Chapter 3: Pick Your Poison

Chapter 3: Pick Your Poison

“Faith… Faith, honey… Wake up,” Morgan whispered as she poked her friend in the ribs with her finger.

Faith groaned as she rolled onto her side and looked up at Morgan. Her eyes wouldn’t focus; the entire world seemed to be spinning. If she tried to move or even get up, things would get worse, and she’d be back on the ground again.

“Come on, Faith. You gotta get up,” Morgan kept urging her.

“What happened?” Faith managed to whisper as she put her hand on her head.

“Well, it looks like you got drunk again,” Morgan replied, pulling a bottle of Jack Daniel’s out of her hand and holding it up so she could see. “You sure picked some good poison this time. Left nothing for me, again.”

“Sorry,” Faith mumbled as she struggled to get up. She turned to her side and felt cold tile on her cheek. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the bathroom,” Morgan said, helping her sit up against the toilet. “Looks like you really hacked it all out last night. You’re still hung over, though.”

“No shit, I can feel the aching pain in my head. Did I do anything stupid last night?”

“Well, you made out with Darren Hayes, but that’s about all I know. I guess after you two split, you got drunk for no reason. You really have to stop. You’re becoming an alcoholic,” Morgan bluntly answered.

“I never wanna hear that word, you got that?” Faith growled. “I’m not an alcoholic. I drink occasionally. It’s not like I do it all the time.”

Morgan rolled her eyes and shook her head. She wasn’t in the mood for fighting with her friend. “Whatever, Faith. Come on, we need to go downstairs for breakfast.”

“What? Who’s gonna be there?” Faith frantically asked as she hoisted herself up onto one of the marble sinks in the large bathroom.

“Everyone,” Morgan replied. “Why?”

“No, I’m not going down. I don’t feel too well.”

“Well, I can see why. Just come down anyway. You don’t have to eat anything. Besides, it’ll be for you to get out of this stuffy room. You need some fresh air.”

“But look at me, I’m a mess! I can’t go downstairs with puke and shit all over me! I need to take a shower, do my hair, and shave!” Faith tried to reason.

“Wash your face, get a new shirt, and put on a shit load of spray. That always works for me. Now come on! We can’t keep them waiting!” Morgan hurriedly replied as she turned on the water and splashed it all over her friends face. Faith jumped when she felt the cold water spill all over her cheeks.

“I can do it myself, thank you,” she grumbled, pulling away from Morgan and beginning to wash herself off. Looking in the mirror, Faith could see the deep purple lines beneath her eyes. ‘I need more sleep,’ she thought. Morgan handed her a towel and a new shirt, then the full bottle of Cucumber Melon spray beside the sink. With enough perfume over her body to cover the noxious odors left by the night’s drinking rampage, Faith and Morgan were out the door and heading for the restaurant.

Darren, Spaz, Leonie, and the other were already sitting outside at a table on the veranda. The sun was still too low to be beating on them, but it was shaping out to be a nice day. There was a slight breeze coming from the west making it a little cooler beneath the umbrella they sat under.

Darren really didn’t want to be there that morning. He told Leonie that he wasn’t feeling that great, but she dragged him down there anyway saying it was the last day that they would be in Illinois and that he should get some fresh air. In reality, the last thing he wanted to do was see Faith. After last night, he’d never be able to look at her the same way. It was as if she had betrayed him by spoiling a moment that should have been something to remember. But it wasn’t she who spoiled it; it was the girl sitting right beside him, Spaz. She was the one who had caught them on camera. She was the one who showed everyone. But why was he so angry at Faith?

Beginning to ponder that question proved to be impossible since Morgan was already walking outside. Following behind her, Faith seemed to stumble as she walked. Several times, she would grab the edge of an empty table to steady herself. Darren stood up and walked over to her, his feelings forgotten, and helped her to a chair beside him.

Wrapping his arm around her, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” Faith coldly replied as she pulled away from his grasp and turned to Morgan.

Darren stared at her for a couple of seconds before turning his head away and beginning to talk to Leonie, but his mind stayed on Faith during their whole conversation about the tour. Why was she acting so strange? Why was she so cold that morning? And what the hell was that smell? He turned again and sniffed the air.

‘Hmm… Cucumber Melon,’ he though. ‘Jeez! I’ve been to Bath And Bodyworks too many times. Leonie seriously needs to stop dragging me in there.’

“What are you looking at?” Faith retorted when she realized he was staring at her.

“Nothing,” he calmly replied, turning around again. Darren saw that her eyes were deep red in color, a sign that she had either been crying or had not had enough sleep that night. It was hard to imagine her as being one that cried. After all, Faith seemed to be the strongest of them all by the way she handled herself in situations. She wasn’t the type to run and hide from anyone or anything.

The waitress came bustling around their table to take drink orders. Darren didn’t bother to listen after he had ordered a coffee, but when it came to Faith, he heard her ask, “What’s good for a hangover?”

“Well, I suggest strong coffee,” the waitress replied.

“One strong coffee, please,” Faith said as she rested her chin on her hands again.

“Hangover?” Darren heard himself ask. “You got drunk last night?”

