Possessions
Chapter 7
By: Makena
Makena let Chris take her to a bar a block away from the Chinese restaurant until she finally decided to allow him to walk with her back to the Holiday Inn. Buzzed and a little tipsy, she stumbled slightly as they got off on the fourth floor and Chris raced to catch her.
"Thanks," she said, trying to stand upright. They walked to the end of the hall in silence where they stopped at Makena's door and stood for a minute in silence.
"Well, here's your room," Chris said, looking at the gold numbers nailed to the door. Makena turned to look at the numbers before nodding, turning back to Chris.
"Yeah," she agreed. Neither of them said anything for a moment when Chris suddenly leaned forward and passionately pressed his lips to hers. Makena stumbled back onto the beige colored wall behind her from lack of coordination and from surprise at Chris' kiss. As surprised as she was at first, she returned the kiss while, at the same time, trying to open the door beside her without much luck.
"You know," Makena said, cutting them off, "I'm just a little drunk."
Chris shrugged slightly. "I know," he replied.
"And I probably won't want to talk to you after tonight," she continued.
Chris shrugged again, beginning to softly kiss her neck. "We'll worry about that tomorrow," he said.
Makena nodded and pushed him away slightly and turned, sliding her card key into her door. She slipped inside and motioned for him to follow. Chris grinned and glanced around before stepping into her room. The last thing visible in Makena's room before the door was shut was the image of Makena and Chris kissing passionately as they raced to undress each other.
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"Well that was a successful night," Joel said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he sat down on the bed next to Benji's. Benji said nothing as he took his hoodie off and threw it on top of the duffel bag that rested between his own bed and the wall.
"You could have at least said something to her," Joel continued.
"She didn't exactly talk to me, either," Benji pointed out, annoyed.
"She didn't know what to say," Joel explained.
"Yeah? Well neither did I," Benji half yelled. "I didn't even know she was going to be there, okay? So it came as a bit of a shock to see Makena sitting at our booth, especially after she slapped me."
"You still could have said something," his brother said, searching for the remote without getting up from his bed.
"Shut up," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm going to bed, so keep the TV down."
Joel sighed and watched as his brother climbed into his bed, fully clothed.
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Chris woke up the next morning to what sounded like fingers hitting a computer keyboard. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times before rolling over. Makena was awake and sitting upright, the cream colored sheets pulled up around her chest and a lap top sitting in her lap. Her long blond hair fell around her shoulders and her blue eyes were fixed on the screen before her.
She took a drag from her cigarette before glancing over at Chris, smiling a little.
"Morning," she said, a cloud of smoke escaping her lips. Chris smiled in return and propped himself up on his right elbow, watching her for a minute.
He gently kissed her shoulder before softly rubbing his index and middle fingers along her smooth, pale arm as he watched her click her fingers on the lap-top's keys.
"What are you doing?" he asked her.
"I'm working on my book," she replied, pausing to take a sip from the glass by her bed which contained what looked like brandy.
"What's it about?" he asked. Makena looked over at him and smiled mischievously.
"It's a secret," she told him. Chris smiled and kissed her shoulder again before rolling out of bed and gathering his clothes as he looked around for the clock.
"What time is it?" he questioned, pulling his jeans up. Makena yawned slightly and shut her computer, looking over at the clock by her bed before cursing under her breath.
"Shit," she muttered as she jumped out of bed, holding the sheets closely to her body. "I'm supposed to meet Shannon and Nicole in five minutes." Slightly confused, Makena began to push Chris towards the door.
"What?" he asked as she opened the door. "Who? What time is it?" Makena pushed him out into the hall, him still holding his clothes in his arms.
"I'm sorry," she apologized before slamming the door shut.
Chris lingered in then hall for a minute longer, slightly confused, before scurrying to his own door and slipping inside his own hotel room. He quietly closed the door and turned around to see Paul and Billy, sitting on their beds looking up at Chris with questioning looks. He stood by the door, slightly surprised they were awake, as he made excuses in his head.
"Uh... hi!" he said, moving away from the door. Billy cocked an eyebrow at Chris and glanced at Paul who just shrugged.
"I didn't think you would be up yet," Chris explained truthfully, grabbing his t-shirt from his arms.
"Dude... it's, like, 10:30," Billy said. Chris looked over at the clock next to the bed and noticed that it was, in fact, 10:30.
