Brooke dropped her bags in the doorway of their hotel room, her eyes wide with disgust. "Are you kidding me?" she cried, and glanced helplessly toward Tyler. He inched his way around her to see what the big problem was. Two worn beds sat crunched up against the pale yellow walls, the walk space between them barely enough for one person. A thin trail of worn, dirty carpet led to a door, which was barely being held together. Presumingly, the bathroom.
"It's not too bad," he grinned, stepping into the room. He glanced around for a place to set his bags, but couldn't find a spot that wouldn't block the walk ways.
Brooke sighed, "I guess it's fine. I mean, it's only for one night." She walked over to the nearest bed and plopped down on the edge of it. Letting her bags fall aimlessly to the floor around her, blocking the pathway towards the bathroom. Lindsi bounded in behind her and slammed the door shut, which caused the entire room to rumble slightly.
"Wow, it's like the hotel room from hell," she grinned, rushing over to the second bed and falling back onto it. Her body bounced roughly once against the mattress then laid flat and uncomfortably. "And this bed," she stated, "It defiantly gives the room a nice touch."
"Yeah, Tyler. You have great taste picking out hotels," Brooke shot sarcastically.
He shot her a lop-sided smile, and than finally let his bags drop to the floor. "Like you said," he sang, "we'll only be here one night." Tilting his head to the right, he examined the only picture on the pale walls. It was a scenic portrait of a bay, with the sun just gracing the horizon line of the water. Sea gulls floated across the picture, on either side of the big crack down the middle of the glass that covered the drawing. It had dust caked to its wooden frame and fit in with the room perfectly.
The picture didn't fit though. Not at all. It sent a longing surge through Tyler, making him wish that he had kept driving straight to Malibu.
Tyler spun around and stared at the two beds. Brooke's blond locks were barely visible beneath the caramel brown blanket that was pulled up over her body. Than, he let his blue eyes fall on Lindsi. She sat cross-legged on the end of the bed, a small blue notebook resting on her knee. Brown hair flopped into her face as she scribbled something down on the paper.
"What are you writing?" he inquired, not stepping closer to look because bags were scattered all around him.
"My summer journal," Lindsi grinned, "You know, it's just a thoughtless book that my grandchildren will love. My own children maybe. You know, a trip to Malibu with your three best friends. Plus, I need to warn them not to let a guy pick out the hotel because they have really awful taste."
"Shut up," Tyler retorted.
Ignoring him, Lindsi continued, "It's also to make sure that I remember every detail of this trip. Every single inch of this room...even the rats that are under the bed. But don't take my word on that one, because I'm not about to look."
"Lindsi," Tyler sighed, "Go on now, take your little book and hop over to the other bed."
She shot a look at the other bed her best friend was sleeping in. "Uh, I don't think so," she laughed, "looks way to springy for me." His attention flew to the spot that she was staring at in disgust. A small spring bulged out the side of the mattress.
"Come on, Linds," he urged.
"No way, sleep on the floor with the rats," she muttered, waving him away with one of her hands. As if telling him to stop distracting her so she could write in her journal.
"I would," he countered, "if there was any room on the floor to sleep."
"Well, you'd better find somewhere else than. I'm not moving," Lindsi made clear, "No way are you getting me to move and I wouldn't bother asking Brooke. She's dead asleep already and she won't wake up for nothing short of a hurricane. Especially not for you."
Tyler grinned wide and suddenly asked, "So, she's a really deep sleeper?" Lindsi just nodded, not looking up at him, but just continued to scribble down the nights events. He breathed in deeply, the scent wasn't very pleasant. It smelt of dust and cigarette smoke. He advanced around the side of Lindsi's bed, making sure that he didn't stumble over any of the lose baggage.
Placing both of his hands on the bed frame, he gave it one hard shove. It skidded across the worn carpet and slammed against the other bed just as a wave would hit the shore. Lindsi yelped, almost falling off the bed because of the sudden, unprepared movement.
"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded, watching as he hurried across the room to where Brooke was sleeping peacefully on her stomach. Tyler glanced up momentarily, and then quickly yanked the covers off of Brooke. He set both of his hands on her body and gave her a little push, trying desperately to roll her from one bed to the other.
She shifted suddenly, and slammed the palm of her hand into Tyler's face, inches under his left eye. "FUCK!" he screamed, both hands clasping over the spot that had just been hit. Brooke stared up at him with a bit of shock.
Lindsi laughed, "Oh my gawd, that was great!"
"Bitch. You said she was a deep sleeper," Tyler swore, cradling the side of his face.
"Oh, I thought she was...my mistake," she smirked, lifting her shouldering in a slight shrug, "Anyway, Brookie. Tyler needed a place to sleep and well, you bed was the most attractive. So come on over here...mine's not so springy."
