Sunday, August 19, 2007

Chapter Fifteen: Left Alone

Left Alone
(15)

2 comments:

Sarah said...

Johnny got comfortable on the balcony. He picked up a peice of charcoal from his box. He hadn't even touched it in weeks. He opened his sketch book and flipped through until he found an empty page. He looked out at the view of the city. He spent minutes studying everything he saw in detail, then began to draw.


Lisa and Chloe were singing loudly in their bedroom while they drank, who knows what. Chris was having trouble focusing on his writing. He was happy for the girls getting closer to their dreams though, so he let it go. He put his paper and pencil down. He didn't have any idea what he was going to write anyway. It bothered him that he couldn't think of anything. Not even a start to a poem. He sighed.


"How much ass do I kick?" Chloe slurred as she jumped on her giant pile of blankets as if it were a bed.
"A LOT!" Lisa shouted. "But, I kick ass too!"
"Of course you do!" Chloe said.
Lisa walked over to her radio and turned it up even louder.


Chris opened his laptop. He decided to play Solitaire for a while.


"Is Chris around?" Johnny heard a girl ask. He figured it was Adrian and ignored her. She could knock on the door like a normal person if she really wanted to know if Chris was around. He didn't like being interupted when he was drawing. He was very focused.
"Is Chris around?" She asked again,a little louder.
He looked down. He was right. It was Adrian. "I think so!" Johnny said, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and went back to his drawing.


It didn't take long for Chris to get bored with Solitaire. He closed his laptop and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. He opened the bottle as he heard a knock on the door. He walked over to the door and opened it. He was surprised to see Adrian standing there. "Got a second?" She asked with a smirk on her face.
"Uh. . . yeah." He said.
She was wearing a red sweatshirt and black sweat pants. Her hair was in a messy pony tail. 'She even makes a cute scrub' He thought to himself.
"The garbage disposal is clogged. They guys aren't around and I have no idea how to fix it." She said. "Think you could help?"
"Yeah." He said smiling.
He followed her to her apartment. They chatted for a while as he fixed un-clogged their garbage disposal and cleaned it out. They laughed a lot and Chris was really enjoying her company.
"Well, I have to run to the laundromat." She said after a while. "Maybe we could grab some coffee together tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Definatly." He said smiling.
She smiled at him. "It's a date." She said. "Oh, and thank you so much for your help. You're a life saver."
"Not a problem." He said.
She grabbed her keys and picked up a basket full of laundry. Most of the clothes in it appeared to be men's clothing. "I'll see ya." She said.
"Bye." Chris said. He walked back to his apartment. He saw Johnny was still outside drawing, so he left him alone. The girls were still being loud in their bedroom. He laughed and shook his head. He grabbed another beer and knocked on their door.
"Yes?" Chloe asked.
She sounded even more drunk than before.
"Can I come in?" Chris asked.
"What's the password?" Lisa asked.
"Oh my god, just let me in." Chris laughed as he tried to open the door. It was locked. "Come on!" He said.
"You have to say the password." Chloe said.
"Why?" He asked.
"See. I told you. He refuses to say the word Vagina." Chloe giggled.
Chris laughed. "You guys are stupid. Just open the door."
"Say it." Chloe said, then started cracking up again.
"Vagina." Chris said.
Chloe and Lisa started laughing their asses off. That joke had been going on since the day they found out he didn't like the word back in middle school.
"I said it!" Chris laughed. He blushed and was glad the girls didn't see him. He wasn't one for dirty talk and he always felt embarassed to say anything sexual. He would ussually tease Chloe back though, because she always refused to say the word Penis. She used other words, like "privates" or "jigglies".
Chloe opened the door and peaked at him.
"What?" Chris asked.
"Nothing." Chloe said, then started laughing.
"You SO said Vagina!" Lisa laughed.
"So." Chris said. "You guys are stupid."


