Wow. Total. Beezy. I'm just going to say that I had to take a last minute work detour out of the country (alright, two hours north to Canada, but still out of the country) and I had to pay for every damn minute of internet in the hotel for the three week duration. That, plus the holidays just sort of helped me lose track of time. I check the email account for this thing, and was immediately racked with guilt. Forgive me? Give this chapter a chance? I'm back at least. Maybe I'll write something more, as this is coming to a close here soon? Is that an incentive? Eh? (and this one is pretty long... : ) )
By the way, I love you all. You made this girl, who had a very shitty weekend, smile when she checked her mail this morning. You're all too awesome for words. Really. Really, really.
Don't own Skins, yadda yadda
Turning Slowly: Chapter 25
"Now boarding all passengers for Flight 1527 to John F. Kennedy Airport, boarding all remaining passengers," A voice over the intercom said.
Katie and I stood up our cramped seats in the airport terminal, threw our bags over our shoulders and got in line.
We had left the safe house yesterday, and were flying to New York extremely last minute. Dad had insisted upon it apparently. Both parents were quite upset we hadn't been in contact, but then again, we hadn't been allowed to actually tell them the entire truth. Admit we had been housed in a safety house, with no means of contact.
Bradley had ensured, for the moment, that we were in the clear. Then warned us about impending media. Word had slipped Naomi and I had been found and the station had been hounded.
That, with the insistence of my dad, had convinced Katie to immediately book us tickets to New York. Naomi and Gina were going to travel to Scotland to visit some extended family. There was a screaming need to get out of England for a few days, let the bustle pass. All four of us felt it, and all four of us caved.
I was thrilled to get away, and not have to deal with the press for a week, but I was feeling a sick nausea creep in. It meant I would be away from Naomi, both physically and emotionally for the first time in fucking ages. I wanted to disagree, I wanted to say no, but I couldn't. The reality was, we couldn't be in our safe house forever. We had to leave our bubble.
Plus, we were due back in Birmingham in a week to give our proper statements. With Bradley and other specified personnel. Completely ensured and promised safety. I would be able to see Naomi then.
"Emily," A voice said to me, breaking my concentration.
"What?" I asked.
"Hand the kind man your boarding ticket," Katie said, giving me an odd look.
"Oh sorry, here," I said, and the airport worker scanned my pass and handed it back.
We walked down the long hall into the cramped airplane. We had booked it so last minute we were sitting in the very middle seats, in the middle section of the bulkhead. Arguably the worst seats in the plane. I was not looking forward to the flight.
We put tucked our bags away and sat down, buckling up and settling in. I leaned my head back on the headrest, and closed my eyes.
"You miss her, huh, despite it all?" Katie said.
"Yeah," I said, letting out a sigh, remembering the last big conversation I had with Naomi.
"I know because she's apart of you now. And if you miss her even an inkling of how much I missed you when you were gone, then I feel bad for you," Katie said, with a hint of something to her voice. Sadness. It's hard for me to remember Katie had gone through her own pain. I reached my hand out and grabbed hers, letting my memory go again.
!
"We have one day left," Naomi said from outside the bathroom, forcing my eyes open.
I had been taking a bath, relishing in the warm heat, letting my brain go.
Naomi and I had officially made something of this...thing we had going on. Not in the way most would assume. Not physically. But we had both awkwardly admitted that there was more to the relationship than just friendship, and we wanted to see where it went.
Problem was, both of us were fucking terrified to make a move. I think it was that all consuming paralyzing fear of losing each other. We had sat comfortably for two days in the knowledge that we at least both wanted this to go somewhere. Now, it looked like Naomi was going to be the first to cave out of the comfort zone we had provided ourselves.
"I know," I said, staring at the closed bathroom door. I rolled my eyes. "You can come in."
"I don't think I can," Naomi said quietly.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because," she said, her voice strained.
I had an itch on my stomach, which I scratched, and then Naomi's reasoning hit me full force. Duh. I was naked, in a bathtub. I felt the corners of my mouth tug.
"Come on," I cooed her in.
"Emily," she said, sounding exasperated.
"Seriously, come in," I said, getting just as exasperated. She could be well stubborn when she wanted to be. "We need to talk."
"Let me grab something," she said, and I heard her walk away. Seconds later she returned and the bathroom door swung open. It revealed a pajama clad Naomi...with a sleep cover over her eyes. I burst out with laughter.