"You never know," he said with a slight shrug.
"Where'd you go last night, anyway?" Paul asked, glancing back down at the book he had been reading. Chris hesitated.
"I was with a girl," he began slowly. No one said anything as Chris walked over to his duffel bag and rummaged through for a moment when Paul stopped reading and glanced back up from his book.
"So... where'd you and Makena go after dinner?" he asked skeptically.
Chris hesitated and glanced up at Paul, mind racing. "Bar," he replied honestly, trying to buy his time. Billy looked between Paul and Chris, sensing the slight tension that was building up.
"You went and fucked Makena, didn't you?" he barked at Chris. Chris blushed slightly and glanced at Billy for a second, who's eyes were slowly growing wider.
"Well, when you put it that way it sounds bad," Chris said simply, trying to calm nerves through humor.
"Because it IS bad!" Paul shouted, obviously having no interest in Chris' attempts. "Fuck, Chris! You KNOW Benji loves her!"
"No," Chris said, shaking his head. "Actually, I don't. I've never heard him talk to me about that before, so I actually don't."
"Bull shit," Billy muttered. Chris glared at him for a second before returning his gaze on Paul, who was also rolling his eyes.
"It doesn't matter if he's talked to you about it or not, because you KNOW what he feels about her."
"Yeah, so that's why he fucking talked to her last night, right?" Chris retorted. Paul rolled his eyes.
"He was nervous, Chris!" Paul cried. "He didn't know what to say to her!" Chris rolled his eyes and stuffed a hoodie into his duffel bag with force.
"It was a one time thing and it didn't really mean anything, okay?" Chris said. Paul sighed and shook his head, returning to his book.
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Makena went through the t-shirts on the discount clothing rack and glanced at a red t-shirt with black Japanese writing across it. She checked the price and the size before returning it to the rack and glancing at the blue haired girl on the opposite side.
"Are you finding anything good?" she asked with a tired, irritated sigh.
Shannon shook her head and looked up at Makena. "I think I should start making my clothes," she said as the two began to walk away from the sales rack. "No one makes good clothing anymore." She quickly turned her head towards a saleswoman in a red smock who glared at her and grinned in satisfactory.
"Hey," Makena said, stopping abruptly. "Where's Nicole?"
As if to answer her question, a girl wearing plaid red bondage pants and a dark blue t-shirt came tearing down the isle, closely being followed by an older looking man in a gray smock, shaking his fist furiously.
"Getting kicked out again," she explained as she ran past. Makena and Shannon watched as she turned a corner, nearly slipping before tearing down another isle and out the front doors.
"And stay out, you damn punk!" the man called, shaking his fists in the air in a threatening manner. Makena and Shannon looked at each other before shrugging slightly and causally walking in the direction Nicole had just run.
Makena yawned and rubbed her temples, her head spinning.
"What's wrong?" Shannon asked, concerned. Makena looked at her friend and sighed a little.
"I have a head ache," she explained. "I'm suffering from a little hang-over."
Shannon laughed slightly. "Wanna go get some coffee?" she offered as they entered the rest of the Waldorf mall. Makena nodded.
"Definitely."
They looked up at saw Nicole, hunched over to catch her breath. "Seriously," she gasped. "People just can't take a joke anymore."
"That depends," Shannon began. "What did you do this time?"
"All I was doing was sampling some of their perfume!" Nicole said, standing upright.
Shannon cocked an eyebrow. "Yes - which ones and on whom?"
Nicole's eyes shifted before she grinned. "All of them on whomever was unfortunate to walk by," she said before giggling. "The last person to walk by was the manager." Shannon laughed as the three of them began to walk down the mall corridors towards the food court for their coffee.
"So, when is the wedding?" Shannon asked as they scooped out the Starbucks, located between the McDonalds and the Subway.
"Friday the 20th," she replied, digging out some spare change from her jeans pockets. "Do you have a dollar bill I can bum off you?" Shannon nodded and retrieved a single bill from her black Dickies, handing it to Makena. "Paul and Billy are probably going to be there," she continued.
Shannon gasped. "Really?!" she asked. "Oh! Oh! I so wish I was invited now!"
Makena laughed. "I think you guys can come," she told them. "I'll as Raemie about it."
"Raemie?" Nicole asked. "Who the hell is Raemie?"
"Didn't I already explain that to you?" Makena asked, slightly irritated.
