Outside, the rain pours down, creating a soothing noise as it hits the pavement.
Anton Shudder is standing behind the front desk at his hotel, talking to a client. His mouth is smiling and his hands are gesturing, but his mind is somewhere else.
Loneliness. It comes as a shock to him that he would feel it, seeing that long ago he believed he had forgotten how to feel. Nonetheless, it's there, and its presence annoys him to no end. Seeing people with their partners outside, as much as it irritates him, makes the feeling get worse. It's as if he's finally becoming more human. He sighs and promises himself to get back to his work.
And then she comes in. Her hair is as dark as night, while her eyes are as blue as a summer's day and as icy as winter. China Sorrows.
But she is shaken. Trembling. Broken. Hidden beneath a surface which radiates perfection, a surface which makes people think she has no heart, no soul. He knows because that is how he is himself.
She comes in and asks to book a room. When she is close, he notices the dark circles under her eyes.
He can easily make himself believe he doesn't love her, for he has done it with others before.
As the day goes by, he can feel images of her make their way into his brain. He shoos them out and turns back to his work.
She lingers a little too long when she talks to him every day. Her words say, "Good morning," but her eyes say, "Help."
In fact, he wonders why she bothers to greet him, although he secretly enjoys it.
She does not speak to him when she goes out one day. He looks at himself in the mirror, trying to figure out what's wrong, until he is pulled back into reality by a guest complaining.
She greets him the day after. He has promised himself that this nonsense shall stop, so he makes no movement to reply. She walks away.
He wonders if her eyes were always this blue. He wonders also if she was always this composed.
She has talked to him again today. He gave himself the excuse that that was the last time he'd talk to her, and they had a small discussion before she smiled and left him in the hallway.
He didn't move from the hallway until almost a minute later. He wanted to watch her walk, to smell her scent.
He thinks about her constantly, so he gives himself more work.
At midnight, when he thinks nobody can see him, he unlocks the door to her room and watches her sleep. He cannot help admiring how beautiful she is when she is in peace.
Today she asked him to eat lunch with her. He declined, but he wants to accept so badly it almost hurts.
She asked him again. He accepted before he could stop himself.
She is beautiful. She is everything. He swears that he is all right, that he doesn't feel anything towards her, but he knows that he's lying.
Today, he went walking with her. He wanted to kiss her. She wanted to kiss him. They both said nothing.
Last night, she woke up to find him watching her sleep. She pulled him towards her, and he finally let his resolve go.
He wakes up, ashamed that he has no regrets from the previous night.
She is there to soothe away his nightmares. She doesn't need to speak-her presence is enough.
He thinks he is in love. He may be right. He may not be. This doesn't even make him uncomfortable, because he knows she loves him.
He notices that the dark circles under her eyes have gone. The circles under his own eyes have gone as well.
He has made up his mind. He is going to tell her he loves her.
He runs as fast as he can to her room, heart beating madly. Excitement is a new emotion for him, and it's happily accepted. He opens her door. She has left it unlocked. She must have known he was coming, and his smile becomes even more wide than normal.
That is, until he sees Skulduggery Pleasant holding the gun to her head.
In that moment, everything goes white for him. The only thing he knows is that she must stay alive.
That is why he killed Skulduggery. He turned his bones to dust.
She ran.
He has called her. He has sent people to look for her. He has gone looking for her every day himself.
But she has disappeared.
He has tried to get her out of his mind, but he has failed more times than he can count.
She is everything to him.
Outside, the rain pours down, creating a soothing noise as it hits the pavement.
Anton Shudder is standing behind the front desk at his hotel, talking to a client. His mouth is smiling and his hands are gesturing, but his mind is somewhere else.
Then he sees her. She is standing across the street. She is smiling. She is waving at him, beckoning to come to her. And he does.
He drops everything and runs towards her. He runs, because he doesn't want to waste a second that could be spent with her.
As he crosses the road, his eyes are on her. His eyes never leave her.
That's why he didn't see the car coming.
The rain keeps falling. China Sorrows looks at his lifeless body, which is soaked in blood. She feels nothing. She has never felt anything towards him.
She bends down to take her room key out of his pocket and then leaves.
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