Hotel Nigh

Chapter 17

The Associate's Past

"Jason," she said simply at first, "I'm not hiding anything from you."

"We both know you're lying," I said back, suddenly finding an insane amount of anger mounting inside of me and getting ready to boil. "The murderer put a note on the back of those crisps telling you to be careful because otherwise they'll expose your secrets, pretty much. What are you hiding?"

"Nothing."

"Melina. I've shared the reason I'm at this dump and I'm confiding in you about everything so far. The least you could do is give me the same amount of respect and worthiness back. I can easily break this all off and find out who the murderer is on my own."

"You promised we would solve it together."

"Then give me a reason to stick with you on this. This storm could end at any moment and the murderer could just walk free. This person killed my brother. Slaughtered him!" I exclaimed, my voice heightening in sound. "They've killed Kimberly and Matt. They played an old woman by pretending her grandson was still alive. They killed a father who's also a husband. They've left a little girl fatherless. God only knows who they'll strike next – someone who works here?"

Melina sighed, sinking down onto the ground, and crossing her legs. Sighing, I ungracefully fell to the floor and sat beside her, leaning back against my door. "I've not always had the best life," she finally settled on, then adjusted her position as she felt inclined to lean back against the door also so I had to shunt over to allow her more room. "With my family, I mean."

"What happened?"

"My family was falling apart when I turned sixteen. I thought I knew what the world had to offer. My sister on the other hand..." She didn't elaborate. "I thought running away would be the best option, and I found this group of people. You know the rest. The cliché. They were the wrong type of people to get mixed up with and they got into all sorts of trouble – me included. Eventually I went back home. But I had to live with what I'd done."

"What had you done, Melina?" I asked softly, reaching my hand out to softly stroke her knee through her jeans using my thumb.

She leaned her head back on the wall. "I had no idea why my family was falling apart when I left. I just left. By the time I got back, it was because my mum was seriously ill and my dad was struggling with juggling work and caring for her. By the time I was back, she was too ill to get up or do anything she used to do. We could barely talk to her.

"I left for my own selfish reasons," she continued, "because I just couldn't cope. I was sixteen and naïve. I had no idea what I was doing, and when I got into that crowd, I was taking drugs and finding all my time with boys for all of the wrong reasons doing all of the wrong things." I gulped down a lump that had formed in my throat and ignored the churning in my stomach. "If I'd have stayed, I would have had longer with my mum."

I didn't want to ask the question, but I know I needed to. "Did she die?"

She nodded stiffly and silently.

Deciding it was better to put my arm around her than continue holding her knee, I did just that. She leaned in closer to me and it was the first time I'd really gotten a whiff of her perfume. It smelt of jasmine and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. Needless to say, she smelt good. And I was thinking of that more than her feelings in this situation. Which was quite inappropriate given that she was clearly upset by this conversation.

"I appreciate you telling me," I said, peering down to look at her as my thumb began rubbing her upper arm.

"It makes me a bad person."