The Cheap Bouquet

Annabella awoke in an unknown place, and she yawned. She was still too tired to open her eyes yet. Her head pounded from the previous night. Not as much as it should have, of coarse. She had built a strong immunity to hangovers over the last couple of years. But what did that matter? She was happy with her friends and alcohol. Well, as happy as she could be, anyways.

"You're awake," Tony mumbled, his lips against Annabella's shoulder. His arm was draped over her waist lazily, and she was cuddled against his chest. Tony had loved being close to her––a little too much.

She groaned, but opened her eyes. She stared at him for a moment, but then croaked out a question. "What time is it?" Her voice was groggy.

"About twelve-thirty," Tony answered. He had been up for an hour or two already, just gazing at Annabella. He was constantly amazed by her perfection. She seemed so surreal. He could stare at her for hours, and never get bored.

She sighed, and leaned up. She leaned against the head board, her arms crossed over her chest. "Do you have any alcohol here?" She stood up abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Tony ignored her previous question, seeing the sudden panic in her eyes. All he wanted to do was hold and comfort her. But, proven the night before, she didn't like him the way he liked her.

"Nothing," she confirmed. "My head just hurts." She sighed. She had never let anyone wrap their arms around her waist like that since her brother. That's how he always used to hug her. Memories of him would penetrate her numbness, and that was the very last thing she wanted.

"I should have something." Tony stood up, and grabbed Annabella's hand. He drug her out into the hallway, and down the two flights of wooden stairs.

All of the floor was an oak color, and appeared to be completely wood––all except for the linoleum kitchen. The kitchen appliances were all done in a black finish, accenting the small, round table in the center of the open room; four matching chair around it.

Annabella scoffed. "Your kitchen matches better than half of my clothes," she exclaimed.

Tony laughed lightly, and handed her a bottle of Jack Daniels, half full. "It could be half full, or half empty. Your choice," he said sarcastically.

She smiled lightly, and took a rather large drink. She could feel the alcohol doing it's job almost instantly. Her tiny body had it's advantages. "Thanks."

He nodded, and leaned against the counter. He stared at her again, becoming even more interested than before. He wondered how she could drink so much. He wondered how she was irrevocably beautiful. How she never seemed to make mistakes, and practiced her sentences a thousand times before she said them.

"What?" She noticed him, and thought that maybe she did something wrong. She screwed the lid back onto the bottle, and placed it on the sink next to him. She had gradually moved towards him, unaware.

"I'm just trying to figure you out," he stated, staring at his feet, his cheeks turning scarlet. He hoped that she didn't notice, though.

Annabella smiled. "You don't hear that everyday," she joked. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, and she fished it out. Before she could enter her passcode, it buzzed in her hands. "I've gotta' go, Katie's got concert tickets for some band." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay. I'll text you later, then," Tony said, smiling brilliantly at her. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay here with him forever. The silence between the two of them was never awkward, but comfortable. He enjoyed her company more than he had ever intended to.

"Promise?" She asked, biting her lip while smiling at the same time. She genuinely wanted him to. She wanted to stay here again. She loved waking up and smiling, rather than waking up screaming from her nightmares...memories, not nightmares.

"I promise," he reassured her. He nodded once and kissed her cheek tenderly. She seemed so strong, but Tony wasn't blind to the fact that she was secretly broken inside. He wasn't sure why, but he was determined to find out eventually.

She walked out the door silently. The warm sun screamed at her pale skin. She always looked so out of the ordinary in San Diego; where she had grown up. She was probably the palest kid here.

She was startled to see Emmeline waiting for her across the street in Annabella's car. She smiled, and then laughed. She ran across the road, not bothering to look for cars. She got into the passengers seat, and stared at Emmeline for a moment. Silence filled the car.

"Did you use protection?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Annabella. Her septum piercing glinted a few times in the sun as she laughed.

Anna hit Emmeline's arm playfully. "We didn't fuck!" She laughed, and covered her face with her hands. "He's a friend," She added.

"Awe! How cute," she teased. She leaned over her seat, and reached into the back. She dropped a hot pink beach bag onto Annabella's lap. "Change. We're going to a concert," she demanded, rolling the windows up, the black tint in the windows making the car darker than before.

