Fuel to the Fire

Being in a jail cell felt like a partial routine for Eliza. She had spent once a month here for five month, including tonight. Brighton’s head was resting on her shoulder; his snores filled her ears like music. It seemed to be the only thing that could soothe her from the stares.

“Brighton,” she tried to shake him awake, but he didn’t budge. He lightly stirred, after a punch to the shoulder, while blinking his eyes open. Eliza’s orbs averted to her left as she glanced at the older man looking at her with what appeared to be a seductive gaze. For the moment, she had regretted her outfit choice for the night. She had also regretted leaving her leather jacket in the backseat of Brighton’s car.

There was a silence in the jail and suddenly the main door opened. Eliza could see her mother, but clearly she wished she hadn’t. She knew her mother all too well. “It’s midnight Bill, what happened this time and what’s her bail?”

“She had a brawl with the owner of the house. The girl was very angry, but she thankfully decided not to press any charges. It’s the usual seventy-five dollar fee.” Bill stated.

“Bill, I honestly don’t know what to do with her anymore. She’s a complete mess that needs to get her act together. She promised me that she wouldn’t do anything tonight too. I think that’s what hurts the most.” Marie let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair.

The moment Eliza had finally locked eyes with her mother, she regretted it. It made her partially regret even going to the party. She had a feeling that her mother didn’t think that highly of her.

“Thank you so much Bill,” she could ear her mother say from a few feet away. Suddenly, the cell door became open and Eliza closed her eyes. “I know you’re away, get up so we can go home.”

When Eliza opened her eyes, she swore her mother looked distressed. The disappointment in her stare almost made Eliza break. “We can’t just leave Brighton here. His parents would kill him if they found out he was in here. Can’t we just take him home? His car is still at the party, I’ll drive him back.”

Brighton’s orbs were opening and closing at the sound of his name being called. He wasn’t very coherent when intoxicated, but who really was. Eliza shook him with a force that could have woken a bear; he only budged a few centimeters.

“Fine, I’ll pay his bail too, but he needs to pay me back. I’ll drive you back to the party then you take his car, drive him home, and I’ll pick you up from his house. This doesn’t mean that we’re not going to talk about tonight.” Marie said to her daughter

“Of course, thank you so much mom. Do you think that you can help me get Brighton to your car?” Eliza asked with a small smile on her face. Marie sighed at her daughter, but helped her none the less.

Cat calls could be heard throughout the building. Eliza felt cheap and repulsive in her outfit when she had found it cute only hours earlier. Both women ignored the schmucks trying to get their attention. Brighton was dead weight. He was fast asleep and didn’t seem to want to contribute to moving himself.

It was silent in the car, as Eliza thought to be expected. All you could hear was the sound of Brighton’s light snores. It only took a good twenty minutes for Marie’s car to reach Brighton’s. With a wave, Eliza took all of her best friend over to his own car and shoved him in it. She sighed as her mother’s car had left.

Eliza’s hand reached into her best friends back pocket in search for his keys. It’s not like he would care if she did that if he was awake or not; Brighton was homosexual. When she had finally found his keys, she also grabbed her leather jacket from the backseat and started to drive.

Driving usually gave Eliza a sense of control, but tonight it just made her feel lonely and sad. She was never one to cry though; she hadn’t cried in many years. It had never been her thing.

[&Fuel]

Both Eliza and her mother had now entered their home after an awkwardly silent car ride home. Marie didn’t want to argue just yet. She let her daughter change her clothes first.

When she came down the stairs after changing, the smell of coffee hit her nostrils almost immediately. “You might as well come here, the slower you walk the more agitated I become.”

Eliza’s feel quickly paced their way into the kitchen where her mother was sitting. Marie’s fingers were impatiently tapping on the wooden kitchen table. It was in her eyes that she was beyond the point of fury. She sipped on her coffee slowly. “Sit down; I’m not going to bite your head off. How much did you drink at the party tonight?”

