Chapter 7
Before any of them knew it, it was Sunday morning and time to travel up to Manchester. Jamie seemed to be coping well what had happened, but Alex knew that he was a long way off full acceptance. Thankfully, he hadn't wet the bed since that first night and his behaviour had so far been reasonable so there was no reason to suspect any deep psychological trauma from his Mother's death, but Alex had spotted him staring sadly into space a couple of times and he would burst into tears at the slightest little thing; sometimes for no reason at all. She assured Gene they were normal behaviours for a child who was grieving and he'd accepted that; trusting that she knew what she was talking about.
They left London early, to ensure that Jamie made his friend's birthday party. Once they'd dropped him off at Bobby's house and been assured by Bobby's Mum that they didn't need to stay with him, Gene had driven both he and Alex to the hotel that he had booked them into. When Alex had questioned his decision to stay in a hotel Gene had said that he didn't want to put undue pressure on his Mother by staying with her; she was getting on a bit now and could do without a hyper four year old running about. Alex accepted his explanation on the face of it but didn't believe it for a moment; she suspected it had more to do with him wanting to avoid any interference from his Mother.
They entered the hotel and approached the reception desk,
"Good afternoon Sir, Madam. How can I help?" asked the concierge in an overly polite voice.
"Got a room booked. Name's 'Unt." The man made a show of checking the diary, dragging his finger dramatically down the page until he found the appropriate entry; tapping it twice.
"Ah yes. Mr Hunt. You booked a family room, yes. Party of three?"
"Aye, that's right." The concierge looked around, obviously confused at only seeing two people. "What?" gruffed Gene.
"The third member of your party sir? Are they not checking in with you?"
"Kid's at a birthday party," he explained.
"Ah. I see. Here are your keys. You're in room 105 on the second floor. Enjoy your stay."
Alex thought she heard Gene mutter something along the lines of 'not bloody likely,' but couldn't be sure for she'd spent the majority of Gene's exchange with the man at the check in desk standing there gobsmacked; Gene had only booked one room. She followed him silently to the lift and entered behind him. He was still muttering to himself; complaining about the concierge as he pushed the button for the second floor.
"...stupid poncey bastard. I mean, what's it got ter do wi' 'im where Jay is?" Getting no response he turned to Alex. "Bolls? Bolls! Can yer quit flamin' day dreamin' fer one second. What's the matter wi' yer? Yer've not said two words since we got 'ere which 'as ter be some kinda record fer you!"
"You've only booked one room?" she finally asked.
"Yeh, didn't reckon yer'd 'ave a problem wi' it seein' as 'ow yer've been crawlin' in ter my bed fer the past four nights." She supposed he had a point; since the latest case, which still hadn't been solved, Alex had found it increasingly difficult to sleep alone. The only place she'd felt safe enough to drift off was in Gene's arms, so she had been joining him in his bed, but neither of them had spoken about it...until now. Not that this was really speaking about it; Gene was just being presumptuous and Alex didn't like it.
"Yes, but-" she was cut off by the doors opening; they'd arrived at their floor. They exited the lift and Alex found herself unable to continue her protests as there was an elderly couple out on the corridor and this was a reputable establishment; no place for shouting the odds in the halls. Gene quickly located their room and proceeded to unlock it. Once inside, Alex closed the door and prepared to launch into her remonstrations once again but Gene didn't even give her chance to draw breath.
"I jus' didn't see the point in payin' fer two rooms when one o' 'em were more than likely goin' ter go ter waste," he explained. "If yer that bothered yer can take the single bed and Jay can come in wi' me. Or I can go ter me Mam's but there is no way in 'ell that I'm goin' back down there an askin' that twat if yer can 'ave yer own room!"
"I...I just..." Alex trailed off. Her head was spinning; one minute she was annoyed at him for expecting that they would share a bed and now she was disappointed that he'd come up with an alternative option. 'It's because you're in love with him woman! Just admit it already,' added the voice in her head.
"What's goin' on'ere Bolls? What exactly is the problem? Cos yer've not 'ad a problem wi' our sleepin' arrangements before now. An' I've been on me best behaviour as far as I'm aware, unless there's summat you ain't tellin' me?"
"What? No. You've been the perfect gentleman," she assured. 'More's the pity!' came the voice again.
"Then what? Cos, not fer the first time, I'm really 'avin trouble understandin' you."
"It's nothing, honestly. I'm just over reacting. Probably just tired," she told him, brushing him off with excuses. She knew the time was coming when they would actually have to talk about their feelings but she didn't think now was the right time. The next few days were going to be a roller coaster for Gene and he didn't need her adding to his worries by declaring her feelings for him. She watched as he took his pyjamas out of his suitcase and placed them one of the pillows on the double bed. He then took out Jamie's pyjamas ad looked between the spare pillow on the double bed and the single, waiting for Alex to give him some signal. She walked over and took the garments from him, placing them on the solitary pillow on the single bed before retrieving her own nightwear from her bag and placing them on the pillow next to Gene's.
"Just can't get enough can yer?" he commented. Alex was glad she was facing away from him so as to hide the blush creeping onto her cheeks from the truth of his words.
