Charisma

Sunlight peeked through the dark window, hitting me in the eyes. I cursed the light and my eyes fluttered open.

“Good morning.” A chipper voice spoke; I rolled my head to the left and saw Tre sitting in the chair next to my bed.

“Well, hello.” I smiled, truly surprised to see Tre next to my bed. I sat up in the rather comfortable hospital bed.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, sipping from a Styrofoam cup, which I only assumed was coffee.

“A little sore, actually. I think that bitch of his girlfriend broke my spin.” Tre laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah, she can get a little physical at times. But you’re not feeling sick?”

“No, but I am sorry for ruining your night.” He laughed at this, while I raised my eyebrows in shock.

“You think you ruined our night? Don’t even worry about that! We are all glad you’re all right, which, in case you were wondering, Billie and Mike are here. They’re just getting coffee because they stayed up all night. Well, Billie did. Mike just likes his coffee.” I laughed at his explanation. Tre was a cool guy, I’m glad I was finally being able to be alone with him.

“How are you, though? I mean, I hope I didn’t worry you last night.”

“You did, but it was kind of exciting, the anticipation.”

“Oh, you are mad!” I laughed as Tre just sipped his coffee innocently and winked.

“Well, since you’re awake, I’m going to go tell the doctor you’re conscious.” He smiled as he stood up and headed for the door, which opened before he could grab the handle. Mike and Billie walked into the room, both sporting cups of coffee.

“Where are you going?” Mike asked, moving out of his way.

“Charisma is awake.” He pointed my way; Billie smiled and made his way over to the bed.

“Hey there, are you feeling better?” I nodded and watched as both Mike and Tre left the room.

“Yeah, I’m feeling great, actually. I guess I should thank you, you know, for saving my life.” I smiled sheepishly and he stood closer to my bed, brushing my bangs out of my face.

“No need to say thanks, I wouldn’t have ever let anything bad happen to you.” I felt my cheeks turn hot; something that hasn’t happened in quite a while.

“That means a lot, it really does. But, Billie, it doesn’t change anything. You have a girlfriend and I don’t want to come in-between something.” He stopped playing with my hair and took a step back.

“What does Melissa have anything to do with me making sure you didn’t die last night?” He sat on the edge of the chair.

“It’s not that. Its how you are treating me, it’s like I’m your girlfriend. Brushing my hair out of my eyes, things like that. Billie, we went an hour away to have lunch the very first time we met! If you think you can get into my pants and then throw me aside—you can forget that right now.”

“You think I’m playing you.” He stated bluntly.

“No, I--” The door opened before I could finish explaining. An elderly man walked in before Mike and Tre, who were talking with each other.

“Ms. Mellor, glad to see you’re all right” I smiled as he looked down at his clipboard, “We had to pump your stomach to rid of the alcohol in your bloodstream. I called the number that was listed as your in case of emergency and they are aware of your situation. They were caught up when we called, so these three gentlemen offered to stay with you, and they also told me to tell you they’re sorry they couldn’t come be with you.”

I was a bit relieved, to be honest, because I would hate for my parents to see me in that state.

“Oh, well thank you for calling them.” He smiled and started walking toward the bed.

“I need you to sign these, since you’re of legal age, you are able to sign yourself out.” I took the clipboard from him and signed the papers. When I handed him back the clipboard he looked right at me.

“Thank you. But I beg of you, be more careful from now on. Drinking can become dangerous, I know you kids like to drink underage and party, but being careful and knowing your limit can help prevent hazards such as the one faced last night.”

Internally I rolled my eyes but I smiled nonetheless. He excused himself after his little spiel and Tre burst into laughter after he made sure the door had shut.

“What a wank.” He said, grabbing his sides as he laughed. Mike rolled his eyes and sipped on his coffee.

“Excuse Tre, he laughs at all health cautions.” He couldn't help but laugh as he explained.

“Damn right, baby!” He winked for the second time since I’d been awake. Billie cut in, once again, before I could speak.

“I think it’s time we returned Charisma home. We don’t want to keep her family waiting.” He lamely explained, though I knew what he honestly was thinking; he just wanted me out of his sight.

“Yeah, I think that’d be a good idea.” I agreed, pushing the hospital blanket off of me and realizing I wasn’t wearing my dress any longer.

