Ok, so I know you're probably thinking "Oh christ not ANOTHER boyband story!" Well, this one is different. It's a lot darker than most of the other stories here; AND it's about A.J.! WOOHOO! snaps teeth :) There wasn't enough of him here, so I figured I'd contribute something of my own......
I must disclaim: None of this happened; it is all a figment of my poor, poor deranged psyche. This story is not meant to imply anything about anyone, and it is for entertainment purposes only. This story is copywritten by moi.
I'd like to thank the Academy bows gracefully oh, and Nimm too! You rock girlfriend!
"Watching You Without Me"
Aaron DeLorean
Chapter One
"Can't let you know What's been happening. There's a ghost in our home, Just watching you without me. I'm not here." -Kate Bush ___________________________________
I opened my eyes and focused on his form standing above the bed.
"Where were you last night?" He demanded, his voice full of exasperation. I answered plainly,
"I went out." He closed his eyes and sighed.
"If you are going to cheat on me you could at least think up a convincing excuse. I lay back on the bed, still exhausted despite a long nights sleep.
"I am not cheating on you Brad, we've had this discussion before and I refuse to have it again this week." I got up and stomped into the bathroom angrily. I scrutinized my tousled hair in the mirror. If only I could tell him where I had really been, and why I had been there.
I decided to skip breakfast. With the nausea I was feeling, and the sense of impending doom, any food I consumed would not remain in my stomach for long. I retrieved my bag from the kitchen table, stuffed my patchwork denim jacket into it, and went out into the garage. I shoehorned my long legs into my little sports-coupe, and raced out with Brad narrowly glaring at me from the doorway. My heart ached to tell him everything; every little detail of where I went at night, but I could not. He would not understand. He would not understand that there are things one must do to live.
I pulled into my parking space at the design firm where I worked, and went on inside. Tori, the receptionist, waved to me.
"Hey Aaron, Sophie is on the warpath, she's after you for low-balling that last client." I squinched up my eyes and mumbled under my breath
"I am not here, I am NOT here..." Tori looked at me and laughed,
"That doesn't work, believe me, I've tried it before." We both laughed and I raced into my office; closing the door before Sophie had a chance to corner me. I picked up the phone and started my morning routine of checking my voicemail and looking through my e-mail. I started the computer as I listened to the first message.
The fourth message in floored me. It was my agent.
"Hey Aaron, listen, there is a producer down in Orlando who liked you're demo and wants to meet with you. He'll pay to fly you down and all other accommodations if you say yes. Call me back quick, this may be it." I hung up and sat back in my chair. I closed my eyes and couldn't deny the tingle of excitement that was growing in the pit of my stomach. I picked up the phone and dialed the long-since memorized number of my agent.
I pulled the car into the garage and prayed that Brad would be gone. Ever since the day he thought I was cheating on him he had decided to start cheating on me as well. He thought I didn't know, but I'm not stupid. I smelled cheap cologne on his clothes that certainly wasn't mine. I sighed and resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to end the relationship soon-preferable tonight. I walked in the door and sure enough there he stood, his brow furrowed into some strange expression of anger and annoyance.
"What the FUCK is this Aaron?" He demanded, holding up a small plastic bag with a hint of white powder stuck to the sides. I scowled at him,
"Don't you dare start in on me Brad, I've had a shitty day and I am not in the mood!" He came a few steps closer,
"You had better not be fucking snorting that shit again!" I slammed my bag down on the table by the door and stalked into the bedroom. Brad followed me.
"Fucking answer me Aaron!" That was it, I snapped, I had had enough of being treated like shit. I whirled around,
"Back the FUCK off Brad! I've got news for you! This relationship is over! I want you out-right now! My name is on the lease so pack up your shit and fucking LEAVE!" His expression suddenly changed to one of stoic resignation. He sighed.
