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“Where are you going?” Derek asked as I passed him on the treadmill.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said, leaving the gym and heading out. I spotted Erin just as she rounded the back of the building, but when I turned the corner, she was gone. There was a fire exit to my right, and the only way she could’ve disappeared so fast was if she’d gone through it.

Fuelled by curiosity, I opened the door and stepped through. The stairwell was a part of the original structure of the hotel, but after the renovations a couple years ago, it was no longer in use by the staff. As far as I could remember, they’d only kept it intact because it was the best way to access the roof, but my dad had plans to update this section of the building next year.

What was Erin doing snooping around this part of the hotel?

I couldn’t come up with a single explanation as I jogged up the steps before reaching the top floor. It was completely quiet up here. I pushed open the door to the attic storage space and stepped inside. Still no sign of her. There were various bits of old furniture and bedding, all covered in plastic. I peered around, wondering if I imagined seeing her.

When I heard a soft snicker, I traversed several rows of furniture, rounding a tall set of wardrobes, and what I saw caused my eyebrows to shoot all the way up my forehead.

Erin sat on a stack of mattresses piled high, a blanket over her lap and earphones in as she watched something on her laptop. Next to her was a packet of popcorn and some M&Ms, alongside a bottle of 7Up. I was seriously confused as I asked, “What are you doing here?”

And then she shrieked so loud I swear she popped one of my eardrums.

6.

Erin

I felt my spirit leave my body as I let out a distressed yelp.

I’d been happily watching my favourite reality show on my laptop, Laguna Beach, chuckling at something Kristin said to Stephen, when all of a sudden I wasn’t alone anymore. Tristan stood before me, sweaty in his gym gear. During my time skulking around the place, I’d heard some of the staff gossiping about how the boss’s hot sons were always working out in the hotel gym. He must’ve been there when he spotted me.

Evidently, I wasn’t as skilled at sneaking about as I thought I was.

Tristan’s expression was full of questions, and the humiliation settled deep into my bones. Why was I always embarrassing myself in front of this boy? The way he was looking at me, full of questions, had discomfort consuming me.

The sad thing was, I really liked it here. It was quiet and cosy, and best of all, there was no Graham. I’d slept soundly the last two nights in my own little abandoned oasis, a ghost town of hotel furniture past.

“I can explain,” I said, sitting up from where I’d been lounging on the mattress stack like the princess and the pea.

Tristan folded his arms and waited for said explanation. My mouth ran dry as the silence went on and on. I watched his attention go to my belongings on the floor, then to my stuff on the mattress, and saw in real time the moment he figured it out.

“Are you squatting here?”

“I had nowhere else to go,” I confessed quietly, and moments later, Tristan had climbed up next to me. His expression tightened as he looked at me, his tone more urgent now as he asked, “Is it Graham? Did he do something to you?”

I nodded, wringing my hands as Tristan’s gaze sharpened, his voice rough. “What did he do?”

“He didn’t hurt me, but he came into my room, got in my space and spoke to me in a way that made me so angry I had to leave. I told my sister that I couldn’t live with him, and she chose him, so that’s that, I guess.”

Tristan’s eyebrows furrowed, a dark cloud descending over his features. “What exactly do you mean he got in your space?”

“He was just trying to scare me,” I explained. “He said some things, touched my hair. Nothing that could be considered explicitly threatening, but he’s always been good at that, making me uncomfortable without doing anything that sounds too bad when you tell someone else about it.”

His eyes narrowed. “It sounds pretty bad to me. When did this happen?”

I exhaled heavily. “Friday evening. It’s why I didn’t come to your party. I’m sorry about that, by the way. I just couldn’t face it after talking to my sister. She basically said I have emotional issues and that I’m imagining everything with Graham. It hurts so much that she doesn’t believe me.”

“What else has he done to you?” he asked with concern. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll tell you,” I said, clasping my hands together as my heart pounded. Something about Tristan seemed so open and honest, and I felt like I could trust him. I started at the beginning, telling him how Graham had lied about his job, us finding out about him dealing drugs, his debt, and the men who’d come and beat up Sloane, how they’d taken her savings. Tristan’s demeanour shifted, his shoulders tensing like my story made him angry. I noticed him flexing his fingers, a small flicker in his jaw when I spoke about bringing Sloane to the hospital with her broken nose.

I also told him about the way Graham would speak to me when Sloane wasn’t around, and how I changed my appearance so he’d leave me alone. The night when he’d tried to get into my room. Tristan pressed his fingers to his lips, his posture tensing further as he swore under his breath. “That fucking creep.”

By the time I was done speaking, I felt lighter somehow. I didn’t realise how relieving it would be to finally tell someone, someone who wasn’t going to brush off my worries like Sloane had.

“He sounds like a scumbag. You were right to leave,” Tristan said, and I felt better to know he was on my side. “You should’ve come to my house on Friday, though. We have a guest bedroom, and my parents were away for the weekend. You didn’t need to hide out here.”