Nicole shrugged. "Probably," she said. Makena sighed.
"Aaron's fiancé," she said with a slight laugh as she stepped up to the counter. "I'll just have a coffee."
"So when are you seeing this Raemie girl?" Shannon asked.
"Tonight for dinner," Makena replied. "We're gonna try to hang out and stuff a little before her wedding cause - you know - I'm a bridesmaid."
"Ah," Shannon said. "Right."
Shannon and Nicole ordered their coffees and the three paid for their orders and found a small table to sit at for the time being. From her purse, Makena took out a small liquor bottle and began to pour the contents into her coffee cup. Shannon watched her before letting out a loud, sudden laugh.
"You're NOT going to get rid of a hang over by adding alcohol to your coffee," she said. Nicole just watched, eye brows raised in slight question.
Makena shrugged and capped her bottle once she decided that she had added enough and stirred the contents before slowly taking a sip.
Nicole glanced at Shannon for an answer, but Shannon only shrugged before looking down at one of her two wrist watches. "I gotta get going," she announced. "I gotta help a new employee out today, but that's cool since I'll be paid extra." She stood up with her coffee cup and dug her cell phone out of her back pocket, quickly pressing a couple of buttons.
"Here, give me your cell and I'll call you later," she said to Makena, who simply laughed in return.
"I don't have a cell phone," she told Shannon. Her jaw dropped slightly before she laughed a little.
"You have got to be the only person I know who doesn't own a cell phone," she said. "Then YOU call me, got it?" Makena nodded and watched Shannon leave, re-pocketing her cell phone.
"So," Nicole said. "Have you seen the guys yet?"
Makena hesitated. "Yeah..." she began slowly. She paused slightly.
"What's that for?" Nicole asked between sips. "You've seen Benji, haven't you?"
Makena shrugged. "More or less," she replied. "More in the sense that I've physically seen him, less because we haven't said much beyond "fuck you" to each other."
"Really?" Nicole asked in surprise. "I thought Benji would be really happy to see you?"
Makena sighed. "I said it," she admitted.
"Oh." She paused. "Anyway, how are the other guys? Have you met the new drummer?"
Makena sighed again and stared into her cup, suddenly interested in her coffee. "Oh yeah," she replied. "I know Chris."
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Joel walked into the Holiday Inn from the cool temperatures from outside, shifting his eyes to make sure no one had recognized him. He paused when he noticed a blond and black head poking up from the couch in the lobby, lost in a book in front of him. Joel paused before walking towards his friend.
"Hey," he said. "Why are you down here?"
Paul looked up at Joel for a second before returning to his book. "Billy and Chris are at it up there," he explained, pointing up with his index finger. Joel frowned.
"About what?" he questioned. Paul shrugged - which was a lie. He had, after all, been an actor once and was still able to play convincing roles from time to time.
"I tried not to pay attention," he lied. Joel nodded.
"Oh." He paused. "Well, I'll let you know when they stop."
Paul nodded, not looking up. "Thanks."
Joel nodded and headed towards the elevator where he rode up four floors, humming to himself as he got off and walked down to the end of the hall where he began to take out his key. He paused when he heard a weak sob and he turned, looking for the source of the noise.
Sitting on the floor behind a large, green plant just under the large window sat Makena, who was lying on the floor and clutching tiny liquor bottle which was empty. Joel hesitated and wondered if she had even heard him when he put the key back in his back pocket and walked towards her and knelt down next to her.
"Makena?" he asked softly. Makena opened her eyes, her cheeks stained with tears. She glanced at Joel but hardly made an attempt to straighten herself out.
"Are you okay?" he asked, unsure of what he was supposed to do.
Makena shook her head. "No," she replied, softly running her fingers along the reddish carpeting. "I've had too much to drink. I'm supposed to meet Raemie for dinner. Chris and I had sex. Hotel card keys aren't sharp enough to slit your wrists with."
Joel took a minute to try to digest the information she had just fed him. "You've had too much to drink?" he asked her suspiciously. "It's 1:30 in the afternoon."
Makena nodded. "Yep," she agreed. "I know."
Joel sighed, trying to ignore what she had told him about slitting her wrists.
"Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked, unsure of what to do. "Did you want to go back into your room?"
Makena nodded and held her key out for Joel to take. He helped her up and she swayed, allowing Joel to support her as they made their way into the empty hotel room.