Infinite

“It’s not just a park,” the twenty year old defended as he led me down a narrow path through a canopy of crooked trees as the sun began to disappear around the side of the Earth. He was oblivious to the idea that my car was out of sight and subsequently he’d already lied to me about that. But I stayed quiet about it and followed begrudgingly, almost glaring at the back of his head as I tried to remain impartial to whatever he had up his sleeve.

“I don’t care if it’s Disney World,” I answered, crossing my arms over my chest as I trudged along, “If anything happens to that car I’ll own my entire life to the lead singer of a band. I’ll probably end up lugging amps and guitars for the next fifty years just to pay off my debt.”

He looked unamused as he turned back and waited for me to catch up. “The Escalade is fine. This is not that bad of a neighborhood. And seriously, you think that Falling in Reverse will last another fifty years?” he asked sarcastically, grinning when I glared. When I caught up to his side he turned and faced in front of us again, not stopping for another moment so that I could convince him that we should go back and find something better and less risky to do.

“Don’t think I won’t pawn that debt off on you,” I muttered, bumping into his side, “Then you’ll see how long it’ll take to pay off that car. This was your bright idea, after all.” He stayed quiet as we followed the path around a curving corner and came out through another group of strategically planted trees under intense lights, like the kind that surround baseball diamonds in order for them to play at night.

I blinked against the light and tried to see where we had come out at. “What the hell?” I muttered under my breath, peering out at the groups of people all sailing in the same circular direction. “Are they fucking ice-skating?” I questioned with wide, surprised eyes, "What the he- It's summer.”

“God, that mouth,” Chance muttered with an indecent smirk, although it disappeared into something far less cocky as he peered down at me, “But no, they’re roller-skating. It’s basically the same thing, just a lot easier.”

I took in the sight in front of me again. There was a makeshift roller rink that was almost filled with people. To the left of the giant circle sat a little shed-covered booth that was stacked with different sizes of skates, pads, and the like. I was shocked that this existed in the middle of a random neighborhood in the middle of Los Angeles. But I guess I wouldn’t put it past the city to have small little gems hidden all around it.

“Who owns this place?” I asked, grabbing Chance’s arm as we headed over to the tiny building to get skates, “And who pays for it all? How much does it cost to get in?”

“It’s a neighborhood thing,” he answered with a shrug, “Nobody really owns it. From what I remember, everyone just sort of looks out for the place.” He took my hand and continued pulling me to the building. It was just big enough for two people to stand on the other side of the counter, and an older man and a young woman took that position, dutifully doling out skates to people.

The man seemed to recognize the twenty year old instantly as we walked up and he grinned widely and stepped out from behind the counter, holding his arms out for Chance to step into. “Chance, it’s so great to see you back in these parts. You honestly need to visit more often,” he greeted warmly with a huge hug, “It’s been way too long.”

The young guy stepped back and nodded guiltily. “Sorry Henry,” he said, stepping back into place at my side again, “There just hasn’t been much reason for me to come back here lately. I’m been pretty busy with other stuff.”

“Until now,” the white-bearded man interjected, his eyes darting over to me. “Who’s this?”

Chance bumped my arm with his as he side-stepped closer. “This is Atticus. I met her through a group of friends,” he answered easily, making it obvious that the Pariah Conviction group wasn’t from his childhood, “She works for a record label here in the city.”

The man was larger with a beard that was just a couple of inches long. He wore a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a pair of perpetually stained jeans that spoke more about his personality than words would ever be able to. I could tell that he usually donned a smile and was kind, seeing as he wouldn’t stop grinning and instantly pulled me in for a hug.

“It’s so great to meet you, Atticus,” he said vociferously, “I’m glad to see that Chance finally found a reason to come back here and visit, especially since it’s with a beautiful and intelligent woman. He need someone smarter than him in his life.” He winked.

“Come on, Henry,” Chance scolded, “She’s just a friend. Stop pressuring her or she’ll knock me out with a skate and run away. And she’s my ride, so you would have to take me all the way home.”

“How are Todd and Natalie?” he questioned, obviously familiar with the makeup of Chance’s family, “And Spencer?”

The twenty year old shrugged his shoulders and milled around a bit, easing into the answer rather than spitting out some reply about how they were all doing just fine and everything was great. “You know,” he said finally as he dropped his shoulders back down.

Henry nodded as though he did know and then stepped back into the booth next to the young woman who was helping another group of people return their skates. “I guess I should let the two of you have a little fun,” Henry relented, grinning.

Chance shrugged and leaned his side against the counter. “That’s kind of why we’re here. I was barely able to drag Atticus away from work so I’d hate to bore her with our razzing conversation.”

“Don’t mind me,” I answered, peering at the two of them, “I’m just relieved to know that my car is actually going to be alright on the side of the street.” I looked at Henry. “Chance made me believe that this was just some random park in a rundown neighborhood and it would get striped for parts.”

“Chance Wilkins,” Henry scolded as he handed over two pairs of four-wheeled roller blades, “You never pick on a woman.”

Chance chuckled and playfully rolled his eyes. “She’s driving a Cadillac Escalade,” he rebutted, sounding innocent as he defended himself, his voice rising an octave or two, “It’s hard not to mess with her about it.”

