Fuel to the Fire

Two days had passed since Eliza had arrived in Tempe. She didn't seem to enjoy it at all. She had remained determined to lock herself in the room she'd been given; that was the plan.

Noon was now present with its four numbers on her clock. Blinking her eyes open, she sat up from her bad. She instantly went over to her big dresser and opened it. The miniature coffee maker she had was now being turned on. She wasn't lying when she said she hadn't left the room.

It still seemed surreal to Eliza the fact that she was in Tempe. She'd ignored all of her mother's calls and messages. There was still a hostile flame burning inside of her because of her mother's decision. Her hands twitched lightly as she grabbed a cigarette and Styrofoam cup for her coffee.

Outside morning air was something that Eliza had always enjoyed, not here, she hated the heat. Clouds of smoke were emitted into the hot air. In her tank top and sophies, she just thought about things.

Her phone began to ring instantly and she ran over to get it. The caller had just happened to be her younger sister. "Hey, what do you want?"

"I just got home from grandmas last night and I just wanted to see how you are doing? Mom told me to call because you hadn't been answering her calls. She told me that what happened Saturday night." Gemini told her older sister.

"Nothing fucking happened Saturday night! She doesn't know anything! You can tell her to mind her own damn business and not to tell people mine. She wonders why I'm not answering her calls, bitch." Eliza tried subsiding her anger.

Gemini just listened and nodded her head. "Well I mean that was your fourth time going to jail. Mom just wants you to be a better daughter."

"Are you saying I'm not a good daughter? She deserves some of the things that are thrown her way and you know that. It's complete and utter bullshit whats going on." there was a slight silence from the two girls.

Eliza and Gemini were fairly close for being four years apart. Of course they fought, but what siblings didn't? They knew at the end of the day though that they loved each other.

"That's not what I'm saying El, all I'm saying is that maybe you should just follow the rules more." Gemini said lightly.

"I'm fucking twenty-one, I don't have to follow any of her rules." Eliza began to get angry again just thinking of her mother and the situation in front of her.

She knew she didn't want to say it, but Gemini had to. "You may be twenty-one and an adult, but you're still living under her roof paying not a single dime in rent. You're lucky, most parents would have kicked their children out if they did what you've been doing."

It was the truth and even if Eliza didn't want to believe it Gemini was right. There was another short silence between the two girls.

"You're completely right. I have a question for you though, do you know a band called The Maine?" Eliza asked. The reply she got didn't shock her. A light squeal passed through Gemini's lips.

"Of course I do, the band is just so awesome. Oh my gosh, they are all just so, ah. Why?" There was the normal teenage response that Eliza had expected.

Eliza now didn't know how to phrase her question or reply to her younger sister. She didn't want to overwhelm her, but she also didn't want to over excite her. "I don't know. People in this town apparently like to talk about them. Who's your favorite member?"

"You should know these things El. I talk about them a lot. Garrett Nickelsen of course, he's just so. There are things that I wish I could do to him." Gemini wasn't afraid of sharing her feelings about sexual things with her older sister.

It made Eliza laugh loudly at this fact. Well that sucks for her. "You might want to change your favorite member. It just so happens that your first cousin is Garrett Nickelsen."

Gemini replied instantly. "You've got to be shitting me!"

"No, I'm not lying to you. You can ask mom if you want to. I don't know if she'll give you the right answer. She's been lying to me ever since I was a child." Eliza said truthfully.

There was a voice coming from down below that made Eliza stare. It was none other than John O'Callaghan in the flesh. "Hey Gem, I'll talk to you later." she didn't even let Gemini reply.

"What the fuck do you want, asshole?" Her voice was loud enough for John to hear her clearly. His smirk made Eliza very annoyed.

"They guys want to know if you want to take that tour of Tempe. You've been stuck in that room for days. Who knows what you've been doing?" Of course it was John's manner to make something seem more than it was.

She left one last puff escape from her lips and that was it. The cigarette bud was now on the ground near John's feet. "Fine! I'll go, but I’m not going for you."

John smiled at the girl as he watched her descend into the room. He loved the fire that was burning inside of her, it made him smile every time.

Twenty minutes had passed and finally Eliza was ready for the day. When she went down stairs she saw John waiting for her with a smile on his face. She wasn't pleased when she saw him though, quite the opposite. “Where to first? Is Garrett coming too?”

“All of us are going to meet up at our favorite restaurant for some lunch and then we’ll show you around the town.” His smirk made Eliza want to punch him almost instantly. The two walked out of the door one with a smile on his face and another with her arms crossed over her chest.

[&Fuel]

The hot Tempe sun seemed to make Eliza burn after only twenty minutes. She had seen a taste into the life of The Maine and she didn't feel the need to see anymore. Sure, there were some things to do in Tempe, but not enough to keep her interested.

Everyone could slightly tell that Eliza wasn't enjoying herself so Kennedy seemed to pip in his opinion. “I know nothing seems to catch your attention right now, but just you wait until its after dark. Tempe loves to party with its people. Once the sun is down and the stars are shining nothing can stop the city from partying.”

Eliza smiled at the idea of partying. There were only three more days until the fourth of July and she couldn't wait. It was a time where she was now old enough to drink.

“That sounds excellent, i cant wait for that.” With that smirk across her lips, Eliza finally felt partially relieved to be in Tempe. Oh how her little sister would be jealous of her right now. Just that thought caused her to smile even more.