Trading Heartbeats
Chapter 17 - Gone
Kofi and Sonelle had woken up at around 11:30 that morning. Sonelle, propping herself up on her elbows, looked around at the room they'd slept in. It hadn't been their bedroom, instead … it was the couch that had been moved into the kitchen so as to provide a space for the amount of people on the dance floor during the party. She looked over at Kofi who had seemed wide awake as well. Neither had mentioned last night's occurrence again. It was simply just too unfathomable.
Kofi too sat up looking around at the messy suite. He gave a slight chuckle as he glanced at a chip that had been stuck to the door. Sonelle looked at him not knowing what to say or do. She had still been in shock. Had she really seen what she thought she saw? Maybe it was all a dream, she thought to herself. Sighing and realizing that this was nothing more than wishful thinking, she rose up from the couch. She'd still been wearing her party-going attire. She could feel Kofi's eyes stare at her as she walked into the living room and then back into the kitchen. Kofi raised one eyebrow as his lips pulled themselves into a small smile. "Are you okay," he asked as he too had gotten to his feet. Sonelle gave a small 'mhm' before peering into the fridge. Kofi took both her hands and held it in his. Sonelle, who had now been turned and who had been facing him now, looked up into his eyes. "You don't seem like it," he whispered to her.
Sonelle looked down at the couch they'd both slept on. During her restless night, she'd not only been thinking about what Amelia and Punk had done nor had she been solely contemplating the fact that both Khaila and Cody must've been hurting incredibly, but she thought of herself and Kofi. It was now the end of his trip, and who knows when she'd see him again. There had been so much that she'd wanted them to do together … one of them being to bond, not just emotionally, but … on a physical level. She'd gone back and forth in her mind. Did she really want to have sex with him and watch him leave? Or did she want to wait for about 5 to 6 months before she saw him again? … If she saw him again. She looked back up at Kofi who had seemed even more confused than before. "I'm just worried," she said with her voice already beginning to tremble. Kofi's brows furrowed as he looked at her and stepped closer.
Sonelle had been absolutely captivated by his deep brown eyes. "Worried," he asked in a whisper. Sonelle nodded slowly then looked away from his brown eyes and back to the couch. "What are you worried about," Kofi asked as he took one of his hands and placed a finger under her chin tilting it up at him. Sonelle stared into his eyes once more with hers that had begun to tear up.
"Us," she whispered. Kofi gave a small smile; apparently, he'd been expecting her to worry about this. He pulled her closer to him so that they were now both chest to chest. Their chests harmoniously rose and fell together with every breath that they took. She felt Kofi pick up her hand and hold it up about shoulder height so they could both see it. Kofi's eyes shifted to her hand and Sonelle's eyes followed. She'd realized that Kofi hadn't just picked up any one of her hands, but the one with the promise ring on it. He twirled the ring around on her finger before looking at her once more. Sonelle looked back into his eyes. While neither of them spoke, Sonelle had seemed to understand; however, as much as she wish she could've been inspired by the fact that Kofi had reminded her of the promise ring, she was still doubtful. Kofi, apparently sensing this, gave another chuckle and proceeded to speak.
"I know," he whispered to her. "I know you're scared … and worried … and unsure about our relationship after this," he continued. Sonelle merely looked up at him - her eyes watering for reasons she hadn't known. Kofi brought his face closer to hers as he whispered in her ear, "But you don't have to be. Sonelle, I love you more than I ever thought was possible, and you know that you mean the world to me." He placed a peck on her cheek before continuing to whisper in her ear, "And those aren't just words. I mean it … with every inch of my being, I mean it. You have this extraordinary gift of making me smile," he paused then looked at her. Sonelle's eyes had been swimming in tears even though she bore a smile on her face. "Sonelle, you are my happiness, and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world," he concluded.
Finally, the tears that she'd fought hard to restrain had flooded out onto her cheeks. She buried her face in Kofi's chest as she allowed her tears to run down his shirt. Kofi held her tight, resting his chin on her head. The both of them had stayed there for quite a while, but it hadn't bothered either. Silence had pervaded throughout the entire suite, however, it brought more comfort than awkwardness. Although the two hadn't known whether they would see each other again, they were sure of one thing … their relationship would survive, if not solely on promises, then … on love.