"Shut up," she said, her own smile threatening to come through. "We need to talk. You're naked in a tub. I don't trust you."
"Oh, it's me you don't trust?" I said, raising an eyebrow, even though she couldn't see with those ridiculous eye covers on her face.
"No...it's me," she said quietly, and suddenly the seriousness of the conversation managed to creep back in.
"So, we have one day," I repeated again, as she sat down on the toilet seat, tucking her legs under her.
"Katie's taking you to New York, I think my mum and I are going to Scotland," she filled in.
"Right, then we're back here in a week," I said.
"What would you say if I made a sort of radical suggestion?" Naomi asked her voice shaking. It instantly worried me.
Even though we hadn't directly addressed anything, we were more than entirely comfortable with each other. We'd spent the last two days never leaving sight of one another. Only to use the restroom and shower did we separate. Touches lingered longer, I could feel her staring at me, and she clearly knew I had been staring back. It was an awkward limbo, but we were oddly comfortable in it. Now though, I was worried.
"What would that be?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
"What if I asked us to wait," Naomi said.
"Wait for what?" I asked, the emotion starting to creep into my voice.
"Just a week," Naomi rushed out, and it immediately became clear what she was talking about. She wanted to wait before we did anything. Made any moves.
"Why?" I asked.
"I want to make sure that I can be without you," Naomi said.
"Why would you want that, if you wanted to be with me at all?" I asked, feeling myself get defensive. Had I just been dreaming this comfortable bubble? Was Naomi regretting things days later?
"I DO!" Naomi shouted, shocking me. I jumped in the tub and she let out a deep sigh, sliding herself to the floor. She pulled off the ridiculous eye cover and stared straight into my eyes. I was immediately comforted by the baby blue color I was so familiar with.
"I do Ems. Shit. I just...I can't tell you how often i've fought relationships because I don't want to lose myself. It scares me, scares the absolute shit out of me how much I need you. I need to make sure that I can function just as well with out you, as I can with you. Does that make sense?" She clarified, a begging tone sliding into her voice.
And, to my great displeasure, I actually DID understand what she meant. Or at least I could understand what she meant from her point of view. The way I saw it, we needed each other. Why fight it? It would be more effort to fight it then let it happen. But Naomi is far more independent than me. Feels a greater need to prove things to herself than I do. I understood, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
"Yeah," I answered in leu of more comforting words. I could feel myself getting irrationally upset. I had gotten my hopes up. I wasn't recuperated enough emotionally for this.
"Emily, please, I need you to understand," Naomi pleaded again.
"I do understand Naomi," I said, probably a bit more harshly than intended. I wasn't intentionally being rude. Or trying to be rude.
"Then stop talking at me. Talk to me," she said, quietly.
I closed my eyes and ducked my body further under the water, sucking in a breath.
"What happens when one week turns into another week? Then another?" I asked, the thought suddenly occurring to me with a sickening snap.
"It won't."
"And how are you so positive?"
"I just AM," she said, her voice raising at the last word.
Silence filled the bathroom. Gina and Katie's loud voices died in the living room.
"Okay," I said, regretting pushing Naomi that far.
Naomi got up and walked to the door, looking over her shoulder as she opened it.
"I am just as sure as you Emily. I just need a little more tweaking," she said and closed the door.
!
"Emily, Emily," I heard Katie's voice saw. My brain slowly worked itself back to consciousness and I became immediately aware of a knot in my head. I lifted my head quickly only to feel a sharp pain on the top of my head.
"Oye bitch, watch it!" Katie's angry voice now said as she rubbed her cheek.
"Shit, sorry," I mumbled, rubbing my own head. My cheeks flushed as I realized we had gotten the attention of everyone around us
"We're here, you tart," Katie snapped, clearly still irritated. Then her eyes met mine and her face softened. "Sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" I asked, confused.
"You should see how scared you get every time someone even so much as raises their voice near you," Katie explained, a tone of awe in her voice.
"Automatic reaction I suppose," I said, shrugging. After spending some close time with me, Katie took my surprising new quirks with stride. I was fucking grateful. My parents would be another story.
"It's alright, come on. We've got a taxi waiting for us," Katie explained.
I reached up and pulled out my one suitcase from the overheard compartment. Katie and I had done some last minute shopping, just so I would have some actual clothes to wear. I itched to be back in my own things, but I knew that was still a while off.
