A Fine Mess

by Hughes, Breanna

Harper continued walking over to Greg, who was already standing with the passenger door open for her. “My car’s kind of messy. Sorry.”

  “That’s fine. Thanks.” Though she didn’t look up, she could hear Kiley in the distance.

  “All right, stud. Calm yourself. Get in the car.”

  Greg came around to the driver side and closed the door. “You cold? I can turn on the heater.”

  “Sure.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She actually had no idea what was going on. Who was this guy? Why was she all of a sudden in his car? What was he expecting from her? She tried to stay calm and felt that looking straight ahead out the windshield was her best option. Her mind was racing. Why did Kiley think it was okay to abandon her? Why does she even care? She can take care of herself, so why was she so upset?

  “He’s actually a decent guy.”

  Harper snapped out of her trance and looked over at Greg. “Huh?”

  “Matt. He’s actually an okay guy, so you don’t have to worry. Your friend will be safe with him. He just likes to talk a big game.” Greg turned the ignition and started the car.

  “Oh.”

  “I actually feel kind of bad for your friend. Matt tends to pass out if he’s really drunk. And he’s practically immobile. But he’s not too drunk tonight, so it might be okay.”

  “How do you know each other?”

  “We’re roommates. We met in college. I let him cheat off me once and since then, I can’t seem to get rid of him.”

  Harper nodded. She appreciated the fact that he was at least trying to fill the awkward silence with something.

  “So…where do you live?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah. Did you want me to take you home?”

  “Oh, yeah. Um, turn left at the signal. Then right on Laurel Canyon.”

  “Okay.” The methodical clicking of the blinker was the only sound interrupting the silence between them until Greg spoke up. “I really tried to get him to go home. He just kept insisting to wait around. I think your friend impressed him.”

  “She impresses a lot of people.”

  “How so?”

  “Just her personality. You think he’s the first guy that’s ever tried to hook up with her?”

  “I guess I didn’t really think about it.”

  “She’ll probably forget his name by next week.”

  Greg shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Harper could tell she was making him somewhat ill at ease.

  “Sorry. New subject. What do you do for a living?”

  “I work for a PR firm in Culver City. It’s a fairly small company, but we’re starting to build a good clientele. The hours are a little hectic.”

  “Keep going straight. So do you commute from the Valley?”

  “Yeah. It’s not too horrible. I’ve actually mapped out a pretty decent route avoiding all freeways and it gets me there a lot faster.”

  “Does Matt work with you?”

  ‘That’s right, Foley. Just keep asking questions and you’ll be home before you know it,’ Harper thought to herself.

  “No, he works out here. In retail. In his free time, he likes to perfect the art of being an asshole.”

  Harper snickered at his candor. “Well, it’s nice to know he’s motivated. And pretty successful at it.”

  The rest of the ride home, they started to feel a little more at ease with each other and bantered back and forth about adequately conventional subjects. He expressed his disdain for reality television. She discussed the reasons why the Beatles were better than the Rolling Stones. They continued their polite badinage until they reached Harper’s street. Neither of them even realized they had already reached their destination.

  “Wow, that was fast,” he stated.

  “Yeah. That’s me…fifth house on the right.”

  He pulled up to the curb and left his engine running idle. “So, if it’s okay with you, I think I might just chill out here for a bit. I don’t think I can go home quite yet.”

  Harper knew exactly what he meant. “You really think they’re…”

  “Oh yeah. Definitely.”

  Harper opened the door to get out, but paused for a moment. This wasn’t her, but maybe she was tired of being herself. Maybe it was time to do something different, something reckless. Maybe she was just feeling angry and guilty and unsure of everything that was happening tonight. Whatever it was, she decided that she didn’t care. She looked over at Greg, no longer hesitant. “Do you want to come in?”

