Dark Reflections
The mirror reflected back a face she no longer recognized. The dark circles under her eyes were a reminder of the darkness inside her heart.
She sighed as she scrutinized the damage. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes were bloodshot. She could still taste the alcohol deep in her throat.
She opened the bottle of asprin and popped several pills into her mouth. A cool glass of water eased the pills down.
She glanced at the nearby clock; the bright red numbers 4:00pm stood against its face.
"Ugh." Serena exclaimed.
Her head pounded as she made her way to the kitchen. She poured herself a generous cup of coffee and lit up a cigarette from her near empty pack. Though she had made a fortune as the lead singer of her band, "White Rabbit" her apartment was near bare. Money had never meant much to her. Nothing actually mattered much to her anymore. Perhaps that was the reason she was who she had become; a "Star" who was intentionally burning herself out.
Thinking back to the previous night, she tried to remember as much as she could. She had arrived already half smashed. There had been a lot of people, but only a handful that she had known. Images and faces blurred together as she strained to remember.
"Fuck it." She exclaimed, refusing to continue trying to remember.
Grabbing the remote she turned on the television and began to flip through the channels. She stopped surfing once she reached a local news channel. Taking a generous drag from her smoke she snuffed it out in a nearby ashtray before lighting up another.
"Fans across town are going crazy for tickets." The newsman's voice sounded from the screen.
"That's right. White Rabbit announced a special concert for their hometown of Tokyo. Tickets went on sale just a few hours ago and already they are becoming hard to find." The newswoman's sounded.
Serena clicked off the television abruptly. A deep frown settled on her features, and she hastily grabbed her cell phone.
Raye and Mina were shopping when the shrill sound of Raye's cell rang out. She grabbed the irritating device from her purse and rolled her eyes when the display lit up with "Serena". She quickly glanced at Mina who gave a sympathetic smile.
"Hello." Raye sounded as she answered.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" Serena's voice yelled.
Raye pulled the phone from her ear as Serena began to shout from the other end.
"It wasn't MY idea! What do you want ME to do about it?" Raye shouted back.
"FIX IT!"
Raye slammed the phone shut.
"I'm guessing she found out about the concert." Mina said without glancing up at Raye from the clothing rack.
"Yep."
Across town…..
"I'm NOT doing it Luna!" Serena whinned to her agent.
"Too late now Serena. Tickets are already sold." Luna calmly replied. She was used to Serena's rants, and knew that no matter how badly she complained she would eventually get over it.
"How could you do this? You didn't even ask me!"
"Of course not. You would have said no way."
"You're damn right."
Luna sighed as she looked up at her most successful client. The girl looked awful. Dark circles under her blue eyes screamed of her lack of sleep.
"Look Serena. This concert is going to happen. You're going to give a fabulous performance, we'll make a lot of money and then it will all be over."
Serena bit down on her bottom lip to still the rush of curses that threatened to spill. As much as she hated it, she knew there was nothing she could do.
"Fine."
"Good. Now for the bad news."
"What could possibly be worse Luna?"
"There's going to be another headliner that night."
"Who?" Serena asked carefully.
"Endymion."
The string of curses that followed could be heard throughout the building.
She was beyond pissed. Her every move seethed with her anger. She entered her apartment and slammed the door behind her. She couldn't believe this was happening. She stalked to her bathroom and jerked open the medicine cabinet. She shuffled around the numerous bottles until she found what she was looking for.
Flipping off the cap she poured several of the pills into her hand. Quickly swallowing them she sighed with relief. She looked down at the bottle.
"Valium: Take 1 tablet for anxiety."
She almost laughed.
She walked from the bathroom and plopped herself down on the couch in the living area. She could feel the pills beginning to work their magic as a wave of ecstasy filled her small form. She pulled her legs underneath her body and closed her eyes.
She hated him. She loved him. Darien, lead singer of Endymion was her kryptonite. A small smile formed on her lips. Yes, he was her kryptonite, but then she was his. She wondered how he was taking the news that once again they would share a stage.