We walked through customs and were soon in the taxi on the way to the hospital where my dad was still bunking up at. My mum had emailed Katie explaining he was mere weeks away from being released. James would be flying back home with us and I would get two weeks of bliss at home. Without my parents. Hopefully without any foreboding press. And hopefully with or near Naomi, who will have gotten her head straightened out. My chest ached with out her. It was quite pathetic.
"You ready?" Katie asked me from across the back seat of the taxi.
"That sounds like such a stupid question doesn't it?" I asked rhetorically. "Am I ready to see my parents three months after my abduction?"
"You're not coming back into the best circumstances," Katie said, looking embarrassed.
"Did mum really give up that easily?" I asked, looking Katie square in the eyes. I know I was repeating myself at this point, but I couldn't shake the hurt.
"I think with her, the thought of possibly losing a child clouded her judgement. Instead of coping, she withdrew, and it became easier to assume you were dead and move on rather than keep up her hope. She's not strong."
I tipped my head back and forth, taking that into consideration. I can believe that, I suppose. I can believe that somebody reaches such a point of devastation that hope isn't even on their horizon anymore. It doesn't make it any better though, to be on the receiving end of that lost hope.
"Do you think she's upset I'm back?" I asked, feeling tears sting my eyes at one of the biggest unasked questions lingering in my mind.
"Emily," Katie admonished, unbuckling herself and scooting over to the middle seat, earning a glare from the taxi driver. She flipped him off. "You seriously don't think that."
"I seriously can't help but think that," I admitted. "You weren't there Katie. You were in the middle of the country side, tied up to a chair with two masked men who are holding up a video camera. Two masked men who were taunting you and trying to force you into submission. They showed me a recording of a news blip mum and dad did. Mum said she was sure I was dead. She was sure who ever took me had done it for money, and had killed me. She was bitter. Bitter and angry. Not sad and desperate, like a mother should be," I said, swallowing loudly, surprised I had managed to keep my tears in check.
I felt Katie slack next to me, taking in my words. I still hadn't told her much about my kidnapping. This is how I assumed I would tell her. In little blips. I couldn't do it all at once, mostly because the entire reel of that nightmare was still playing in such a vicious loop it was hard to distinguish event from event. Naomi always helped with that, but she wasn't here now.
"No, I wasn't there," Katie said slowly and reached out a hand, laying it softly on my jean clad thigh. She didn't say anything after that, just left her hand there. It was all I needed.
!
*Ding*
The elevator doors opened revealing a very bright looking hospital corridor. The corridor was mostly empty, aside from a nurse in dark, purple scrubs staring intently at a clip board. Katie led me down the hall to my right and we stopped in front of a door, and my breath caught in my throat.
There they were. My mum, dad and brother.
My dad was sitting up in bed, scarfing down what looked to be like soup. My mum was reading a book off the side of his bed and James was lost in his Game Boy console. My family. Exactly as I remembered them. They hadn't changed one bit and here I was, a whole new Emily.
"Girls," a deep gruff voice said, breaking my trance, and my three long-lost family members turned their familiar eyes to stare at me in shock. My dad was bearing a huge grin, his usual grin. "Emily love, come ere' and give me a hug."
I couldn't help but let his accent fall on my ears again as his huge arms stretched out to greet me. I was surprised to find he looked so healthy. His medical condition had been made so stark to me, but he looked as healthy as a horse. I think I might have looked crappier than he did.
I fell into his warm hug, and hug he did. He hugged the shit out of me. I soon felt arms wrap around my stomach and a face mush into my back. I immediately recognized the lanky form as my stupid, little brother. My smile grew.
"Aaaah, the Fitch family together again!" My dad yelled loudly into the room, sending his monitor thing into a frenzy for a few seconds. He gripped me hard one more time before releasing me. I barely got two inches away when he pulled me back in. "Nope, not done yet."
I was surprised. Surprisingly happy, but confused. This is exactly how I would have imagined a reunion with my dad and James, but after everything, I had sort of assumed awkwardness.
"Hi dad," I said into the cloth shoulder of his hospital gown.
He let me go, but James held on. He simply adjusted himself so he was glued to my right side. It strangely reminded me of Katie when she first saw me. Not letting me out of her sight for a minute. It was awkwardly adorable. My shit-hole 13 year old brother actually cared about me.
I looked up and met the eyes of my mum.