Anna pulled the clothes out of the bag. Tight, black and white skinny jeans. The two colors formed was a checkerboard-like pattern. A stud belt, completely black, a white tank top, and a black jean jacket, the sleeves cut off. She quickly changed in the car, and put her clothes into Emmeline's bag.

"There's shit in the pockets, too," Emmeline added, turning into the parking lot of her cousins condo.

Annabella nodded, and quickly grabbed the toothbrush, toothpaste, hairspray, and hair clip inside of the pockets. She followed Emmeline into the condo, and into the three-roomed place that she had stayed countless times before.

"Matt!" Emmeline pounded on the bedroom door. Faint whimpers came from inside, and Annabella laughed.

Emmeline rapped the door with her fist again, as Anna made her way towards the sink. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were all one area.

Anna placed the things in her hands on the counter, and turned the sink on. "Emme, do you have a hair tie?" She asked.

Emmeline shook her head. "Just a second." She walked into the bedroom without any warning. She grabbed the unknown girls wrist, and pulled the hair tie off of her hand.

"I'll give it back. But," she laughed. "The backwards cowgirl is so much better. Just saying," she said before walking back into Annabella's view, closing the bedroom door behind her.

She handed Anna the hair tie, and sat on the counter as Anna washed her face and brushed her teeth. Once she was finished, she combed through her hair quickly, and grabbed the a few hair pins. She placed them in her hair, all of it held to the right. Her sea green ringlets fell loosely over her right shoulder.

She fished around under the sink, and pulled out her favorite makeup products. By the time she was done, her eyes were done perfectly. Covered with eyeliner, mascara, and eyeshadow; all black. Her lips were a dark shade of red.

"Do I look okay?" She asked Emmeline.

Emmeline nodded. "Kate's gonna' be pissed. We're late." She shrugged. "Let's go. Bye Matt!"

Annabella laughed, and the two girls walked back outside. They got into the Lamborghini, and rolled all of the windows down. Playing Fuck Everything by Suicide Silence on the way; the volume so loud that they couldn't hear themselves think. That was the only way to listen to music.



"Are you sure you wanna' go here?" Kate asked, the random guy she had brought kissing her neck fiercely.

Annabella nodded. "Yeah, I'll text you later," she answered, getting out of the back of the charcoal black Mercedes. "Make sure Emme gets my car home," she added before closing the door.

She walked up the short, gravel path and knocked on the door. It opened quickly, revealing Jaime. They had met a few times before, but not enough to know each other very personally.

"Hey, kid," he said, flashing his adorable dimples at her.

She grinned. "Hey, whore," she replied, walking inside. She recognized Vic, and Mike immediately. Tony, though, was still a mystery to her. He was so flawless. Everything from the braid on his shoulder, and the dermal piercing on his cheek bone, straight to his stunning smile and beautiful eyes. The sight of him still caught her breath.

"Whiskey?" Mike offered. He, too, seemed perfect to Anna. All four of them did. They were all so different, but much the same in many ways. Of all guys though, Tony was the one who was beyond perfect.

"Hey," Tony pulled her into an unexpected hug. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

She pulled away so quickly, that she fell backwards and onto the floor. She gripped her chest, as the excruciating pain around the edges of her lungs began to ache. She released her chest just as quickly as she had fallen. She didn't want to make a scene that lead into confessions that she wasn't ready to make.

"Anna, are you okay?" Mike asked, helping her to her feet again.

Tony looked embarrassed. She hated that he had caused this.

She laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just drank a little too much," she lied smoothly.

Tony saw that lie. She dug into the side of the skin of her thumb with the fingernail on her index finger whenever she was lying. He had caught onto her body language quickly.

"I think I'll have some of that whiskey," she smiled, and took it from Mike's hands.

She was keeping secrets. Many of them. Tony wasn't oblivious to this like everyone else was. He would find out what she was hiding, not because he was curious, but because whatever she was hiding was slowly killing her. Like a monster from the inside out. He needed to end this pain for her. He would find out what it was, and destroy it. He wanted her truly happy. The fake smile that she had convinced everyone, even herself, was real would actually become real. That was what Tony wanted. He had a strong, burning passion to save her. To pull her out of her nightmare.

After the guys had left, Tony carried Annabella up to his room. He was careful not to touch her this time. He saw her as she was; a fragile girl who glued herself back together with substances that wouldn't hold. He felt like she could fall apart at any second. But, before she could crumble to pieces, Tony was determined to save her.