Holland

August 2, 2013

I had been woken up at four in the morning. Someone had been banging on my door and woke me up, and my first thought was what the hell was going on. It hadn't registered in my mind yet that I was at my hotel and in my bed, but when it did, I was confused. I was almost completely positive I wasn't supposed to be at the studio yet and I was sure Dirk would've woken me up.

As the banging persisted, I stood from my bed, threw on a shirt, and went to look in the peep hole at the door. Outside, Rob stood there, reaching up to knock again. I opened the door just before his knuckles hit again and furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"What are you doing here at this time?" I asked, then reached to cover my mouth as a yawn escaped.

He apologized quickly. "Miss Holland has requested your presence at her home and she refuses to sleep until you go. So basically, your ass is coming with me." The beginning of the sentence was so formal and by the end, he had a sheepish smile on his face.

Cocking an eyebrow, I sighed, letting out another yawn. "It's four in the morning."

"Exactly. Grab your shoes, let's go. The quicker we go, the quicker we come back. Brad has agreed to let you come into work later tomorrow since you're doing this, but let's go, kid."

The drive to the house that Blair was in seemed to never end. I hadn't realized how far away from the studio she was, until we were there. It had been at least twenty minutes, but I wasn't too sure since I hadn't checked the time we left.

Rob led me through the house, which was through the living room that was filled with little trinkets and nick-nacks, then up the stairs, and down the hall. Two other people were knocking on the door, trying to get her to open the door. When they saw me, they looked relieved.

I pushed my way through them and knocked once. "Blair? Blair, it's John." I knocked again and she didn't replied. "Blair, open the damn door," I said.

The four of us stood around, trying to figure out how to get in the house and I glanced over at Rob, asking him if there was a window. He nodded, saying there was a tree next to it as well. He and I went back downstairs and found her window. There was a faint light shining through, but no movement or anything else.

"What is wrong with her, Rob?" I asked, looking for a way to climb the tree.

He sighed, then pointed to a spot I could start at. "There's a lot more to Blair than what people see, John. Just... keep that in mind as you invest yourself in her, alright?"

My eyes met his and neither of us said anything else. Something clicked in me and I realized he was right. There was way more to Blair Holland than I knew. More than I'd probably ever know.

It took me a couple minutes to get in her window, which was luckily open, and when I got in, I found Blair in her bed. The two people at her door previously were still knocking, asking if she was okay.

"Blair," I murmured, moving to her bedside. My hand touched her side and she shifted slightly, then opened her eyes.

A smile formed on her mouth instantly. "John!" she said softly. "What are you doing here? How did you know to come?"

She moved around and that was when I saw she was nude in her bed, with just her silk sheets around her body. Her hand ran over the spot on the bed next to her and she patted the spot, asking me to lay down with her. I slipped my shoes off, then went to the door first.

"She's fine, guys. I've got her. She's fine," I told them as their knocking persisted.

"Open the door, John, you don't know her well enough," Rob's voice said, breaking through the wood.

"I've got it."

Those words seemed to settle them because the knocking stopped. I went back to Blair's side and slid in the bed next to her. She turned to face me, then smiled again. "John," she murmured.

The tips of her fingers lifted up and she ran her fingers over my cheek. "What do you do to yourself, Blair?"

She nuzzled her head into the pillow and continued to just smile. "You're so handsome, John. Tell me, do you have a lover?" My mind wandered to Callie. The girl I had been engaged to. She was a fire cracker and before these days, she had consumed me. The fact that I had nearly forgotten her was foreign.

I nodded. "I am engaged to be married," I admitted softly.

As I glanced at Blair, I saw a smile form on her face. "Of course you are," she whispered, nuzzling her face further into the pillow. "You are beautiful, Mr. O'Callaghan. You are truly wonderful and your lady is quite lucky. Tell me about her, please."

"Her name is Callie," I started. "She's beautiful. She has beautiful light brown hair that has this weird wave to it. Her eyes are green and her skin is quite pale actually," I laughed. "She's nice, very nice. She uh, has this thing about her that makes you question yourself, makes you question how you are as a person. She finds the pureness and greatness in everybody. She's the person who will give a homeless guy twenty dollars, despite the fact that they might go buy beer with it. Her smile can light up a room and her laugh is the most beautiful noise."

