by Lily Graison
The thought vanished a moment later when the person raised up and pushed her hair out of her face.
"Sorry, sweetheart. You've already had your ride."
Jessi's entire body seized; her stomach clenched, her heart pounded against her ribcage and she heard a ringing sensation in her ears as her blood rushed through her veins. It felt as if someone had sucker punched her in the gut. Her stomach rolled and her pulse began racing out of control as she stared at Delilah. The blonde was smiling and didn't bother covering her nudity. The sheets were lying haphazardly across her legs and it didn't take much to realize the girl was completely naked.
The door to the bathroom opened a few moments later and Jessi turned her head. Christian was standing in the doorway in nothing but a towel slung low across his hips. He looked shocked to see her and she took a stumbling step backwards before glancing back at the bed.
Delilah had risen to her knees, hiding nothing. She had one hand on her left breast and was still smiling. The lunch Jessi had shared with Christian earlier in the day soured in her stomach. She felt it trying to crawl back up and swallowed to squelch the feeling.
"Come back to bed, Christian."
Christian looked to the bed, his eyes widening before his body became taunt. He turned his gaze back to her quickly and took a step. "Jessi."
She turned and ran. A thousand thoughts tumbled through her head as she raced out the door of the cottage and around the pool, the biggest one: she was a fool. She could hear Christian yelling her name, hear the blood pounding in her ears and tried to keep from throwing up as she saw everyone by the pool stand up and look at her. She ignored them and headed for the main entrance.
Christian jumped one of the deck chairs and yelled her name again. He saw Devin and Luke going toward the main entrance as Jessi ran past them and he cursed when he slipped on a wet corner of the pool deck. He reached for one of the chairs to steady himself and didn't stop when he felt the towel around his waist let go.
By the time he made it to the front door, Jessi was halfway through the courtyard. "Damn it!" He tugged at his hair, watching her run away and it felt like molten lava rushed through his veins. He felt sick to his stomach and knew she'd never forgive him.
He turned and slammed the front door shut before punching it. "Fuck!"
He marched back to the pool and the gathering crowd of people who stared at him with widened eyes. His band mates were all there, Curt and several of the security guards.
A flash of movement at his cottage caught his attention and he nearly bit his tongue off when he saw Delilah standing in the doorway.
He turned a steely gaze on Curt and pointed toward his cottage. "If I ever see that fucking bitch's face again, I'm out of here. Get her off this property. Now."
Everyone turned to his cottage and Delilah had sense enough to take a step back inside. Roxy was the first to speak and Christian wasn't aware the girl knew half the words that came out of her mouth. She was marching toward the cottage before anyone had time to react. Luke caught her as she reached the corner of the pool.
"Let me hit her," Roxy yelled. "Just one good time."
"Go take care of it," Curt said, pointing to several of the security guards before taking a look back at Christian. "I don't know how she got in here, Christian."
"Maybe she never left," he said, his anger boiling hot. "We all know you've been fucking her for weeks now."
Curt started to speak but held his tongue. "I see her again Curt and she won't be the only one in deep shit. You work for us. Not the other way around!" He turned, walking back toward his cottage, stopping long enough to snatch his fallen towel from the ground.
Six
Jessi knew if she stood up she'd fall flat on her face. She lost count of the drinks she'd had or the men who'd tried to talk to her. One glance up at them and they all turned away without saying a word.
She'd spent the better part of the evening roaming the casinos before finding a darkened corner in one of the hotel bars. Staring into glass after glass of whatever the waitress was bringing her hadn't cleared her thoughts in the least. If nothing else, it only made the sting worse.
How could she have been so stupid? Had Christian played her for a fool the entire time? Was the whole, "I've never been with anyone" thing just an act? Had he in fact been fucking Delilah on a regular basis?
If it was an act, he needed a fucking Oscar. She'd bought every blushing comment he made, every sweet little lie uttered past his perfect lips.
She laughed abruptly, earning a few looks for the other bar patrons but ignored them. A twenty-four year old virgin rock star. Sure. Why not? She laughed louder. Laughed until tears filled her eyes and her laughter turned to sobs. She'd cried enough already that her throat was raw from the effort, her eyes felt gritty and swollen yet she couldn't seem to stop. Her stomach rolled again, much like it had all day and she gagged moments before she jumped from the bench and ran. She just made it to the bathroom before the alcohol came back up and left her heaving for breath.
"Come on, sweetheart. It can't be that bad."
Jessi looked up through bloodshot eyes at the woman staring down at her. Her uniform told her she worked there.
"Are you staying here at the hotel?"
"Yes."
"What's your room number?" she said, reaching down and grabbing her by the arm.
When she was on her feet, she swayed, telling the woman what floor she was on and hoped like hell no one was waiting there for her.
