Hotel Ruby Read Online Free PDF Page A

distracting myself when she tries to surface. But this time I can’t, not with Daniel’s puppy-dog expression on the other side of the door, waiting for me to pat him on the head and tell him how great he is.
    Daniel and Mom were best friends. Sometimes I’d come home and find them at the kitchen table, just talking. Laughing. He told her everything. He wants me to take her place, and when I understandably cannot, he hates me for it.
    I straighten, blinking my eyes quickly to keep back the tears. I have to be stronger than this. The porcelain sink is cold against my fingers as I grip the edge, staring at my reflection until my pulse calms. Daniel’s here and he needs me. So I have to be better.
    I grab the hotel-provided toothbrush and paste and turn on the faucet. The taste is chalky, like baking soda, and I rinse out my mouth. My reflection stares back at me and I’m surprised by how well I look. Last night was probably the best sleep I’ve had since—
    â€œAudrey,” Daniel whines from the other room. “I’m dying here.”
    My brother is spoiled, but not altogether terrible because of it. I pull on the jeans and slip the tank top over my head. Now that Daniel’s here, I realize I’m hungry too. I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.
    Daniel’s lounging back on his elbows and still grinning. “So it all started with this gorgeous blonde,” he says the minute I walk in, as if we were still in midconversation. “I was lost in the hallway—have you walked around yet?” he pauses to ask. “It’s like a fun-house maze. Anyway, I’m just trying to find my way back to the lobby when this girl stumbles out of a room and the door slams in her face.”
    â€œSounds promising.” I lean down to lift the bed skirt, trying to find my flip-flops. There they are.
    â€œRight?” Daniel laughs. “So she’s crying, black shit all around her eyes. But she’s beautiful, and I don’t mean everyday attractive. She’s like a classic painting.”
    I put my hand on my hip and scoff. “Seriously? Are you drunk?”
    Daniel sits up, his eyes wide and earnest. “I’m not kidding, Aud. She was . . . perfect. Blond hair, nice dress—aclassy girl,” he adds emphatically. “And even with the smeared makeup, her skin was like one of those creepy dolls that Nana used to send you.” He motions his hand for me to remember.
    â€œA porcelain doll?” I ask.
    â€œYes!”
    â€œDaniel, she sounds horrible. I used to lock those dolls in my closet at night so they wouldn’t kill me. You sure you weren’t hallucinating?”
    He shakes his head, smiling to himself. “Naw. She was real. I went up to her and asked if she was okay. Then she stared at me for a long while, and I thought maybe she was having some sort of a breakdown. Then she told me I was pretty.”
    I curl my lip. My brother has always had awful taste in girls. It used to be the around-the-dinner-table joke. But this one might be in a category all her own. Obviously someone was kicking her out of the room. She has baggage. “And you responded by . . . ?”
    â€œI kissed her,” he says, like it’s the only logical response. “I don’t get called pretty every day, Audrey.”
    Now I laugh. “Oh, please. You were voted Best Looking in the yearbook. How much more validation do you need?”
    â€œI’m needy.”
    I slip on my sandals and grab my purse from inside my backpack. I didn’t pack much to go to my grandmother’s. One duffel bag and one backpack. My entire life could fitin an overhead compartment. Daniel jumps up from the bed, intent on finishing his story.
    â€œSo we kissed, and her skin was ice cold. I asked her if she wanted my hoodie.”
    â€œGross, the dirty one?”
    He shrugs and holds open the door for me. “She didn’t