Watch You Take The Fall

“Yo Alex! Where did you go homeslice?”
“Homeslice? Really?”
“You bet your ass really! Now, where did you go?”
“I brought Sierra back here, she wasn’t feeling so good.”
“Oh, you brought Sierra back did you?”
“That’s what I said, yes.”
“Cut the shit dude, we can all see it.”
“See what?”
“Oh come on, don’t treat me like a fucking idiot.”
“I have my reasons to, Jack.” And then he jumped on me, knocking me onto the floor of the bus. A small crowd quickly gathered around, although they knew we would never properly fight.
“We’ll speak later.” He spat, showing a serious side that I rarely saw. Usually it was plain to see that he was easygoing, and he was constantly laughing. Apparently not now. I pulled myself off the sticky ground and scrunched my nose up at the thought of what I may have been lying in.
“I’m going to bed,” I grunted, shoving out of the circle that had formed, not caring if I sounded rude. And so I left. I changed quickly in the corridor of the bunk room after sliding the door shut and telling everyone currently in there not to look out of their bunk for the next minute and a half. I shoved my dirty clothes into my duffle bag that lay on the one spare bunk and sighed, hanging my head and accepting my fate. Slowly, I lifted the edge of the blanket that lay covering Kate in our bunk, hoping she wouldn’t wake. All seemed to be going as well as could be expected until I was comfortably settled, head nestled into the crook of my arm, trying as hard as I could not to touch my girlfriend’s sleeping form.
“Alex?” Shit shit shit, no one ever wanted to wake Kate up.
“Fuck, did I wake you up? I’m so sor-“
“Why did you bring her back here?”
“Who, Sierra? She wasn’t feeling brilliant.”
“For all you know, I could have felt like shit and you wouldn’t have known because you were too busy with that slut, taking her back here by you-“
“Don’t call her that.” I snapped.
“What, a slut? Why not? Strike a nerve?” She sneered. I couldn’t see her face but I knew it was contorted into a grimace.
“She’s not a slut, just don’t call her that.”
“A little protective, aren’t we?”
“She’s just not a slut, alright?”
“I know what everyone else calls me around here, I can hear them even when you try to shut them up. I know, Alex.” My heart sank. She was never supposed to hear any of what my friends called her. Sure, they may think it’s true and it is their opinion, but she still hurt and she’s still a human being with actual feelings.
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologising Alex, it makes me even more suspicious that you have something to hide.”
“I have nothing to hide for fucks sake, why don’t you believe me?”
“Because I know you Alex!” She whisper-yelled, “I fucking know you and I can tell when you like someone. You forget you practically fucking stalked me at work for three weeks before I agreed to go out on a date with you. I know you like her, this shit is getting old.”
“I- I don’t like her. Not like that.”
“Yes you fucking do. Stop lying to yourself and everyone around you. You’ll lose yourself.
“Wh-“
“Everyone’s gone to bed now, get the fuck out of here.”
“Enough Kate, you can’t kick me out every single night.”
“I know that whore is waiting for you.”
“What did she ever do to you, huh? Why does she deserve this?”
“You know why.”
“No, no I really don’t”
“Because, Alex!” She screamed, giving up on all hope of remaining unnoticed by the other inhabitants of the bus.
“Because what? Because she stepped onto this bus and was willing to give everyone the time of day, which meant everyone actually liked her? Because she made friends with everyone she could and didn’t bitch about them? Because, and this is a wild guess, because you’re jealous of her?” I screamed back, completely overstepping all boundaries. This was always going to happen. We were like a bomb and Sierra lit the fuse. For the past six months we’d been sat here ticking, counting down to the inevitable.
“She’s fucking stealing you away from me, Alex! All along I’ve been the one by your side, and she takes one step onto this shitty little hell-hole of a bus and everyone’s all over her, you leave me and you’re stuck to her side like fucking glue. Why was I not good enough for you? Don’t even answer me, I already know. It’s because I’m not her, I’m not that slut sitting out there waiting for you right now. I’m so over this shit.” And with that I was pushed from our bottom bunk onto the floor. I winced at the contact but sprung up nonetheless, not at all shocked to see the curious faces of my friends sticking out from their own beds. It would have been funny if the situation wasn’t what it was.
“What’s going on?” I heard the sleep muddled voice of Sierra coming from her bunk. She wasn’t waiting for me like Kate thought, she’d gone to bed only a few minutes before they returned from the restaurant.
My face paled, “Sie, just leave it, go back to bed.” I didn’t fail to notice the look of fury that engraved itself onto Kate’s face as I said that.
