Sleepless Nights

Chapter Twenty-Four: Confide

"Uh, Silvia... You're going a little overboard on the champagne there."

"Piss off."

When I came back inside the Casino after being dismissed so rudely by Rikako, I immediately made my way upstairs where I knew a plentiful supply of alcohol was. Mirai and Hirose trailed behind, calling out questions revolving around what we discussed, but I refused to say anything. When they finally caught up, I was already filling a tall glass of champagne and drained it within a few seconds. The results of my actions were immediate, as I fell off my wobbly feet onto the plush couch, grumbling under my breath. I lifted the bottle by the neck and scowled at how light it felt in my hands. "Mirai! I need more!" I demanded, tossing the green bottle towards him. He fumbled with the catch, caught off guard at my sudden brazen behavior.

"O-okay, just don't throw anything else." He picked up another champagne to hand to me, but when I wrapped my fingers around the neck, another hand closed over mine. I followed the arm to Hirose who looked exasperated already.

"Jeez, women are such scary creatures," he sighed. Ignoring the comment, I yanked his grip off me and refilled my glass. We were silent for a time as I continued drinking. "...Well?" Hirose spoke up after a painful silence. "What did you want with me? You came to see me, didn't you?" I gave a slight hiccup, lowering my glass and covering my mouth. My eyes were focused on the carpet as I tried to recount why I came here. Not to get wasted, that much I know. It was... "Hello? Earth to Silvia Arrow?" He tapped on the side of my head, jarring my memory. I swatted his hand away.

"The J Novel Prize..." I finally said, dropping my champagne on the table with a clink.

"What about it?"

"Did you read Yudai's entry?"

He nodded slowly. "Oh, that. Yeah, I did when they were posted on your website. It was pretty good, wasn't it?" I frowned deeply. I could tell by his tone that he was only patronizing me. "What? Are you going somewhere with this?"

"...You didn't submit a story, did you."

He smirked, lifting his arms and showing me his palms. "You caught me. It just didn't work out in the end. Sorry."

"Why didn't it work out?"

"Why, you ask...?"

I leaned towards him, narrowing my eyes. "Was it because someone plagiarized your manuscript?" I accused.

He looked back at me with an arched eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"Last month when you called me out, you said, 'It's gone.'"

Hirose nodded. "I did, but after that I explained it away as losing my motivation to write novels as I recall."

But that can't be all that it was about. The way he looked at me, and how he sounded... "Was that the truth?"

"Hm?"

"What you lost was really the manuscript you'd been writing... and it passed from Rikako to Yudai, didn't it?" I looked up at him, but his face was expressionless. "How could it not be yours, what with the last scene and all."

He chuckled. "Oh, that? The scene with the male protagonist kissing his beloved at the church? I certainly did that with someone too, but how could you suspect plagiarism just because of one overlap? Anyone could write that."

"Even with the setting being the Holy Trinity Church? Is that another coincidence?"

Our eyes locked with challenging stares, neither of us breaking contact as we tried to see which would break first. I was surprised that he was the first to tilt his head back, throwing his arms in the air again in defeat. "Fine, I give up!"