Photogenic

I took up the swing on the right side of Tom, my feet getting tired from standing in these shoes all night. A red cup was sitting by Tom's foot, it's condensation collecting in a dark ring on the cement. I moved back and forth on the swing, myself, falling into rhythm with Tom on accident.

"Haben Sie getrunken?" Bill's voice was raising in a questioning anger that showed on his face.

Tom looked up briefly before lowering his head in what look like shame. He mumbled a "Ja..." and moved his left leg to give himself more leverage. He moved out of time with me, now, looking down at the cement.

Bill took a deep breath, rubbing the side of his face in worry. He looked like he was trying to hold back a flood of anger that was building up inside of him at whatever they were talking about. "Warum Sie würde, das tun!? Sie wissen, dass wir beide zurückgesendet, wenn irgendjemand davon erfährt! Ich konnte ein Modell alle nie sein, weil Sie Verwirrung brachten!"

I looked down at my own feet, feeling like I was intruding on their conversation by just sitting here and looking at them both. Tom's cup sit abandoned next to him, waiting to be drank from again, but the tone in Bill's voice told me that it wasn't going to be done.

Tom's voice reached my ears, it sounding low and sincere. I glanced at him to see his demeanor changing. He slouched lower in the swing, his head bowing more as Bill stood over him, talking rapidly. Tom played with his fingers, cracking them while listening to Bill, actually understanding the language I couldn't.

I looked down myself, embarrassed for Tom about whatever Bill was telling him. I couldn't understand, but I knew that it wasn't nice. His voice was too harsh and stressed, like Tom had jeopardized something major. And maybe he had. What did I know?

Bill sighed loudly, gaining my attention. He was holding his head in his hand, a worried look upon his face as he looked up at Tom.

"We should look for Andy," Tom suggested in a hushed tone, rising from the swing.

Walking back down the hill, Bill and Tom searched for Andy. I stumbled and almost fell as we made our way down. Tom steadied me and I smiled in thanks. Bill, although he was being unusually kind to me earlier, seemed to be giving me the cold shoulder, as if he was just with me because of Tom. I shrugged it off. I could care less what that boy thinks of me, to be honest.

Andy was a tall kid, about Tom's age, possibly younger. He had vibrant blond hair and was very charismatic. Matt would like him. He smiled a toothy grin when he caught sight of the twins. Like Bill, you could tell he was sober, but less mad when he found Tom under the influence. He greeted me with a hug.

I felt awkward, tagging along with Bill and Tom, and now Andy, as they mingled among the party. I couldn't just leave, though, as Tom's arm was continuously wrapped around my waist.

The next day, I awoke to my cell phone blaring its wake up call to my thick head. I groaned and opened my eyes to a dark room. Thankfully, I remember to close the blinds so that this morning wouldn't be so painful.

I pull myself out of bed to answer the ringing phone and possibly stay up to laze around the house for the rest of the day. I stumbled out of bed, getting to my cell just in time. Of course, it was Laci.

"Hey," I answered, another yawn stretching my jaw.

"Where are you?" she asks, stress evident in her voice.

"At the apartment..." my eyebrows burrow in confusion. "Where are you?"

"Joey's. Why aren't you here?" I can tell by the strain leaving her voice, that she is relieved to know where I am.

"We got into a fight." At this, she seems to understand now by the "ahhh" response. I was thankful for this because I didn't want to have to explain it to her.

"How was that gangsta?" she chuckles at her Detroit accent.

I breathed a laugh. "Very funny."

"He's still there!?" I could here the surprise in her voice. I rolled my eyes, panicking slightly at the possible consequences this could have.

"What? No!" I panicked. "Why would you even think that, Laci!?"

"Calm down! I was being sarcastic! Jeez!" she defends. "Anyway, thank God you're not in jail!" Laci heaved a sigh, finally letting me know why she was so worried, in a rather loud voice.

"In jail?" I questioned in my confusion.

"You didn't hear?" she retorted.

"Hear what?" I was getting frustrated with her vagueness.

"The party got busted," she informed in all seriousness. "I can't remember how many people went..."

"Why didn't you?"

"We left before they were called. Anyway, I'll be home later today. I want to hang with Mason some and all."

I shrugged, though I knew she couldn't see. That gave me plenty of time to do a whole lot of nothing in front of the TV in my pajama's. I wasn't objecting to that, no. It felt so boring at the time, though. Before I would, I needed a long bath, one that would make the remnants of a hang over disappear.