“Mom, I’m practically sober right now. I had half a cup of liquor and a sip of coke with rum in it.” Eliza resisted the urge to roll her eyes. For Christ’s sake, she was a twenty one year old. She didn’t want her mother to be completely off the wall mad at her.

“That’s good to hear. What started the fight tonight?” her mother asked, getting straight to the point. A sigh escaped past the young girl’s lips. She didn’t really know how to explain the situation correctly; the needed to be told, but not the whole truth. Her mother would have become completely and utterly disappointed in her, not that she probably wasn’t already.

It made Eliza sad to picture her mother disappointed in her. She drank the steaming drink slowly. “Brighton and I went to the party like we said we would. Fifteen minutes later while I was making a drink for myself, this guy comes up to me completely wasted and told me that I’m pretty. We kissed for a while and his girlfriend finds out and starts calling me a whore. He didn’t even tell me he had a girlfriend. You know how I feel about people calling me a whore. So I’d teased her in front of a crowd to hit me, she eventually did, we started fighting and now you know the whole story.”

“Did you mean to hurt her though? Why didn’t you ask the guy if he had a girlfriend?” her mother asked.

Eliza didn’t say anything for a few seconds. She tried to find her coffee, just to have an excuse not to talk. Her mother knew the trick. “No, of course I didn’t mean to hurt her, that much. Mom, it was a party. I'm not going to be a buzz kill and ask he’s got a girlfriend. He thought I was pretty good looking and I thought he was too.”

“You promised me you wouldn’t get into a fight! What the hell are you doing Channing?! In the past five months, you have cost me around four hundred and fifty dollars!” her mother stood up from where she was sitting and slammed her hand on the table. Eliza was just digging a deeper hole for herself.

“Technically I didn’t promise because I didn’t answer you.” she had to have said the stupidest thing in the world and in her life. Marie’s face was bright red and her eyes were burning with fire.

Eliza just sat there silently as she was her mother huff and puff out loads of air. “I want you out of my house tomorrow, no if ands or buts!”

That grabbed Eliza’s attention immediately. Did she really just hear her mother say what she thinks she said? She couldn’t leave her home; there was no way that that could happen. Her voice was loud and lightly traced with panic.

“What? I have no where to go and no money! You’re just going to leave me out on the streets? I have no where to go. Brighton’s parents hate me so I couldn’t stay there.” Eliza said with her eyes wide. She was just about to be kicked her out of the house.

“I honestly don’t know what to do with you anymore Channing! Nothing works and you don’t seem to be changing any. You are out of my control. What happened to my little girl?” her mother’s angry tone soon became sad and smooth.

She truthfully didn’t know how to answer her question. The right answer seemed to be that she had just grown up too quickly. “My name is Eliza.”

“You know that is not your name, Channing. Your father named you that and he loves you.” the eye roll was not resisted this time. Her father didn’t care about her. If he did than he wouldn’t have left her. There was a reason for the many years of resentment and never reading his letters.

“Well now, that’s something that I could really laugh about. He loves me? He doesn’t even know me anymore. When was the last time he’s seen me for more than ten seconds? Nine years? I’m not his or your little girl anymore and I refuse to speak to him.” Eliza was now becoming fueled up again.

Marie just looked at her daughter with somber eyes and let out a huge sigh. Both of there were going to get nowhere in this fight. “Are you really going to kick me out into the cold streets?”

The look in Eliza’s eyes almost made Marie’s heart break. She had so many dreams for her daughter. It made her feel even worse that her daughter didn’t even try with life. “Yes and no, I’m going to call me sister and you’ll stay with her. I’ll have Gemini check up on you as well.”

“I know how to take care of myself. A sixteen year old girl doesn’t need to ‘check up’ on me. Where does your sister live anyways?” Eliza asked as she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, the actions of a child.

