Falling and Failing Is All I Know

“Hello,” Kara answered, holding up one of her hands to make the three guys be quiet. On the other end of the line she heard some shuffling around, then a loud thud, followed by some really loud obnoxious laughter.

“Brian what do you want?” Kara demanded.

“Kara! When did you get here?” Brian asked, giggling slightly.

“Are you drunk?”

“No, I don’t drink…Oh wait. Yeah, I am.”

“Where are you?”

“Some bar.”

“What bar?”

“The only one on 5th Street.”

Kara heard keys jingling around and then a door open and close. Was the idiot actually going to try to drive in that condition? She didn’t like him much at the moment, but she couldn’t let him commit suicide by driving when he was that drunk.

“You’re not going to drive are you?”

“Well yeah. How the hell else am I going to get back to the bus?”

“Stay where you are. I’ll come get you so you don’t kill yourself.”

“Aye, aye Cap’n.”

Another burst of that annoying laughter and Kara just hung up the phone. She sighed and looked up at the two guys beside her.

“Sorry guys, you two go have fun. I have to go get Brian. He’s drunk off his ass at some bar and I can’t let him drive,” Kara said, opening her phone and starting to dial the number to the local cab company.

“You want us to come with you and help?” Zacky asked.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Where are you two going next?”

“We are going to go do some shopping.”

“Okay then. Have fun.”

“Bye.”

Alex looked longingly at the guys as they started walking away. She would give anything to be able to go with them. Instead, she set off to find Brian and bring him safely back to the bus.

~x~

“Where to?” the grimy cab driver asked in a bored voice. He looked like he hadn’t showered in years. Kara fought back the urge to wrinkle her nose in disgust before answering.

“The bar on 5th Street.”

“Alright.”

The cab started moving and Kara leant back against the seat and closed her eyes. Her mind drifted to a lot of different things. The relationship she had with Brian, the fight with Roxanne, Her and Matt’s first kiss and the relationship they now had.

Then a thought crossed her mind that caused her jaw to drop at just the thought of it. Her mind wandered back to Roxanne’s words that night when she was lying in the grass listening to music.

“So, you and Matt?” she asked, sitting down next to Kara.

“Well not really. It’s not official or anything,” Kara said, realizing that she didn’t even know what to say about what had occurred between herself and Matt.

“Oh. Well just so you know. He’s great in bed.”

Wasn’t it a little suspicious that Matt had to leave for a “family emergency” the same morning that Roxanne broke up with Brian and left? Kara just shook her head, trying to shake away the thought. She was just being silly. Matt wouldn’t do something like that to her. He was way too nice and he seemed to care about her a lot.

~x~

Kara spotted Brian sprawled across the hood of the rental car he had gotten earlier that day, looking up at the sky. Kara coughed to get his attention.

“Oh hey Kara,” Brian said, sliding off the hood of his car and walking towards her. The first thing Kara noticed was that he wasn’t stumbling around. The second thing she noticed was that his speech wasn’t slurred like it was on the phone earlier.

“Brian, what happened to being drunk?” she asked.

“Oh umm…it’s a miracle!” he said awkwardly.

“Nice try.”

“Okay so I wasn’t drunk.”

“Then why the fuck did you call me and make me come all the way over here?”

“It was the only way I could get you to talk to me. And I really need you to hear something.”

“Whatever, Brian. I don’t have time for this.” She turned and started walking away. She could hear Brian running to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm and she spun around to face him.

“What do you want?” she yelled in his face.

“Just listen to this.”

He pulled out his phone and went to his voicemails. He pushed some buttons and then held the phone up to Kara’s ear.

She listened closely and before it was over the first of the tears had already started falling from her eyes.

It was Matt, explaining to Brian what had been going on with his family and when he would be coming back. Matt was in the middle of a sentence when Roxanne’s voice came in, asking if he was coming back to bed. Matt quickly muttered “shit” and a few other choices words before hanging up.

Kara shook her head and wiped away the tears that had fell. She gave Brian his phone back, not bothering to look at him. She couldn’t believe this.

“Are you okay?” he asked, walking over to her and trying to give her a hug, but she stepped back.

“Why do you care?” she spat, fighting back tears.

“I just do.”

Kara laughed humorlessly and spun around. That’s when she remembered they were standing in front of a bar.

“Hey Brian. How about we go get some drinks?” she asked, suddenly feeling a little happier.

“Okay,” he said, a little unsure.

~x~

Two hours later and the two were stumbling out of the bar. Brian was a little better off that Kara though, because he could hold his alcohol better than she could.

“So Brian, where are going to we?” Kara slurred, laughing when she realized that her words made no sense. “I mean, where going are we to?” She started laughing again, almost falling over.

“We are going back to the bus. You need to get some sleep.” he said, dragging Kara along beside him. He pulled out his phone and called a cab, because he knew neither of them were in any kind of shape to be driving.

~x~

The two walked into the bus. Well, Brian walked, halfway dragging Kara behind him. He finally gave up and picked her up bridal style and carried her to her bunk. He put her in the bed and pulled the blankets over her body, tucking her in gently.

“Can I ask you something Brian?” Kara asked, eyes half closed as she fought to keep herself awake for just a little longer.

“You can ask me anything.”

“Why were you such an ass to me yesterday? That really hurt.”

“You didn’t let me finish what I was saying before you rushed out all pissed off.”

“What else was there to say?”

“I was going to say that I still loved you too and that I’ve missed you every second of these last three years.”

There was silence. Brian just knew that he had messed up.

“Kara?” Brian asked in a whisper.

He could hear Kara’s steady breathing. She had fallen asleep. He sighed and got to his feet. He just stood there and looked at Kara for a few minutes while she slept. He couldn’t help but smile at how peaceful and beautiful she looked.

Eventually his own eyelids started to feel heavier and he could feel exhaustion creeping up on him. He leant down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before crossing the room and falling into his own bunk.