Spencer Hotel

Chapter Two

ONE MONTH AGO

It was eleven at night, and Samuel stood behind the front counter at the bottleshop, arms crossed. His coworker, Megan, stood beneath the large tungsten heater, radiating a bright luminescent orange.

Exhausted and bored, Samuel leaned against the counter, propping his weight on the tabletop. He had been working his regular six-to-twelve shift and felt the fatigue settling in. With little sleep from the restless night before, he struggled to keep his eyes open, occasionally succumbing to a yawn that stretched his tired muscles. The shop remained eerily quiet, devoid of customers, and the uneventful hours ticked away.

Feeling the weight of exhaustion on his shoulders, Samuel turned to Megan, hoping for a momentary distraction. Sensing his weariness, she approached him with a concerned expression and asked, "You look like you've got something on your mind. What's bothering you?"

Samuel lowered his head, desperately avoiding eye contact. His voice sounded soft and quiet, almost trembling under a hidden sadness. "I'm fine. Everything is okay," he replied.

Megan ducked her head and stared into his lost eyes. She knew he was lying; he had been quieter than usual during the shift. "Are you really okay?" Megan asked, stepping closer to him for support.

Samuel raised his head and gazed out into the void. Letting out a deep sigh, he threw his arms to his side. "I'm just having issues with my girlfriend, that's all."

Megan sat on top of the counter, crossed her arms, and smiled. "What's going on with you and your girlfriend?"

Samuel cleared his throat, his eyes beginning to water. "I'm just not happy at the moment. I've been trying hard to keep our relationship together, but she doesn't put in the same effort. She hardly talks to me anymore. She wakes up at four p.m. every day," Megan pouted her cheeks and squinted her eyes, cringing at Samuel's girlfriend's morning schedule.

"We have a chat for two hours, and then I'm off to work. While I'm at work, she usually plays video games. After a long night dealing with drunk idiots, I just want to get home, talk to my girlfriend, and relax a little. But when I do, she just responds with the driest answer, 'I'm gaming.' Then she wouldn't message me at all until she's too tired to play anymore, and she just says goodnight. That happens almost every night," Samuel confirmed, playing with a rubber band on the floor with his feet.

"Maybe you should talk to her about it. In a relationship, you've got to be able to bring up things like that," Megan responded, tilting her head inquisitively, awaiting an answer.

"Don't worry. I have talked to her about it. Many times. She always just puts it back on me, making it my fault. She always turns it into an argument. I feel like she doesn't listen to me. I feel like she doesn't respect me at all," Samuel confessed, secretly wiping a tear away from his cheek.

"Well, that doesn't sound nice. She sounds kind of toxic," Megan observed.

"Although I'm not happy, and I'm thinking of breaking it off, I still love her. And I want us to work. I just hope our trip to Melbourne rekindles something," Samuel hoped.

PRESENT DAY

An ear-piercing, haunting scream echoed outside their bedroom window.

Startled, Samuel immediately jumped out of bed, his mind racing to make sense of the disturbance. Brooklyn sat up beside him, her eyes wide with fear, mirroring his own unease.