"Can I read your novel?" Lisa asked out of the blue. She was curious to see if he had changed his mind about not letting anyone read it.
"No." Chris said. "Why?"
Lisa shrugged and rolled her eyes. She was badly wanted to tell him she had already read it. She wanted to tell him how amazing it was, but it was off limits, so she didn't want to upset him.
"It's personal." Chris said. He looked at Chloe and she looked away suspiciously.
"Did you guys read it?" Chris asked.
"No!" Chloe and Lisa said defensivly at the same time.
"I'd be really pissed if you did." He told them.
"Well, we didn't." Chloe said with more snottiness than intended.
"Is it like a romance novel or something?" Lisa asked. "Like graphic or something?"
"Kinda. It's just personal. It's like reading someones diary." He said.
"Okay. I won't touch it then." Lisa said.
He studied Lisa's face. Chloe was hiding hers as she purposly looked out the window.
"Where is it?" He asked.
"What?" Lisa asked.
"My novel. Where is it?" He asked.
"Don't you have several?" Chloe asked.
"The last one I wrote. The one Lisa is talking about." Chris said.
"I think I saw it on your bed earlier." Chloe said.
"That's interesting." He said. "Considering I had on the top shelf in my closet."
Lisa looked at Chloe and Chloe shrugged.
"I can't beleive you." Chris said. He felt so embarassed.
"I didn't read it!" Chloe said. "I swear!"
"Yeah, bull shit." Chris said. He left the room. He went to his room, picked up the novel and stormed out the door.
"Chris!" Chloe shouted. She ran to the door.
"Let him go. He's being a baby." Lisa said.
Chloe started to cry. "He thinks I read it now!" She said. "Thanks to you!"


Chloe and Lisa started arguing loudly. Johnny sighed. He picked up packed up his things and went inside. "Hey!" He shouted. They both looked at him.
"Lisa read Chris' novel." Chloe sobbed. "He thinks I read it too and he left all upset."
"You read it?" Johnny asked Lisa. "The one about Chloe?"
"Yeah. Who fucking cares?" Lisa asked.
"Lisa, that is really fucked up." Johnny said.
"Oh my god. Whatever." Lisa said. She gave them each a dirty look and left, slamming the door behind her. Johnny gave Chloe a hug. "I'll see if I can find him." He told her, then left.


Chris sat down after ordering a coffee at the little cafe on the corner of the street. He stared at the cover of the novel until it blurred into a white fuzzy image. He blinked and looked up at the sky. How could his friends, the people he trusted the most, betray him in such a way? He shook his head as he thought about it. He sat up in his chair and sighed. 'Even Chloe' He thought to himself. He opened it to the first page and began to read. He got so sucked into it and ended up reading for a long time. It took him back to his and Chloe's first date, first kiss and first time spending the night together.
"Hey, man." He heard. He looked up and saw Johnny. He closed the novel really quick and sat up straight.
"Hey." he said softly.
"Chloe didn't read it." Johnny said. "Lisa did though, so be pissed at her. Chloe would never do that to ya."
Chris just shrugged.
"I'm sorry that happened though." Johnny said. "It's like we need a safe to hide some of our shit from them."
Chris let out a chuckle.
"I was thinking of checking out that strip club a few blocks down. It looks pretty nice. You wanna go?" Johnny asked.
"Nah." Chris said.
"You sure?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah." Chris said. "I'll be fine. I just needed to get away for a little bit."
"Alright." Johnny said. He stood up. "I'll see you later tonight."
Chris nodded. "See ya."

Christina said...

Johnny left, but didn't go to the strip club. He felt weird going alone. He laughed when he pictured himself all alone up front by the stage. Like one of those creep guys, he thought and shook his head.
He had one of his sketch pads and some pencils in his bag and decided he would go somewhere private to inspire himself. There was a park a block down that was deserted at that time of night. He stood behind the bathrooms and lit up a joint real quick. "You hypocrite." He said out loud, and smiled. He smoked half of it, then put it out and put what was left back in the mint tin in his bag. He really needed to find a safer place to put it. I walked around the park for a while until he found a spot under a tree. There was a streetlamp close by, so he could see. He couldn't see any scenery around him though, so he just closed his eyes and conjured up an image of Chloe. He started drawing, and sat there sketching and shading for well over an hour. When he was done, he smiled. It was possibly one of his best drawings, and he couldn't show any of his friens, because he had drawn Chloe nude. It was how he remembered her from the week before. He smiled even though he felt slightly ashamed. He wasn't romanticly interested in here at all. She was just so damn cute.
"You need a girl." He said out loud to himself. Then he got up and wandered home.

Chris was glad when he heard Johnny get home. Chloe had been a mess since he got home, and Lisa was gone. He assumed somewhere with Tucker. He almost left his room when he heard them talking, then stopped when something caught his attention.

"Chloe. Calm down. He knows you didn't read his novel." Johnny said.
"I read the first chapter." She confessed.
"What?" Johnny asked.
"I know, don't sound so disapointed. I couldn't help it. Lisa left it in our room, and I didn't want him to know we read it. I was moving it to his room, when I saw the title. It's about me Johnny." She said.
"I know, I've read it." Johnny told her.
"He let you read it?" She asked.
"Yes." He told her, and she looked hurt.
"Oh stop. If that is all he finds out, he's lucky." He told her, and she smiled.
"You keep thinking about the other night?" She asked, and he smiled, and turned away.