Bottom of the Blackest Hole

I sat by the window of the plane and looked out as it started moving. It was my first time riding a plane but yet I’m not even afraid. I was not a girl with many phobias. The only thing, or should I say person, would be my dad. But he isn’t here, so I’m not afraid.

I turned towards my left to look at Courtney. She had a panicked look on her face.

Courtney Bethford was my only friend since forever. I don’t quite understand why she would even consider being friends with someone as depressing as me. But when I’m with her, she could always turn my frown upside down and make me forget about my dad. She was a little overprotective of me and vice versa but that’s just because we were close, like sisters.

Courtney had bright orange, red, blond-ish kind of hair. It went a little below her shoulders. Her bangs were swept to the side of her left face. Her pale skin and big brown eyes always seemed to make me invisible when it came to boys. But, I didn’t really care. All that mattered to me was to escape from my dad and of course, getting the greatest grades, never missing any school, and being the good girl. To tell you the truth, I was trying to impress my dad. Maybe if I was smart and good enough, he will love me like father and daughter. How I long for him to give me a pat on the back, hug me, or even tell me that he was happy that I was born.

Courtney was always a cheerful person but could turn extremely serious. She was usually carefree and trusted people easily, a quality that I don’t have. I have trust issues, you could probably understand why if you lived with a person like my dad. When Courtney and I first met, I tried to ignore her. I didn’t want to be friends with anybody, I wanted to be alone. But no, she never did give up. She bugged her until I gave up. I thank her for that or else we would not be here.

She was always quite a partier and the eye candy. In school, all the guys would kill just to go out with her. She never really did pay any attention to them but she has probably gone out with half the school all ready. And to tell you, where I come from, all the boys in town go to our school.

“Hey,” Courtney nudged me, “Put on your seatbelt. We’re here.”

I obeyed and grinned madly out the window. The beautiful Statue of Liberty was right below us along with big, tall buildings, at last.

Finally, a new life. A new beginning.

--

Courtney and I waved our hands frantically for a taxi. After we arrived and checked out, we were outside, wet, and trying to get a ride. Not one taxi stopped to even look at us. They just drove right past us.

It was raining and we both were sleepy and pissed. Why? Well, you try waiting out here in this weather while trying to get a cab.

“Here! Look! We’re over here! Stop and pick us up you stupid person!” Courtney yelled angrily. Another cab passed by and she chased it. She stopped in the middle of the street and walked back to me.

The jacket I was wearing was so wet it was heavy. I took it off with difficulty and set it down on my luggage. My hair and clothes are sticking to my body, same goes for Courtney.

I took a couple steps towards her as she started mumbling incoherent things that I couldn’t understand. She suddenly looked up and widened her eyes.

“Bailey! Your jacket!” she yelled as she stared past me. I turned around to see a man wearing jeans and black jacket with a hoodie that cover his face took off down the street with my jacket.

“Hey! Come back! No! Thief! Help! Somebody!” I yelled frantically. When he was out of sight I plopped down on my bag. “That was my favorite jacket!” I complained. Courtney patted my back sympathetically. Just then a white car drove a little too close to us and splashed the water in the puddle all over us.

“Oh come on!” Courtney yelled and sat down next to me.

Then, finally, something good happened. A familiar yellow car drove slowly by us and stopped.

“Are you girls waiting for a cab?” his voice was thick with a Spanish accent. He looked nice, but looks can be deceiving. The man was probably around mid forties with a big mustache.

“Yes. Yes, actually.” Courtney sighed in relief and got up to put her bags in the trunk. Once we were in the cab, I took out the semi-wet map from my purse and handed to him.

“First time in the city?” I noticed that he had a name tag on that said, ‘Armando’.

I nodded. “We just moved here.”

“Too bad for first impressions, eh?” he asked and chuckled slightly. The rest of the car ride was Armando talking about places we should visit and stuff. But I wasn’t exactly listening to him. I was too caught up at the lights and how busy the streets was when it was already nine pee em.

