HOTEL DUSK

… No. God no. Kyle felt the little twinkle of an acceptable mood he had nestled deep in the recesses of his apathetic soul rot away in moments at the sound of an agonizingly familiar voice. After his stint in Hotel Dusk, this chance encounter didn’t even surprise him; but it certainly wore him down. And to think it’s before he’d even gotten a word in.

Luckily (for the author, at least; certainly not for Kyle, who’s all too tempted to begin dropping some more obvious hints about how not particularly eager he is to hear the man keep talking), Kyle’s face is already one that tended to load itself with a general apathy that the squint into frustration it took on was none too noticeable in comparison.

“Get lost.” > “… Long time no see.”

He responds to the other in a mixed sigh - “ - Oh. You. ” - notably making no effort to avoid cutting him off at the first breath the other man took that gave him room to butt in. He didn’t need the rundown, he really didn’t.

“ … Sounds like you haven’t changed much. ” That made the both of them, at least; but at least this piece of work gave him a comparison he could take a rare instance of pride in. Still… ugh, why did he have to be humoring the guy? Sometimes taking the low road and telling people off felt so tempting… alas, his mouth wouldn’t comply with temptation when it truly counted. “ But hey, if that… work you’re making is getting off well, then it sounds like that integrity of yours has. At least as long as you’re the one writing it this time. ”

At least he could still work in a few jabs. The fact this still felt ‘soft’ for him really spoke volumes.

❝ ah, a man of few words as always, i see. the succinct nature of our conversations does stimulate the mind. figuring out how to say what i wish in the least amount of words is certainly an interesting challenge for me. ❞

a challenge he was clearly failing, considering he still wouldn’t shut up even though kyle’s made it clear he’s not interested in listening.

❝ very well, mr. hyde. in the interest of keeping your next response from being a brisk shove to my chest, i shall keep my tale brief. the story of how this book came to be shall be saved for my autobiography, i suppose. ❞

❝ well, perhaps i’ll tell you about the book itself then. as mentioned previously, it is a mystery novel based on your very own experiences. for what could be a greater muse than one with a storied history such as yourself? in the interest of honoring both you and the hotel where we met, i have given this novel the title of ‘hotel dusk: room 215′. ❞

Make no mistake - Kyle was no stranger to silence. Hell, with how things could be in this damned hotel, especially some of the people in it, in some ways it was preferable. He made surprisingly good company for himself, after all - when others weren’t talking, he could normally find some trains of thought to pass the time. (Especially considering most of his mind was spent wondering where this elongated mystery would lead, he could take a lot of time thinking on what he’d learned). 

To that end, it wasn’t out of any disdain for the girl’s silence that Kyle had passed her his notebook and allowed her to converse, despite her having already answered all the questions he had for the moment. It was just a look at her - the silence that permeated the space between them was obviously not a silence of choice. Mila certainly held a gentility and caution that befit the silence - but all the same he could tell just by a look into her eyes that she’d return conversation a lot more freely if she weren’t restricted to keeping her mouth close for little else besides eating and breathing. Any way he could give her to get those thoughts and questions out of her head… hell, Kyle was still racking his head to think on leads himself, he could afford a bit of time to give her some company while he was here before he’d ransack this dump for more info.

“ … ‘you’re looking for someone too?’… ” He doesn’t mean to speak as he looks over the newly-added writing in his notebook, having intended to leave it as a thought processing the question, possibly mouthed a bit; but it escapes him all the same. Right… for all the questions he had for her, it wasn’t like he gave her the benefit of answering anything she might be wondering herself in turn. How many times had he needed to touch on this point tonight… how many more times would he need to?

… Well, he hadn’t kept it secret thus far.

“ … Yeah, something like that. ” He nods alongside his answer. Bradley… he’s been looking for the man for far longer than he really should have been. And somehow in spite of it all, the trail was finally picking up hot in the mysteries locked in this run-down hotel, of all places. Still - while there was no doubt this girl was connected to it all, it wasn’t like he was gonna drop it all at once on her. The pieces were falling into place as it was, and it was growing into something much bigger than he knew a simple ‘where’s Brian Bradley’ to anyone in here was ever going to answer. “ … Just an old partner of mine. Someone I’ve got some questions for. Questions that need answering. ”

… Felt like he’d been asking a lot of those tonight. Answering them himself was almost a refreshing change of pace, all things considered, even if he wasn’t about to spill his guts the way everyone else seemed ready to. All the same, he allows the notebook out to be given back to her, in case she wants to take it and write anything else. He didn’t have all night - but what was a little more time in this long-as-hell night?

at least they both knew what it was like to search for someone who seemingly didn’t want to be found. but mila was much less experienced at it than kyle was, and if he hadn’t found who he was looking for yet, what chance did she have?

as the notebook was handed to her once more, she hesitated a bit. she didn’t even know what to write at this point, but after a few seconds of just staring at the blank page in front of her, she finally decides to write something down.

it takes a while for her to return the notebook to kyle, not because what she’s writing is long, but because she thinks over every word before she puts it to paper.

❝ i hope you can find them. ❞

meaningless platitudes? maybe to some people. but to mila, it was a genuine show of faith, and hope in kyle’s search.

it’s silence that kyle gets from mila, just as it is every time he talks to her. it’s not that she doesn’t want to talk. it’s just that she can’t. but there’s still methods of communication, as kyle once again hands the notebook to her to write something down.

she spends a few moments scribbling something in the pages, and soon hands the notebook back to kyle.

❝ you’re looking for someone too? ❞