“Tempe,” Eliza tried to think about where that was located, but she kept coming up blank. Her mother helped her out. “It’s in Arizona. I’m making your flight for tomorrow, so don’t make any plans. You’re also going to church with me in the morning; you should get some sleep. I’m waking your up at six. We’re going to the seven o’clock service instead. I’d like you to wear a dress too.”

Eliza groaned, but didn’t say any more to her mother. The clock read that it was one fifty in the morning. Four hours of sleep was going to be complete and utter hell, she knew that. She also knew she needed to pack; there was another hour of sleep gone.

[&Fire]

In the background, Eliza could hear someone calling her name. She didn’t open her eyes; she wanted to sleep for hours, maybe even days.

Silence proceeded through the room and Eliza was grateful for that fact. She opened her eyes slightly, but then instantly closed them again. Sundays always ended up like this; there was a small smile on her lips.

Cold water from a metal bucket was suddenly thrown on the young girl. Her eyes immediately opened and her body started shaking furiously. Marie was just standing there smirking at her eldest daughter. Eliza’s voice was loud as her teeth chattered together for warmth. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Nothing is wrong with me. I told you the plan last night. I’m not just going to let you do as you please; this is my house. Get up; you have thirty minutes to get ready. I laid a dress out of you, its appropriate from what I saw in your closet.” Marie said. Eliza laughed slightly at her mother’s facial expression, it was to die for.

Eliza slowly got out of her bed and into the shower. The warm water seemed to contrast her freezing body. She washed up quickly and was out in a matter of ten minutes. The dress her mother had laid out for her made her eyes widen. There were flowers covering every inch of the pick dress.

Cringing, Eliza searched for some undergarments and a new dress to wear. She didn’t own, much less, wear dresses often. The pink flower garden looked five times to small.

It took a good give minutes to find a good fitting dress, but she finally found a good enough dress. Its plain navy blue color satisfied Eliza enough. She grabbed a brown waist belt and put it on with the dress. Her time was limited; she only had fifteen minutes left to get ready.

Her makeup was still out on the dresser and she decided to make it light this morning; only mascara, eyeliner, and foundation, not that she really needed it. it looked as if she didn’t have any makeup on, the natural look.

She took her still partially damp hair and just put it into a sloppy bun. Eliza could have cared less about her appearance for the day. Her lack of sleep seemed to try and take control, but she fought it. The brown books that were on her floor were suddenly being slid onto her feet. “Come on Channing, we’re going to pick up breakfast on the way there.”

Eliza didn’t oblige at her mother had said. She felt as if she could have eaten a horse. The two got into the car in a matter of minutes. It made Channing slightly glare when they pulled into a McDonalds two buildings away from the church.

The thought of any McDonalds always face Eliza the feeling of disgust. She didn’t like anything about the place, it made her feel uncomfortable. She didn’t feel so hungry anymore.

Both Eliza and her mother ordered a coffee and that was it; they didn’t want anything else. As always Channing had to put three packets of sugar and three of creamer.

“Are you excited about today? I talked to my sister while you were in the shower this morning. She said that it was okay, with some convincing on my behalf. So, she has two sons. Their names are Trey and Garrett.” Marie tried making conversation with her daughter.

“I’m not going to like and say that I’m excited when I feel the exact opposite. Hopefully her kids aren’t like eleven or something and I get stuck babysitting, that wouldn’t be so fun.” Eliza said calmly sipping lightly on her hot coffee.

Marie smiled at her child. It didn’t matter if she was angry with her; it always seemed to fade within hours. “Actually she told me that Garrett was around your age, a couple of months older than you. Trey is older than you as well, but I don’t remember how old he is.

Eliza nodded her head as she grasped at the new information she had just received. She really didn’t know what to think of the whole situation. To be truthful, she was partially nervous. It wasn’t like she was a big traveler.

When the two were finished with their drinks, they both walked two buildings away and into the church. It had been a while since Eliza had been inside a holy sanctum. The paintings and glass windows shocked her. She was never a strong believer in God, but that didn’t mean she was an atheist.

