Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
SAM
Day Fourteen
‘I’m sorry, the person you have called cannot be reached right now…’
I hang up the phone. Almost fifty calls, each one ignored. You’d think I’d get the message by now.
He went so quiet last night, after Ollie and Alec left the restaurant. What a disaster it was. What if these nerves are some premonition, anticipating that something would go wrong?
I try calling Will again after serving a new batch of customers, but the call goes ignored.
He hasn’t responded to my texts, not even my messages on the Nintendo. Will’s cut me off.
‘Go to him,’ Mum says, watching me unlock my phone for the thousandth time.
‘I can’t.’
‘I can handle this.’ She waves an arm at the half-empty coffee shop. ‘Go to him and tell him you’re there for him.’
Running across the city, I find myself outside The Laurel Hotel drenched in sweat. Wiping my forehead, Lydia spots me as I come in.
‘He’s not answering the door,’ she says.
‘Are you sure he’s even alive?’
Lydia shakes her head. ‘I don’t think it’s that serious. He talked back to me.’
‘What did he say?’
She mimics his voice, ‘Go away.’
‘Sounds like Will,’ I mutter.
Lydia reaches for the receptionist’s phone, dialling a number. She holds it to her ear, checking her nails.
I take in the hotel, aware that I haven’t been here yet, haven’t seen what it’s like. Nothing gives away what this hotel is about, except for the artwork on the walls. I’m almost let down when no naked people are walking around.
‘He’s not answering,’ she says, hanging up. ‘Has he a tendency to be this dramatic?’
How can I put this politely? ‘I suppose so.’
Lydia leans against the counter. ‘What did you think of last night?’
‘Ollie had his comeuppance.’
‘He is a swine,’ she says.
‘Yeah, I noticed that the first time I met him.’
She nods to the ceiling, as if Will is right above us. ‘You’d think he would have spotted it a long time ago, no?’
‘He was younger then. Maybe they were happier.’
Or maybe he romanticised his life with Ollie, conveniently forgetting the worst of it. It’s not my business. All I want is to know that Will is okay.
‘He’s on the fifth floor,’ she says. ‘Top floor. Room 501.’
‘Thanks, Lydia.’
I barrel into the lift, riding to the top. I emerge onto a bright hallway, a nude figure dipping back into their room. Trying not to be fazed, I walk past naked sculptures, finding Will’s room.
I knock.
‘Lydia, leave me alone.’
At least I know he’s in there.
‘Will, it’s me. Open up.’ Will falls silent. I press my ear to the door. ‘Is that Charmed?’
‘Sam, please,’ Will cries. ‘I want to be left alone.’
What should I do? Has he crept to the other side of the door, peering at me through the peephole? Just in case he has, I address it. ‘If you want me to go, I will. But I just want you to know I’m here for you, all right?’
I wait, hoping he might speak. No other sound but the TV. I sigh.
I do the same thing the next morning, noticing an empty plate outside his door. He’s ordering room service. He’s eating. That’s a good sign. He speaks when I knock, but falls silent when I announce myself. Asks me to leave.
I wait a little longer this time, hoping he might let me in. In all senses. But he doesn’t.
As I leave the hotel, Lydia calls me back.
‘If anything changes, I will let you know.’