About a Girl

The linoleum tiles covering the staircase froze our bare feet as Kurt and I finally descended down into the normal living quarters. Just as we touched the very bottom, several long whistles broke the silence of the atmosphere, quickly ushering us out of our internal reverie. In the adjoining living room, the heads of Krist and Dave poked over the edge of the sofa. They stood up and began snickering at the two of us.

Krist spoke first, “That was a prolonged stay up there.”

I rolled my eyes and tried not to blush, though the heat began building on my skin because of their prodding. I put one hand on my hip and jokingly countered, “I could say the same for you two down here.”

Dave slung an arm haphazardly around Krist. However, the bassist tried to duck his advances, but Dave chased after him around the living room. They ran a few laps around the coffee table in the center which housed a variety of classic rock artist biographies. However, Krist slipped on the slick floor and came crashing down to the floor.

Dave resigned himself to sit directly on Krist’s chest in total victory. He smiled up at us and panted, “He really loves me, you know.”

“Just ignore them.” Kurt audibly told me with a grin.

Before I could reply, the telephone in the kitchen began ringing loudly on the hook. I automatically moved to answer the phone, but Krist and Dave simultaneously shouted, “No!” and scrambled to their feet clumsily.

Immediately, I froze in response to their outburst. Showing my innocence, I held my hands up in the air, “If you’re that worried…”

Krist detangled himself from his position on the ground and entered the kitchen to grab the phone. I didn’t think anything of the scene, but the look on Kurt’s face showed something other than amusement at his fun-loving bandmates. Kurt and Dave were having a silent conversation back and forth, passing significant glances between the two of them.

I looked from Dave to Kurt and back again. “What is it?”

Dave replied a little too quickly, “It’s nothing. Probably just a lawn service calling to take care of all the plants we’ve killed since moving in here. I can’t keep plants alive worth shit.”

Looking torn, Krist re-entered the living room. He made eye contact with Dave and said out loud, “We have to tell them soon or later.”

“Later.” Dave replied.

Krist shook his head and looked at Kurt, “Listen, man. Something’s been up since last night. We didn’t really want to tell you about any of this since…” He nodded in my direction, obviously remembering my previous disheveled state after Cory’s attack.

I shuddered just thinking about the way Cory had tried to touch me. That event would always be with me and would always taint the memory of my former best friend. Luckily, Kurt’s support had acted not only as inflation for me, but dulled the remembrance of the attack. Despite my want to forget, the healing bruises on my face told a different story.

Krist motioned towards the living room sofa and the four of us took a seat around the coffee table. My heart thudded loudly inside my chest. I hated receiving any sort of bad news; I just hoped it was something I could handle.

Kurt repeated my earlier unanswered question, “What is it?”

Krist exhaled slowly and said, “Heidi.”

The name struck me deeply as I remembered her brief fling with Kurt. Just remembering the way she had carelessly treated Kurt’s feelings made anger flair within me. I felt at odds with my roommate; she didn’t deserve pain and suffering, but her treatment of men bordered on glorified sex toys, not human beings.

Dave added to Kurt, “She’s been calling non-stop trying to get in touch with you.”

Immediately, Krist interjected, “And it’s bad, Kurt. She has not stopped calling. Every hour the phone will ring and it’s her on the line asking for you.”

Kurt raked a hand through his hair, “Shit…”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Dave asked us awkwardly, “Does she know about you guys?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. Even for myself, I had not known that the relationship with Kurt would have come into fruition so quickly. My head was still reeling from my experience with Cory and I was still trying to play catch up.

“That wasn’t part of our discussion the other day,” Kurt told the room. He rubbed his chin and added, “I do think she was suspicious of ‘another woman.’” Kurt used air quotes for the vague terminology at the end.

“She’s not used to getting rejected by guys. Most of them are falling over themselves to be with her. ” I said, remembering the lineup of guys in the past bidding for her attention. Curiously, I added to the discussion, “I didn’t hear any phone ringing though.”

“You might have been a little preoccupied,” Krist suggested helpfully.

Kurt and I both flushed furiously and did not make eye contact with each other. Through my embarrassment, I replied, “Okay, dully noted.”

Dave shifted the focus from us, “So what did Heidi want this time?”