Henry looked me over for a moment and then turned to Chance as he spoke. “She appreciates the finer things in life and is keen on keeping them in good condition with all their parts. That’s nothing to joke about.”

Chance gave the older man a hard look. “It’s not even her car.”

“Then she’s responsible,” he defended, “And that’s even better.”

Chance grabbed the skates by the laces and slid them from the counter, holding them down by his side as he grabbed my hand with his free one. “Alright, we’re going now.” With that he tugged me away from the little building and I called a hasty goodbye.

There were probably a hundred strands of white Christmas lights strewn along the edges of the rink, tangled around the railings and trellis that we walked under to get inside. Groups of people paid no mind to us as Chance stepped in first and then pulled me in by my hand to steady me.

“Didn’t you roller skate as a kid?” he laughed as I stumbled and tried to figured out how not to slide down the tiny little ramp at the entrance.

“Not really,” I answered, grabbing one of the lit up rails, “I toured the country and listened to music.” I stood up straight and looked him in the eye as I waited for him to say something smart.

“Alright, thanks for that sarcasm,” he noted, sliding his fingers between mine, “I guess I’ll just have to teach you then.” He rolled back but didn’t let go of me, causing me to roll forward without releasing my grasp of the railing. He gave me a look, but I held tight, knowing I would plummet to the laminated wood floor if I let go.

“Standing in one spot doesn’t actually count as roller skating,” he informed me matter-of-factly as he pulled his hand from mine and yanked his shirt down and resituated the hat on his head. “If you don’t let go then there’s no point of you even being out here. Have a little faith in me, I promise I won’t drop you.”

“Bullshit,” I answered, giving him a knowing look, “The best you can do is let me take you down with me when I go and use your body to soften the landing.”

He gave me a dull look as he asked, “You want me to sacrifice my body to keep you from hitting the ground? If I do that, not only will I probably get elbowed in the ribs, but I’ll also lose all of my skate cred,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he argued.

I rolled slowly back until I was pressed against the metal railing. “Forget it then,” I answered, grabbing on with both hands as a couple of skaters passed through the space between us.

He moved forward and grabbed the rail at my side to tether himself to me. “Ugh, fine. You’re so difficult, Atticus,” he complained, “I’ll let you use my body to soften your falls.” He grabbed my wrist and tugged me from the wall, not saying another word as I complained and followed him on shaky legs.

We stayed pretty much to the outside, seeing as people near the center actually knew what they were doing and would simply run us over if we fell in their path. Chance rolled next to me, holding onto one of my hands as I teetered. “Fuck,” I spat when I almost lost it and had to grab the rail and Chance’s sleeve to keep from hitting the ground.

The short haired, baby-faced twenty year old next to me held onto my arm until I was back in a regular motion, moving steadily with him again. “You know, I’ve never heard a girl with a mouth like yours before,” he said, peering sideways at me with his baby blues, “It’s not that you even talk dirty, it’s just that it’s so natural to you.”

“I grew up with men.” I shrugged. “And then all my friends were musicians or friends of musicians who never really considered their language so it’s always just stuck. Plus, they’re just words so what’s it matter, anyway?” I turned my head and glanced at him before refocusing my attention on staying upright.

“It’s sort of charming in a really weird way,” he answered, speeding up just the slightest bit as we came back to the part of the rink that angled downwards near the entrance.

I reached out for the rail to keep myself from rolling away without any brakes. “Thank you, I guess,” I answered softly. My thoughts had changed from how pretty the lights were and how picturesque this little place was to ones of the people I wasn’t with right now and the ones I’d isolated due to a decision that I made. As we rounded the far curve, I slid my hand away from Chance’s as though I thought I could do it alone, and used the rail to steady myself as we made it back around to the entrance.

“Do you want to take a break for awhile?” I questioned, although I was already rolling over to the decorated trellis that opened up and lifted the lights so that we could get out from under the spotlights. Chance followed without argument.

I awkwardly stepped through the grass over to an open picnic table and dropped down, sliding my feet along the grass as Chance joined me, leaning back on his elbow as he tilted his body to look at me. “What’s up?” he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I just needed to sit down for a minute.”

He leaned forward with his arms on his knees and stared at me. “You’re thinking awfully hard about something. I can see that. It’s obvious,” he argued, “You can just say it, you know. I’m not going to be upset if you’ve decided you hate roller skating or something.”

“I’m thinking about my friends,” I answered honestly, surprising us both, “I miss them a lot more than I thought I would. I didn’t really even think about it before I ended it all.”

“Ended..?” he trailed off. He looked at me like he had no idea what I was talking about and I realized with a start that he wasn’t in my direct group of friends and he couldn’t read my mind. Although, even though he had no idea that Ronnie and I had split, he still decided that a date to the park was a good idea. He was sneaky, I noted, and acted on his feelings rather than think of the consequences.

“I broke up with Ronnie,” I said after a moment of him waiting on my answer, “A few days ago, actually. I’m just thinking about everyone else that I’m going to lose because they were his friends first and his bandmates now. Everything is going to change. When they get home it's going to kill me."

