Scarlet Prison

Chapter 18

            On Sunday, I woke up after sunset, groggy as hell and in desperate need of a shower. The absence of windows in my room failed to prevent me from feeling irritated that I had missed the last rays of sunshine. I rose and shuffled over to the bathroom to find that the hotel's lack of housekeeping meant my complimentary towels were in almost as bad of shape as I was. I would have to do a load of laundry first. Lovely.

            I grabbed my towels and threw open the door, fully ready to be a grump throughout the entirety of the night. I was met with a goofy smile emanating from Stephanie, who seemed to have been waiting for me to open my door so she could ambush me. "Looks like someone just woke up!" she announced.

            "Hrmph," I said, and managed to move past her. She bounced down the hall after me as I made my way to the laundry room.

            "So I know you don't have work today, and I was thinking that we should hang out!" Stephanie babbled as I threw my towels into the machine.

            A burly vampire shuffled into the room and landed his laundry basket onto the machine next to mine. I could easily recognize him from his un-showered stench as the man that had been living down the hall from me for just over a week now. He called himself Bowser, and he called me Brown Eyes because I refused to tell him my name, and he apparently really sucked at coming up with nicknames.

            "Hey, Brown Eyes, mind if I throw my stuff in with your load?" The machine emitted a groan as he leaned his weight against it.

            "I'm not your fucking maid, Bowser," I said. I closed my machine and pressed start, just so he wouldn't hope for me to change my mind. We'd had this type of conversation a number of times.

            "Alright, alright. I just thought I'd ask," he muttered, turning his attention to his laundry.

            "We could go shopping, or we could go for a walk, or we could just hang out and talk in the bar downstairs," Stephanie chittered, unfazed by Bowser's interruption.

            "I just want to rest," I mumbled, wishing they would all leave me alone for once.

            "Oh, sure. We can go to the movies! That's pretty relaxing," Stephanie said.

            "So, when do you plan on telling me your name?" Bowser asked.

            "I don't want to go anywhere," I reiterated for Stephanie.

            "How about we watch movies on your computer? We don't even have to leave your room!" Stephanie suggested, following me back to my room.

            "I don't have a computer," I muttered. Stephanie stopped in her tracks, and I was almost able to shut the door on her before she hopped over the threshold.

            "How do you not have a computer?!" She asked.

            I flopped onto my bed and gestured vaguely around me. "Look at where I live. I'm not exactly rolling in dough here."

            The mattress squeaked as Stephanie sat on the bed beside me. "Hey, Nova?" Her tone was suddenly serious.

            "Mmm?" I said, throwing my arm over my eyes, thinking that I might be tired enough to fall asleep with a vampire in the room.

            "I'm sorry for getting all weird on you the other day," Stephanie said. I peeked out from under my arm and met Stephanie's apologetic eyes. This seemed to be the real reason she'd come to see me tonight.