Chapter FiveLook at her, so quiet…she looks blank. Almost like a child, but so much more dangerous.
Why did you even take her with you?
I don’t know…she just looked so alone and it was obvious that she’s having problems.
So? That doesn’t mean you have to invite her to come back to your barren, hardly livable apartment.
I know, it’s just…I don’t know what it is. There’s something about her that draws me to her, almost like I was meant to meet her and help her through whatever it is that she’s going through.
That’s bullshit.
Well I don’t know what else it could be.
Allara sat, gazing out the window into the darkness once again. She could hear impatient voices speaking and while she knew they were only a few feet away from her, they seemed far off and distant. She couldn’t focus on what they were saying. She couldn’t form any of her thoughts into recognizable words, all she knew was the pain. The pain that left her gasping for breath although she had done nothing strenuous; the pain that made her feel as if someone had reached inside of her body and removed everything; the pain that was so excruciating that she thought she was dying. The voices were growing louder, as if angry, but she had no interest in them. They two conversationalists were speaking about her, that much she knew, but she did not care to know what exactly their interests or intentions entailed.
“Who is she?” Elijah asked for what had to be the twenty-seventh time. He still had not received an answer from Orlando to many of his questions and was beginning to grow suspicious. Finally, he sensed that his interrogations were going to be dignified with an answer. He heard Orlando shift in his seat and sigh heavily. “Who is she?” he repeated. Not taking his eyes off of the deserted road in front of him, he thwapped Orlando on the shoulder.
“What? What?!” Orlando looked startled at the contact and behaved as if he had not heard anything coming out of Elijah’s mouth within the past few minutes. He stared accusingly at the driver of the jeep who, in return, gestured to the dark stranger in the rear seat.
“Oh.” He was almost as confused as Elijah about the mysterious woman, so his explanation was not much help. “She’s some girl that I met at the airport a month ago and I accidentally took her lighter and now she wants it back.”
“So you’re telling me that because you have a soft heart, and want to buy this girl another lighter, I have a complete stranger with a mental problem in my car. Thanks Bloom, happy birthday to you too.”
“Well I don’t know, ok? I don’t know why she’s here, I don’t know who she is, I don’t know where she lives or even if she’s a serial killer disguised as a nutcase. I don’t know!” Now they were both frustrated and neither of them knew where to put the girl. They had to take her with them; she obviously couldn’t deal outside the care of someone else who was in their right mind. The two men were so involved in their discussion (that was quickly becoming a heated one) that neither of them noticed the movement coming from behind them.
“Well then I guess it’s time you knew, huh?” She spoke softly and at first was afraid that they had not heard her, but both men quickly ceased conversation and she felt Orlando’s expectant eyes on her. “As you know, Orlando, my name is Allara Evans. I came to L.A. to get away from everything I have ever known, except when I got here, things only got worse. I recently lost my job and consequently my apartment. I was planning on waitressing long enough to raise up enough money for college, but it looks like that plan just went down the hole.” She then paused, and smiled gently, concealing a quiet laugh. “No, I’m not a serial killer disguised as a nutcase, but good guess.” Her pain had been masked, if not replaced, by weary toleration. She was opening her mouth to further explain her situation when suddenly her eyes grew wild and she looked frantically around, suddenly alert and belying the previous tiredness. “Oh shit, what time is it? God, I cannot miss my flight, it’s just my last money down the drain if I do that”
Please do not let me miss my flight…I can’t stay here. I want to but I just can’t, there’s nothing for me here either.
“Calm down. If you miss your flight, you get to use the ticket another time.” It was the first time Elijah spoke directly to her and she was taken aback, having been expecting Orlando to answer her. He still hadn’t taken his eyes from the dark pavement splashed with yellow ahead of him. Allara fumbled for a somewhat intelligent response but was quickly saved by Orlando, who had sensed her sudden unease.
“In the meantime, while you pull yourself together, you can stay with me. I just bought an apartment here a few weeks ago.”
The car swerved violently, jolting both Allara and Orlando into the windows on their right. Elijah had turned to stare incredulously at Orlando, thus losing all concentration on the task at hand: getting them all home safely.
“What?! She can’t go home with you! You have barely any furniture, a bed, sofa, and a washer and dryer!” To the relief of the other two passengers, Elijah resumed watching the road intently, but the surprise still hadn’t left his face.
“What, you thought she was going to stay at your place? I don’t think so.” Orlando’s response was instant and Allara was startled to hear anger creeping into his tone. She sensed that this conversation could quickly turn into one of those “discussions” that all small children feared.
Think think think quick Evans…think! You don’t have any money…oh hell, they don’t know that.
“I don’t have to stay with either of you. I have enough money left over to get a hotel room for one night, then I can leave in the morning.” Yes, it sounded like the most logical solution; yes, it would ensure her safety until she reached Atlanta; yes, Orlando was still uneasy about it. Elijah, on the other hand, had quickened his speed and was searching the sides of the road for a hotel that he thought she could afford. All he wanted was to get rid of and never hear from Allara Evans again.
“No, it’s quite alright. You can come with me. If it’s only for one night, then it won’t be a problem.” Allara looked wary of the solution to the situation, but she knew she had to accept. Honestly, she didn’t have enough money for a hotel, she was going to hail a cab back to the airport as soon as they dropped her off. Again, Elijah opened his mouth to protest, but Orlando was ready for him this time.