"Is your blanket scratchy?" Brooke questioned raising her eyebrow slightly. Lindsi ran a hand over the white bedding, than shook her head. "Good," she smiled brightly, "because this one is horrible, and something kept jabbing me in the side...but hey, maybe that was Tyler."
*
The sun was barely in the sky, and the stars still glittered slightly as the light fell over them. She was leaning against the railing, watching it all take place. A can of Dr. Pepper dangling over the balcony railing, only being held up by tired fingers that graced the rim of the tin.
She sighed heavily, and let her eyes flutter shut, the sun beating against her eyelids. She wasn't able to get any sleep. The second she closed her eyes, the memories of her life came flooding back. The things she wanted to leave behind wouldn't let her go. To hold back the tears that threatened to break free, she squeezed her eyes shut.
"I wouldn't stay out there too long," she heard him advise. She knew it was him, it sounded deeper than Lindsi's classic voice. She spun around to see him leaning the door frame, a small purple and blue splotch under his left eye. "It looks like this thing could cave in at any moment," Tyler added after he realized she was not about to say anything.
Brooke lifted her shoulders slightly and turned back toward the city. Clad in a pair of khaki capris, black halter top and a matching khaki visor flipped upside down and twisted backwards fit over her blond locks. He smiled, she had such a plain way of dressing, but it explained her personality so well.
"Is Lindsi awake?" she whispered quietly, she wasn't sure if he had heard her or not.
"Fuck, the shower doesn't work!" came a high-pitched squeal from inside the hotel room.
"Nevermind," Brooke laughed, spinning around on her heel to see him still watching her. She shot him a half-smile and then stated, "if you want me to come in, you might have to...um, move out of the doorway."
He laughed, "I'm not ordering you to come in. Just warning you." Yet, he still stepped aside so that she could slip past him and into the small hotel room. She plopped down on the edge of the bed and began to roughly yank at the pink beads around her wrist. Tyler pursed his lips together watching her carefully, he could tell something was wrong and he was about to ask when Lindsi bounded into the room.
"Whoa, Tyler," she shot, clasping a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at him. He shot her a nasty look, and than ran a hand through his short hair. "Like, if I didn't know better," she grinned, "I would have thought that was a hickey or something."
"Fuck off," he growled, rubbing the bruise on his face momentarily before heading off onto the porch to take in the city. Or, to get Lindsi's comments off his mind. Lindsi turned her attention from the door and right back towards Brooke.
"All right, he's gone. Spill," Lindsi urged, sitting down on the bed next to her friend.
"What are you talking about?" she laughed nervously. Pulling one of the beads on the elastic string and letting it slam back against her wrist.
Lindsi looked at her, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You've been spaced out all morning..." she muttered, "I saw you out on the balcony when I woke up. I didn't want to disturb you than, but now that your not lost in thought...I kind of, want to know. I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything."
"I know," Brooke grinned, "I've always been able to tell you anything. But..." She sighed and shook her head slightly, the lighter blond highlights in her hair glimmering. "Lindsi, I miss him. And he didn't even know I existed."
"Than forget about him. Don't give him the time of day," she suggested, giving her friend a light smile.
"But what if some day, he notices me. What if some day, after I'm in love with someone else, he notices me. And he likes me. And he wants to be with me. Than what do I do?" Brooke gushed, "I just have to sit around and wait. I just...I get so sad thinking that maybe he'll never notice me."
"A lot of guys notice you babe," Lindsi assured, "And if Jordan isn't able to see you. If he's too blind to see how badass you are. He's not worth it."
She laughed slightly, "So, than if he's not worth it...how come I can't take my mind off him?"
"Your not letting yourself," she informed, than gave her friend a quick hug before adding, "Your afraid to let go. You think you'll lose part of you if your not infatuated with him. Listen, you won't."
Brooke sighed deeply, and turned her attention to the open door that lead to the balcony. She stared at the sky for a moment than looked back at Lindsi. "How am I supposed to let myself get over this damn crush?"
"Babe, just open your eyes!" she cried, "You always so, oh Jordy this, oh Jordy that. Think for yourself, not for this guy that doesn't know your alive. There is a ton of great guys out there your missing out on, just because you can't look away from some high school infatuation."
"He's not that great is he?"
"He's gorgeous yes. But smart, funny, or loveable...probably not."
"Yeah," she laughed, "probably not." Brooke let her eyes dart back out the door, this time, she wasn�t looking at the sky. This time she was looking straight at Tyler. She was carefully watching how the tips of his hair blew in the wind and the way that he leaned against the railing. A smile spread across her lips slightly and she turned back towards Lindsi. �Shall we start off toward Malibu?� she asked, grinning wildly.
Lindsi smirked, �Yeah, let�s get the hell out of this creepy place.