Chapter Twenty: Hotel Lotus.
I sat up abruptly as I escaped from my second nightmare tonight.
The air was cool yet I was sweating, it was pitch black outside the window and I was terrified something might pop out of the darkness.
Two glowing eyes peered at me from the foot of my bed and with a whimper, I turned on my bedside lamp feeling a bit of relief when light flooded the room.
"Moo, it's you," I sniffed, hating the tremble of my voice. "You scared me."
Her high pitched meow was comforting, and she walked up to me to let me stroke her back.
"I saw him again, he's always there." I sniffed, "I hate this."
I rocked back and forth on the bed, not realizing I was chewing on my fingernails until I bit a piece off.
Angelo's ring was in my drawers somewhere.
Angelo...
Hesitantly, I picked my phone and dialed his number, listening to it ring. I planned to just call once, if he didn't pick up, he was probably deep asleep-
"Violet?" His confused, groggy voice washed over me.
What was I to say? Why did I even call him?
"Hello" He said again. I held the phone up to my ear.
"I'm here, sorry for waking you," I said.
He must have heard something in my voice because he suddenly sounded more urgent and awake.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I replied and instantly felt foolish, "This is stupid, I'll just..."
"Don't hang up," He said with a bit of a warning tone. "You called me at one am, something's wrong."
"Nightmares," I whispered, sniffing as fresh tears spilled over. Gosh, when was I going to stop crying like a-
"Are you-? Hey, just keep talking to me, I'm here now."
"I can't sleep, they're always waiting for me, and my arm still hurts and...and I'm the only one here. I was so scared, I just wanted someone to talk to, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize, Violet, I'm glad you called, I know how you feel. It's alright to call someone after your nightmares, I don't mind." He said, calmly. "Just breathe, okay? Your dad's not back from work yet?"
"He went on a trip for a week."
"You're going to be alone for a week? That's not going to work."
"I don't know," I sighed, feeling a bit better with the dream slowly fading to the back of my mind.
"Mmm, that's right, breathe." Angelo soothed, he sounded half awake again and when he yawned, I did too.
"Where are you sleeping?" He asked with that raspy part of his voice I really liked.
"In my room?" I laid back down on my pillow. Why was he asking?
"Is there water nearby?"
"No."
"Do you want water?"
"Not really."
"Mm-kay" he murmured. "Should I come over sometimes? Or do you want to stay in Hotel Lotus till your dad comes back?"
"Like...live with you?" I asked.
"It's a hotel, Squeaky." He said, "but yes, so you don't have to be alone. My cousins would love you."
I smiled, sleep was calling my name once more. "That sounds nice."
"So we'll go after school?"
"Mmm."
"Sleepy?"
"Yeah"
"Good. No more nightmares, have good dreams. About me or something." He murmured and I laughed to myself.
(╭☞•́⍛•̀)╭☞
"Are you sure you don't want your own drink?" I asked Angelo as we waited by the window at Starbucks for my order.
"I'm sure." He affirmed, glancing expectantly through the glass he was resting on.
"So when I get my milkshake in a few minutes, you are not going to want some?"
"Absolutely not."
"Really?"
"Violet, we both know I hate sharing," He tilted his head and in that lazy way of his, leaned his head on the glass.
"No actually, I think you really like it a lot." I teased.
"Violet Adams?" The cashier called and I hurried over.
"That's me."
By the time I got back to Angelo, he was talking with another guy.
The new guy was just as tall as Angelo but with a pair of glasses, short, well groomed hair and with a book tucked under his arm.
Whoa, was this one of Angelo's distant cousins?
As I approached, they both turned to look at me and I silently prayed I didn't stumble and fall flat on my face.
"You're Violet?" The new guy asked just as I got to them, I didn't know his name. Angelo didn't even bother telling me about his cousins before hand.
"Yes, this is Violet." Angelo said, before gesturing to his cousin. "Pedro."
"Si," Pedro grinned. "Soy Pedro. Hola, Violet."