****
Christian didn't know when Devin, Luke and Mick had left but they had managed to get his hand bandaged and right the bed for him. He'd been sitting on the floor, staring at the wreckage until his body had gone numb. The glass from the mirror had been picked up but he could still see tiny pieces of it glittering against the carpet from the overhead lights. The dining table and chairs were turned over, what he hadn't broken, and anything else that wasn't nailed down was strewn across the room from one end to the other.
After five years, he'd finally lived up to the rock star image. He'd trashed a hotel room, single-handedly, and managed to get a woman he wanted into his bed. And found another waiting naked for him. He laughed and shook his head, staring down at the floor between his bare feet.
He could still see the look on Jessi's face and knew what she thought. How could she not? He would have thought the same thing had the situation been reversed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with one thing to say to her that would possibly undo what had been done. Anything he said would sound like an excuse.
Someone knocked on the door and he didn't bother looking up when he saw a shadow on the floor. He knew it wasn't Jessi.
"How you feeling, kiddo?"
He snorted and felt tears burn in the back of his eyes. He blinked to stop them from falling. "Like shit. You?"
"Pretty much the same."
Roxy sat down beside him and leaned back against the wall. She didn't say anything, just sat there with him in silence.
"How did everything get so screwed up?" he finally asked.
"Most things in life worth having always get screwed up. It's nature's way of making you work for what you want. Nothing in life is free, you know. Not even happiness."
"If this is the price of happiness, I think I prefer to stay miserable."
"You don't mean that," she said.
He sighed. She was right.
"Holly and I searched the hotel for her. She wasn't in her room and the place is too big for just two people to do a thorough search for one person. We had her paged but she never answered."
"I didn't much think she would. She's probably half way back to New York by now."
"I wouldn't bet on it."
"You didn't see the look on her face when she saw Delilah in my bed either. I've never had anyone look at me with so much contempt in my life. She probably cursed my name all the way to the airport."
She turned her head to him and smiled. "You're in love with
her, aren't you? You don't have to say anything. I already know the answer. All anyone has to do is look at you when you're with her to know." She sat quietly for long moments before sighing. "I'm going to give you a little piece of advice that you'll be much happier for if you take."
"And what's that?"
"Don't walk away. Don't let her walk away. She wouldn't have been so upset if she didn't care about you."
"You're mistaking anger for something else entirely."
"No I'm not. I saw her face when she ran out. I know the difference between anger and having your heart broke. It looks the same to most but if you know what to look for, you can tell the difference. She's hurt, not angry. Trust me. Now come here," she said, holding her arms out to him. "Let me mother you a bit and whatever happens won't go any further than this room."
He laughed lightly and laid his head on her shoulder, letting her wrap her arms around him and felt tears burning his eyes again when she pulled him closer to her. He shut his eyes, forcing the tears away and knew even if he weren't able to stop them, Roxy would be true to her word. She wouldn't tell.
Seven
Nothing was working properly. Her camera's lens fogged up for some unknown reason. She couldn't get her fingers to hit the correct buttons to adjust the settings and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see anything without the picture being blurred by tears pooling in her eyes.
The rehearsal dinner was a joyous occasion and she'd spent most of the night moving around the room taking shots of people she didn't even know. She had less of Joan and Michael than she needed but every time she looked at them her heart broke a little bit more. They looked so happy. Everything in their world was just as it should be and a small part of her hated seeing them smile at each other so lovingly. Why should anyone be able to laugh when she felt so miserable?
She hadn't managed but a few hours sleep the night before. Every noise she heard caused her to sit up straight in the bed and listen. People had been knocking on her door all day. She hadn't had the energy to look and see who it was. She already knew. It was either Christian, Roxy or Holly or, possibly, one of the guys and she didn't have anything to say to any of them, especially Christian. It didn't matter anyway. Once the wedding was over, she was on a flight back to New York and she couldn't wait to be rid of this town.
"What's wrong?"
Jessi looked up and saw Faith staring at her. "Wrong?"
"Yeah. You look like someone killed your puppy."
She shrugged a shoulder and looked back down at her camera. "Nothings wrong," she lied. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."
"Rock star keep you up again all night?" Faith asked, laughing. "They're good at that you know. I think the sex is what keeps them from going insane after all the parties, booze and loose women. Although, they're having sex with all the loose women so I think it's just a vicious cycle. It's why so many of them are eccentric."
Faith couldn't have said anything that would have hurt less and she knew her face reflected that fact. Her friend's face fell, her smile falling away as her eyes filled with concern. "What is it?" she asked. "Don't say nothing cause I can see it all over your face. What happened?"
Jessi blinked repeatedly, driving the tears trying to form away and bit her tongue to keep from blabbing. It was bad enough to live with the knowledge she'd been played for a fool without anyone else knowing it. She tried to smile but failed miserably. "I just don't feel well today. I think I've picked up a bug or something. I'll be fine in a day or two." When I'm finally out of this cursed city.
"Are you sure that's all it is?" Faith asked. "Cause you don't look sick. You look miserable. Did something happen?"
