Chapter Five:
Harry
Room number sixty-one waited in the shadows at the very end of the hallway. I could only hear the stifled hum of traffic outside and the sound of my own breathing, and even that felt unnaturally loud; the silence of the hotel was almost calming compared to the frenetic rush of the city streets. Hope’s phone call was still churning through my mind in fragments, and I didn’t notice my heart was pounding until I was still. The door opened before I knocked it.
“Either you broke a speeding limit to get here or you live closer than I thought.” Hope spoke in a whisper, so faint I would have missed it if I wasn’t glancing directly at her mouth. Her hair was in a loose braid down her shoulder, and she wore a black jumper over black leggings, making her pale skin glow. I laughed, and my heart rate slowed immediately as she let me inside.
“All of the above,” I answered mildly, shrugging off my jacket and hanging it on the hook beside her door. The dark room illuminated into a dull orange glow as Hope ignited a match and threw it into the fireplace. The flames kicked up their feet behind the bars, splaying their limbs in a hue of kaleidoscopic smoky colours. She sat on the floor in the light of the burning coal. It reflected on her face like fire dancing underneath her skin.
“I didn’t expect you to come, otherwise I would have baked some cookies or whatever people do when they have visitors,” Hope grinned, leaning against me as I joined her on the floor.
I laughed, but it sounded dull, like I needed to sleep for a few days. “I think that’s just a house selling thing.”
“Then I’m off the hook,” she smiled. “I’m sorry I disturbed you so late... You’ve had enough beauty sleep anyway.”
I chuckled, flashing a grin. “Are you flirting with me, Hope Thorne?”
“I think meeting Theo has had an influence on me.” She stopped to pretend to gasp, and her eyes twinkled, icy blue. Her laugh was contagious.
“What you said worried me,” I admitted when our laughter faded to silence. Her soft limbs stiffened slightly beside me. “Are you in some sort of trouble? You say I should keep away from you and that you’re afraid,” she turned her head on my shoulder to meet my eyes, and the twinkle had faded to an empty stare. “You can trust me. I don’t want you to feel alone.”
“I’m fine. I’m not in any trouble,” she smiled, but it didn’t meet her eyes, her lips pulled up in the corners artificially. “It’s silly, really. Clingy ex-boyfriend, that’s all.” She rolled her eyes dismissively and looked back at the fire as if to close the conversation. Part of me didn’t believe her, but the part of me that wanted to trust her held back any more questions. Ash spat out of the fire and landed on the aged mustard carpet, deflating the silence. “How old are you?”
The question surprised me. “Nineteen. Why?”
“Me too,” she sounded shocked, and in her silvery tone, almost childish. Laughter rumbled in my throat. “If you’re only nineteen, why do you live in California and not in England with your family?”
I felt a weight drop in my stomach, and my throat felt too dry to speak. She looked down, as if ashamed for asking a question she didn’t yet know the answer to. “My family are dead,” I said in a well-rehearsed tone, almost devoid of emotion. I’d learned to detach myself from those four words; otherwise I’d sink back into a very dark place and struggle to find my way out.
YOU ARE READING
Hide
Teen Fiction[In the process of being edited and re-written.] "His strident voice cuts through the silence and a chill laces through my cells. In his naturally taunt voice, my name sounds like a death sentence. His pale brown eyes appear as black holes in the sh...