“No, I know she’s talking about me, I’m coming out there,” she replied, ripping the curtain open of her top level bunk.
“Now what the fuck is going on? I’m tired and I don’t feel well and all this yelling isn’t helping,” she said, making eye contact with Kate without blinking. Brave girl.
“You,” spat Kate, “you fucking ruined everything I had.”
“How so?” Questioned Sierra. If it didn’t mean she would have fallen out of her bunk, I imagined that she would have folded her arms in the manner that she always did when one of us was being an annoying little shit.
“You waltz on in here, acting like you own the place and you wrap everyone around your skanky little finger and just rip everything away from me. You’re worthless, yet you manage to do that? Slut.”
“Is that all? I’m going back to bed.” No one failed to miss Sierra rolling her eyes at Kate’s outburst and a few around us chuckled.
“Not so fast, bitch, you have some explaining to do,” hissed Kate, and before I could stop her, she had leapt from our bunk and grabbed onto some of my tour manager’s hair. It couldn’t have been difficult, she had long hair and Kate stood nearly as tall as me.
“What the fucking tits are you doing you psychopath?” Came the shocked voice above my head, her northern accent more prominent than ever. Slowly, she climbed from her bunk, nearly slipping twice, with Kate still attached to her hair. It took all of my self-restraint not to stop her from falling, but then I reminded myself of just how much worse that would make the situation, in Kate’s eyes, anyway.
“Get the fuck off me,” yelled Sierra, ripping my girlfriend’s-if I could even call her that- hand from her hair.
“Why did you take everything from me? I had it all, and you just came in here and fucked it up, didn’t you? You fucked everything up, and you know what? I bet you always have and I know you always will, little whore.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We all know you’ve been screwing round, and if you haven’t, you’ve tried it at least once. Guess no one’ll give you the time of day, huh?” Kate let out an animalistic scream and pushed Sierra to the floor. Taken by surprise, Sierra went down, eyes widening and a small puff of breath leaving her as she hit the floor.
“What the fuck are you doing? Get off me!”
“Not until you’re properly sorry for what you’ve done.”
“I don’t even know what that means you stupid twat!”
“You know full well what I mean, you’re all over him all the time, flirting, hugging. I’m not blind. I can see!” She hissed, in-between light slaps and tugs on Sierra’s hair.
“No I’m not, you’re just insane.”
“Rot in hell, just like your stupid, selfish brother, bitch.” The whole world stopped moving. In a second, everyone had jumped from their bunks and yelling once again filled the small bus. Screams at Kate for what she had just said, hands reaching to pull her off and to haul Sierra to her feet and into safe arms, general yells of confusion. I shook my head, miserably attempting to beat off the onslaught of tears.
“Get out.”
“What?”
“You heard. Get. Out.”
“I don’t understand, Alex, what’re you trying to say?”
“What I’m saying is Kate that I’m sick of your shit. We’ve been drifting apart and you know it, but instead of letting us go our separate ways, we clung on. Yes, maybe this is my fault, but nothing will ever compare to what you just said. Sierra’s brother was a wonderful human being, the same as Sierra and the exact opposite of you. You should fucking know just how much of an impact what you just said has on me, and he wasn’t even my brother. I’m done. We’re over. I don’t care if I have to buy you your plane ticket home, I want you off my fucking bus, off my fucking tour, away from me and my fucking friends by no later than tomorrow night. Do you understand?” I bellowed, surprised that there wasn’t steam coming from my ears. I was, however, red in the face, a tell-tale sign of fury. Silence descended upon our company once again, and the only sound was my heavy breathing as my hands lay at my sides in tight fists.
“Whatever,” she scoffed, pushing past me, hopefully to pack her shit. Quietly, pats on the back and hugs of comfort were offered to Sierra, murmurs of support too. I was left to fume silently. Once they were all gone, huddled in the kitchen, I turned to the dejected tour manager. Her shoulders were slumped and her head was hung low. I couldn’t tell if she was crying or not, although I doubted that she was.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologise, Alex.”
“I do.
“No you don’t.”
“I really do.”
“No you really don’t”
“I really, really, really do.”
“Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut the fuck up, alright?” And with that she raised her head. No glimmer of emotion passed upon her beautiful face.
“C’mere.” I mumbled, pulling her to my chest. And we stayed like that, for how long I couldn’t tell you, but I poured everything I had into that one hug. Everything I wanted to say but couldn’t, everything I felt I had to apologise for. Everything. It was all spoken via the medium of hugs.