  CHAPTER 11

  The shrill sound of her cell phone echoing in her ear stirred Harper from her slumber. This did not help the massive headache throbbing through her cranium and travelling through her entire body. She groggily reached over and switched her phone to silent, wondering who would have the audacity to call her this early in the morning. Lying outstretched on her bed, Harper opened her eyes and began to squint, trying to adjust to the sunshine creeping in through the bedroom window. She definitely was not ready to greet the day at this moment and wish she had arms long enough to pull the curtains completely closed. She turned over on her side and closed her eyes to go back to sleep. Her eyes were only shut for a moment when they abruptly opened again and she bolted up.

  Wait a minute, she thought as she looked over at the clock. It was 8:30a.m., which by her calculations meant that she had been asleep for at least four hours; a record for Harper in the last few years. She smiled to herself, very proud of her accomplishment. Her smile began to fade, however, when flashes of what happened last night immediately filled her psyche. Oh God. She slowly turned over to see and sleeping next to her was a guy she had a vague recollection of.

  Oh my God. It didn’t take long for her to realize what she feared most. She slowly peeked underneath the blanket and sure enough she was, in fact, naked. As was the young gentleman lying next to her. She pulled the blanket back down onto them and looked around the room. A half empty vodka bottle and a few shot glasses on the floor caught her attention and then it all came back to her.

  After she had invited Greg in, they sat in a rather awkward and uncomfortable silence, so she suggested a drink in order to lighten the mood. All she had was an unopened bottle of vodka and since she hadn’t been shopping in a while, there was nothing to mix it with. So straight vodka shots it was! After one shot, they continued to sit in silent stillness. After two shots, they began the obligatory small talk. After three shots, they had each other cracking up for no apparent reason. After four shots, Harper’s normally rational judgment became somewhat obfuscated. It was the first time in quite some time that she had finally managed to go five minutes without thinking about what’s been bothering her. It’s true that it a took rather large amount of alcohol to drink away said pain. But at that point, she was feeling pretty good and pretty much lost all sense of reality once that fifth shot set in. They were in the middle of an intense game of “Go Fish” when Greg got that pair of kings he was looking for and cracked a smile. Harper was immediately charmed by that genuine, sweet smile. She had no idea what came over her, but she leaned forward and kissed him. She didn’t remember much about the kiss. All she remembered was that he kissed her back and the next thing she knew, they were half naked in her bed. And now, in the light of day, it appears they completed that arduous task of drunkenly undressing in the dark and having inebriated and most likely clumsy sex.

  Harper plopped her head down on the pillow, feeling completely helpless and beginning to regret how last night’s events played out. Greg began shifting on the other side of the bed. He awoke abruptly, realizing he wasn’t in his own bed and that he, like Harper, was fully unclothed. He turned over to face Harper, unsure of exactly what to say.

  “Uh…good morning.”

  Harper continued to stare at the ceiling. “Morning.”

  Greg looked around, trying to get a grip on what was going on. “So…did we…?”

  Harper nodded. “Yeah.”

&n
bsp; “Okay. I mean, it’s not that I didn’t remember. I know we did, I just wanted to make sure you know we did. Because…I mean, look at you. You’re gorgeous. How could I not remember?”

  Harper chuckled nervously. “We had a lot of liquor. It’s really okay.”

  “Yeah, I guess we did. Last night was fun. From what I do remember.” Greg rested his head on his elbow and used his other hand to gently stroke Harper’s arm.

  All Harper wanted at that moment was to be alone. She didn’t want this guy in her house. She didn’t want him in her bed. And she definitely did not want him touching her at this moment. In fact, she began to cringe as he leaned over and kissed her shoulder. Oh Christ, she thought. When am I supposed to ask him to leave?

  Greg was obviously unable to read her thoughts, seeing as how he began to nuzzle her shoulder, which was grating on Harper’s nerves with each passing moment. She began to feel claustrophobic and panicky.

  Greg continued his sickeningly sweet snuggle fest. “So what are you doing today?”

