THE GHOST IN YOU - IT [2]

chapter six

Sleep doesn't come easy, but it comes. Jaime revels in the comfort of the soft hotel-issued bed long enough for her mind to drift away, her consciousness fading. When she awakes five hours later, the room is still dark, but now blue moonlight streams through the thin curtains. She lays there a moment, gazing at the popcorn ceiling. It's not too silent, which is oddly comforting. Cars zoom down the road outside, and the air conditioner hums loudly in the walls. Things were serene. Maybe It's sleeping. She jokes to herself humorlessly.

On the bedside table, her iPhone vibrates against the wood, a noise she's always resented. She rolls over onto her back and grabs the phone before it can continue the annoying sound.

are you okay?!

call me when you get the chance

Parker showed up at my house asking if I knew anything about where you went.

where is Derry??? you never mentioned growing up there

Are just a handful of text messages from Jaime's best friend, Priya. Her stomach flips in guilt; she hadn't even picked up her phone after the plane landed. Jaime jams her thumbs against the virtual keyboard, composing whatever sounds coherent. She doesn't proofread it after she sends it, but she knows it says something along the lines of I'm okay, just catching up with old friends, needed a break. Priya won't believe her, but she'll settle for it, knowing not to push.

Jaime weakly attempts to ignore the influx of messages from Parker, but as she stares at the twenty-something messages, her desire to shut him down prevails. Do you even care that I'm worried about you? You can't just fucking run off. He says multiple times, reiterating it each time. She tells him that she's okay and to not worry. A polite way of saying, leave me alone.

Then, she gets up. Starts her morning routine as best as she can in the small room and conjoined bathroom. She showers away all the dirt of the prior day and makes herself look somewhat presentable. She drags her feet around, forcing herself to preform each action. As much as she'd love to wallow in bed all day and digest all of... this, she knows it's simply not plausible.

The sky outside begins to lighten as Jaime exits her room and carefully walks down the hall, like a child sneaking around at night. She'd snuck out after curfew with Richie a couple times, but the most they'd do was sit at the quarry and split a pack of Marlboros he stole. She had to stop when Victor caught her one night and blackmailed her. In reality, he just despised the thought of his little sister out after dark.

Once she gets to the bottom of the steps, she almost thinks she's the only one awake. Then the sound of glass hitting wood causes her to jerk her head to the left. Bill waves weakly at her from behind the bar.

"Did you sleep?" She asks accusingly, walking over to stand in front of the bar.

"Yeah, some. D-d-don't worry about me." He waves a hand dismissively. Jaime notes the empty shot glass in front of him, the vodka bottle next to it, and his half-lidded eyes.

"Bill, come on, that's not going to fix anything." Jaime tells him, reaching forward and snatching the bottle. There's rows upon rows of alcohol next to him, but it was more of what the gesture of her taking the bottle symbolized, rather than the actual action.

"I know." He says, deflating. Jaime tries to masquerade her surprise; she'd expected a fight. She puts the bottle back down and gestures towards the large doors in the lobby.

"Come on. Have you eaten yet?" He shakes his head. "Then let's go. To that 24 hour diner we all used to love. I know it's still up, I saw it on our way here last night. Remember the blueberry pancakes? We can pick up some food for the others there, too."