The morning light had crawled into Justin and Brittany's once dark and cosy bedroom. Brittany cringed a bit as the light had fallen over her face. Justin, instinctively seemed to hold her tighter in his arms. Brittany's eyes blinked a bit before opening. Escaping from Justin's arms, Brittany rose up off the bed and walked herself into the bathroom. In there, she closed the door and sat … thinking, just thinking. She and Justin had talked briefly about the scandal, but she'd failed to bring up the fact that she was absolutely disgusted by Amelia's actions and that of Punk's. As if Brittany hadn't enough to worry about with her own relationship in terms of how long she and Justin would be able to keep it up while he were away, she'd worried about Khaila … and even Cody. What they must've been feeling would be just indescribable.
Pushing all the thoughts of Khaila, Cody, Amelia and Punk aside, she'd refocused on the thought that had her thrashing about in her sleep for the most part. She'd been wondering whether or not Justin would take a break from her or try to keep their relationship as a long-distance thing. At any rate, she hadn't been sure if she could handle either. As much as she was willing to try to sustain a relationship with Justin and as much as she desperately wanted to, she questioned whether or not she, herself, would be able to. She loved Justin more than she will ever let him know, and she couldn't stand the thought of all that she'd felt for him come to an end because of a couple of miles. She'd convinced herself that she would try, whatever the outcome would be at the end, she at least had the right to say she tried.
"Brittany," a voice came from the other side of the door followed by a knock. Brittany jumped a bit as the suddenness of this had caught her off guard. Rising from her seat on the floor, she opened the door. Justin looked at her inquiringly. They'd both stared at each other for quite an interval of time before Brittany had wrapped her arms around Justin tightly and hugged him. Justin chuckled a bit before hugging her back. "Is everything okay," he asked as he looked down at her. Brittany neither nodded nor shook her head; she stayed there holding onto Justin as if she were in a stasis. Justin rubbed her back soothingly until she'd finally looked up at him, her throat beginning to tighten as she stared into the face of the man she wouldn't see for who knows how long. Justin had apparently sensed this as he led her took both her hands from around him and held it in his using his thumb to massage the inside of her palm slowly. "Darling," he whispered to her before placing his lips on her forehead.
Brittany's eyes had begun to fill with tears. She didn't want him to go; she understood that he had to, but she'd never felt this way about any other being - let alone a man before. She'd truly loved Justin. Justin shook his head as he saw the tears building in her eyes. "Don't cry," he whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers. "Just tell me what's wrong," he whispered slowly to her.
Brittany shut her eyes keeping the building tears from overflowing onto her cheeks. "What's going to happen to us," she asked allowing her voice to show no sign that her throat had been knotting. Justin merely looked at her.
"Is anything supposed to happen to us," he asked casually. Brittany sighed and turned her gaze away from him. Instead, she refocused on the bed they'd just woke up from. Brittany could feel his lips against her cheek, and this made her shoot her gaze right back at him. "I'm not leaving you," he said as he looked directly into her eyes. Brittany smiled a bit, though she only half-heartedly believed it. Justin's lips curved into a slight frown as he'd picked up on this. "I understand," he whispered. "Words are simply words, and actions speak far more than they do, but choices are what define us," he continued as Brittany continued to look up at him.
"And how are you defined," she asked in a whisper as well. Justin gave a smirk.
"As someone who's chosen the right choice," he replied.
"What's your choice," she inquired once more.
"You," he whispered. Brittany smiled and wrapped her arms around him once more hugging him tight. Justin did the same while laying his head on hers, and at this moment, Brittany could feel the genuineness of his answer. She felt that he'd loved her just as much - if not more - than she had loved him. As the two remained wrapped in each other's arms, Brittany had developed the answer to the question that had been haunting her - how would this work? Hugging Justin tighter and feeling his hands rub her back soothingly, she answered subliminally, it just … will.
With her blue headphones stuck onto her ears, Khaila had listened to her dubstep songs while cramming the last bit of clothing into her suitcase. As traumatic as last night had been for her - concerning what she'd seen and what she'd said - she'd told herself that she wouldn't allow it to ruin her. She was betrayed, hurt, and heartbroken all in one night … she turned her music up on her iPod louder. She'd forced herself to focus on upcoming things. She had school on Monday, art classes, they had to catch their plane back home, there were too many things to think about opposed to … the party. She shook her head once more possibly trying to physically shake away those thoughts. Zipping her suitcase closed, she surveyed her hotel suite for anything that she may have missed.