“Uh, where is my dress?” I asked, looking at all three of the guys standing around me.

“Oh,” Tre whispered, “They had to cut it off of you because you were struggling.”

“Oh.” I sighed, realizing I was going home in a hospital gown.

* * *

The ride home was mostly silent, except for when I told Mike where to go. I knew Billie was still mad at me, and Tre was drumming the air to the music. When they finally pulled into my driveway, my mom was out in the garden planting flowers.

“Hey! I’ve seen your mom before!” Tre exclaimed, causing me to look at him in horror.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Your mom is a photographer, right? Yeah, I saw her picture in a magazine.” Tre had an excited face on his look.

“Tre, you’re telling me you saw my mother in Playboy, aren’t you? Yes, she’s a photographer but usually her name is only in the magazine. You couldn’t have possibly known what she looked like unless you saw her exclusive shots in Playboy a few months back.” Mike turned around in his seat.

“Your mom was in Playboy?” Although Billie was mad at me, he turned in his seat as well. I let my head hang back as I groaned inwards.

“Yes.” Before any of them could speak, there was a tapping on my window. I turned my head slowly and saw my mom standing there, waving excitedly. I rolled down the window and she smiled.

“Hi, honey! Are these your friends?” She was honestly thrilled, which just caused my cheeks to become hot.

“Yes, mom, these are my friends. This is Tre, Mike, and Billie.” I pointed to each of them as I introduced them.

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said as I opened the door, which caused her to step back.

“Nice to meet you!” They yelled in unison, since all their windows were still rolled up. She smiled and waved once again, but stopped immediately when she looked at me.

“Charisma, where are your clothes?!” She screamed, horrified to see me in a hospital gown.

“Bye, guys! Thank you for the ride.” I looked back at them and saw Tre laughing hysterically. Billie rolled down his window so they could all yell goodbye as Mike drove around our circular driveway. When they turned right and disappeared down the road I turned back to my mother.

“Where are my clothes, you ask? Well, they…got stolen.” I lied quickly, suddenly wondering who the doctor talked to if my mom didn’t know I had spent the night in the hospital.

“That doesn’t explain why you are in a hospital gown.” She wasn’t convinced. I never lied, so I was obviously a little rusty.

“Charisma, you’re home!” I heard Maya call from the front porch. I turned and she waved at me frantically, signaling me to come to her.

“Oh, look, Maya! I’ll talk to you later, mom.” I rushed off toward my sister, who grabbed my arm when I reached her, pulling me inside.

She pulled me all the way into the living room, shoving me onto the couch.

“You. Explain everything. Now!” She yelled, not angrily, but curiously.

“What’s to explain? I went to a party and got a little bit drunk.” She rolled her eyes at my lame attempt of an explanation.

“Oh, please. Charisma, you got your stomach pumped!” She whispered the last part, causing me to feel suddenly guilty.

“I am aware, but no worries, Billie made sure I was all right.” She rolled her eyes again. Sometimes Maya could make me feel like a complete idiot in the simplest ways.

“The boy I met last night? Well, duh! He’s completely crazy for you, Charisma.”

“What? No he’s not! He’s got a girlfriend and didn’t even feel the need to tell me before he kissed me.”

“Well, probably so he could! Would you have let him if he had told you beforehand?”

“No.” She sighed as she sat down across from me, crossing her legs.

“Let me ask you this: Would you hang-out with his as often if you learned he had a girlfriend the very first time you met him?”

“You know me, Maya. Why are you even asking this?”

“To try and get you to realize what’s happening. From only meeting him once, I could tell he was into you. He didn’t tell you he had a girlfriend because he was worried it would scare you off.”

Was she right?

“That…makes sense.” I finally said, still lost in my own thoughts.

“I’ll leave you alone.” She said, getting up from the couch and patted my shoulder as she passed by the back of the couch.

I had a lot of thoughts to sort out.

~Next morning~

Somebody shaking my shoulders was what awoken me the next morning. I moaned softly and stretched my arms before opening my eyes.

“Charisma, wake up.” My dad’s voice filled my ears. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

“What time is it?”

“Almost noon, I figured you didn’t want to sleep the day away.” He smiled as I looked at my surroundings. I had fallen asleep in the living room.

