Possessions
Chapter 13
By: Makena
Benji stumbled to the hotel drunk and bruised from many falls on the sidewalk. Forgetting his room number, he slumped himself in one of the chairs and sat there, staring blankly at the big screen TV through blood-shot eyes. The shadow that had once possessed his mind so many years before was now returning.
'Hello old friend,' he thought to himself, slouching further into his seat. 'I thought I'd never see you again.'As the shadow slowly grew, the world became dark and unpleasant to him.
"Benj?"
Benji glanced up and looked around for the source of the voice. Paul was standing two feet from the doorway and slowly advancing towards his friend. Benji groaned and tried to turn away, but quickly realized he was in a chair and was restricted to very little turning space.
"Jesus, Benji!" Paul said. "Everyone's worried sick! Where the fuck have you been, man?"
"Out," Benji replied, closing his eyes. Paul, slightly un-optimistic, took a few steps closer.
"You smell like a bar," he declared. "Did you go out drinking?"
"Maybe," Benji said in a slurred tone. Paul sighed and held his hand out, waiting for Benji to grab it.
"Come on," he said. "I'll get you back up to your room."
Benji - completely forgetting their previous fight - took Paul's hand and stood. He dragged his feet towards the elevator with the help of Paul, who made sure Benji would not fall down.
"Ug," Benji moaned when the elevator started moving upward. Paul looked over at him as his friend slid down to the floor and clutched his spinning head.
"How much did you have to drink tonight?" he inquired. Benji shrugged.
"I had a beer," he replied. "And some tequila."
"Oh? How much tequila did you down?"
Benji shrugged and rubbed his eyes. "Lost count." He paused. "Joel is going to kill me."
"Yeah," Paul agreed. "Probably."
There was a long pause and the only noise was the sound of the elevator slowly making it's way up.
"I hate this," Benji said finally.
"You hate what?" Paul asked.
"This. Everything. I hate it."
Paul, not knowing how to respond, was thankful when the elevator doors slid open. He helped Benji to his feet once more and wrapped one arm around Benji's waist in order to help stabilize him better. He knocked twice on the twin's door and Joel appeared within seconds.
"Jesus," he muttered. "Where the fuck were you?" He paused when he noticed the bruises and tiny scrapes on his brother. "Are you alright?"
"Drunk," Paul said, letting himself and Benji into the room. Joel frowned in anger.
"You're kidding?" he asked, although it suddenly came clear to him that Benji was, in fact, drunk. He followed Paul into the room and helped him toss Benji onto his own bed. Benji groaned and turned over, one arm hanging off the edge.
"You're such a... you don't... ugh," Joel tried to get out, but found that words had escaped him. "Benji... why?"
Benji groaned. "Felt like it," he mumbled. "Leave me alone."
Joel looked up at Paul and sighed.
"Thanks," he said. Paul shrugged and walked to the door and, without a word to either of the twins, left. Joel groaned to himself and sat down on his own bed before picking up one of his pillows and throwing it at his brother. It bounced off him and fell to the floor.
"Damn it, Benji," Joel said as a single tear began to form. "You're so fucking stupid."
------
"Has anyone seen Chris?" Paul and Joel glanced up from the TV, both surprised that it had been Billy that had asked.
"Why?" Paul questioned. "Looking for some one to pick a fight with?"
Billy rolled his eyes. "Haha," he said dryly. "Seriously - I was just thinking about it and I realized I haven't seen him in a couple days."
A moan escaped from under the covers of Benji's bed. Everyone's focus was drawn to Benji as he slowly began to stir and the sheets began to move.
"Shut up," he moaned. "Everybody just shut up."
Paul and Joel - who were situated on the floor - pretended they hadn't noticed and turned their attention back to the TV.
"So what's the deal with Benji?" Billy asked, completely disregarding the fact that Benji was in the same room let alone in the bed just next to the one he sat on. "Is he drinking again or something?"
