Possessions
Chapter 4
By: Makena
Makena stepped out of her cab and looked over the restaurant Paul had instructed her to meet them at; a bar and grill she remembered eating at once while she lived in Waldorf. She sighed and paid the driver before stepping into the restaurant completely.
She had gone to her hotel room - fourth floor, room 416 - and changed after Nicole had dropped her off. Instead of her completely black outfit, she now wore a blood red tank top that went with her black Dickies. Over her shoulders was the long black coat. Her hair had been let down and she had taken the time to give it a little volume by using a curling iron. Her make-up included a dark colored lipstick and black eyeliner.
Once inside the well lit restaurant, Makena looked around for any sign of Aaron but was stopped the hostess.
"How many are there?" she asked. Makena looked at the hostess.
"None. Four. Wait..." she paused. "I'm looking for an Aaron Escolopio - is he here yet?"
"He is," the hostess replied in a bouncy tone. "Are you Ms Phipps?"
Makena nodded. "Yeah."
"He just asked me about you. Follow me - you're a little late."
Makena made a face behind her back, but followed the hostess into a better part of the restaurant where three people were sitting; two men and a woman. The woman, she realized, was Raemie, and she knew who Aaron was. The other man looked similar to Aaron, yet less jock-ish looking - his brother.Aaron looked up at her and smiled.
"Hey," he said, standing up. Makena smiled at him as he walked up to her and quickly kissed her on the cheek, hugging her.
"Hi," she said. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Aaron said, beaming before turning towards the other two still sitting at the table. "Makena, this is Raemie - my fiance Raemie, Makena."
"Hi," Makena said, sticking her hand out. Raemie shook it, smiling.
"Aaron's told me so much about you," she said. "I'm really sorry about what happened."
Makena frowned. "Uh... yeah, that was a year ago," she said, her tone dropping slightly. "I'm... moving on..."
Aaron, sensing Makena's discomfort, turned quickly towards his brother. "You remember Ryan? Ryan, this is Makena."
"Hey," Ryan said, standing up a little. "I remember. Good to see you again."
"Same here," Makena said with a small, forced smile. She slowly slipped her jacket off and draped it over her chair before sitting down. With the jacket gone, her lack of sleeves showed off a tattoo on her left shoulder of a deep blue star that had been stabbed with a sword and was bleeding a deep crimson.
"That's an awesome tattoo," Raemie said, glancing at it from the other side of the table. Makena turned slightly so that she could observe it better.
"Thanks," she said, glancing down at it while her blond hair fell over her shoulders.
"What's it mean?" Ryan asked, curious. Makena looked at him and shrugged.
"Nothing," she replied simply. "I just drew it and showed them what I wanted."
"It's pretty cool," Raemie said again, smiling. Makena smiled back before glancing down at her menu before a woman with short blond hair came up to their table wearing a bright yellow polo t-shirt and kaki's with a black pouch for tips, pens and crayons and her small note pad for writing orders down in tied around her waist.
"Hello," she said brightly with a smile as she whipped her small note pad out. "My name is Christi and I'll be your waitress for this evening. Can I get drinks for everyone?"
"I'll have a beer," Raemie requested.
"I'll have the same," Aaron spoke.
"I'll just have a water, " Ryan said, still looking through his menu. Makena glanced up at the waitress.
"Can I get a rum and coke?" she asked.
The waitress nodded and jotted it down in her pad. "Is Pepsi okay?" she questioned.
Makena smiled. "Even better."
The waitress nodded and she disappeared to retrieve their drinks. Makena glanced at the three to see that Aaron was now looking at her.
"I didn't know you drink," he said softly. Makena shrugged, looking her menu over to avoid eye contact.
"Why else did you think I was bigger bitch than I normally am?" No one spoke for a while until Ryan broke out into slight, unsure laughter. Raemie laughed too, shortly followed by Aaron. Makena laughed too but not because she had made a joke, but because they thought it had been a joke.
"Anyway, what are you doing tomorrow, Makena?" Raemie asked, looking up from her menu. Makena shrugged watched as Christi returned with her drink.
"I didn't really have any plans," she confessed, taking a sip from her glass.
"I know I just met you and all, but could you come down town with me tomorrow and help me pick out my bride's maid's outfits?"
Makena looked up at her and then at Aaron before glancing back at Raemie. "Uh... sure," she replied, putting her drink back down. "But isn't that supposed to be the maid of honor's thing?"
"Oh, she's not going to be here until next week," Raemie said, taking a sip of her beer. "You wouldn't mind, would you? Because I suppose I can wait until she shows up..."
Makena shook her head. "I'll help," she said before taking another sip from her drink. 'Not like Waldorf's got much else for me to do, anyway.'
