| Title: Brooding California Author: Priscilla Chapter 5: Answers So obviously, my temporary stay with Milo and his sister turned into a permanent one. I got bored being by myself during the day. Milo went off to "work" (funny he's never mentioned what he does exactly, but then I've never asked) and Miriam goes to work as a Graphic Designer for some important company. So I was left by myself with nothing to do for eight hours, leaving me with two options: Find something to do or drive myself insane. So I got a job as a waitress in a tiny little place called Sal's Kitchen. I worked the morning shift and at around 12:00p.m. I'd make my way towards the little recording studio we'd made of Jason's (my band's guitarist) basement. It was kind of funny, we didn't have a name for our band yet but we were making demo tapes. Wonders will never cease. Well anyway, it was Thursday night and I was walking home from the "studio" when I decided to deviate from my normal routine and walk around a little. I immediately became lost in my thoughts of Milo and this....this friction between us lately. Like when he was gone I couldn't wait for him to get home and when he was, I never wanted him to leave. Am I loosing my mind? Or am I this hung up on him? So lost in my thoughts was I that when I looked up I barely recognized the place the hoods nicknamed "Southtown". When I first moved to California I was determined to make my parents wish they'd never had the idea to come here in the first place. So I rebelled against everything. I started hanging out with the wrong crowd in school, well more like gang actually. To cut a long story short, we had come to Southtown looking for trouble one night and we'd found it. Barely made it out alive; I had three broken ribs because some skate boarder didn't like the fact that I'd tagged up on "his ramp". A fight had ensued and like any other true female New Yorker I rolled up my sleeves and got in there. I'd left wheezing and couching up blood in the back of the police cruiser, but I'd left the boarder, Seth, a nice cut above his left eyebrow to remember me by. I found out later that he was the leader of the Blades, a gang predominantly known for their violent wars with anyone who trespassed on their turf. No disrespect to anyone from that place, but I never wanted to see it again. The place was creepy, the building walls had ears, the alleys had eyes, and they all belonged to a Blade. I quickly turned around and tried to retrace my steps. My heart jumped into my throat when I realized there was a second pair of feet pounding the pavement behind me. I tried to stay calm and in my haste to put distance between myself and whoever it was following me, I turned a corner leading me straight to a dead end. "Shit." I cursed under my breath. Nothing to use as a weapon, no way to defend myself. Why couldn't I just have been looking where I was going? There was a light a few feet above my head to somewhat illuminate my surroundings, but the entrance to the alleyway was dark. The footsteps became louder as they neared, but I could barely hear them above the loud thumping in my chest. 'So this is how its gonna end,' I thought to myself, 'you're gonna die in a filthy alleyway alone.' The light above me allowed the slightest hint of a shadow, a man's shadow, to show as it came to a stop right in front of me. He was taller and well muscled as far as I could tell, but that was it. Only when he stepped closer to me did I recognize who it was, the light from the bulb casting a silver glow on this face, making the scar above his left eye shine. "Seth." I breathed barely above a whisper. A shark�s grin spread over his handsome face, making me want to gag. I didn�t need this. I hadn�t meant to step onto Blade territory, I wanted to erase this whole night and start over. Suddenly, I thought of explaining this to him, but something told me he wouldn't give a shit. As far as he was concerned, he still owed me one. �Nice to know you remember me. What the fuck are you doing here?� �That�s none of your fucking business.� Seth clucked his tongue in a reprimanding way as he slowly shook his head. It was as if he couldn�t believe I was acting like this, and frankly, neither could I. �Little girls can get hurt down here. Nobody to hear your screams as life drains from your body.� He stepped closer to me, causing me to step back and bang myself against the wall. �You know what I could do to you?� He asked, shoving a hand into his baggy jeans and pulling out a small object. Suddenly steel caught the light and I realized it was a knife. �Se-Seth please, let me go. I�ll never come back.� I pleaded, making his smile widen. Suddenly a window above where the light bulb was opened and a man in his late forties stuck his head out. �What�s going on down there? Leave now or I�m calling the police.� �Mind your fucking business asshole!� Seth yelled to the man. �I�m calling right now!� The man said and went back into his apartment. For a minute I thought Seth would cut and leave me to bleed to death like he�d done to so many others. But instead he stepped closer and whispered in my ear. �I�m letting you go. Say your prayers for that. I ever even smell you around here again, you ain�t gonna be so lucky.