Hurtful Words

Max introduced me to the rest of the band and Ronnie’s friends that had decided to stop by. They all seemed to be dressed the same and I smiled as one of them offered me a drink. I couldn’t remember his name, but I accepted. As I reached out to take the glass from him I heard Ronnie calling my name from across the room. I looked up, startled, as he clambered past people to reach me. “Wait, wait, wait,” he said quickly, pushing the glass away from my hands. I gave him a confused look as he grabbed my hand and led me to the kitchen. “The first drink is on me,” he announced, pouring me a glass of whatever he had been drinking and handing it to me. I smirked as I remembered the words were strikingly similar to those written in my card from Evan and took the glass from Ronnie. From the corner of my eye, I could see Max shaking his head slightly. Ronnie gave a satisfied grin as I sipped at the bitter alcohol. “Thanks,” I said, passing the glass back to him. His smiled faltered. “I’m just going to go get changed.”

I let my hair down and changed into a pair of dark jeans and a top, slipping out of the old white tennis shoes I had worn for work. I quickly applied some mascara and dark eyeliner before running my fingers through my hair and returning to the living area. “Ready to go?” Max asked, passing me a jacket as his friends filed out of the apartment.
“Yeah,” I replied, breathless, as I grabbed the jacket and followed him towards the stairs, closing the door behind me.

We piled into the back of Brian’s van with two of Max and Ronnie’s band mates, whining about not having enough room. “Get your knee out of my face,” Ronnie growled, pushing my legs out of the way. I shifted around a bit to hear Max yelp in pain beneath me.
“Christ, Linds,” he groaned, trying to lift me out of his lap a little. All members of the band, and the few friends that Ronnie had managed to pile into the van with us, were quite intoxicated by the time we reached the venue. One of Max’s friends slung an arm around my shoulders as the seven or eight of us that had been in the van climbed the rickety steps down to the back entrance. “You’re going to really love tonight,” he slurred in my ear, “like, really love it.” I nodded, forcing a smile, when Ronnie came up behind us and dragged the guy away.
“Leave her alone!” he laughed, “You’re scaring her.” He didn’t say anything to me but as we navigated ourselves through the narrow corridors of the venue I couldn't help but notice as he watched me out of the corner of his eye.

The band had an hour to warm up before they had to go on. Max led me up the stairs to the small dark bar where they would be playing. He led me to the middle of the makeshift stage and held my shoulders as he stood behind me. “I can’t believe you’re in a band,” I giggled, shrugging him off.
“Where are you going?” he asked, trying to grab the back of my t-shirt.
“Over here,” I replied.
“Wait,” he said, pulling me back, “come back, Lindsey.” I gave a frustrated growl as he stood me in front of him. “When we play,” he said, leading me to the side of the stage, “you stand right here. The crowd can be a little rough.” He held me in place as if I were standing on a large white X. “Don’t move from this spot.” I laughed.
“You worry too much,” I said, dancing slightly in my place. One of Max’s friends had given me a few beers on the drive to the venue, much to Max’s annoyance, and I was feeling a little tipsy.
“I’m serious, Lindsey,” he replied, holding my arms still.
“Fine,” I sighed, “I won’t move.”

And I didn’t. I was standing in that exact spot an hour and a half later just as the band was finishing their set. Max had been right; the crowd did get a little rough but nothing too serious. The band was good though; even if Ronnie was so drunk he could barely hold the microphone. Every so often Max would glance in my direction to check up on me. I’d roll my eyes each time, smile and wave just to show I was. “This is our last song,” Ronnie slurred, fumbling with the microphone as he peeled off his shirt and threw it to the side of the stage. He tugged at his black jeans, which had been falling lower and lower with each song they played. He stumbled around the stage a little longer as the band began to play. “Sing a long,” Ronnie mumbled to the crowd. I swore he shot a glance at me but I must have imagined it because when I narrowed my eyes to see through the hazy, stuffy air of the club he had his back turned to me. They played the song through; it wasn’t all that long, as Ronnie struggled to keep on his feet. His black hair stuck to his face with sweat. When they finished, he dropped the mic and stumbled to the edge of the stage while Max thanked everyone for turning up. I thought Ronnie would stagger on past me, perhaps throwing a nasty comment my way, but instead he flopped down on one of the large black cases to my left. “What did you think?” he slurred.
“Um, it was,” I began, tucking my hair behind my ears, “it was good, you guys are really good.” I glanced at him for a second and noticed he was staring at me. As soon as our eyes met I looked back toward the stage where the drummer was pouring bottles of water over the crowd. When I glanced in Ronnie’s direction again, he was standing inches away from me. I looked awkwardly down at my feet while he continued to stare at me. “Glad you liked it,” he grinned and placed a large, moist kiss on my cheek, his sweaty forehead pressing against the side of my face. I looked over at him quickly, shocked. He grinned at me once more before running off in the direction of the stair well.
“Hey, how was it?”
“What?” I asked, shaking my head lightly and tearing my eyes away from Ronnie’s shrinking form.
“The show,” Max prodded, “how was it?” I gave him a small smile.
“It was great,” I said, wiping my cheek. Max wrapped me in a sweaty hug.
“I’m really glad you came, Linds,” he told me, holding me tight.
“Max,” I whined, trying to squirm out of his grip, “get off of me.” I grimaced as he buried his mop of hair, damp with sweat into my neck.