I'm glad both my hands were occupied so he didn't ask for a handshake. But I glanced at Angelo before nervously licking my lips.
"Um...I don't... speak-"
"Pfft, I know hermosa." Pedro chuckled. "Angelito here didn't tell you about us?"
"Don't call me that," Angelo deadpanned. "And don't call her hermosa, church boy. I didn't have the time to tell her about you people."
"Us people?" Pedro dramatically held his heart and I spotted the glimpse of a tattoo on his wrist. "Anyways, nice to meet you Violet. Let's go, shall we?"
Pedro owned a monster truck. I don't know why but it managed to suit him in a way.
I was in such a hurry to climb on that I forgot to favor my broken arm which made me fall back into Angelo who was standing right behind me.
"Careful," He warned, his hands supporting me by my waist, his fingers were in direct contact with my skin under my top.
"I'll take this," he slipped my cup out of my grip.
With a nervous gulp, I grabbed onto the seat with my free hand and got out of his reach before I combusted on the spot.
"Thank you" I breathed when he got in next to me and aided me in fastening my seatbelt.
"Sure," he murmured, looking up when the driver's door opened.
"You can just move the books out of the way if you want." Pedro said as he hauled himself into the driver's seat.
"Oh they're fine," I said, looking down at the pile of books between the gears and I.
I was going to use the pile as an armrest, but quickly noticed the one at the top was the Holy Bible, so I just kept my elbow to myself.
There was a 'Jesus is my co-pilot' sticker on the dashboard and now that he had his hands on the wheel, I could see the tattoo on his wrist that read 'God is Love'.
Ah, so that was why Angelo called him Church boy.
Pedro scrunched up his nose, effectively pushing his glasses up without touching them and he smiled. "Your place first?"
"Yeah."
(╭☞•́⍛•̀)╭☞
Hotel Lotus was old and that was a fact.
I stood in front of the glass doors, looking up at the two storey building with my mouth slightly open.
The paint was faded and chipping off, there were a few cracks in the walls and a few of the neon lights weren't working so the sign spelled "hot lot". The place seemed kind of deserted even though there were obviously people in there.
There was a cactus near the front door. I loved it.
My thought process was interrupted by Moo's loud purring as Angelo (slurping on the last of my Starbucks coffee) came up beside me with her in his arms.
"You're suddenly best friends now?" I asked.
"She won't leave me alone" Angelo shrugged, he even had Moo's cow print bag hanging over his shoulder.
He'd make a really handsome cat dad.
"Vamos, what are you waiting for?" Pedro waved us along as he pulled my suitcase behind him.
I followed eagerly and pushed the door open. The outside was definitely much different from the inside and more impressive!
It was like I'd stepped into a cabin in the woods.
The lobby was huge with a dark, cosy theme. There was a real fireplace with a taxidermied moose head hanging over it.
The receptionist's table was the only modern looking thing around here but it's woody design blended it in with the rest of the interior.
I walked around, feeling the wood on walls that made it seem like a log cabin. The entire floor was covered by a carpet and there was an antler chandelier hanging from the ceiling glowing with golden candlelight.
Customers sat near the fire, enjoying the soft music playing and just doing whatever.
"The inside is far better than outside." I whispered, looking around.
"You like it?" Angelo asked, as we left the lobby to go up the stairs.
"It's like we teleported into a massive log cabin in the woods. Your grandfather was a genius." I replied and ran a hand along the wooden, polished railing. It was obvious that it'd been here for a while but was very sturdy.
The best part was that the design was the same all through the building. I loved this place.
"It's so beautiful, why don't you guys decorate the front?" I asked, looking round at Pedro who was walking behind us now.
"Not everyone is supposed to know about this place, we don't like attention." He answered. "Don't worry, just one more flight of stairs. The elevator's being fixed."
Finally, we got there. While I was panting for breath, Angelo and Pedro remained cool cucumbers.
"Show offs," I puffed.