“Channing, is that you?” Eliza cringed as she heard that certain voice. Brighton’s mother was smiling lightly at the young girl, but her eyes gave her away. “What a surprise, I didn’t know you go to church.”

It took Eliza a second to regain her mental composure. The best thing to do was just to ignore Mrs. Wright and smile. “Yes I do, I’ve just been so busy lately with some things that I haven’t been able to go. is Brighton here this morning?”

“Oh no, he woke up this morning feeling sick and threw up; it was sad. Last night he told me that he was going to grab a bite to eat and said a homeless person who was drink had thrown up on him and that the food he ate last night must have been spoiled.” His mother said. Eliza resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She would never accept her son if she knew the truth, so they both decided to lie to her.

“Wow that must have been horrible for him. I best be getting back to my mother now. It was nice catching up with you Mrs. Wright.” The two both smiled at each other as they walked in different directions.

Eliza walked back to her mother with a small tight smile on her lips. They didn’t say anything to each other for a few seconds and when they were about to speak the minister came up to the little stage. “Today, we are all here in the name of the lord, our savior.”

[&Fuel]

“Hey mom, I’m going to go to the restroom.” Eliza whispered quietly. There was only thirty minutes left of the service and she felt like cracking. Her mother nodded her head.

Once Eliza made it into the bathroom, she immediately took out her phone. Her fingers were pressing the numbers rapidly as she waited for time to pass. “Brighton, answer your damn phone. Oh and nice lie to your mom this time. I hope that a homeless man really throws up on you, karma is a bitch. Also, food poisoning and lying to your mom about the party in general; that’s just not right. Plus, I’m in the same building as your mother at the moment. Call me as soon as you get this.”

She only had to wait a minute before her phone began to ring. “Well good morning to you too douche bag. I’m glad to see that you are at church with me.”

“I’m tired El, I had think of a good enough lie for her and I had a killer hangover so give me some props. Plus, you never go to church. My mom even says she thinks you are an atheist freak.” Brighton said lazily.

“You’re tired?! I only got three hours of sleep this morning. Plus, I carried your drunken sleepy ass into your bed so you are so welcome. You also owe my mom seventy five dollars for your bail. Oh, and get this. My mom kicked me out of the house. Don’t worry though; apparently I’m on a flight to Arizona at one in the afternoon today,” Eliza said angrily into phone at her best friend.

Eliza could tell that Brighton was becoming sad and heated at the same time. “She actually kicked out? Damn, well I’m sorry. Here. I’ll drive you to the airport. What am I going to do without my best friend here beside me?”

“She kicked me out alright. I’ve got my clothes for a week and a half packed. I’ll probably get Gem to send me more when I need some. Can you go me a favor?” this was the moment that Eliza seemed to really grasp the fact that she was leaving.

“Of course I can do you a favor. I would do anything for you Channing Eliza Farrah Holmes.” Brighton said. Eliza felt a raw emotion coming from the pit of her stomach and she didn’t like it.

She took the cigarette she had hidden from her mother out of her bra and looked under all the stalls. She was glad that no one was there to see her like this. Her fingers inched slightly under her dress to get the lighter that was on the side of her undergarment. Oh how she loved her underwear with pockets.

If there was one thing that Eliza could do it would have had to been hiding things from her mother, whether it was objects or the truth.

Eliza took one hit of the cigarette then began talking. “Thank you Bright. Um, do you think you can pick me up from church, like right now? I cannot handle any more of this bullshit and I’m starving.”

Brighton knew when and when not to ask certain questions. He also knew that she was smoking. With a sad smile, he said that he’d pick her up in ten minutes or less.

It was silent in the bathroom as Eliza sat down on the counter where the sinks were. She inhaled with the intoxicating familiar scent and sighed. The only white stick seemed to be her only escape from life and her memories.

Taking out her phone, Eliza decided to text her mother about her plan. Brighton and I are going to grab a bite to eat. All my bags are in your trunk. I’ll come back to the house to get them. I can’t take this place anymore. Plus, he’s going to drive me to the airport.

