Perfect Denial

Dana smelled sweeter than usual and the scent of the perfume tickled Bill’s nose in an unpleasant way. Her hair that scratched against his face as he kissed along her smooth neck was dry, and it didn’t feel right. Which was strange, because to Bill…everything about Dana was perfect, it was always perfect.

A strong hand came down on his shoulder, pulling him away from Dana and turning him around to face a very angry Georg;

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing man?” Georg spat at Bill, and Bill took a step away from his friend, alarmed at the ferocity in his voice.

“What are you talking about Georg?” Bill mumbled, the room seemed to be spinning slightly, Shit, how much had he drank?

Georg grabbed his arm again, causing him to focus “I thought you were done with hurting her Bill? I thought you were finally going to set things right with Dana?”

Bill grinned “But I did…”

He turned to where he had been sitting with Dana a moment earlier before Georg had interrupted them but stopped short, blinking in surprise at the blonde girl, only vaguely familiar smiling sweetly up Bill, unaware he had thought she was someone else.

“That’s not Dana…” he whispered to himself, and looked at Georg “She saw?”

Georg rolled his eyes “Yeah Bill…and man, I didn’t think her heart could break anymore. You need to fix this, once and for all. I’m not going to let you fuck this up…again”

Bill stumbled slightly “Where is she?”

“She’s at the bar, drowning her sorrows.”

Bill rushed over, falling heavily against the bar countertop, scanning the occupied seats. She wasn’t here, where was she? Dana?

He was becoming frantic in his half drunken state. Where was she? He needed to explain, to tell her he loved her, to kiss her. It was time to finally tell the truth.

“Bill…what is it? What’s wrong?” Tom shook his brother slightly, not liking the crazed look that was clouding his brown eyes.

“Where is she Tom?” he whispered.

Tom hesitated, he had indeed seen Dana and Bill recognised the look “What is it Tom? Where is she, please tell me!”
“Bill…”

“Tom!”

Tom sighed, running his hand over the cornrows that crowned his head “She left a few minutes ago.”

Bill turned to run after her, to get a taxi to the hotel and to beg at her door until she let him in. He’d cry, he’d scream…he’d do anything but Tom held him back, his stronger arms restraining Bill.

“Bill, she wasn’t alone. She left with Aaron. He’s here, he’s back”

Bill didn’t say anything and Tom didn’t object as his little brother slumped heartbroken into his arms.

~PxD~

Bill was up early the next morning. He stared at himself in the hotel mirror, they would be going home today. It was Christmas next week. He was going home to see his mother, and his step-father. He should be happy but he couldn’t help but agonise over the aching pain in his chest. He couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t eat.

He closed his eyes, hearing muffled voices from the room next door. That was Dana’s room and he knew the deeper voice wasn’t Gustav or even Cody. He recognised it as Aaron’s.

Would she have slept with him if she hadn’t seen Bill with that girl? Somehow, deep down Bill didn’t think she would have.

Bill threw the eyeliner pencil he had been holding at his reflection and it bounced with a thump off the glass and fell soundlessly onto the carpet floor to roll under the bed.

Bill was fast realising, that if he didn’t have Dana, life wasn’t worth living. How he had survived those two years without her, he didn’t know.

The voices from Dana’s room were becoming louder, angry. Bill frowned as he heard Aaron shouting and Dana’s voice stayed soft, almost pleading. There was a smash, a scream and that’s all it took for Bill to run out of his door.

He wasn’t the only one and Bill stopped beside Tom as he watched Aaron stride out of the room, a heavy scowl on his face. Bill passed him, no words were spoken but Bill had the instinct to duck aside as he sensed a flying fist come in his direction. Tom’s knuckles however hit Aaron’s face first, and Bill watched with no emotion as the man went sprawling onto the ground, holding his nose against the blood that threatened to spill down his face.

Bill turned away from the scene and walked into Dana’s room where she was slumped at the corner of the bed. He gasped as she looked up at him, her hand covering one half of her face but it wasn’t large enough to stop the blood that was leaking from several gashes. There were shards of glass splintered around where she was sitting, and Bill tiptoed around them to gather her in his arms and carry her into the bedroom.

He set her down on the toilet and gently removed her shaking hand from her face. She stared at him silently as he gathered some tissue, and wetting it gently wiped away the blood that was pooling around the gashes made from the splintered glass.

She said nothing as Gustav brought in a first aid kit to Bill and then left them alone. Bill worked in silence as he used a tweezers to pull out the small bits of glass embedded in her skin, she winced and hissed once but otherwise kept her eyes away from his.

It was only as he dabbed antiseptic lotion onto one particularly deep cut that ran over her nose, did she sigh very softly and whisper “He didn’t mean to do it…”

Bill choked down a snort but Dana heard it and she looked at him “He didn’t. He was angry, and he threw the glass…it hit the wall but the pieces hit me…he…he didn’t mean to hurt me. I could see it in his face. He loved me once, he wouldn’t hurt me on purpose. He would never hurt someone he loves” her eyes pierced into Bills and he almost gasped at the pain that laced into his heart at the clear accusation that was in her words.

“Why was he angry?” he murmured

Now Dana looked away “Because I told him what we had done was a mistake…that I didn’t love him, that I was drunk and didn’t make a right decision.”

Bill looked at his hands “I could say the same thing for myself”

Dana sniffed and looked at him as he gathered her hands in his, kissing them “I was drunk Dana, I thought she was you…I never meant to hurt you Dana.”

Dana blinked and then removed her hands from his so she could run them down his face “I’m sorry too Bill. For everything…”

Bill cupped her face in his hands, careful of her wounds and brushed his lips down the abrasions in her face, kissing them softly as if trying to heal them “Don’t be baby, it’s me who should be sorry, and I am…I promise never again…I’m never going to hurt you again”