Chapter Five: Stolen Kiss
"I see you, wanna know what you got, I know you boy, yeah
you're too hot" I sung with new founded enthusiasm
Alleah starred at me annoyingly as she filed away her long nails.
I assumed she was bored by now, and I was positive she hated me
getting any form of attention when she wasn't. But I didn't care
what my snobbish cousin said, why would it matter? I was still on
the top of the world, and there was no way I was coming down to
her level.
It was now about 2 weeks into the tour, and it was truly like a
dream. "Too Hot" was everywhere, blasting on the radio
stations, my face was on music shop windows. When I had a day off
my manager, Michael, who was a trusted friend of my uncle, with
thick brown wavy hair and a "rounded" stomach, would
take me to "meet and greets" and interviews. They had
begun calling me the "New Selena" which above
everything else, was an honor.
The fame hit hard and fast, but the Riyan that would have been
bothered by that was long since dead. People always say they
never change when they become famous, but how can you now? You
cant go on stage in front of people if you have minor
insecurities. Maybe it's not so much that you CHANGE, you just
see things from a different perspective, I know I sure did.
I was much more confidant now, I felt I could do anything, and I
was definitely willing to push the limits, but deep down, I was
still innocent in many ways.
"You can shut up now. Don't you ever get tacky of singing
that same old pathetic song" Alleah huffed in annoyance as
she flicked on the TV.
Unfortunately we were sharing the same hotel room, which appealed
to neither of us. I shrugged off her comment, it wasn't like I
cared what she thought.
"God Riyan, not everyone loves you, you know" she
snapped
"Really? Funny, no one loves you Alleah" I harshly
responded as I walked out the door
I didn't mean to say that to her, it was pretty harsh, but
sometimes she just really pushed me too far.
I strolled down the empty hallway, clad in a pair of worn out
faded jeans and a white cotton T. It was late, probably around
10, AJ, Howie and Kevin had gone out somewhere, I think AJ and
Howie went to some local clubs, I didn't really know where Kevin
had gone. Nick was probably downstairs, he usually trotted down
there after a concert to see if there were any "babes"
if there were, he'd go "Be friendly" otherwise he'd
spot down a few shots and head to bed - I really did begin to
think he was hanging around with AJ too much.
I wasn't actually sure where I was going, I was bored, and very
much awake. Michael insisted I get to bed before 10, but I was
wired and right now, and the furthest thing from my mind was
hitting "the sack'".
I turn the corner, straight ahead of me was like and open patio
off the hallway, like a decking that you could go sit out on, it
had the best view. The bay doors were open allowing a breeze to
push through. I could hear a soft noise emerging from outside,
and been who I am, I decided to investigate.
I walked in closer, it didn't take much to know what the sound
was, someone was crying. I stepped out into the moonlight night,
and looked across into one of the chairs. The tear soaked face
became obvious.
"Brian?" I whispered, as he sat with his legs tucked up
to his chest a piece of paper flicking around in his hand.
He looked up slowly, and tried to mask the tears with his hand.
"Riyan, shouldn't you be in bed" he returned, with a
father-like tone
I ignored his remark and sat down on the cane chair beside him.
"What's wrong?" I inquired
"Nothing, don't worry about it" he shot me down
"Brian, I can tell something's wrong, you can trust me"
I replied
"I know I can trust you Riyan, but this isn't your
problem"
"No, its not, but it helps to talk about things, that's what
my Mama told me. Never hide your feelings because they'll only
eat you up inside" I half smiled
"Your mothers a smart women"
"She has her moment"
Brian looked across at me sadly. This was a side of him I'd never
seen before. He handed me the paper in his hand, which was a
document about 3 pages big stapled together.
I skimmed over it quickly, a lot of it didn't make sense but it
was blatantly obvious what it was.
"A divorce settlement?" I muttered quietly
"It's final, my marriage is over" he replied, choking
back the forthcoming tears
I didn't know much about Brian's marriage, only it had been on
the rocks for a while, from what I could gather the pressures of
been away and of his lifestyle were too much of a strain for her
to handle. I'd never met her before, but when she was mention
they spoke nicely of her.
"I'm sorry" was all I could reply with
"Don't be, it's not your fault. It's mine, I wasn't there
when she needed me, I let her down, I let her go" he spoke
softly
"Some time's it's no ones fault Brian, some times it just
happens, and we cant change it and we cant fix it and we cant
turn back time, and though it seems impossible, we do move on
from it"
"I wish that were true" Brian sighed as he stood and
walked over to the balcony
"It is, and with time, you'll see" I smiled, joining
him by the edge
~ AT THE SAME TIME ~
Alleah sighed to herself annoyingly, she was bored. Pulling
herself from the chair she'd made her home she straightened her
skirt and walked out of the room.
"There has to be something to do around here" she
mumbled to herself
She stopped dead in her tracks and smiled. She knew what she
could do, she'd pay a certain boy a little visit. He was cute,
smart, funny, and the perfect target in her game of control.
"Brian, here I come" she laughed to herself
~ AT THE SAME TIME ~
"How do you know so much?" Brian questioned, tilting
his head to look at me slightly
"Too many movies" I laughed, playing subconsciously
with a clump of hair.
"No, really. It's like your 15 going on 25" he smiled
I turned around, facing the door.
"I don't know a lot, I just look at the world though
different eyes" I summed up.
That was what my grandmother had always taught me Les yeux
innocents voient un monde différent, which, basically meant that
innocent eyes see a different world, or the world in a different
way. She never really told me exactly what that meant, she just
said that with innocent eyes you miss seeing the bad, she said I
would never really understand the meaning of this till I lost
those innocent eyes, which seemed to defeat the purpose, but then
that was my grandmother.
"I wish I had those eyes" he sighed "all I see is
everything going wrong"
"Were you happy?" I inquired turning back around
"She was my wife"
"You didn't answer the question"
"Was I happy?"
"Were you?"
"I loved her, I know she loved me"
"But were you happy?"
"No, I suppose neither of us were" he sighed
"Then maybe it's better this way" I touched his
shoulder gently
He smiled thankfully, his head obviously ticking over with tons
of thoughts.
~ AT THE SAME TIME ~
Alleah looked out onto the decking, she could hear voices and as
she got closer the voices as well as the figures became clearer.
Her eyes narrowed in, as she slinked to the side, listening
intently to the conversation.
~ AT THE SAME TIME ~
"Enough about me, what about you?" Brian questioned, it
was obvious he wanted to change the subject and I was willing
"What did you want to know?" I questioned in reply
"Family? Friends? Boyfriend?" he shrugged, his eyes
looking down to the pavement far below us
"There's just me, my mama, papa, and my brother, he's
younger than me. I have friends, but no boyfriend" I summed
up my entire being
He turned to smile at me.
"You got some hair" he began pushing the hair out of my
face
His hand grazed softly against my face, holding my cheek softly.
Silence enveloped us, as a soft breeze wrapped around our bodies.
I don't know what came over me at that point in time, but without
thinking I leaned in, brushing my lips against his. It seemed
like hours, he held me, his lips pushed against mine, my body
wrapped up in the warmth of his arm. All reason and thought
escaped me, I didn't care about anything, the world vanished
around me.
We broke away in unison, and it was then I saw a strange look on
his face, one that slightly resembled regret.
"I'm, I'm, sorry" I said backing away
"It's not you Riyan, its just, us, I mean, it cant happen,
it's just" he began
"Oh, uh, don't mention it, it was just, you know, a moment
thing" I muttered trying to mask my upset. "I should
go" I added with haste as I ran back into the hotel and
darted down the hallway.