  ‘What am I doing today?’ thought Harper. ‘Seriously? He still wants to hang out? We have nothing to talk about unless we’re drunk. Wait…what AM I doing today?’ Suddenly, she just shouted out the first thing that came to her mind.

  Harper bolted straight up and shouted. “CrossFit! I have to get to my CrossFit class! It’s in about a half hour, so I should really get going.”

  CrossFit? What the hell am I saying? thought Harper. I’ve never done CrossFit a day in my life.

  Poor Greg never saw it coming. His head landed on the bed with a thud as the previously seemingly normal girl he had met last night got up and frantically searched her room for something to cover her naked form. He reluctantly got out of the comfortable bed and reached for his clothes, slowly dressing himself and trying to calculate his next attempt at some form of communication. It was becoming increasingly obvious to him that she was blowing him off. What he didn’t comprehend was why. Once his pants were on, he sat at the edge of the bed anxiously moving his toes around in his socks.

  “Did you wanna do something tonight? Or tomorrow? Dinner, or something?” It was his lame attempt to try and salvage the last of was what evidently their brief, ten-hour relationship.

  Harper, only half listening, began to frenetically hop up and down trying get her shoe on. “Oh, uh…I don’t know. I’ll have to see how I feel. I might just call it an early night tonight.”

  “And tomorrow?”

  Once her shoe was on, Harper scoured her closet for a sweater. “Um…probably tomorrow night, too. I haven’t been sleeping much lately.”

  “You slept just fine last night.”

  “It was alcohol induced…and maybe a little sex induced. Who knows?”

  Still sitting on the side of the bed, Greg nodded and slipped his feet into his brown shoes and apprehensively tried to smooth down his mussed up hair. He wanted to leave the whole thing alone. He wanted to get his stuff and get out of here as fast as he could. There was only so much rejection he could handle. But Harper’s spastic rushing was beginning to make him nervous.

  “You know, you don’t have to do that.”

  “Do what?” asked Harper.

  “Rush to get me out of here. I’ll leave. Don’t worry. But you need to calm down. All this stress isn’t good for you.”

  “Thanks for the advice, Zen-boy.”

  That was enough for Greg. “Fine. I’m outta here.”

  The second those words came out of Harper’s mouth she immediately regretted them. Who was she to be so cruel to the guy? He was just some innocent bystander who happened to cross paths with a rather messed up individual with issues to spare.

  “Wait. I’m sorry. Please, you don’t have to go. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know why I did.”

  Greg was at the bedroom door when he stopped and turned around to find the distressed looking blonde sitting on her bed.

  “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, earnestly.

  Harper shook her head. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve been incredibly sweet.”

  “My downfall.”

  “No, it’s good. It really is. Girls like that in a guy. My ex was the same way.”

  “Well, seeing as how you’re trying to get rid of me, I can only deduce that you’re into bad boys who treat you like shit?”

  “No. Of course not. It’s just…right now isn’t a good time. For anything, or anyone. And I guess that includes really cute, sensitive guys that I meet at a bar.”

  Greg walked over and sat next to her on the bed. “Okay, I get that. I totally respect that. You’ve got your shit going on in your complicated life. That’s fine. But we all have that. Something tells me there’s a bigger picture. Is there something more to your story?”

  Harper was feeling increasingly vulnerable, so she could barely choke out one word. “Maybe.”

  Greg put his hand on her thigh in a comforting manner. “Well, I won’t pry, but whatever it is, I hope you figure it out. You’ll save the next poor unsuspecting sap the trouble,” he said teasingly.

  “Oh, making jokes at my expense, are we?”

  “Hey, my pride’s been trampled on. I have to save face somehow.”

  Harper sat there for a moment, finally allowing herself to enjoy Greg’s touch. “Well, if it’s any consolation, it really was nice meeting you.”

  Greg smirked. “Really no consolation at all. More like salt in the wounds. Please spare me the phrase ‘we can be friends’ because I don’t think I can handle hearing that.”

