Next chapter! Sorry for the delay, but I've been in hospital for the past few days.
So the first half of this chapter sucks, because I was sick when I wrote it.
Think this is some creepy revenge from the rent-gods because I made Angel sick?
Uh oh...guess I won't be able to kill her off for a loooong time.
"Come on Angel! This is so dumb!"
Well it's three hours later. Angel still hasn't come out of her room. Collins is leaning against the door, still begging. We could use that money of Angel's to buy some lunch, and we're really tempted to take it out of her bag and run off, but we're not that desperate. Plus, we don't want Angel any more annoyed than she already is. It's pretty scary. As nice as she is, sometimes Angel is a little fierce. She has long nails you see.
"No! Go away Collins...I'm not coming out!" Came Angel's pinching voice from the other side of the door. It was about the third time she had delivered the same reply. Collins still hadn't gone away, and Angel still hadn't come out of the room Mimi affirmed what Angel said.
"She's not coming out..." she muttered, examining her chipped nails and twirling a brown curl around one finger. Collins knocked at the door again, but Angel didn't even bother to reply. Collins sighed and slumped against the cold door, pretty much giving up. Roger and Mark exchanged glances and tried not to laugh. Seeing him reduced to begging was not a common sight, and they were making the most of it. Roger glanced over at Collins and passed a tactless comment.
"You look funny without a hat on." This for some unknown reason, made both him and Mark start laughing hysterically, so much that they were almost falling off their chairs. Mimi rolled her eyes, and covered her laughs with a fake coughing fit. Collins muttered something that contained a few less-than polite words.
After a few minutes more of Collins's begging and Angel's silence, there was a knock at the door, breaking the dull pattern of conversation in the room. Mimi and Collins threw questioning looks at Mark and Roger.
"We're not expecting anyone..." Mark began, getting up and walking over to the door to open it, "maybe Maureen or-" he was cut short as he saw who was on the other side of the door, with a letter that looked suspiciously like a bill in his hand. "Benny."
"That's my name," he said brightly, inviting himself inside the loft. Everyone's expressions suddenly changed to a silent loathing, although Benny tended to act as though he didn't notice, or didn't care. Mark suspected that it was probably the latter. Mimi suddenly pretended to be very interested in the pattern on her skirt. "The past couple of months rent..." Benny explained, opening the letter and holding it in Mark's face. He sighed and pulled it from Benny's hand, scanning it quickly, even though he knew they couldn't pay it. Suddenly, he noticed a change in the amount they owed.
"What the hell?...What is this?" He stabbed a point on the letter with his finger. "Five hundred dollars 'excess'?" He read off the paper, frowning at Benny. Roger walked over and read the letter over Mark's shoulder, growling in disbelief.
"Excess? Benny, we don't owe any freakin' excess!" Benny raised his hands in defence, then offered an explanation.
"It's to replace the money you stole..." There were sounds of annoyance and outrage from Mark, Roger, Mimi and also Collins, who had now stood up from the floor. Him and Mimi walked over to take a look at the letter, and give Benny accusing stares.
"We haven't stolen anything! What the hell are you talking about?" Roger raised his voice sharply, throwing the paper at Benny and giving him a short shove. Benny didn't react, just stood there and stared solidly at the four of them.
"It's there. On the paper..." Benny said, almost as if he expected the bohemians to except that as an explanation. Collins shook his head and passed a threatening look.
"This is too far Benny. First you break your promise, and start charging us rent. Now...now you're claiming we're stealing? Have you lost your mind?" Collins was generally laid back, and not the kind of person you wanted to get angry, he was pretty well built. Benny didn't seem phased. He remained perfectly calm, as if he was asking the group what the weather was like. This made the rest of them angrier. Benny sure had guts coming to them and demanding even more money then was owed. Collins looked around at everyone's faces, they all looked the same as he did. If anyone had actually stolen from him, the guilt have shown up on their faces. Benny noticed how confused all of them looked.
"I'm not joking guys. One of you did steal from me." Roger looked like he was about to explode, so Benny figured he would probably need to offer a little more explanation. He started to walk across the Loft, watched curiously by the bohemians. He stopped at the couch, and picked up one of their bag's from it.
"What are you doing?" Collins asked loudly, rushing over and attempting to pull it the bag out of his hands. "That's not your stuff, put it down!" He tugged it out of Benny's hand so that the bag fell to the floor and its contents spilled everywhere. Lip gloss and a couple of coins rolled under the couch. A set of keys, some cigarettes and a joint hit the hard wood floor. Followed by some drumsticks and a shiny credit card, with Benny's name printed on it in big silver letters. After the rattle of things hitting the floor, the room seemed strangely silent, apart from a gasp from Mimi. Benny sighed.
"There. Proof." He bent down and picked the card off the floor, putting it in his pocket. "I'm doing you guys a favor. I could just go to the police, and have her arrested. But I'm giving you a chance to replace the money." There was no reply from the group. Just a cold and stony silence. Benny walked over to the door and exited, but not before saying, "You're welcome!"