She, for one, did not look better for the wear. Her hair was tied up in a messy knot on her head. Her eyes were dark and drawn. She looked five years older since the last time I saw her. I couldn't help but feel a familiar twinge of guilt at the thought that I was at least something of a contributing factor to that. Then I felt myself harden. Wait a minute. All I did was fight my way through a situation, when she thought I was dead.
"Emily," she breathed out.
"Hi mum," I said awkwardly. I could practically feel Katie gesturing wildly from behind me. Obviously trying to command my mum to do something.
"You're...," my mum said stopping and swallowing. "You're so thin."
"Yeah, and I'm alive," I blurted out before I could stop myself. I felt James stiffen next to me, and saw my dad lower his eyes, but my mum held mine steady.
"I think I'm in shock," she said, as if that excused everything.
"Mum, for christ sake," Katie said behind me exasperated.
"Katie, love," my dad said to her.
"Don't do this," I heard James say. I carefully backed away from him.
"No you all stop!" I said into the room. My voice echoed off the walls. "I was gone. For three months, yeah? I was taken from my bed in the middle of the night. Now I'm here. I'm alive. I'm alright. I . Survived. I'd appreciate no awkwardness from my own fucking family, alright?"
The silence that fell across the five of us was deafening. I turned to walk away, but a voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
"No, you stop," my mum's voice said. I could hear the crack in her voice. My body responded in accord. I stopped walking, but kept my back to her. "How would you cope if you thought one of us was dead. Was sure of it, then all of a sudden you hear that we're back, three months later. When everything's changed?"
I dropped my head and felt a tear drop out of my eye.
"I wouldn't have assumed anyone was dead until I saw a body," I said, shuddering at the memory of all the bodies I saw myself. It made me nauseous. I needed out of this room. "I'll be back."
With that I took off. I half expected Katie to come after me, but thankfully she didn't. She was either giving me a minute of space or finally truly understood me, and realized when I shouldn't be bothered.
I found a small bathroom on the same floor and locked myself inside. I remembered the small pay-as-you-go mobile Katie had bought us while we were in the states, so I could call Naomi if I got up the courage. We didn't leave things so well, and it would take some courage to call her.
!
"Alright girls, this is it," Gina said, throwing the last dishrag into the sink and wiping her hands on her pants. "Time to scoot on out of this here jail cell er, fuck."
I almost had to laugh. Gina was pretty forthright about what had happened with us, but she was careful not to be blatantly rude about it.
"It's fine, mum," Naomi said from where she had finished sweeping.
Gina had also pressed us all to clean this place up and down. Show our appreciation for getting to bunk here for free.
(To which Naomi quipped that we should leave it a shit hole simply because we've lived in worse. Gina had promptly whacked her upside the head.)
"Okay, okay," Gina said, raising her hands above her head and letting out a sigh. She had been doing that heavily ever since she caught wind that something had happened between Naomi and I.
Nothing had really happened. That was the problem. Naomi wasn't running anywhere, but she had her back turned to me for the first time in three months and I fucking hated it. She had lost the sparkle in her eyes. She was just a dull form of herself. It made my heart ache and my temper flair simultaneously.
"Katie, come help me bring the suitcases outside, I'm sure the cabs are waiting," Gina said, making a dreadfully obvious attempt at giving Naomi and I a minute to ourselves.
Soon the front door shut and Naomi rolled her eyes so extravagantly, I thought they might fall straight out of her skull.
Then she looked suddenly sheepish. She reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a slip of paper.
"Katie said she's got you a pay-as-you-go-mobile-phone-thingy-ma-gig. This is my cell phone number, if you need anything," she said, handing it over.
I hesitated. My temper on one shoulder and my aching heart on another. Eventually one won out.
"I thought you said you just need more tweaking? Wasn't that code for time" I asked, keeping my voice level, but the look of shock that rippled through Naomi's eyes told me it hit exactly where I had unintentionally intended.
"I just want seven days. And not even completely apart," she said, waving the piece of paper with her number on it.
"Naomi," I said, feeling my throat tighten up. With my anger released, the sadness crept in. Funny how that never fails to happen. One of life's great constants.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm just scared," I said.
"I'm scared too. It's why I need time."
"I'm scared of your time."
"I'm scared of you."
"You're scared of me?" I said, shock filling my voice as a took a few steps back. I watched Naomi's face scrunch up in frustration.
"That came out wrong, shit," she said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Not you, not Emily, the idea of Emily."
"What?" I cried out, getting just as frustrated. She was talking herself in circles at this point.