  Harper smiled. “Fair enough.”

  Following another moment of awkward silence, Greg stood up. “Okay, well I guess I’ll see you around. I really do like your music, by the way. You should play more often.”

  “So I’ve been told.”

  Greg paused at the doorway. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “I know you’re, like, sad and all, but take that out of the equation…was I any good?”

  Harper couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Yes. You were very good.”

  “Okay. Just checking.” He turned to walk out the door. “See ya.”

  Harper gave him a half wave, fell back onto her bed and thought to herself, Man, I’m gonna kill Kiley.

  ***

  “So basically, any biography you’re looking for will be found in this section. Is there a particular book I can help you find?”

  ‘Please say no, please say no, please say no,’ thought Harper, who was not in the mood for any kind of human interaction at the moment.

  “Actually, yes. I’m looking for a book on Marilyn Monroe,” replied thirty-something woman with a two-year-old boy sound asleep in a stroller.

  Harper tried to stifle her sigh and put on her best fake smile and headed towards the “M” section. “Sure. We’ve got quite a few.”

  “Are you a fan?” asked the customer.

  “I guess. I mean, who isn’t? It’s Marilyn! But her story is pretty well known.” She grabbed a book on Marilyn, then headed for the “W” section and pulled out another book. “But if you want a really good read on an actress, let me suggest this one.” She handed the customer a book on Natalie Wood. “It really doesn’t get much better than Natalie.”

  The woman looked at Harper hesitantly.

  “I’m serious,” Harper continued. “She was so talented and her life was just as tragic as Marilyn’s. Plus, she also died young under mysterious circumstances.” Harper waved the book in front of her, trying to tempt the woman to take the bait.

  “Hmm…maybe I’ll get both.”

  “Even better. It keeps us in business.”

  “Thanks for your help.”

  “No problem.” Harper took notice of the woman’s child. “Cute kid, by the way.”

  “Thanks.”

  As the woman walked away pushing her stroller and carrying her books, Harper turned around and was
abruptly startled by Kiley, who was dangling a bag in front of her.

  “Hey!”

  Harper jumped and grabbed her chest after feeling her heart nearly jump into her throat. “Jesus! Don’t do that.”

  “Sorry.” Kiley handed her the bag. “Two donuts from that shop down the street that you love.”

  Harper took the bag. “Just what I need. More carbs.”

  “Eat them and enjoy them. Or I’ll be personally offended.”

  “I will on my break.” Harper started walking over to the next aisle where the history books were located. Kiley followed her.

  “So…am I to assume you’re mad at me seeing as how you haven’t returned my calls?”

  Harper tried to make herself look busy by arbitrarily arranging some history books.

  “I’ve been busy.”

  Kiley placed the bag of donuts on the shelf next to her and languidly ran her finger along the cold, metal surface of the bookshelf.

  “Too busy to answer your phone for the past three days?”

  Harper used her hand to push a few books back in order to straighten them out, purposefully avoiding eye contact with the taller girl.

  “I guess.”

  Kiley could feel her heart sink and stomach tie up in knots upon hearing that response. She knew this was coming. Ever since they went their separate ways from the bar that night, Kiley knew she had done a pretty terrible thing.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “Well, you’re obviously pissed about the other night. And you have every right to be. I shouldn’t have bailed on you like that.”

  “Hey, who am I to care? It didn’t surprise me. You followed your unwavering libido…again. I’m used to it.”

  “Then why do I get the feeling you’re ashamed of me?”

  Harper turned around and grabbed the bag from off the shelf. “I’m not supposed to have food near the books.”

  Kiley took the bag. “Sorry. I’ll hold onto it.”

  The two stood there, incapable of really speaking, neither knowing exactly what to say. Kiley grabbed a book on ancient Rome and began scanning through it, not really caring about the historical facts that were in front of her. All she cared about right now was making sure Harper wasn’t mad at her so that everything would be right in the world.