It took a little over an hour for the guys to get all their equipment back in the car. Two girls he had found after the show had replaced the friends that Ronnie had brought with him and the three of them occupied the back seat of the van while I helped Brian to drag an amp up the stairs. I scowled as I noticed them, one of the girls howling with laughter as Ronnie attached himself to her neck. “Don’t worry about them,” Brian said as he lifted the amp into the back of the van.
“I’m not,” I mumbled, wrapping my arms tightly around myself. He smirked at me, shaking his head before wandering back over to a group of people dressed mostly in black gathered by the back of the venue.
“What’s up with you?” I heard Max ask as he nudged me with his hip.
“Nothing! Why does everyone think there’s something wrong?” I asked, frustrated.
“Whoa,” he said holding his hands up in surrender, “I was just asking.”
“Yeah? Well, don’t,” I huffed, stomping away from the van with Max in tow.

Another 15 minutes had passed and we were all piled back in that van.
“So, where are we headed?” someone asked. I was sitting on the lap of one of Max’s friends this time and Max was sitting ahead of me in the front seat.
“To Max’s place!” the guy sitting next to me cheered, throwing an arm in the arm.
“To Max’s place!” the rest of the van agreed and Brian, who was driving, turned the van around. I squirmed around a little trying to speak to Max only to receive a groan from the guy underneath me.
“Sorry,” I said, a nervous look crossing my face. He shook his head, laughing slightly.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, as I began to fidget again. “Just hold still!” he laughed holding my hips so I was unable to cause him any more discomfort.

When we got to the apartment, Brian parked the van by the curb and everyone piled out following Ronnie, who was still stumbling quite a bit with his arm slung around the shoulder of one of the girls he had met at the venue, up the stairs. Max pressed his hand to the small of my back as he led me to the door to our apartment building. “Max!” someone called from behind us. We both turned around at the sound of his name. Across the street from us was a girl, giving a small wave as we watched her. She waited for a break in the traffic before crossing the busy road to where we were standing. She had blonde hair that sat past her shoulders in loose waves and dark blue eyes with long, inky black eye lashes. Her full, pink lips curved into a smile as she reached us and her cheeks were flushed. “Hi,” she said brightly.
“Amy,” Max exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her in a hug and pressing his lips to her cheek in a quick kiss.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make the show,” she told him.
“It’s okay,” Max replied, holding her at arms length, “it’s fine.” She was an inch or so taller than me with a slim build and perfect skin. I gave a slight cough to make the two of them aware I was standing beside them, and Max looked over at me quickly.
“Lindsey,” he said as I gave him a small wave. I thought I noticed Amy’s smile falter at the sound of my name but I must have imagined it because when I glanced in her direction again, she appeared to be beaming.
“So you’re Lindsey,” she said brightly, looking between Max and I. I gave a small smile and looked back in Max’s direction.
“Lindsey, this is Amy,” Max told me.
“Amy,” I repeated.
“Yeah,” he laughed, “my girlfriend.”
“Oh, Amy,” I said a little more enthusiastically. “It’s nice to meet you,” I continued as Max held the door to the apartment building open for us. “Finally,” I added as an afterthought.
“You too,” she laughed, following Max and I up the stairs, “Max talks about you all the time.” As we reached the door to our apartment, I noticed it was open. Loud music was playing already and drinks were being poured.

I spent most of the night speaking with Amy. She didn’t seem like Max’s type when I thought about it, but she was friendly and she seemed to make him happy. I was almost disappointed when she said she had to leave knowing I would spend the rest of the night with the large group of guys that had filled the apartment unless I chose to speak with one of the two girls Ronnie had brought home. That was reasonably unlikely to happen, considering the both of them were too drunk to stand. I said a quick goodbye to Amy and she insisted we catch up again soon, wishing me a happy birthday. I nodded somewhat excited at the idea of making a friend in this city, let alone a female friend. I waved again as Max led her towards the apartment door.

It was around five in the morning when people began to leave and the apartment was almost completely empty by six with the exception of those that had passed out in the lounge or one of the three bedrooms. Ronnie had disappeared into his room some time ago with one of the girls he had brought back with him and neither Max or I had seen him since. I turned the music off and locked the apartment door, tying my hair back off my face and walking towards my bedroom. I groaned when I noticed three or four guys piled on my bed and closed the door again walking towards Max’s room. “Max,” I whispered as I opened the door, “Max?” I nudged him gently. “Max?” He stirred, rolling over and squinting up at me.
“Lindsey?” he asked, “What’s wrong?” I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me.
“Nothing,” I whispered, “can I stay in here?”
“Yeah, sure,” he replied, moving over so there was room in his bed. Another fifteen minutes and he was asleep again leaving me wide-awake, curled up among his sheets.

Four hours passed and I still wasn’t able to fall asleep. I sighed, frustrated with myself, and got out of bed, wandering into the kitchen quietly. There were a few less people lying on the floor of the lounge and I guessed they had left earlier that morning. I shook my head at the state of the apartment and went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. I was sitting at the table, my knees at my chest when I heard a door open and close quietly. I looked up to see the girl Ronnie had been with last night. She shot me a small smile and stepped over the litter to get through. “Morning,” I said, setting my mug down.
“Hi,” she replied meekly, straightening her shirt.
“Do you, uh, do you want some breakfast?” I offered, motioning to the refrigerator behind me. She smiled but shook her head.
“No,” she said, “no, I better go.”
“Okay,” I answered watching as she walked to the front door. She reached for the handle but paused, turning back to look at me.
“It’s Lindsey, right?” she asked, pointing at me slightly. I nodded. “Well, it was nice meeting you.”
“You too,” I replied. With that, she opened the door and before I had the chance to speak another word, she was gone. When I looked back in the direction of Ronnie’s room I jumped slightly upon seeing him leaning in his doorway, his arms crossed over his bare chest, looking at me darkly. I bit down on my lip gently, not daring to look away. Ronnie glared at me a moment longer before going back to his room, slamming the door behind him.