Suddenly the gap between us closed as she stood mere inches away from me.
"Do you know how hard I want to slam you up against this refrigerator right now and find out how fucking amazing I keep thinking kissing you would be? Do you really understand that?" she asked, eyes wide and desperate.
I couldn't come up with an answer.
"Do you really understand that my heart rate simultaneously speeds up and slows down when I'm with you? You calm me down and wind me up."
I swallowed hard.
"Do you understand that ever since that first night we talked in those fucking shiny rooms, then again when I saw your petrified face through those dog cages, I just knew I wouldn't be able to get away? I can't get away."
"So you need to get away while you still can," I said, letting out a breath I hadn't been aware I had been holding. Naomi stepped away from me, and I immediately missed her body heat. I missed our connection. Our connection that was wavering dangerously in the wind.
"I'm not 'getting away' from anything, I'm taking a breath before I dive in," she said, clearing her throat and retaking her awkward stance against the kitchen counter again.
"Dive into my mess?"
"Our mess," she said sharply. "And yes, something like that."
The door swung open quickly revealing a huffy puffing pair that were our sister and mother, respectively. I was infinitely glad they weren't a minute sooner. The tension in the air was thick enough to knock over an elephant.
"Cabs are here," Gina said, blowing warm air into her hands and waving us out with her arms.
We were led down the stairs outside onto the curb. A bustling curb, come to find. It was hard to find a spot to stand in a group with everybody walking and breezing past us.
"So we're back in nine days for that testimony. Take two, right girls?" Gina said, winking at us both. I forced a small smile.
"Have fun in Scotland," I said. Gina pulled me into a rough hug, planting a kiss on my cheek.
"Take care Emily, I will be seeing you," she said, planting an extra kiss on my cheek for good measure. Her and Katie embraced, and I rolled my eyes. Those two had a very, very strange connection.
I started at Naomi and watched her hold her ground. We were both incredibly stubborn, and if I could ever find out how to break through that last piece of ice around her heart, the energy between us would be unstoppable. A sudden thought occurred to me with that thought and I leaned forward, lighting touching my lips to Naomi's cheek.
"We're not a fucking mess," I whispered into her ear, backed up and threw myself into the cab before I even saw her face. A bewildered Katie quickly followed.
!
I slightly regretted doing that, only because at this very moment I wanted to dial the Naomi's digits Katie had ended up grabbing for me. Cheeky bitch. Since when did she become such a good sister?
I unfolded and refolded the sheet of paper what seemed like a million times before I finally managed to dial the sodden numbers, wait for the long-distance connection and hold my breath.
"Hi, you've reached Naomi, if you leave a message at the beep, I'll check it and decide if I feel like answering it, bye..."
"Emily," a voice said, scaring the absolute shit out of me.
"Fucks sake!" I yelled and the phone slipped out of my hand and onto the floor, breaking into a few different pieces. Great. That's fucking great. I turned to find my mum staring, pale-faced and shocked, at me.
"Sorry," I said, putting a hand to my beating heart. "I can't stop jumping. Reckon that'll be around for a while."
My mum completely let herself into the bathroom, shut it and leaned against the door.
"You know why I assumed you were dead?" my mum asked.
I shook my head.
"You've always been the stronger twin," she said, and I felt a ripple of shock run through me.
"No...I haven't..." I said, slowly.
"You're more resilient that Katie ever could be. Everyone knows that."
"That's not what you said," I couldn't help but snap back. Her words had been on a constant loop in my head for days when I was in trouble. I knew them. Felt them.
"Because I just knew, I knew that if you didn't come back right away, you were dead. Because you would fight Emily, you would have fought."
"Listen to you! You're still talking as if I'm dead. You're still speaking in the past tense. I'm HERE mum! I'm fucking alive and I did fight. I fought through hell. Hell you can't even imagine. Fear you can't even fathom. So why am I standing here in a dingy hospital bathroom listening to your bullshit?" I yelled out at her until my voice was hoarse. The temper versus hurt with my mum was slightly more direct than it had been with Naomi. The temper burned.
"Can I hug you?" my mum asked out of nowhere.
"What?" I asked, forcing myself to swallow to sooth my throat.
"Can I? Can I just hug you? Make sure you're real?" she asked again, and I cracked. It realized, my mum and I would probably never see eye to eye on this. We had gone through the same thing, yet experienced two entirely separate things. But the look, the look of utter despair on her face busted me.