� He pulled back to look into my eyes and then nodded, turning away to go back into the darkness he�d emerged from. I finally got my wits about me and ran all the way home. When I got to the apartment, I quickly slipped my key into the lock and opened the door. Stepping in, I heard the sound of the phone's shrill ringing and hustled over to the living room to get it. "Hello?" "Hi, is this Milo's sister, Miriam?" A male voice said on the other line. "No, this is......I got stuck on that for a while but then blurted out what I thought or at least hoped we were. "A friend of his." I finished truthfully. "Oh ok, this is Milo's agent Jerry Lapagila. Is he home?" The man asked. I sat there stunned for a minute. What did he mean "agent"? What kind of agent and what did he do for Milo? "I-I'm sorry, no, Milo's not in right now." I said finally snapping out of my trance. Jerry sighed into the phone in an exasperated manner. "Ok, can you take a message for me? Tell him that Jerry called and that he got the part. He's set to start on Gilmore Girls in about a month." My mouth went dry as I wrote down what Jerry had been saying. Got the part.....Milo was an ACTOR?!? "Hey you got that?" Jerry asked obviously unnerved at my lapse of response. "Yeah, I got it." I said numbly giving the man a confirmation. What's your name kid?" "Annie." "Ok, thank you Annie. Bye." "Bye." I said before hanging up. My mid reeled with the knowledge that had just been laid at my feet. And so did my heart. It wasn't so much that Milo had a career that he'd aid nothing about, it was the fact that even after everything's that's happened, he still hasn't trusted me enough to tell me the truth. I wished for Miriam's familiar comforting words suddenly, for someone to tell me one good reason for the mistrust, but she had a business trip and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. Soon enough though, the pain turned to anger and I had to leave before I did something I'd regret. Title: Brooding California Author: Priscilla Chapter 6: Running Away So I took a walk.....well what can I say? I like the exercise. Anyways, I almost went into Sal's for a cup of coffee, but decided against it. I mean don't I see enough of that place anyway? So I walked down the beach and a sudden idea hit me. My relationship with my sister has never been great, in fact it can only be described as plain old rocky, but I got the sudden urge to call her. Advice wasn't something easy for a person like me to ask for, but I pride myself on the fact that at least I know when I need help. Thank God I had someone to get it from. I quickly pulled the cell phone I'd bought a week ago out of my pocket and dialed the fourth number on my speed dial. It rung three times before a familiar groggy voice came on the other end. "Hey." I said in a cheerier voice than I was feeling. "Annie?" My sister asked taking a quick glance at the clock on her bedside table. "Do you know what time it is?" "Late, yeah I know, but I need to talk to you." I hated the way I must have sounded to her. The desperation in my voice was a palpable thing. "Ok, is everything alright?" Krista asked in her concerned older sister tone. She was sitting up in bed now, her sharp mind absorbing every pause and sigh as I relayed to her what has happened to me in the last month and a half. "Wow, I had no idea. Mom never said anything when I called." She said after hearing my story. "Never mind that for now Krista, what should I do about Milo?" I asked blatantly blowing my nonchalant cover. I'd told Krista what was going on with him with a sort of detached voice probably giving off the impression that I didn't give a shit. But I did, and it hurt. Krista smiled on her end. "He sounds really nice Annie, but I think you should confront him about the call. Maybe he has a hard time with trusting people and it takes a long time for him to feel comfortable enough to do that with someone, maybe he just didn't want to tell you that he was an out of work actor." "Or maybe he thought that I was a gold digger that would latch onto his money if he told me the truth." I said bitterly. Krista chuckled at my quiet outburst. "Maybe, but from what you've told me about him he doesn't sound like that kind of guy. But you'll never know until you ask Annie. Look at it this way, you can leave with the doubts that you have swimming around your consciousness and never look back, but if you do that, someday you'll be sitting on your balcony overlooking your estate at the age of forty and wonder what if. Regret's a hard thing to live with, and no matter how much success and fame you'll go on to have Annie, you'll always wonder if you left the love of your life before you knew he was it." I stood there, the wind whipping my hair in all directions and absorbed the wise words my sister had just said. She was right, I need to know why Milo did this, and more importantly, I need to know how he feels about me. "How'd you get so smart Krista?" I said smiling. She let out a hoot of laughter. "Maybe there's something to this college thing after all." She said jokingly. "Thanks K." I said using my nickname for her since childhood. "Your welcome. Just tell me how it turns out ok?" **************** I once again made my way back to the apartment we shared, hoping that Milo was home. I decided to take the stairs rather than wait for the elevator and quietly let myself in to the apartment. The place was dark, no sounds coming from within. Thinking that I had probably missed him again, I made my way through the kitchen and living room and down the hallway to where the bedrooms were. I noticed a small slit of light coming from under Milo's bedroom door and I stopped in mind step. Music was playing and as I neared I realized the door was slightly ajar. I don't know why I did it, but I put my right eye near the crack in the doorway and peered in. My breath caught in my throat as I saw that Milo was not alone. The music was on to disguise the small moans eliciting from the petite brunette's throat as she called out his name while he thrusted between her legs. I recoiled back with such force that I knocked down the tall table next to me. It crashed to the floor, sending chunks of porcelain, dirt, and leaves skidding across the polished wood. I heard cursing coming from within the room and proceeded to make my legs remember how to work. I ran down the hall, not bothering to look back when I heard Milo's voice call my name. I slammed the door shut behind me, never slowing my pace and flew down the stairs. It didn�t matter where I ended up, I just wanted out. Wanted out of this feeling in my chest, and so I ran until my knees gave out and my tears stained the pavement. |