"I'd hold your hand, but..." Angelo said and gave me a side glance. He'd carried Moo all the way here and she kept rubbing against him like his face was a giant bowl of catnip.
"Sorry," I murmured.
"Well, here we are!" Pedro exclaimed gesturing around to the doors around us. "Everyone is still busy but you'll meet Elena, Paul, Camilo, and my parents at dinner, si?"
"Si," I replied with a smile, taking the handle of my suitcase so I could drag it along.
"I'm glad you're here, Violet" Pedro said, "Angelo definitely needs you around, especially since..."
"Pedro, cállate" Angelo said, darkly. Whoa, I'd never heard him speak Spanish before. I didn't even know he was Latino the whole time! For some reason, it made him seem much, much hotter.
Pedro raised his hands in surrender and backed off slowly before turning around and entering a room I assumed was his and when the door shut, I turned to look at Angelo.
"Especially since what?" I asked him but he was already walking down the rest of the hallway with my cat.
The last room was tagged '211' and he took a card out of his pocket to unlock the door, pushing it open and holding it for me.
I hurried in and looked around the huge space. It had a living-room and everything.
"Tía Mónica would show you to your room later but I'll just leave your stuff here for now." Angelo said, bending to gently put Moo and her cat bag down so she could roam free.
"You, um, ignored my question" I said, watching him as he stood upright and dusted off his black jeans.
"Because I don't want to answer it." He said, giving me a pointed look, folding his arms and leaning on the busy desk near the door.
"I'm just curious, I mean, you would be too if someone was talking about you," I sighed. "Well it's fine, I guess. I just feel like it's something I should know because..."
"You should know," Angelo said and grabbed the hem of my top to suddenly tug me closer to him. My heart skipped a beat, I wasn't expecting a move like that. "But I don't want to talk about that right now." He added, looking down at me.
"Oh," I whispered and nodded. He knew how to express himself with clear, understandable words, that was one thing I noticed about him. Talking was easy for him.
But not me, I could never explain to him that I wanted him to hold me close and at the same time not touch me at all. How could I?
"You have such nice hair," He muttered, reaching up and pushing a lock of my hair behind my ear. I almost stopped him, but I didn't, so he traced the curve of my ear with his thumb, the rest of his fingers tangling with the curls at the nape of my neck.
I couldn't help the sigh that escaped me as I leaned into his hand, my brows furrowing.
"Is this so bad?" Angelo asked, quietly and I looked up at his hooded, silver eyes.
I nodded and gently pulled his hand away. "It's conflicting, Angelo."
"What happened to you?" He asked, "it's more than this." His eyes darted down to my cast at the last word.
I looked away after a small shake of my head.
"So I'm right? You didn't just fall down the stairs." He probed.
I opened my mouth to answer but only a small useless squeak escaped. I still didn't know if to tell him or not. He could barely tell me things too.
Suddenly feeling really tired, I went to sit on the big sofa in the room.
"Violet," Angelo called softly and I raised my head to look at him, watching as he left the table, walked over and crouched down in front of me. "I know I've said this before, but tell me if anything's bothering you. Not for my sake of my burning curiosity but for yours, because whatever it is...it's eating you up."
I blinked severally, struggling to both keep the tears at bay and to look anywhere but down at him, but my gaze kept returning to his concerned eyes.
"You can't talk about it?" He asked and I shook my head desperately, swallowing the painful lump in my throat.
"Then can I ask questions? You can let me know if they're wrong or right." He tried again.
I gave a dry chuckle, "You've kind of asked too much already."
Angelo blew out a breath and ran his fingers through the front of his hair. Once again, I found myself wishing I could do that.
"This is stressing us both out." I said.
"You're right, I didn't mean to probe so hard." He relented and stood up.
Gosh, now I felt like I was meant to be apologizing.
"Hey, I'll tell you all you want to know... eventually" I said, cradling my broken arm to myself. "Just be patient with me."
Angelo gave me a look that changed his expression from impassive to something kind before nodding.
"I can do that."
"Thank you."
✧*✧*。✧*。