I collapsed into her arms and for the first time in 18 years, I heard my mum start sobbing.
!
"So tell me about this Naomi girl, love," my dad asked me suddenly.
It had taken mum several hours to calm down. The two of us had gone to the hotel for her to shower and regroup. She wouldn't let me leave her side, not even for her to shower. I had to pop myself on the bathroom counter. My family, for being all different, were scarily similar in this situation. Clingier than a dryer sheet.
We still had a lot of pent of emotion to work out, mum and I, but we were both clearly exhausted. I understood she just needed to get used to me. Just as much as I needed to readjust back into my old life.
We all slept in a pile on the king bed in mum's room that night and spent the entire next day set up in the hospital room, eating chinese takeout and playing stupid card games. But it was nice. Slowly mending the three month tear between us all. Acting like a happy family.
"She's just the girl who was with me the whole time practically," I said, slurping a noodle into my mouth.
"Just the girl," Katie mocked incredulously. I stuck my tongue out at her tone. "She's practically Emily's left arm now."
"Really?" my mum asked, surprised. Her eyebrows raised, and I fought an eye roll.
My mum had never been truly sound with the whole gay thing, ever. Any girl mentioned, it was automatically assumed she was my girlfriend. Nobody ever was, but in this case...
Ugh, Katie needed to shut up. Pronto.
"Well we're close obviously. But you spend three months with only each other to talk to, then a week and a half hanging onto your life, it'll happen to anybody," I said, desperate to shrug it off. Naomi and I weren't currently on the best terms. There was no use in describing us at the minute.
"Best friends?" My mum pushed.
"Something like that," I answered, shrugging.
"Emily," my mum said in such a serious tone, my head snapped up to meet hers. "You've changed a lot in those three months, but so have I."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"She means she approves your lesbian stuff now, Ems! You can bring home your girlfriends!" James said enthusiastically, earning a hard cuff to the head from Katie. "What? I get fucking sick and tired of JJ, Freddie and Cook hanging around all the time."
"Language," my mum admonished before looking back at me. "I mean, I'm not going to be parading a billboard sign declaring your sexuality, but...i'd rather have you alive and who you are. Then dead with my disproval."
This time, and arguably for the first time in a very long time with my mum, a genuine smile hit my face. I felt instantly elated. It was a natural high, that immediately coursed through my veins. My mum took her first step toward approval. Approval of my taboo sexuality that would need to be addressed should the beautiful blonde who's always on my mind pull her head out of her bum.
The elation depressed a bit at that thought. Fucking Naomi. She's a stubborn cow but I was...truly and madly in love with that cow.
Fuck me.
I was in so much trouble.
!
Katie, James and I walked the three minute walk to our hotel down from the hospital. I was starting to feel like a part of the family again. The banter was flying, James was being shoved like a rag doll between Katie and I. We had premium cable waiting for us in the room. Things could be worse, I suppose, far worse.
Katie let us into the room her and I were sharing for the week. It was even nicer than the hotel Naomi and I stayed at when we were first found. I had really forgotten how much money my family had. I guess it's ultimately true. You really don't appreciate what you've got until you've lost it. How cheesy.
"Messages? What?" Katie said to herself, as we threw our bags down on the beds. She walked over the phone and pushed the flashing red button and connecting with the front desk. I watched her face contort quickly before hanging up the phone.
"That was Gina, she sounded really worried. I couldn't hear what she said, the reception was shitty," Katie said, her voice adopting a tone I knew all to well. One laced with subtle fear.
"Naomi," I said flying over to my bag and pulling out the slip of paper with her number on it. Katie had mirrored my movements pulling out her notebook with Gina's number inside of it. James watched us like a tennis match. We both flew over to the phone.
"Let me call Gina back before we jump to..." Katie tried arguing with me, but I had already switched gears and was out the room, down the stairs.
Something happened. Something had to have happened. Gina wouldn't have called otherwise. My feet carried me into the lobby of the hotel, and I darted up to the front desk. Whoa. Deja vu.
"Do you have a phone? My sisters using the one in my room and it's an emergency," I asked.
"Yes ma'am, here you go," she said, looking worried and handing me a handheld.
I didn't even bother asking if I could make a long-distance call and dialed Naomi's number again.
"Hello, you've reached Naomi..."
I hung up the phone and hung my head in defeat. My heart was racing, but Naomi still had her phone off. After she gave me her number. Encouraged me to call. Too many emotions were swelling up inside of me.
