Ok ok that last chapter was mean, so I’ll make this one a good one!!
Chapter 14 – Wish You Were Here
When Maddie and I got back to the hotel fans were still bombarding the boys. So, we decided to dodge the boys and head straight up to the hotel room. As we were getting into the elevator, we heard shrieks and screams coming our way.
“Look! There she is!” I heard one fan yell across the lobby.
Maddie and I looked at each other. “What?” I said.
“Look! It’s the girl that kissed Paul!”
Maddie started laughing uncontrollably. “Your practically famous now!”
“Oh…my…teenies!” I quickly pushed the 15th floor button. “That was close…their fans are…”
“Crazy?” Maddie asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well you did kiss their beloved Paulie.”
I laughed. “You said Paulie.”
Maddie giggled. “So what are we doing tonight?
“I think Paul said something about going to a club or something.”
“Ohh…clubs are fun.”
“Nah, I don’t like them a lot. Maybe I’ll see if Paul wants to stay in or something.”
“And do what?”
“I don’t know...stuff?”
Maddie laughed. “…Stuff?”
I laughed at the thought of my and Paul doing “stuff”. Wait a minute, what am I thinking? Of course we could. We’ve done it before, maybe now its time. I didn’t realize that I had said that last part out loud.
“Aww, you must really love Paul.”
“Yeah…” I couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy whenever someone said his name. My heart started to skip and the air became harder and harder to breathe as my mind brought me back to the first time Paul told me he loved me. It was right before Good Charlotte left for New York to record their first album. The night was so cold; Paul gave me his sweatshirt to wear. Right before he gave me his final kiss goodbye, he slipped in the words “I love you”. I wasn’t expecting it, but I knew I felt the same way. My lips trembled as I told him I loved him. When I looked into his bright blue eyes, I knew from that moment on, no matter what, I was going to love him forever. The rest of the goodbye was always a blur after that.
“Hailey!” Maddie yelled from outside the elevator. “Come on!”
I shook my head and realized that I had dozed off into a trance. “Sorry…” I stumbled out of the elevator.
“What happened?”
I smiled because for the first time in two years, I truly felt happy. “Nothing, I was just remembering the first time Paul told me he loved me.”
“Aww. You’re so cute when you’re in love. But, we gotta get going...”
I laid on the couch of the hotel room and listened to my Pink Floyd CD while waiting. I sang the lyrics “How I wish, how I wish you were here…we’re just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl year after year…”
Before this trip those lines were just lyrics. But now, sitting in this hotel room, they had a different meaning. That specific line made me think of Paul. How no matter what happened, our love always got back to each other.
The boys came into the room. Joel gave Maddie a kiss; I think he was still surprised that she was here. Emily and Benji were nowhere to be found, which probably meant they were taking full advantage of this time alone.
Paul gave me a kiss on my forehead. I watched his face as he said “hey gorgeous.” He looked stressed and tired.
“Are you feeling ok?”
“Yeah, I’m just tired and hungry.”
“Oh, that reminds me. Maddie and I brought you back some food.”
“Thanks.” He kissed me on my lips and I placed my hand on his face. His chin had stubble, which ticked my chin. Its been days since we showered, but he was needing one more than me.
“I need a shower” I said while pulling away from the kiss.
“Yeah, you smell.”
“No man…that’s you…” I replied.
“Oh...” Paul mumbled
After my shower I sat with Paul on the couch. I leaned on him and put my head on his shoulder and he placed his arm around me. “I was thinking…you know how much I hate clubs, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, how about we stay in tonight?”
“And do what?”
“I don’t know…stuff?
“Are you sure?” Paul asked. His voice started to sound serious.
“Yeah. I’ve never stopped loving you, and I never will. I want to do this before I leave so I can have a great memory of this trip.”
Paul laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I love you too. I just don’t want to see you get hurt or see you cry. You’re happiness means everything to me Hailey.”
Paul and I laid on the couch for a couple of minutes before he got up to take a shower. I put my headphones back on and sang along to some more Pink Floyd.
Five minutes later Emily came into the hotel room; Benji wasn’t with her.
“What happened? Where were you?”
“Looking for Benj…”
“Did you?”
“No.” Emily started to twirl
her hair around her fingers, which obviously meant she was nervous about Benjis
whereabouts.
“When Maddie and I left to get food, we bumped into him and he said something about some “loving he had to attend to”…so we all thought you two were together.” I paused, “don’t worry, he’ll show up.”
“I know…so what are you doing tonight?”
“Well, you guys are going to some club. Paul and me are gonna stay in.”
“Oh cool—” Emily was interrupted my cell phone. I picked it up but the number displayed was unknown. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know. It’s probably someone looking to rent out my apartment with me. I replied.
“So soon?”
“Yeah, apparently Ayla had already spread the word that I need a new roommate.”
“Do you want a new roommate?
“Not really. I think I’m going
to try living on my own for a little bit. Roommates can be a hassle.”
I checked the voicemail on my phone. The room became a blur; the air was getting thicker and harder to breathe. My lips trembled as I heard the worst news imaginable. My eyelids started to feel heavy as my heart skipped a few beats, and then sped up. I lost grip of the phone and watched it fall to the ground as I sat on the couch in shock.
“What’s wrong? HAILEY! What happened?”
My eyes shifted around the air as a gasped for air. I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. “My…”
“Your what?” Paul said while walking into the living room. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. She started acting weird after she checked her voicemail.” Emily replied.
Paul sat down next to me and gave me a hug. “What happened?”