Page 28 of Refrain
“Alle, post-performance, you’ll be lucky if they even have their phones switched on. Besides, Ash loses his at least twice a day, and often permanently. Although, that’s happened less often since Mrs G came along.”
He turned left as they stepped out of the lift onto plush carpet and hammered on each door in turn, not bothering to wait for them to open up before moving on. First Ronnie’s, then Ash’s, then his own— “Oops, forgot.” —followed by Xane and Luthor’s on the far right.
Ginny was the first to stick her head around the door. “This better be good,” she said on seeing him. Her eyes narrowed when she clocked Alle standing there too. “I thought you went home.”
“We need to talk to you about something,” Alle began, before Rock Giant drowned her out with another round of banging on Xane and Luthor’s door.
“Hurry up and come, in every sense of the word.”
“They could actually be asleep, you know,” Ginny said, emerging into the light of the hall. The lights were turned down low inside the suite. “It is possible.”
Rock Giant evidently disagreed. “Come out this instant, you dirty fuckers!”
Ash followed Ginny out of their room, pulling a T-shirt on as he moved. It settled around him, out-of-shape faded to grey cotton, with a picture of a vampire lady in fishnets and a red, skimpy leather outfit on the front. “You’re going to knock the fucking door down if you keep that up. Quit a minute, will you. You’re giving me a bad head. And what’s so important you need to raise the dead anyway? Whatever it is, tell us, then we can decide if it’s worthy of all this drama.”
“They’re not answering.”
“Probably because they’ve realised it’s you. Let them rest in peace.”
Rock Giant promptly put his eye to the peephole. “I can see you.”
A second later, the door opened on the chain. “What the fuck is up?” Luthor asked. “We’re a little busy here.”
“Busy getting busy. Your fuck fest will have to be put on hold. This is important.”
“If this is to tell us there’s no mushroom sausages on the breakfast menu, I’m going to throttle you,” Ash muttered. He wrapped an arm around Ginny’s waist and pulled her against him, so he could nuzzle against the side of her neck.
“Not before I do,” his girlfriend added. She was wearing fishnets and heels along with her dressing gown, which was belted notably tight.
Ronnie emerged rubbing his eyes like a seven-year-old who’d just woken from a nightmare. He was sporting skin-tight black cotton llama pyjamas. “Gift from a fan,” he explained with a sheepish grin, before patting them down and realising they were devoid of pockets, and hence he was without anything to occupy his fingers.
“Open up,” Rock Giant gave Luthor’s door another shove. There was a popping noise, and the chain evidently gave, for there was a yelp of “Ow!” and then Rock Giant was barrelling into the room past a dazed-looking Luthor. The rest of them plodded after him.
“What the fuck!” their drummer mumbled.
“Paul!” Ash griped, as Alle then Ronnie followed him into the room.
“You know, this is not a great time for a pyjama party.” Luthor left the door open, perhaps hoping they’d be persuaded to about turn and leave. Alle found she was half tempted to do so. Her preference would definitely have been for a less dramatic reveal.
“So, where is he?” Ronnie stared disappointedly at the bed, which was still made with barely a wrinkle in the eiderdown. They’d all been expecting to find Xane naked in the bed, and hell, possibly chained to it.
Rock Giant rapped his knuckles against the door of the en suite. “The quicker you get out here, the sooner we all leave you to it.”
When there was no reply, he exchanged significant looks with her.
Alle glanced around the suite. It was sterile in the way that all hotel rooms seemed to be. Bland artworks, crisp lines, and neutral tones. A phone charger sat plugged into the wall socket next to a lone suitcase on a stand. The remains of a single dinner sat on a tray in the sitting area ready for collection.
“He’s not here.” The realisation hit her like a punch. “Xane’s not in the bathroom.”
“What?” Paul opened the door, proving her intuition correct. “Where the hell is he?”
That was a very good question. Alle rounded on Luthor, who still had his hand on the open door as if he was preparing to bolt. He flashed her a nervous grin.
“Where did he go, Luthor?”
He regarded her stoically from beneath his overlong fringe. “I’m his lover, not his keeper. I have no idea where he is, other than not here.”
“As in not in this room, or the hotel?” Ronnie asked.