I walked over the elevator, not fussed climbing six flights of stairs after that. I wanted to get up to the room fast to see what Gina had called about. The doors shut and I bounced my foot on the floor. Nervous energy flooding my system. Fuck, Naomi better be okay. Why in the world did Gina call? What was going on?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Six agonizing floors later the doors dinged open. I lifted my head and my heart stopped.
There, standing straight in front of my hotel door was Naomi and Katie. Both of their heads turned to look at me. Katie raised her arms up, like she was irritated.
"Next time? Cool your heels. This," Katie said, gesturing to Naomi. "Is why Gina called."
With that she opened and closed the door to the room. Which was thrown open by a jaw-agaped James, then quickly shut again by Katie. Leaving Naomi in the hallway and my completely stunned self standing on the elevator, who's doors had yet to shut.
Just then, the doors quietly slid shut, and I threw my arm out in the middle to stop their closure. The doors crept open again and Naomi was standing just outside the elevator this time.
"You're alright," she breathed out.
"And you're alright," I said, feeling my heart rate slow and race even faster. Shit, she was right about that.
"I thought..." she continued, breathless, as if she had ran here. "Something had happened to you. I got your voice message, and there was a sharp yell and more noise, then silence. I freaked. I drained my savings accounts and bought a ticket over here. Took fucking forever. Hospital staff were being real fuckers about letting out information. Something about HIPAA violations or some crap. Anyways, been running around this god forsaken city like a loon looking for you. Then I FINALLY found your parents."
"You talked to my parents?" I asked dumbly, feeling my body slowly numb up at Naomi's revelation. She had just flown across the Atlantic because she thought I was in trouble. The doors started to slide shut, and this time Naomi stuck her hand out, blocking their path.
"Yeah, and they led me here," she said, with a small shrug.
"You're here," I managed to spit out, still in shock.
"I am," she said, a small, very light smile gracing her features.
"You flew across the Atlantic because you thought I was in trouble? Drained your savings account?"
A flush took over her face and she stared down at her shoes. The elevator doors started to slide shut again. I whacked them open, annoyed.
"That, and I realized something," she said, bringing her gaze back up to meet mine.
"What's that?" I huffed out, finally resorting to holding the doors open with my arm stretched out in front of me.
"Something that only took me from the safe house till two streets over to realize," Naomi said, biting her lip. "We aren't a mess. We just are."
I felt myself frown in confusion.
"We just are because this?" Naomi said, reaching out and scooping the tip of her finger underneath my loose shirt, sending warm shots of feeling through my legs. "This just is. Always has been, always will be."
I couldn't do anything. I was still frozen in shock.
"Say something," she said, looking suddenly forlorn and worried.
"I've got something better," I said and gripped both of her wrists pulling her body into mine, letting the elevator doors shut behind us.
Her lips crashed into mine, and her body crashed me into the elevator wall even harder. I could barely register this was actually happening before Naomi let out a soft moan and I realized I was pulling furiously at her blonde locks. My hands had already lost themselves in her hair.
Her hands were furiously grasping at my hips, pushing me further against the elevator wall. Teeth crashed and tongues could barely meet in the rushed kiss. My lungs burned for a breath, but I didn't want to break away. Couldn't break away.
*Ding*
That noise managed to filter itself into the foggy haze Naomi had kissed into my brain. Our sloppy, rushed, but extravagantly addicting kiss broke when I peered over her shoulder and saw the startled looks of a few older people waiting outside the doors.
"Fucks sake, I'm not done yet," Naomi huffed, turned around and quickly hit floor number 26, then floor number 1. The elevator doors closed and she turned to me with a lopsided smile, pressing her body into mine.
"Slower this time," I said, still breathing hard. I wasn't sure my body could take any more of that electric shock. I still wasn't entirely convinced it had happened.
"This is dangerous," she said, capturing my lips softly in hers, drawing in a breath, then letting them go, exhaling her breath, practically into my mouth. I shuddered.
"It's why I said slower," I said and watched a smile tugged at the corner of Naomi's lips.
"Right, then I believe we've got 23 more floors to practice this slow thing," Naomi said.
She pressed her lips into mine, slowly, agonizingly, I almost forgot to reciprocate.
"This was worth it," I mumbled into the kiss, knowing Naomi would catch my drift. She didn't even bother responding. Simply squeezed my hips and took my breath away again. Fucking finally.