“She can stay with me for one night, I’ll sleep on the sofa, tomorrow I can take her back to the airport and see if we can’t get another flight arranged for her. She can’t very well go home with you without someone in your family knowing, and then you have to explain why you’re bringing a strange woman that you barely know to your house. Prostitutes and actors are not looked upon kindly in the tabloids.” Elijah knew he had been beat, and he didn’t like it, but there was nothing he could do about it. For Allara to go home with Orlando was the most logical solution and caused the least amount of problems.
“Fine, I’ll go with you guys to the airport tomorrow.” Everyone in the car was silent, each thinking their own private thought about tonight’s living arrangements.
~*~
It’s a warm place to stay Evans, you can’t possibly turn it down. And it’s only for one night. At least you’ll be safe and on your way home tomorrow…putting off the inevitable. But one thing is for certain, you’re not going to turn him out of his own bed for his first night in his own apartment. Just crash on the couch, it’s not like he will wake you up to ask you to move to the bed.
~*~
It’s only for one night O.B., and you’re giving her a warm place to stay. Just make sure she gets the bed, that couch is as uncomfortable as hell. She’ll be going home tomorrow and then you don’t ever have to see her, hear from her, or even think about her ever again. It’s as simple as that, she needs the help.
~*~
This is so fucked up.
Elijah sped the vehicle down the deserted roads to Orlando’s new home. He was tired and wanted to fall into the oblivion of sleep where he didn’t have to deal with any of this. Allara, Orlando, any of it. The car fell silent, mirroring the atmosphere of the barren streets of the City of Angels. No one in the vehicle felt particularly angelic at the moment. The warm sounding splash of water on the glass windshield and windows was lulling, comforting even. Allara felt her eyelids drop, slowly, slowly, ever so slowly. She let a tired giggle escape her lips at the thought of what she must look like, were anyone to be looking at her. She had one eye fully closed and the other only half open, her vibrant green iris completely hidden by the lid. If anyone else had noticed her nearly silent laugh, they gave no indication of it. Finally, her dark lashes brushed the top of her cheek and her breathing evened out. Allara had been sleeping for ten minutes when they pulled into the drive of Orlando’s new complex. Neither of the men wanted to wake her up, so while Elijah took her luggage out of the rear of the car, Orlando lifted her gently out of the back seat. Her eyelids fluttered and she nuzzled her head into his chest, but she never woke up.
“Where are you going to put all of her junk?” Elijah heaved, not under the weight but the sheer number of bags that he had piled onto his self. He still had to go back and grab some of Orlando’s boxes.
“I don’t know, I guess you can just leave them in the bedroom.” Orlando was concentrating on getting up the stairs without waking the sleeping woman in his arms. Exasperatedly, Elijah passed him quickly on the stairs.
“Well where the hell is the bedroom? It’s not like they have brass name plates, it’s a big apartment!” As he finished his exclamation, he unlocked the door and found himself in the living room of the loft/apartment that was Orlando’s new residence. It was a far stretch of the imagination to call it an apartment even, but since it did have full-dividing walls in between the rooms, technically that is what it was. Elijah’s voice echoed throughout the whole structure, it covered the entire top floor of the building. The high ceilings and hardwood floors made it seem bigger than it was, as did the completely white walls. Orlando would have to personalize the abode quickly to make it seem less sterile. Gently, he set Allara on the couch and went to help Elijah with the bags so that the ruckus he was making wouldn’t wake her up.
“Would you shut up?! Jesus Christ, are you trying to wake the dead?” Orlando was whispering fiercely at Elijah, who in turn was rolling his eyes.
“Shut up Prince Charming. Where do you want this shit? I’m ready to go home.” He dropped the boxes in his arms rather unceremoniously and sprinted out the front door and down the stairs to go get more.
“Leave it. Just go, I’ll unpack later this week, when I have more time. Just help me unload the boxes from your car and leave them in the living room. Do not wake her up!” His tone was dangerous and Elijah was too tired to mess with him this late at night…or early in the morning, however you wish to look at it. The two men hauled the boxes up the stairs and tried their best to dump them quietly in the living room. Luckily, Allara Evans was a heavy sleeper, so they needn’t have worried when Elijah dropped the box of pots and pans on Orlando’s foot. His pained yelp echoed through the deserted residence and both men stopped, frozen in time, in blatant fear of waking the sleeping dragon.
After Elijah had left, Orlando made his bed carefully with fresh sheets. He pushed it up against a wall, not knowing if Allara moved a lot in her sleep or not. Gently, he lifted her from the couch, again feeling the sensation of her head nuzzling into his chest. He laid her on the bed and was lowering the comforter over her still frame, when he realized that she was still wearing her clothes. He decided to let sleeping dogs lie and let her sleep in her clothes. Most likely, she would be beyond upset the next morning upon finding that he had not only gone through her suitcases, but he had also undressed her. After making sure she was situated and okay for the night, he went to the door, where he hesitated. His hand on the light switch that controlled the lamp on the floor in the corner of the room, he watched her intently. Noticing every small movement. He saw her right hand gather a bunch of comforter, ball a fist, and shove itself under her neck as she rolled over on top of it. He saw her chest rise and fall with the even rhythm of her breathing. He saw her eyelids flutter at the sound of his footsteps. In a gentle whisper, he spoke to her.
“Who are you?”
~*~
