Hotel Ambrose

Chapter 8.6

"What's that?"

"What?" I said. I hadn't heard Sophie wake up, but suddenly she was there looking over my shoulder. I tried to hide the book under the blanket but she made a grab for it, and then we were fighting over it and I was telling her to stop or she'd tear it to fucking bits. She finally let go.

"Jesus!" I said. "You don't give a shit about other people's property, do you?"

"Bet it's not even yours!"

I reached down and hid the book under the bed. "It's none of your business whose it is. I would've shown you if you asked nicely instead of just -"

"Arsehole!" she said.

"Bitch!"

"- arsehole," she said in a muffled voice from under the blanket.

"Okay, I'll show you it then. Jesus, it's just a book." I reached back under the bed and got the book and threw it onto the blanket where she was.

"Why were you hiding it?" she said, emerging from underneath and picking the book up. I still couldn't get over how quickly she'd woken up and grabbed it out of my hands. My heart was going like crazy. I guess I was already on edge from the story.

"I wasn't hiding it," I said. "It's Dirty Joe's. He lent it to me. To read. And you made me lose my place, and if I lose my place it might -"

"Might what?"

"Nothing," I said. I couldn't tell her that the story might disappear. She'd think I was crazy.

"Can I read it?"

"I'm reading it."

"I don't like it."

"You haven't even read it."

"Is it scary?" she said. She was looking at the cover. She still hadn't opened it.

"Why would it be scary? You're just jealous cos Joe gave it to me."

"No I'm not."

"I'm not making you read it."

"I don't like it, that's all.

"Too bad."

"Keep your stupid book then, see if I care." She threw it back at me.

"I will."

But when I woke up the next morning the book was gone.

"The hotel probably hid it," she said when I asked her about it.

"What?"

"The hotel."

"That's retarded."

"You're retarded," she said, and stamped away. As if she had a right to be angry. It made my blood boil. I didn't talk to her all day.

But in the end I had to admit that I didn't know for certain what had happened to the book, and I couldn't blame Sophie unless I knew for sure. I just sulked about, hoping she would take pity on me and own up to it, but she never did.

And after a while I forgot all about the book, and James Ambrose.