"I don't know," Aaron told Paul over the phone. "She's different. I mean, I knew that just by talking to her on the phone, but... she's so different!"
"Well, losing a son would probably do that to just about everyone," Paul pointed out. He paused. "Anyway, we're in Waldorf now - I think the bus just rolled in."
"Where are you staying?" Aaron questioned.
"The Holiday Inn."
There was a slight pause. "You know... that's where Makena is staying," Aaron said softly. Paul slapped himself on his head slightly.
"Shit," he muttered. "I forgot - I'm sorry." He paused. "Wait... why does that matter? Do you not want them to see each other?"
Aaron sighed. "I guess they can," he began slowly. "It's just... remember how much Gavin looked like Benj? I don't know... something about seeing him might set her off."
"Yeah," Paul said. "I guess."
"I guess it doesn't matter," Aaron continued. "She shouldn't be up yet, anyway - she had a lot to drink last night. Plus, her and Raemie are going shopping later so she'll be gone for a while." There was a slight pause as Aaron considering asking Paul a favor.
"What?" Paul questioned. Aaron sighed.
"I was just... do you think you guys could sort of keep an eye on her for me?" he asked.
"Sure," Paul replied. "But why? What for?"
"Just keep an eye on her, okay?" Aaron begged. "I don't know what she's even thinking about doing."
Paul sighed. "Okay," he promised. "I'll watch her, but I gotta go because we're almost at the hotel and I gotta help unpack all our shit."
"Okay," Aaron said with a slight laugh. "I'll see you later."
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Makena woke up to the sound of the phone by her bed blaring in her ear. She moaned and rolled over, trying to pick it up before her unknown caller hung up.
'Wait...' she thought before picking the receiver up. 'Isn't that what I want them to do?' She paused and held the phone up to her ear.
"Hello?" she questioned.
"Hi, Makena!" a female's voice rang from over the phone. "Ready to go look for my bride's maid dresses?"
Makena looked at the clock and noticed that it was just past nine in the morning. "No," she mumbled with a slight laugh. "But I can be if you meet me outside the hotel in, like, 30 minuets."
"Okay," Raemie agreed. "I'll see you in thirty."
Makena hung up and motivated herself out of bed, quickly taking a shower and dressing herself. She put on a plaid red skirt and a black tank top along with her usual long, black jacket and a pair of chunky black boots that stopped just below he knees. She glanced at herself in the mirror, quickly pulling her hair up into two messy buns before lighting a cigarette while putting on her black eye-liner.
Finally, she turned and swung the door open, walking towards the stairs. She knew it would take forever to get an elevator and didn't mind walking four floors - especially going down instead of up. She reached the lobby and found a mass commotion coming from both hotel employees and guests that were staying there. Confused, Makena walked to the front desk where a man was standing, looking anxiously around.
"What's going on here?" Makena asked, resting an elbow on the counter while looking at the gathering crowd. The man shrugged.
"I don't know," he replied honestly.
"Well... who's staying here?" she pressed. The man looked down at his book and flipped a couple of pages. He paused and read one.
"This must be the Kent party," he replied with a slight laugh before continuing. "Clark Kent party of five."
Makena laughed and shook her head.
"Probably some one from the wedding," she said to herself before turning to walk away. She paused when she nearly ran into some one and looked up at him. He wore a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans as well as a black beenie on his head. He smiled down at her.
"Yeah, we're here for the wedding," he told her. She nodded.
"Same," she replied. "What's with the Clark Kent thing? Are you guys famous or something?"
The man shrugged. "I'm not," he replied. "I don't know what's going on over there." He paused. "I'm Chris."
"Makena," Makena said, shaking his hand. Chris paused.
"Makena?" he questioned. "That's not a very common name, is it?"
Makena shook her head. "No," she said. "Why?"
Chris shrugged. "One of my friends knows a Makena," he replied.
Makena shrugged. "I can't stop that," she replied. She paused and looked at the clock by the front desk as Chris talked to the man, trying to get two room keys. "Well, I'll probably see you around, since you're here at the wedding and all - I gotta go help Raemie pick out bride's maid dresses."
"Raemie...?"
"Aaron's fiancé," Makena explained with a laugh. Chris nodded.
"Ah," he said. "Well, see you later?"
Makena nodded. "Bye."
She turned again to walk away and bumped into another person.
"Sorry," she muttered before stuffing her hands into her pockets and quickly walking away and disappearing through the front door and passed the large bus that sat in the parking lot. Chris watched her leave as Benji approached after colliding with a girl.
"Hey," Benji said. "Who was that?"
Chris looked at Benji and shrugged.
"Wedding guest," he replied. "Where's Paul?"