After this news we just hang around. Angel is still silent and in her room. To be completely truthful, although it's not very bohemian of us, we're mad at her. How are we ever going to find five hundred dollars to pay Benny back? Well we solved the mystery of how she got the money anyway...must have bumped into Benny that morning and pick-pocketed it. Mimi is going on and on about 'how we all make mistakes...' but she's worrying too. Me and Roger decide to take Collins out for a drink, with the little money that actually belongs to us. We're going to leave Mimi to straighten things out with Angel.
Mimi had replaced Collins, sitting next to the closed door of Angel's bedroom. Lying on her back, her legs propped up against the wall, she counts the money that Angel left out, seeing exactly how much needed to be collected and given to Benny. She was keeping a constant monologue going in case Angel was bothering to listen.
"I told them Ang! I told them that you just made a mistake. I'm right aren't I? You made a mistake and you won't do it again and everybody should just forget about it. Of course, Benny won't let it go, he never does. Still charging them rent after a year of them not being able to afford it...can you believe it?" She asked, hoping for an answer, although there wasn't one, so she continued anyway. "It's obvious they'll never pay. Although Mark has been stupidly talking about that Buzzline thing. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't take a job with them unless he absolutely had to...which I guess he kinda does now...maybe you could kill another dog? NOT Benny's this time. I have this kinda feeling that he has a grudge against you, you know? Like he suspects the dog thing, and now this is his chance to get you back. Well we'll get him...not sure how, but we will!" Mimi turned to the door as if she expected it to answer...or at least open. "Angel...it's just me. There's no one else here. Please make me stop talking to the door, I feel like a psycho!" There was finally the wonderful sound of movement on the other side of the door, and the even more wonderful sound of the lock clicking open. Mimi jumped up to her feet so that she could pull Angel into a big hug. "Oh Ang!" She said into Angel's shoulder. Her friend stiffened at first, but then relaxed and hugged her back. It didn't last for long though, and quickly, Angel released Mimi and started searching for all the things that had been tipped out of her bag.
"Why the fuck is all my stuff over the floor?" She had acidly, a tone that was rarely heard in her voice. Mimi bent down and collected all the things quickly, putting them in Angel's bag and handing it to her.
"It was Benny...blame him...for all of this," She tried to console Angel, resting her hand on her shoulder and squeezing gently. Angel didn't react, she just shrugged off Mimi's hand and began to pick other things up and put them in the bag. All of Benny's money went in, one of her jackets, her shoes that were on the floor. Mimi soon began to realise that she was taking all of her possessions that were in the Loft. "Angel what are you doing?" She asked desperately, grabbing Angel's hands in attempt to stop her moving about and packing up all of her things.
"I'm just going for a walk is all..." she said nonchalantly, putting on her boots and pulling on her red jacket. She pushed Mimi's hands away. "I'll be back soon. I just need to be on my own for a while, ok?" Mimi frowned at Angel, thoroughly confused.
"Then why are you taking all your stuff?" She asked, so desperate for an answer that tears were beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes. If Angel was going to do what it looked like, then she was bound to start crying at any moment. She grabbed Angel's sleeve trying to pull her into eye contact. Angel shrugged her off again, and walked across the room to the door, pulling it open. She finally turned around, placing her hands on Mimi's thin shoulders and looking her in the eyes.
"Take care Mimi...look after Roger. He needs you more than he lets on. I love you..." Angel began, tears springing to her brown eyes. Mimi cut her short.
"What are you talking about? Why are you talking like that? You're not going, are you?" The tears in her eyes began to tumble down her cheeks, choking her words. "Why? Angel, this is dumb!-" Mimi had to stop talking because Angel pulled her into a hug, she could feel the sobs through her body. She had a horrible feeling that if she let go, she wouldn't see Angel again.
"I'll be back..." Angel said, through tears, "I promise...soon...I promise..." she managed to pull Mimi away and give her one last look. "I promise." Then before Mimi could argue, she walked through the door and closed it behind her, wiping away tears that were blurring her make up.
The door closed with a solid, final sound. Mimi collapsed against it, wishing she had the strength or the words to pull her friend back to her. But all she could do was cry. Shaking...her throat and eyes stinging with sobs. She pulled her eyes open for a moment, and spotted Angel's drumsticks lying under the couch. Mimi gasped and rushed across the room to grab them. Angel would have to come back to fetch them! She picked up the drumsticks and rushed out of the loft. Mimi thundered down the flights of stairs, the cold punching her bare feet and the metal railings squeaking with the sudden impact. She reached the front door, and pulled it open, but it was too late. The door opened on to an empty street.
Mimi sat in the doorway, her hand releasing the drumsticks so that they clattered on to the side walk. Curls of dark hair fell in Mimi's eyes, covering up the appearance of fresh tears.