The Hotel Cortez - Do Not Disturb

Chapter 16

This book is pretty intense and serious so I decided to throw in some soft James and Bell
This chapter doesn't really add to the plot... Like at all... But oh wellllllllll

I rolled over in bed, the lights outside flickering gently. It was late October so the darkness was settling in much earlier and staying for much longer. I didn't mind. I liked the dark. It made me feel safe, comfortable. It reminded me that I had nowhere to be, nothing to do. I could just lie here forever.
My hand reached across the bed, out of the intoxicatingly warm sheets. It found what it was looking for when I gently hugged James.
He reminded me of the dark. Everyone was terrified of him too. They see him as evil and the epitome of all things bad. I don't. Just like the darkness, he makes me feel safe. Strange, I know. But when I'm in his presence, I don't feel like I have to wear a mask. It's not like in the light of day where everyone can see you. I don't have to hide in the shadows. I can do as I please. I can come alive.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close so that my head was resting on his chest.
I smiled gently, looking up at him.
"Jaaaaaaames" I whined tiredly.
"Yes dear?" He replied calmly.
"I can't sleep." I sighed.
It wasn't that I wasn't tired. I just couldn't sleep. It wasn't even that it was a physical impossibility for me to sleep. My insomnia had merely returned and there was nothing I could do about it.
"What kind of music did you listen to when you were alive?" I asked, curiosity filling me. I had a lingering feeling that he was a swing type of guy. He didn't particularly strike me as a blues fan.
Me on the other hand, I adored blues. I love swing too but I'm more of a 'just sitting here with a guitar and a bottle of whiskey cuz I've got nothing left to lose.' person. James didn't seem like that kind of person.
His eyebrow raised at my question.
"I wish I'd been alive back then. It was like... The birth of music. Ooo do you know Peggy Lee or was she after your time?" My questions couldn't wait to be let out. I always got like this when I talked about music. It was my passion. I'd just get so excited about it.
He turned on the light with a smile that looked almost as though he was begging me to stop talking.
"Go and take a look." He said, gesturing toward the record player. I jumped up cheerfully and looked through all the music.
Wow.
This was wow.
Man I'm a music nerd.
I soon found a Benny Goodman record and my eyes lit up. BENNY IS GOD. 
I put it on and music filled the room.
James stood up and held out a hand for me, "Care to dance, darling?"

I knew what this was. I'd been asking so many questions about when he was alive because it's a time I would've loved to have seen. I hadn't been particularly happy as of late and I suppose this was just James trying to give me a little insight into the time he was from.
I danced with him back and forth across the room. Him twirling me, me laughing because I'm a shitty dancer, him chuckling because he knew I was doing my damnedest not to fall flat on my face.

And that was just what I needed.

Everything else seemed so distant. The murders, my death, my powers. It all just melted away.

As the song ended, I rested my head on his shoulder with a smile. I didn't particularly want it to end. It was one of those moments where you wish you could just seal it in a bottle so it lasted for an eternity.
I ran back to the bed and hopped onto it with a grin.
"You know, it's nearly my birthday." I looked up at the ceiling musing. "Do you know what that means?"
"What dear?" He asked, sitting beside me once more.
"That means it's nearly your birthday." I grinned widely. "You're getting old, Mr March." I chuckled.
"It's rather difficult to grow old after you've already passed." He said, lying down.
"Doesn't mean I can't still get ya something." I replied, kissing his cheek.
And with that, I turned off the lights.
It wasn't so difficult to fall asleep that night. In fact, it was the easiest it'd been since before my parents died. James March was my darkness, but the darkness had always kept me safe.