I don’t trust you. Where are you going out to eat with Brighton? I’ll give you your things in the parking lot of the restaurant. Eliza sighed, but had to agree with her mother; that was the only way.

She finished her cigarette in a matter of minutes and went outside to see Brighton’s car waiting there. “Don’t you look sexy?”

“Do you have to say that every time I get into the car with you? Hot damn, I’ll always look sexy though, thank you. Can we make a pit stop at the nearest gas station?” Brighton rolled his eyes, but followed her commands. This was going to be their last two hours together and he didn’t want his best friend angry at him.

After getting the cigarettes she wanted, Eliza decided she wanted to go to the Applebee’s nearest to the airport. Of course they had gone into the smoking section, with protests from Brighton; she eventually got her way.

Lunch seemed to be a success. Brighton and Eliza spent their time just reminiscing in their memories together. They were both happy for this time, but sad because they knew it would end soon enough. There was a ringing sound and Eliza picked up her phone. “Hello, mom?”

”Hey sweetie, where are you? I have your tickets and bags with me.” Marie asked her daughter. She already knew where her child was; she had put a tracking chip in her phone.

“I’m at the Applebee’s closest to the airport and thank you so much.” Eliza said. She knew her mother would just nod her head and end the conversation. She wasn’t surprised to see her screen back to its normal layout.

It didn’t take more than five minutes for Marie to arrive at the restaurant. Eliza walked outside to meet her mother. Brighton had paid the bill, with an eye roll, and walked outside to his best friend. They moved the bags from Marie’s car over to Brighton’s in a matter of minutes. “Goodbye Channing, I love you and I’ll miss you so much.”

Eliza smiled and hugged her mother, but didn’t say anything back to her. Brighton honked his car horn impatiently. He told them if they didn’t hurry, she would miss her flight. Eliza said her final goodbye to her mother and was off.

[&Fire]

The airport didn’t seem as crowded as she thought it would be for being a Sunday afternoon. “I love you Eliza! What am I going to do without out? I’m going to be all alone!”

“Stop being such a homo. You are going to be fine. Sure, your like wont be as adventurous, but maybe you can come down to Tempe sometime soon, I would love if you did,” Eliza smiled. Brighton portrayed fake shock and sadness, but there was a smirk evident on his pink lips.

“You know that is very offensive to the homosexual community, like me. Plus, who says you bring adventure to my life, more like distress.” Eliza smirked at her best friend and lightly punched him in the shoulder.

Brighton hugged his best friend tightly and spun her around in the air. “Put me down Bright. Oh, and promise me you wont go to those gay bars. I don’t want to hear about you getting raped by a thirty year old gay, even if you like it.”

Their laughs echoed through the airport. Brighton nodded his head, waved goodbye, and watched his best friend walk away. He wanted to give her something to remember so he quietly snuck behind her and loudly smacked her butt hard. Eliza let out a loud squeal and walked onto her plane.

Eliza could have hated her mother for making her flight so sudden, but she didn’t. The seat she had gotten was horrible though. There was an old creepy man looking at her constantly to her left, I big black woman arguing with her husband to her right, and a kid behind her kicking her chair constantly. She couldn’t even sleep a wink on that plane; she knew that once she got to the house she was going to do that.

She was more than relieved when the flight attendant had said that they had landed. Eliza grabbed her tote bag and walked quickly out of the plane when it was possible.

There were many people in the airport now. Her mother had messaged her saying that Garrett was going to pick her up. She sat down on a plastic chair, let out a sigh, and waited.

Suddenly, there was a light tap on Eliza’s shoulder. A boy with copper colored hair smiled lightly at her. There was another guy standing right next to him. “Excuse me, are you Marie’s daughter?”

Eliza smiled nodded her head, smiled, and stood up from her seat. “Indeed I am. You must be Garret. My name is Holmes, Eliza Holmes.