Blair was still smiling. "She sounds lovely, John. I wish someone would say all those great things about me."

"I would," I murmured. "Blair, you are all that and so much more. You're making me question everything I know and you don't even know it. You're absolutely breathtaking, Miss Holland."

I could feel her shift and next, she rested her head on my chest. Her fingers rested on my chest, gripping my skin. Raising my right hand, I placed it on her cheek and she looked up at me with a smile still on her smooth lips. "John, why did you come to me?"

For a moment, I thought about her question. Why did I go to her? I barely knew her. There's no way in hell Callie would be okay with this and everyone wouldn't approve. Blair was married and I was engaged. This wasn't supposed to happen. But that didn't matter. I came and that's what mattered. "Because you needed me," I simply replied. "Also, I was sort of forced by Rob." Only for a moment, we both let out a laugh.

Our eyes met and in that moment, I didn't care about anything but the broken girl in front of me. In a world where everyone knew her name and knew of her, Blair Holland was completely alone. She was broken and all by herself. Nothing about her was put together and I could clearly see that she wasn't who she wanted to be. I understood that and I could see that she knew I knew that.

Her body raised and before I could even register what the hell was going on, her lips were pressed against mine. Our mouths were colliding and we were moving as one together. Something was different in the kiss. I had never experienced something like that before and it was different, refreshing.

My hand slipped in her blonde hair, pulling her mouth to mine repeatedly. The thoughts of my fiance didn't at all slip into my head, neither did thoughts of her husband. It was just us. Just her and I. It continued for a few moments before she pulled away. There was a smile on her face, still as beautiful as before. I smiled back and she pecked my lips.

"Will you be here in the morning?" she murmured. I nodded at her, using my hand to run over her hair to flatten it. She kissed me again and then lied back in bed, cuddling into me. "Goodnight, Mr. O'Callaghan."

"Goodnight, Miss Holland."

~

It didn't take long for Blair to fall asleep. I didn't sleep a wink however. I stayed awake, looking down at the beautiful girl next to me that had shifted in her sleep, turning to where she wasn't facing me. I had been mesmorized by her but the trance had been broken as I felt my phone vibrating in my phone.

Quickly, I pulled it from my pocket, careful not the wake Blair. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the light of my phone from the dark room and when they did, I read Callie's name in my texts.

Hey baby, I know your sleeping but I just wanted to say good morning and I love you. I miss you more than words and I'm counting the days until I can see you again.

I looked at the message, then at Blair, then once more at the text. I locked the screen and put the phone on the nightstand. Turning around, I stopped, the orange and white bottles standing out in my head. The names of them, I knew, were all treatments for depression. Fluoxetine, sertraline, venlafaxine, and desvenlafaxine. Those were all in one section. In another section, there were several labeled for anxiety. The names were all too long to pronounce and I was amazed that she had to take so many. Blair didn't strike me as a person with depression or anxiety, but then again, Rob did warn me that there was so much more to her.

Thinking back to the previous night, I swallowed deep. I had never once cheated on Callie and last night, I did. I cheated on the girl I loved more than life, with a girl I barely knew. But it felt right. Kissing Blair Holland felt like the one good thing I'd ever done in my life. It was like it was all I'd been searching for, and I'd only ever had one real conversation with her.

The alarm going off next to me pulled me from my thoughts, and also pulled Blair from her sleep. She groaned for a moment and I shut off the alarm. Her blonde hair was all over her face, making me laugh. At the noise, her eyes opened. She grinned at me.

It took her a moment to wake up, but then she sat up. "You're still here."

She sounded thoroughly surprised. "Of course I am, I told you I'd be here."

"I slept quite well with you next to me." I offered her a smile. "You have me at a disadvantage, Mr. O'Callaghan, would you mind getting up and handing me that robe over there?"

Then I remembered that she did in fact sleep in the nude. A slight blush rose to my cheeks as I slipped from the bed and got the silk pink robe draped over a chair. I left my back turned as she slipped it on.

"You know, I must apologize for last night, Mr. O'Callaghan... I was... indisposed, if you will."

I shook my head and laughed. "Don't apologize, Miss Holland, you have no need to. I should get back to my hotel, though. You know, change into clean clothes, I'll see you at the studio."

She waved a goodbye to me, offering me a final smile. As I shut the door behind me, I leaned against it and let out a deep breath.

I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.