“Uh…” Faith stuttered. “Yeah, why are you asking? Is it so wrong to get drunk once in a while?”

“But I thought you were eighteen,” he replied.

“So, college freshman get drunk all the time. So do high school seniors. It’s not the first time I’ve partied out.”

“Don’t you realize you’re killing brain cells?”

“Am I really? Then maybe I should stop,” Faith sarcastically retorted as she turned away from him, ending their conversation abruptly.

“You don’t have to be so hostile,” Darren returned.

Faith craned her neck and glared at him as she replied, “Hostile? I have every right to be hostile!”

“Why?”

“Because I tried to apologize last night, but you fucking shut me out! And I don’t like being shut out and dismissed as if I were nothing by a dog!” she shouted. “If anything, you should be pissed at Spaz for catching us on tape!”

“I am pissed at Spaz for catching us on tape!”

“Then why are you sitting next to her?”

“It’s not like I had a choice!”

“Yeah, right! You, Mr. Big Shit Pop Star, had a choice! Everyone’s got a choice! You could have been all the way on the other side of the table, but you’re still sitting next to her!”

“Do you see how far away my chair is from hers? I don’t want to be here, trust me. If Leonie hadn’t dragged me down, I’d be sleeping in my room. I wouldn’t be dragging this fight on with you!”

“You know what, I’ll make it easier on you. I’ll leave so that you could be more comfortable. Is that all right with you? I hope so! I don’t wanna knock the Pop Prince down from his throne,” Faith yelled as she stood up and began walking off the veranda.

Darren sat there, all eyes on him, feeling like the biggest ass in the world. He was the jerk that day, and he realized it almost immediately. He stood up, beginning to run so he could catch up to Faith before she got to her room. Reaching the lobby, he saw the elevator doors close and realized that he was too late.

Looking around the lobby, Darren saw a flower shop. He had a great idea as he ran inside and picked up the first bouquet of flowers he saw, white lilies. Throwing more money than he knew the flowers cost, he raced out and started trudging up the stairs to see if he could make it before the elevator did.

‘Damn, another miss,’ Darren thought when he finally made it to the fifth floor just to catch Faith’s door close. He decided that he’d stop running and try another tactic. He straightened out his blond hair and let his heart settled down a little before walking to her door. After knocking on the door, he stood away from it to make sure she didn’t spot him in the peephole.

Faith looked through the little hole in the door to see who was knocking, but nobody was outside. She unlatched all the locks and opened it to get a better look. Just as she peeked out, she saw a bouquet of white lilies in front of her face. Darren stepped in front of them with a sweet smile across his face. Faith knew what that smile meant, he was finally giving up and apologizing. Standing with her hand on her hips, she waited for him to say the words.

“Faith, I’m sorry about the way I’ve been treating you. I didn’t mean to be the asshole. Can you forgive me?” Darren said, still holding the flowers and the smile on his face.

Faith took the flowers and smelled them. An instant smile came across her face when she felt their sweet aroma filter through her nose. She loved lilies. She looked back up at Darren and grabbed his collar with her free hand. Pulling him into her room, she kissed him the way they had kissed the night before. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as she continued to kiss him.

“I forgive you,” Faith whispered, pulling away. Her hand ran through his hair as he turned into mush before her. She pulled him deeper into her room and made sure to close and double bolt the door so none of her friends could disturb them. Placing the flowers on the table near the bed, she led Darren to her bed and laid on it.

“You’re not a…” he began, but was quickly shushed by her finger on his lips.

“Of course not. I lost it when I was sixteen,” Faith replied as she began to slip her shirt over her head.

Darren was beginning to figure out where this was leading. He stopped and said, “This is going way too fast for both of us. We need to slow down.”

“What? You don’t wanna fuck me?” she asked in surprise. “Whoa, that’s a first.”

“What do you mean?” Darren answered.

“I’ve never met a guy who didn’t want to sleep me after making out,” Faith said as she pulled her shirt back on.

“No, I mean, yeah. I mean, no. I don’t know what I mean,” he replied in a frustrated voice.

“Explain to me what you’re trying to say.”

“Well, I would sleep with you, just not so quickly after we met. You’re beautiful, don’t get me wrong, I just don’t want to rush into things. Maybe after we got to know each other we could, but definitely not now. I’ve only known you for about a day.”

“You know what, I’ve never felt so respected in my life. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Come on, lets go back downstairs. I think I might be able to hold something down even though I am a little queasy from last night’s one woman drinking contest.”

“Why did you get drunk anyway?”

“Well, I guess it was to cover some of my emotions. I’ve never really thought about it before. When I drink, I just take out the bottle and start sucking on it until its gone, then I worry about what’s gonna happen next. I just can’t believe I ended up in my bathroom last night puking my brains out. I don’t even remember it. Morgan was the one who found me.”

“And now you’ve got a hangover, right?”

“Yeah, a nasty one. And that fight made it somewhat worse. But I think you made up for it.”

“Did I?”

“Yeah, the flowers and the kiss were a nice way to make my day a better.”

They walked out of the room, arm in arm, down the hall to the elevator and back to the veranda.

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