The list of questions grew until the sound of Faith's voice grated on her nerves. She sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I've just done something really stupid and now I'll have to live with it."
"What? It can't be all that bad. Unless you're about to be arrested."
"I'm not. It's nothing like that." She looked away from her friend's concerned face and let her shoulders fall. "I just." she forced a smile onto her face and stared down at her camera. "I just made a bad decision and it came back to bite me on the ass. It's nothing, really. I'll be fine once I get home and life gets back to normal."
Faith stared at her for long moments and Jessi could tell she really didn't believe her. It didn't matter if she did or not. Once the wedding was over, Faith would head back to Georgia and she'd be lucky to see her again anytime soon.
"I'm going to go grab a few more shots and head back to my room. I'll catch up with you tomorrow at the wedding."
She walked away without waiting for Faith's reply. She felt bad leaving her standing there with no real answers but didn't have the strength to explain, or try to lie her way out of what was really wrong. As far as her friends were concerned, she was sick. And really she was. A heartsick fool.
****
Christian leaned back against the wall outside Jessi's door and sighed. He'd searched the hotel for nearly two hours, knocked on Jessi's hotel room door until his knuckles felt bruised and still, he couldn't find her. She hadn't checked out of the hotel. The concierge did give him that much information but nothing else.
It was growing late, the light from the windows dimming and reminding him he still hadn't eaten. Pushing from the wall, he headed back down the hall toward the elevators. He would check the casino and bars again. Maybe he'd get lucky and spot her. She couldn't hide forever. He'd wait for her at the airport if he had to.
The elevator ride down seemed to take ages. The bottom floor was packed with people and he kept his head down while making his way through the crowd. The majority of them were headed for the casino, he noticed. This late in the evening he knew his chances of catching a glimpse of Jessi in the casino were slim to none, especially with that many people milling around. He didn't think she was there anyway. She was probably in her room, watching him through the peephole and cursing his name every time he knocked on her door.
He paused at the end of the hall, staring at nothing when a girl with short dark hair caught his attention. He thought it was Faith at first but when she turned around, he saw that it was just a young girl. Thinking of Faith gave him the first smart idea he'd had all day.
Walking to a secluded corner, he dragged his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Mick's number. His friend picked up on the first ring. "Would you by chance know what Faith's room number is?"
"Of course I do," Mick said, laughing. "She's in eight forty-six."
"You're a life saver, man."
He hung up without saying goodbye and headed back toward the elevators. When he reached Faith's door, his body was humming with energy by the time she answered his knock.
"Christian," she said, smiling. "What's up?"
"I need your help."
She raised an eyebrow at him and leaned her hip against the door. "What kind of help?"
He really didn't want to get into the details with her but couldn't see a way around it. He gave her a cliff's notes version and watched her as she took it all in.
"I knew something was wrong with her," she said. "She told me she wasn't feeling well but I've known her my whole life and I know when she's lying."
"You'll help me then?"
"If I can. What do you have in mind?"
He smiled for the first time all day.
****
"If you keep doing that, she's going to know."
"I can't help it," Faith whispered, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "You're distracting."
"I'm just standing here. How can that be distracting?"
"I don't know. It just is."
Christian bit his tongue and motioned to the door with his head. "Just do it and for God's sake, don't look over at me again."
"Fine," she said, raising her hand to knock. "But you're going to owe me big time for this. I'm missing American Idol."
Christian rolled his eyes and flattened against the wall at hi
s back. Faith knocked no less than six times before he finally heard the doorknob jiggle. The door cracked open a moment later.
"Hey." Faith said.
"Hey."
"I know you don't want any company right now but, being your oldest friend, I know better so, I came to cheer you up."
"That's not necessary, Faith."
"Of course its not!" she said, laughing. "That's not the point."
"Thanks, but maybe some other time?"
"Nope. Won't do. Beside, I brought the girlfriend survival pack." She held up the brown paper bag and rattled the contents and smiled. "Nothing beats the blues like Ben & Jerry and chocolate pecan fudge."
"I don't know, Faith. I'm really tired. I haven't slept since yesterday."
"Well, you're unlikely to get any tonight either so why not sugar up and forget about everything else. We can find an old movie on TV, turn the volume down and make up our own dialogue. We haven't done that in years."
Jessi didn't say anything for long moments and Christian prayed under his breath she'd open the door. When he heard it shut instead, his breath left in a rush and he closed his eyes.
He heard the chain locks on the door move and his eyes snapped back open. He locked eyes with Faith and smiled. Turning, he readied himself to make a dash for the door.
"Come on in."
Faith smiled and walked through the door. Christian waited in his hiding place until he saw the shadow of the door move before he stepped away from the wall and reached inside, grabbing the door so she couldn't shut it and walked inside the room.
Eight
Jessi's eyes widened when Christian barged into the room and pulled the door from her hand. She vaguely heard Faith say she was sorry before her friend ran out of the room and pulled the door shut behind her.