“No, I didn’t want to do that, thanks.” I stood up and stretched my arms again, my dad stepped back as if I were going to hit him. I started walking away but what my dad said next stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Somebody named Mike called, asking you to stop by The Coffee Corner if you were feeling up to it. He said it was urgent.” I guess that was perfect, seeing as how I had an application to hand in anyway.

“Oh, thank you.” I said, disappearing down the stairs that led to the basement.

* * *

“Hey! Thanks for coming by.” Mike greeted me rather excitedly as I approached the counter.

“No problem, but I do have this,” I grabbed the application out of my bag and handed it to him, “To turn in as well.”

“Oh, great, thanks. I’ll personally hand it to the manager the next time I see him.” He placed it down on the counter.

“Do you want to talk now?” He nodded and I watched as he walked around the counter.

“Yeah, let’s go over here.” He pointed to a table in the corner. As I sat down I became a little nervous, as if I’d done something wrong.

“All right, what’s up?” I asked, smiling.

“I wanted to talk about Billie. And, before you say anything, he told me what happened between you two before we returned with the doctor.”

“Oh, okay. Billie. What about him?” I asked, mentally preparing myself to process a lot of information.

“I’m just going to say it all, okay? Let me finish before you say anything, please.” He looked sincere, as if what he was going to tell me was crucial.

“Fair enough, I shall not disrupt.”

“Billie, most of the time, is a woman user. He’s been with Melissa for three months, which is a long time for relationships when it comes to his background. Now, he told me that you thought he was playing you. He really, really is not. Let’s face it; you’re gorgeous, interesting, and new in town. He’s going to want to pursue getting to know you. I’m being honest when I say you blew his mind. This has never happened to him before, and so he’s really hurt by the fact you think he’s trying to get with you and be in a relationship at the same time,” He stopped, for my benefit, letting me absorbed what I was just told, “I’m not trying to make you feel bad, that’s the last thing I want. I just trying to tell you how it actually is, you know? I don’t want you to be under a misconception when it comes to Billie and who he is.”

When I realized that was the end of it, I sighed. That’s a lot of information to retain, especially on top of what my sister talked to me about last night. I looked up at Mike and he smiled.

“Let me write down directions for you.”

* * *

As I walked out of The Coffee Corner I ran straight into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” I said, looking up at the familiar stranger.

“Hey!” He said, realizing he knew me as well.

“Hey, Trevor."

“How are you doing? Did you really go to a hospital?”

“Yeah, but I’m doing well. I got my stomach pumped.”

“Oh, that’s not good. But at least you’re good.”

“Yeah, so what are you up to?”

“I’m meeting the drummer of my band to talk about auditions we’re going to be having.” That sparked my interest.

“You’re in a band?”

“Yeah, I’m the guitarist of a now singer-less band.” He laughed at how lame that sounded.

“Are you holding auditions for that position?”

“Yeah, why, do you know somebody?”

“Well, actually, I was in a band back in England. I’ve been looking for a band here, I sing.” He raised his eyebrows.

“Really? Are you good?”

“I’ve been told…a lot. So, maybe?” I laughed at myself.

“You should come! It would be a change to have a girl singer. Could you meet me back here tomorrow at 2:00?”

“I can do that. But if you’ll excuse me, I’m in a hurry.”

“Of course! See you tomorrow, Charisma!” I smiled goodbye and made my way around him and headed for my car.

* * *

Walking up the steps of his front porch was almost nauseating. My heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to have a panic attack. I decided to knock on the door instead of ringing the doorbell. I heard movement from inside and once I saw the door opening I contemplating whether it was too late to turn back. I laughed internally at my pathetic thoughts.

“Charisma.” He said, surprised to see me.

“Can I come in?” He nodded and opened the door wider for me to enter.

I walked passed him and turned around, waiting for him to be facing me again. He shut the door and turned my way, still stunned by the fact I was at him house.

“What are you doing here?” I ignored his question.

“Are you going out?” He was wearing black pants and a half-buttoned dress shirt.

“Yeah, I was supposed to be meeting Mel--” I couldn’t wait any longer so I interrupted him.

“Don’t speak.” I commanded, walking toward him and wrapped my arms around his neck as I kissed him.

“Okay.” He breathed after pulling away, and then kissed me again.