A half hour later, I was soaking in the bath, bubbles smelling of cucumber melon giving off a wonderful aroma that filled the space around me. My head had stopped pounding long ago, but the warm bath water lulled me into a comfortable state of cleanliness. Once the water had turned a luke-warm temperature and I had felt clean and refreshed, I pulled a fluffy blue towel around me, still standing in the ankle deep water. I secured the towel and pulled the strands of hair that got caught between the towel and my back out. As I was about to lay the other towel onto the floor, to help dry myself, the doorbell rand rapidly. Sighing loudly, I skipped that step and put my wet feet on the bathroom tiles. Hurrying out of the room, I soon regretted jumping out of the tub of water.

The hardwood floors became slippery with the water dripping from me. Holding the towel to me, I rushed down the hall, almost losing my balance in front of my bedroom door. The door bell was pressed repeatedly, whoever on the other side growing more and more impatient.

"Hold on!" I called, getting closer to the door. "I'm com-ING!"

My foot came down on a plastic bag, the watter on the floor and my foot creating just the perfect combination for me to slip and hit the floor with a painful thud. My long hair blinded me as I reached out to brace myself. I cried out as I felt my wrist catch all of my weight. My hand hit a puddle lidding my arm out from under me as my back made contact with the floor. My head followed suit. My vision blurred. Dots sprang into my eyes, like little UFOs in the air before me. I groaned. Knocks came from the door. Loud, pounding and head jolting.

Another noise blended in with the pounding, bringing the migrain I had gotten rid of with my bath back in full force. I didn't move. It was like I couldn't. I wanted to call out, but what would I say? My vision still blurred, I tried to raise my hand to brush aside my hair. A shot of pain brought a whimper out and I lay still, trying to forget the pain. I lay on the floor, trying to get back to my senses when I heard a really loud band. Trying to lift myself up off the floor, I cried out in pain at my wrist.

"Don't move!" a semi-familiar voice told me.

My vision focused in on the person's face that hovered over me. A mass of orange hair sat on top of a dark skinned head. My eye brows burrowed as I tried to recognize the woman. As I studdied her features, taking in her large nose and lips and perfect eyebrows, it clicked in my head.

"Saidee?"

"It's alright, you're fine..." she tried to sooth, though her high voice only made my headache worse. "Let's get you up."

I groaned and squirmed away from her touch as she tried to put her hands behind me and lift me up. I could get up myself, I was sure of that. I held the towel tight to my body with my left hand and easily got to my feet. Saidee stood there, looking at me in the blue towel. I was glad that the towel was extra large, other wise I would have felt very awkward.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her hand grabbing my right elbow as if I was going to fall again.

I nodded. "Yeah. I fall all the time." I pulled my elbow out of her grasp, grimacing from the slight pain in my wrist. I looked down at it and studied the joint. I couldn't see anything wrong with it, besides the pain whenever I touched or moved it. I had definitely sprained it.

"It doesn't look fine," she persisted. "Look how the bone sticks out more."

She reached for my arm, obviously trying to take a look at my wrist more closely, as if she was a doctor and could determine if I damaged it or not. I rolled my eyes and pulled my arm out of her grasp, getting more impatient with her. I never had much patience with her in the first place, so being in this situation with her, of all people, was really bad luck for me.

"I'm fine, Saidee," I assured, walking into my room carefully to dry off, properly this time, and change into my clothes. Saidee followed me into my room, totally disregarding the fact that I was in only a towel and it must have been completely obvious that I was trying to get away from her so that I could get dressed.

"I'll take you to the hospital," she insisted, standing in the door way, watching me clutch the towel to myself and dig through my dresser for the pajamas that seemed to be hiding from me.

"No," I winced unconvincingly as I tried to pull my sweats from the drawer with that hand. I clenched my teeth and hissed out, "I'm fine, alright?"

"Okay," she didn't miss a beat. "So I came over here to get a cup of sugar from a neighbor. Can I get it while you dress?"

I nodded, amazed that she finally got it through her thick skull that I wanted to dress. "Yeah, it's in the largest jar on the counter next to the microwave, 'kay?"

"'Right. Thanks."

She left the room, closing the door behind her. I sighed thankfully, drying off fully with the towel before wrapping it around my head, holding my damp hair away from my face. I pulled on my clothes, keeping my teeth clenched as I tried to keep my wrist straight.

Maybe Saidee was right...