"It was a one time thing," Benji moaned, the top of his head appearing from the mess of sheets.
"Said the alcoholic while wishing for a drink," Paul finished. Joel shot Paul a warning glance before slowly standing.
"Come on," he said. "Let's leave Benji alone - let him suffer his hang over alone."
"But I'm comfortable here!" Billy complained. Joel frowned and silently pointed towards the door. Billy rolled his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"Fine," he mumbled. The three left, leaving Benji to himself.
------
"Agh!! I love your hair!"
Makena smiled at Shannon's reaction to her new hair. Her and Nicole were hanging out at New Moon. Makena invited herself to sit on the counter while Nicole threw Shannon's baseball against the wall behind the counter. Shannon was busy with a box of newly shipped CD's.
"But - how come you didn't let me do it?" she asked in pretend hurt.
Makena laughed. "A 'Destructive Impulse' is only good for about one minute," she explained.
"Hence 'Impulse'," Nicole said.
"Exactly."
The bells on the door rang and the three looked over as the door swung open. Makena realized who it was right away and smiled.
"Hey, Raemie," she said. Raemie glanced up at Makena and smiled.
"Hey," she said. "Aaron said Paul said you might be here." Shannon and Nicole burst out laughing. Makena grinned a little.
"Uh, Raemie, this is Shannon and Nicole. Guys, that's Raemie."
"Hey! I'm not a guy!" Nicole protested. She paused, smiled, and turned towards Raemie. "Hey." Shannon rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Raemie. Congratulations, by the way." She paused. "Uh, you ARE the one getting married, right?"
Raemie laughed. "Yeah, that's me," she said.
"Anyway, what can I do you for?" Makena asked. "If Aaron said that Paul said I would be here, you must have needed me for something."
Raemie shrugged a little. "Kind of." She paused. "Uh... Nice hair, by the way."
"Thanks," Makena said. Raemie glanced around for a minuet.
"Uh... can I talk to you outside?" she asked. Makena bit her bottom lip and tried to pull her hoodie sleeves down further over her wrists. She glanced at Nicole and Shannon who looked at her in slight confusion as she followed Raemie out the door.
"What's up?" Raemie asked finally. Makena frowned in confusion.
"I... don't think I understand," she replied.
"Look, we're supposed to be friends by the time the wedding rolls around, right?" Makena nodded. "Well, tell me what's up. We can't be friends if you don't tell me anything."
Makena sighed and took a cigarette out of her sweatshirt pocket. "You wanna know what's up?" she asked, lighting her cigarette. Raemie nodded.
"Yeah," she replied. "I do."
Makena put her lighter in her pocket and took a drag before replying. "I'm not feeling well," she said finally, a cloud of smoke escaping her lips.
"Like... a cold or something?" Raemie asked, a little confused.
Makena shook her head and tapped her head. "Mentally," she said. Raemie looked her over a little, skeptical.
"You mean, like, a psychopath that sits in a corner and rocks back and forward?"
Makena laughed. "I don't know if I should be insulted by that or not," she said with a slight laugh. "But no, not like that. Just... not stable."
"Oh..." She paused. "Sorry I asked."
Makena shrugged. "Hey, wanna go get a drink?" she asked. "If you want to be my friend, you're going to have to find out how much I can drink at one point or another."
Raemie laughed a little, unsure if it was a joke or if Makena was being sincere. "I've heard," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I promised Aaron we'd have lunch together. Some other time, maybe?"
"Okay. See ya."
"Later."
Raemie took off down the street and Makena stepped back inside the record store. Nicole and Shannon scurried away from the window like cockroaches in a sudden burst of light. No one said anything for a while, but stared at each other instead. Shannon cleared her throat and Nicole came out of what seemed to be a trance-like state.
"Music!" she yelled quite suddenly. "Music is good!"
Makena rolled her eyes and laughed a little. "You guys are weird."