Fifteen minutes later we arrived at a beat up building. It was dark and looked scary, unsafe for two women. The car drove up to it and stopped in front of a staircase. I looked glumly up at it.

“That’ll be $23.67 for you ladies.” Armando announced as he helped us take out our bags. I fetched his money then walked toward the staircase, my bag on my right hand. Courtney struggled to get hers up the staircase but she managed.

“Look for door number one forty-two.” I said to her. She muttered something that sounded like, ‘fine’. We continued to walk until we reached the end of the hallway. I turned my body to the left to meet with our room number. I quickly got out the keys that was mailed to me and unlocked the door. Once the door was open we were met with the smell of cigarettes, old perfume, and overdue milk.

“Ew, what is that stench?” Courtney asked as she used her thumb and index finger to squeeze her nostrils.

The room was dark so I turned on the light switch. It was a medium sized apartment with white, boring walls and unclean, dusts fill carpet. The only thing in the room was a piece of old furniture, a red ugly couch.

“Um, well, it could have been worse,” I remarked with a shrug, trying desperately to make this positive.

“Worse? This is already worse! God, this place smells like-”

“Dung? Crap?” I finished for her. She nodded curtly and looked around the room. It was supposed to be a two bedroom apartment and one bathroom. I walked in and investigated. The bathroom was in between the two bedrooms. The bathroom was dirty and had slimes everywhere. I swear, the toilet looked like it had green water!

The bedroom that I decided to take was okay, to say the least. The walls were white and had a couple of holes in them, probably from previous owners of this place.

“We have major redoing to do to this place,” Courtney said as she walked to me, “We could paint the walls, buy furniture, and stuff. My parents gave me money to do those things. Major shopping time tomorrow.”

“Um, well, for now, you wanna go to sleep?” I asked. I was exhausted.

Courtney scoffed. “Sleep? Where do actually suggest we sleep? There’s no bed here at all except for a piece of a nasty looking mattress in each of our rooms.”

She wasn’t usually like this. She was usually bubbly and happy, but then again, I didn’t blame her.

“Okay…our beds and desks won’t come until tomorrow, though.”

“Oh!” Courtney exclaimed, throwing her arms up excitedly, “Let’s go to a bar! You’re twenty-one, I’m twenty-one, and we could drink legally!”

“What are you saying?” I began unpacking my clothes and started hanging them up.

“We could, like, get so drunk so that when we come home we don’t have to worry how this place is all messed up and smelly.” She sniffed the air and crinkled her nose.

“I don’t know…” I said uncertainly.

“Aw, come on! Just one night! Be reckless for once!” she pleaded. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Don’t unpack anything until we clean this place up,” she suggested.

I shrugged and put my clothes back in my bag.

“I guess we could do that, but just today, okay? And if I want to go home, you better take me back here at once.”

“Yes ma’am!”

--

Boom. Boom.

Music pumped as people, some who looked around seventeen, were grinding up each other. How can you even call that dancing? Rubbing all over each other like that…disgusting.

We were standing by the bar drinking. I could tell that Courtney was wasted already. As for me? I think I was beginning to get a little tipsy.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw her wink at someone across the room. “Um, I’ll be right back.” She slurred out. I smirked at her. Typical Courtney.

I ordered another drink, sat down on one of the stools, and decided to people watch. One couple was all over each other against the wall. Another couple was getting awfully close to just dance. A lady flirting, a man flirting back, a hot guy that’s staring at me…

Staring at me? I looked across the room and saw him. He was wearing a white shirt, skinnies with one of his hands in his pocket and the other holding a beer. He caught my eyes. Not knowing what came over me, I approached him.

I took out my hand and grinned mischievously, “Hey, I’m Bailey.”

He took my hand without hesitation and once our hands touched, he pulled me closer.

“Josh,” he whispered in my ears, tickling them and sending chills down my spine.