Krist seemed hesitant to reveal the information from the phone call. Whether that was for my safety or Kurt’s, I did not know. I wanted to be able to confront the Heidi situation knowing all of the facts. The more of her feelings I understood, the easier it would be to remedy the situation. That approach could have stemmed from my internal guilt over getting closer to Kurt; now I was feeling like the other woman in the picture.

Krist finally said, “It sounds like she’s going to stake out the house.”

I choked on that and it took me a moment to level myself back down to normal. Luckily, Dave filled the awkward space, “That would have been good to know ten minutes ago.”

Krist shrugged, “We can just turn the lights out and pretend we’re on vacation.”

“Malibu or Key West?” Dave asked excitedly.

While the two bandmates debated the pros and cons of each fictional vacation plan, Kurt turned to me on the sofa and took my hand lightly, “What are you thinking?”

“Well,” I paused and mulled over my inner monologue running in my head, “I’m really wondering what you said to break things off with her. She seems to be clinging on really tight to this and when she gets focused…”

He ran a hand absently through his hair, “I didn’t say anything different from a typical breakup. Just the ‘it’s better this way’ shit that everyone says.”

I laughed lightly and shook my head. I squeezed Kurt’s hand tighter in mine and sighed, “We’re really fucked in all of this. She’s going to come here and just go off on us.”

Before Kurt could reply to me, the doorbell began going off in rapid-fire bursts. The four of us collectively sighed at the irritating sound. Then there came a loud knocking and Heidi’s booming voice at the door, “Kurt! Come outside and talk to me for a minute.”

We all looked around at each other, unsure of what to do.

Heidi yelled again, “I’m not mad… I think you just made a mistake. We can work things out.” She rang the doorbell again, “Kurt, please!”

I whispered, “She sounds really adamant about this…”

He laughed without humor, “I really don’t want to talk with her.”

“Oh shit!” Krist exclaimed, pointing at the living room window. Heidi’s petite frame could be seen on the outside, testing the window to see if it was unlocked. Luckily, the blinds were drawn over the window pane so she couldn’t see the group huddled around the coffee table.

“Should we call the cops?” Dave wondered out loud.

Heidi knocked on the living room window, “I can hear talking in there. Kurt?”

Expletives tumbled out of Kurt’s mouth in rapid succession. He looked pale and unsure of what action should be taken next. I looked at him for a long moment and studied the worry-lines created on his forehead. I sighed audibly and finally said, “I think you need to calm her down.”

Kurt and I made level eye contact for an extended moment. His blue eyes stood in stark contrast to the darkening circles under his eyes. Finally, he spoke, “Do you think that would actually help or just fuel her obsession?”

I shrugged and could not answer.

Kurt took a moment to contemplate the entirety of the situation before getting to his feet. He looked back at us when he entered the foyer and said, “I’m going to let her inside to talk.”

The rain outside was getting heavier so it only made sense to let Heidi come inside. However, the situation made me feel like hunted prey trying to evade capture. I knew Heidi would react terribly if she caught any hint that I was in the vicinity. However, a part of me longed to confront Heidi and felt as though hiding would only give her more satisfaction.

In the end, I decided to take the high road; as Kurt moved to answer the pounding on the door, I escaped into the kitchen and made sure to stay out of sight. Krist followed me into the adjoining room so that I wouldn’t be alone. He placed a light hand on my shoulder, the same shoulder which housed Kurt and I’s secret ‘Out’ tattoo.

“Kurt!” Heidi’s excited voice boomed in the connected living room. I could tell from the sound that she had immediately jumped into his arms. Grating my teeth together, I tried not to imagine her in the arms I had spent the previous night in.

Kurt replied to her quietly, “We have to talk about some things…” His voice was almost inaudible from in the kitchen.

She sounded breathlessly excited yet simultaneously annoyed, “You finally answered me.”

After a moment of intense study of my anxious expression, Krist told me gently, “He won’t end up back with her. Don’t worry.”

Rubbing the drawing beneath my flannel, I smiled half-heartedly, “I know.”

Krist removed his hand from my shoulder, but caught the side of a coffee mug on the way down. The forced knocked the mug to the floor and shattered the ceramic into several large chunks. We both froze in our position like deer in headlights.

“I can’t believe this.” Heidi’s venomous voice rang out into the measured quiet. This time the voice sounded closer to our location in the kitchen. One more step through the adjoining door and we would easily be spotted. She shot verbal arrows at Kurt and demanded, “Who else is here?”