He was silent but his eyes were watching me. He ran his hand over his short hair and then spoke up, crossing his arms and dropping them on his knees. "Change isn't always so bad," he offered as he focused on me, "I mean, you did something different tonight and it turned out alright."

"Ice skating in the park is not a major life decision, Chance, I was set to marry that man. I was going to spend my entire life loving him and I shot that all to hell because it hurt too bad to consider that we might not be what each other needed."

"I don't understand how you can feel this strongly about a decision and then regret it," he said, peering at me with large confused, blue eyes, “If it really was the right one then you would be able to stick behind it wholeheartedly.”

"I made the best decision for us," I answered, turning my gaze away from his, "I know that, but it wasn't easy and it hurts and there's honestly nothing I can do to make it better."

"You could get back with him," he offered softly, poorly masking how he felt about talking me back into a relationship with Ronnie, "Would he take you back?"

I nodded, ignoring the emotions clear on his face. "In a heartbeat."

"Would you consider that?" He leaned back so he was sitting upright and looked past me to a couple who were making their way out of the rink. They stumbled and burst into laughter as they tried to steady each other, garbled together, a mess of limbs.

"I've considered it everyday," I said honestly, "I love him, of course I've thought about him. What kind of person would I be if I didn't miss the person I didn't almost two years if my life with?"

Chance spoke softly with hardly any conviction. "Two years isn't that long in the grand scheme of things. Two years is just months when you really think about it."

"It felt like so much longer," I murmured, taking a deep breath to steady my voice, "We were on a different level. Warp speed. I loved him so much so quickly. I don't know if that will ever go away."

I frowned as he did and his eyes left me and focused on the lights of the roller rink. “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling guilty for laying this all out on him so suddenly, “I shouldn’t have put this all on you. It’s just, sometimes I feel like I can forget but then it all comes crashing down on me again.”

“It’s fine. That’s what friends are for.”

I couldn’t help but here the faint trace of bitterness in his undertone. “I’m sorry for that too,” I said, calling his attention back to me as he frowned deeper in confusion. But I didn’t explain. I let him take my words in any connotation that he wanted.

After a couple of minutes of subdued silence and people watching, he stretched his legs out and rested his hands on his knees. “Should we get going?” he asked, his blue eyes meeting my dark ones, “You still have a kid to rescue from daycare, right?”

“Right,” I agreed, “And it’s getting kind of late. I feel guilty leaving him there if I’m not really working.” We stood up together and rolled over to the little skate shop on the far side of the rink, just off of the path, and exchanged our skates for our shoes.

The twenty year old said goodbye to Henry and promised to be back around when he could. As he slipped his tennis shoes on his feet, the roller rink volunteer turned his attention to me and gave a warm goodbye, noting that he hoped to see me back here soon.

“I hope so too,” I said with a nod, “Maybe I’ll bring my son out here someday soon. He loves adventures like this.”

“Everyone is welcome,” Henry replied, grinning as he folded his arms over his stomach and stared appreciatively out over the thinning crowd beneath the spot lights.

We said our goodbyes and Chance and I stepped back behind the row of thick, light blocking trees as we headed back across the park to where we left the Cadillac. “It looks alright to me,” Chance said as he made a big circle around the large car, “Not a scratch on it.”

“I’ll double check that when I get home,” I replied, reaching to pull the keys from my pocket and unlock the doors with a click of the button, “This car is Ronnie’s baby.”

“Then why do you still have it?” Chance asked as we slipped inside and fastened our seatbelts.

As the dash light up when the lights came on, I moved the car into gear and answered. “I have it for awhile while he’s on tour still. I’m going to run it out to his dad’s house in Vegas soon, but that’s a long drive and someone would have to follow me to get me back home.”

“Is that where he grew up?”

“Born and raised,” I replied with a nod.

Chance added, “And imprisoned.”

I chided him with a harsh look. “He doesn’t regret it. He knows he deserved for something like that to happen to him sooner or later. He’s just happy it was prison and not the morgue. He still loves Las Vegas.”

“You were raised in LA, right?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed, “But we were always travelling so I like so think that I was technically raised all over the place.” I drove in the directions that Chance pointed until I was back in familiar territory, heading back to the bar to drop the twenty year old at his car and head back for Arch before heading home and diving into bed.

When we pulled into the lot it was peppered with just a few cars, but mostly was surprisingly empty compared to how large the crowd had seemed earlier. I moved the vehicle over to the car Chance pointed at and then smiled at him as I parked, thanking him for showing me the rink and getting me out of some dingy, backwater bar for the night.

“No problem, Atticus,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders, “Just let me know if you want to run out there again sometime. Maybe we can snag Arch up and drag him along too. You said yourself that he’d love it.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” I said, nodded, “We’ll definitely do that. Let me gets things back on track here for awhile longer and then we can get together.”

He nodded easily and slid out of the large car. I waited until he climbed inside his own before maneuvering out of the desolate lot. I headed towards home, feeling exhausted and guilty for not getting any actual work done tonight. I figured, however; that I had enough time to get something drafted up before having to make a decision on the star potential of the Burning Hotels.