Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
A n intruder entered my room and flicked on the lights. I let out a startled shriek, blinded and disorientated.
“A-Amelia?” The voice was Neil’s, thick with shock and confusion, giving way to a trace of fascination. “What are you doing here? Why are you in my room? My—” He swallowed. “— Bed ?”
The bitter smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke hit my nostrils before my vision adjusted. Neil stood at the foot of the bed, his jaw agape at the sight of me. He had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, and his hair was in disarray. His clothes were dishevelled—shirt wrinkled and half untucked, collar open, sleeves rolled up. He swayed slightly on his feet. A confronting sight when I was used to him being the picture of composure and control. I didn’t know what to make of it. All I knew was that Daniel must have put him up to this behaviour because it was so out of character.
I sat up straight against the headboard, shaking off my grogginess and blinking clarity into my blurry vision. “This is my room. Why do you have the key?”
Neil peeled his eyes off my body and averted them. That’s when I remembered I was wearing nothing but a thin white tank top and boy shorts. I hastily pulled the blankets up to cover myself.
“I checked in, and this is the room they gave me,” Neil explained. “Did you book only one room?”
“Of course not! I don’t know what happened.”
Neil paced, rubbing his temples. “Okay, okay. I’ll sort this out. Just give me one minute. Ugh.” He clutched his stomach.
“Are you all right?”
A pallor came over him. “Excuse me.”
He slipped into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. The muffled sound of retching seeped through the wall. I steeled myself against second-hand queasiness, feeling sorry for him at the same time.
After several minutes, I heard the toilet flush, then the tap run. Neil emerged, sheepishly running a hand through his hair. “Sorry. You shouldn’t have to see me like this. You, of all people… I’m a mess.” Self-loathing laced his voice.
I shook my head, trying to downplay the situation. “It’s no big deal. You’ve also seen me drunk. We can call it even.”
He scanned my face like he didn’t know what to fixate on, then his shoulders slumped in defeat. “You’re… sweet.”
“Sweet?” I blushed, remembering how I had also called him sweet when I was drunk. If he hugged me now, we’d both be as bad as each other.
Neil winced. “I mean, er, I’ll just go downstairs and sort out—” Another stomach clutch. He looked like he might be sick again.
I practically launched myself out of bed. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ll do it.”
“Would you? I’m so sorry.” He averted his gaze again, looking everywhere around the room except directly at me.
I went digging through my clothes to find a pair of leggings and a t-shirt to cover up in. Meanwhile, Neil wilted into a sitting position on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.
I dressed in the bathroom, then grabbed both our key cards. “I’ll be back in a minute,” I said on my way out the door.
Neil grunted in response.
I wove through the quiet, empty halls, then took the lift down to reception. A lone woman with jet-black hair and a bored expression manned the desk. She didn’t notice me arrive because she was too busy looking down at her phone.
“Um, excuse me.”
She glanced up at me with a raised eyebrow. “How can I help you?”
“My, uh… my friend just checked in before. There’s been a mistake. We’ve got two key cards for the same room, but we’re supposed to have separate rooms. The booking’s under my name, Amelia Cross.”
“What’s your room number?”
“Four one nine.”
She typed on the computer. “I see what the problem is.”
“Oh?”
“You’re booked into the same room.”
“I know that. Can we get separate rooms, please? We can’t sleep in the same room.”
“Sorry, but we’re fully booked.”
Her words slapped me further awake. Fully booked? This didn’t bode well. “Can you double-check that? Is there not a single room left? Any room?”
Half-sighing, she typed away on the computer. Clack-clack-clack. “There are no rooms left. I can check with one of our sister hotels nearby…”
“I’m not sure. What about tomorrow? Are there any rooms available for tomorrow night?”
“Yes, there are.”
That solved part of the problem, but wouldn’t help with tonight’s situation.
“Hmm. I better update my friend on the situation.”
My gut feeling told me that neither of us was in a state to pack up and go to another hotel, but I had to inform Neil, regardless. Maybe he’d have another idea.
I ran through our options in my head on my way back to the room, but when I opened the door and saw Neil, everything changed.