"You're just throwing it all away Aaron." He turned and walked out of the bedroom. I could hear the engine of his vintage Volante revving as I flung myself down onto the bed crying. I felt the undeniable urge to bump a few lines consume my body as the tears fell. I went back out to the entryway and retrieved my bag. I dug out my compact and carried it back to the bedroom. I laid out two long, white lines on the top of the bathroom counter. I felt the burning in my nose and remembered what Tori had said about the ease of coke in capsules; but that was quickly forgotten as I felt the warmth and feeling of absolute ecstasy invading and possessing my body. Brad, my boring job, Sophie, my agent, and even the possibility of a new career were all left behind as I collapsed back onto the bed and felt myself floating away into the numb nothingness that allowed me to handle life so much more easily.
I awoke to the sound of the phone ringing next my head. According to the digital clock beside the bed it was 10:54 AM. I groaned and picked up the phone.
"Hullo?" I slurred out.
"Aaron where the hell are you? Sophie is totally pissed off!" it was Tori. I closed my eyes.
"Tell Sophie that I quit." I could hear Tori gasping at the other end of the line.
"You QUIT? Hun, I know how you like to shop, you need this job as much as I do." She chuckled to herself. I decided this was as good of time as any to tell Tori of my new almost-job.
When I was done telling Tori all about the call from my agent, and what would ensue, she was still gasping.
"Tori hun, stop gasping or you're gonna hyperventilate." I laughed to myself. Tori gasped once more,
"Oh my god do you know what this means? You could very well be famous!"
"Yeah, I know but let's not hold our breath." I rolled my eyes.
"Don't rolls your eyes at me." Tori said. I laughed out loud. Tori and I had been friends since I had started working at the firm five years ago. We had been best friends ever since. She knew when I was rolling my eyes over the phone, and she could tell when I was smiling or frowning over the phone. She could even tell when I was smoking.
I hung up the phone after we had made plans for lunch, and I decided to get up. I huffed at disgust as my eyes came to rest on the compact that held my supply of coke. I angrily stuffed it into my bag as I stripped and got into the shower.
I Climbed out of my Acura as Tori waved me over to a table on the terrace of a lovely little café named Bread, just off of the boulevard. We had both become so enamored of the bistro that we hated to eat anywhere else. I ordered vegetarian minestrone, and Tori ordered a chicken salad. She bit into a piece of chicken, and I flinched. Tori looked at me worried,
"Should I have had them hold the chicken?" I shook my head,
"No, I wouldn't dare foist my diet on anyone else, it just kind of...bothers me." Tori nodded but started picking out the chicken anyway. I smiled at her consideration. Tori kept eyeing me oddly as I slurped my soup.
"Tor dear, what is it?"
"Oh, I was just thinking about what could happen if you end up getting a contract." I grinned a pained smile. Tori frowned.
"Aaron what's wrong? You've had that look on your face since you got here-spill it boyfriend." I sighed,
"I broke up with brad." She gasped,
"Oh my fucking god! Why?" I looked down at my now-cold minestrone and I immediately felt the tears welling up in my eyelids.
"Well, he found out I had a white-lady friend that was more important than him," I sneered out, "And other things..." I trailed off. Tori took my hand in hers as I watched a small tear plop into my soup with a small splash.
"Oh sweetie I am so sorry!"
I felt the all too familiar urge creeping into my being as Tori paid the check and we left the restaurant.
My cell phone rang as I stuffed the rest of my wardrobe into my imitation-leather Pullman and zipped it closed.
"Aaron's House Of Pain..." I said into the phone. "Oh hi Tor...yeah I'm just getting ready to leave for the airport now...uh huh...ok I'll call you from the plane...ok babe...I love you too...bye." I pressed END as I hoisted the last of my luggage into the trunk and slammed the hatch.
I closed my eyes as I felt my body pressing into the first-class seat as the flying metal tube lifted off of the tarmac. I prayed to whatever god was listening that with the promise of a new career also came the promise of a new life. I nodded off as the Ativan pulsed through my veins.
To Be Continued...
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