of course-" he lifts his glass and gestures to the TV where they still show recaps. I only throw a short glance at it because I don't understand what's going on without the sound on. I nod and take a sip from my cocktail. "Couldn't you have gone home when you got sick?" I ask. I could imagine he'd be a lot more comfortable at home instead of at a bar in a nearly empty hotel lobby while seeing his friends on TV."Could have. But the doctor said that the rest in bed was the best for me and I'm closer to the competitions here whenever I'll be able to go back. So getting healthy was the priority." "Well, if you do need someone around, I'm here," I say, not because I actually think he'll consider the offer but because it would have been the kind of offer I would like to get if I ever find myself sick in a hotel in another country without having the chance to go back home any time soon. "Thank you. I'll remember that." To my surprise, he sounds sincere. "I'll be where the cleaning cart is," I say jokingly. He smiles. "You said you're studying? That means you're going back soon as well, right?" he asks and empties his drink. "Yes. Next weekend, right before lectures start again. But I'll be back in February once we're done with exams." He turns the empty glass in his hands and doesn't look like he's about to leave or order another drink. "Me too." I almost spit my drink out again. "What?" He smiles again. "You really know nothing about our competitions, do you? We come back for the sky-flying ski cup and as far as I know, it'll be the same hotel. So you better decide now if this was too much and you'd like to avoid us next time." I want to take my water and run back upstairs. With all the research she's been doing, I'm sure Maja knew about this and didn't tell me. "I didn't know that, but it won't change my plans. In fact, the hotel looked a lot livelier when you all were here. I almost miss it," I admit. "I don't think I've ever heard someone say that before," he muses and I can see him catch himself before looking to the TV again while I take a sip from my cocktail. "Well, I never sat at the bar with a ski jumper," I give back. He chuckles. "You wouldn't have known it if he sat right in front of you." "That's right, but I still don't think it ever happened to me." That is partly also because I haven't sat at a bar very many times before, but he doesn't need to know that. I finish off my cocktail and pay for it as well as the water. "I should go back upstairs before my friend wonders where I am," I say and stand up. He does as well. "I should get back to bed. I don't want to watch this over the TV any longer than necessary," he says and throws another angry glance at the TV, although they started showing a crime film now. We walk back to the lift together, him a little unsteady on his feet. I can't tell if it's caused by too many cocktails or him being sick. Most likely a mixture of both. When the lift doors close behind us, he leans against the mirror and closes his eyes. "Thank you for tonight. I think I needed someone to talk to. Someone real I mean, not over the phone." I shrug like it meant nothing to me that he stayed even after he'd finished his drink. "Sure. As I said you know where to find me," I mumble. He opens his eyes again and looks at me. A glance in the mirror behind him tells me that we're both flushed and look tired. But some of the restlessness seems to have left his eyes and is replaced by the eerie calm that I'd already noticed last night. The lift door opens again before he says something else. He stumbles out into the corridor next to me. I raise an eyebrow. "You'll make it back to your room, right?" He makes a dismissive hand movement. "Don't worry. I've got good balance." He points at his feet and I roll my eyes. "Whatever you say. But I don't want to find you sleeping in the middle of the corridor when I clean tomorrow morning." He gives me a cocky grin. "You'll find me in my bed." I only roll my eyes again but slow down on my way to my room to be able to make sure that he is able to walk down the corridor. Whether it really is a good balance or he's stumbled for other reasons before, I'm not sure, but he actually manages to walk almost normally which makes me worry a little less about him getting to bed. "Did you get the water out of the nearest spring?" Maja sits on our bed when I come in, her hair wrapped in a towel and eating crisps while zapping through the TV. "No from the bartender," I give back and put the bottle on the table where she'll have to get up again to get it."Did he give you something else as well?" she asks. I sigh. "A cocktail." Maja giggles. "Had you told me what you were planning to do, I might have waited with the bath." "Sure? You seemed very eager to get into the bathtub." Maja leans back against the wall. "You're probably right. Was it good at least? Something you can recommend for our last night?" Other than talking to Marius? "Yes the cocktail was good," I answer instead and go to the bathroom before she can keep asking. She'll figure out what else kept me down there sooner or later anyway. "If you put the shampoo samples in while letting the water run, you get a bubble bath," Maja calls after me before I shut the door. "No thanks, I'll take a bath like every other normal human being," I shout back, but turn one of the samples in my hands once I shut the door.