Suddenly, she'd noticed something white under the bed. Crouching on her knees, she fished under the bed for the white piece of cloth. As she retrieved it however, she'd realized it was no ordinary piece of cloth. It was a shirt, the exact one she'd worn after their - after the Monday night RAW that she and Sonelle had attended. Sitting on her heels, she'd spread the shirt in her lap. Slowly, she slipped her headphones off and set them down beside her. "Why, Punk," she whispered as she stared at the shirt that had belonged to a man she had once thought she'd loved. Tears had begun to flow down her cheek, and she allowed them to. At this point, she hadn't cared. Punk had had sex with Amelia, one of her best friends. Nothing would be able to mend that. Absolutely nothing. She stroked the shirt absently as her mind had set itself adrift.
Picking up her clothes from off of the living room floor, she quickly threw them on and folded Punk's shirt - handing it back to him. Punk shook his head. "You keep it," he encouraged once checking that everything that needed to be packed had been.
Khaila smiled and held the shirt in her arms.
Her eyes had grown watery again, and she debated long and hard whether or not she'd keep it or leave it here. Suddenly, several knocks on her door had stirred her. "Khaila, come on! We've got to go," a voice sounding very much like Brittany's had yelled. Khaila glanced back down at the shirt still unable to make up her mind. The knocks had resounded through the hotel suite, louder this time.
"I'm coming," Khaila called back as she rose to her feet putting her headphones back on and tucking the shirt away into her hand bag. Quickly taking both her hand bag and suitcase, she opened the suite door. Standing there were Brittany and Justin and Sonelle and Kofi already readily packed and anxiously waiting. Khaila's cheeks flushed a shade of red as she too withdrew from her suite and the five set off down the hallway. In a few moments, they had checked out of both hotels, returned the rented vehicles and seated themselves in their instructed gates at the airport. Since the girls' flight hadn't left until about an hour after the superstars', the girls' waited at the superstars' gate with them all except for Khaila who had volunteered to stay at their own gate just in case. Both Brittany and Sonelle had known what that 'just in case' was, so they agreed to let her stay behind and watch their bags.
With Brittany, Justin, Kofi and Sonelle all standing together, the four conversed fondly with each other. Just as Kofi had joked about something that Edge and Christian had done a while back, Sonelle noticed a familiar face looking over at them. His green/blue eyes seemed as if they were looking for someone, but at the same time, not looking for someone. "Do you see Cody," Sonelle had whispered to Brittany while Kofi and Justin continued to laugh at memories they'd had about the business. Brittany gave a nonchalant glance at him and looked back at Sonelle.
"What about him," Brittany asked.
"He looks like he's maybe looking for someone … maybe looking for Amelia," she whispered to Brittany. Brittany glanced back one more time. Her expression had changed as she turned back to Sonelle.
"Do you think so," she whispered back. Sonelle nodded. "Hang on, where is Amelia," she asked Sonelle. It appeared as if that thought had just struck Sonelle as well.
"Do you think she's still at the hotel," Sonelle asked Brittany quickly while taking out her phone ready to dial Amelia's number. Brittany merely shrugged looking quite unconcerned about whether or not Amelia made it to the airport or not. Sonelle simply looked at her.
"If she couldn't realize that what she was doing last night was betraying and wounding her best friend and boyfriend, how do we expect her to realize what airport or flight or gate she were to be at," Brittany commented. Sonelle let out a slight sigh. Excusing herself from the circle, she walked herself over a bit and dialled the hotel's number.
A womanly voice answered the phone clearly, "Hello, Castleberry Inn & Suites Hotel, how may I help you?"
"Yes, I would like to know if there's an Amelia Rose there in suite 558," Sonelle asked just as politely as the woman had answered.
"One moment, please," the woman excused herself. After a few minutes, she'd returned. "I'm sorry, ma'am, there doesn't seem to be anyone here with that name. It appears, however, that there had been an Amelia Rose staying here, but she checked out on Tuesday," the woman concluded. Sonelle's confusion had just doubled. Not only had she not known that Amelia had checked out before their checking out time, but she now had absolutely no clue where Amelia was.
"Thank you," Sonelle finally said before stowing her phone back into her pocket. As she walked over back to the group, Kofi placed an arm around her kissing her temple gently.
"Everything alright, dear," Kofi asked her in a whisper. Sonelle looked up at him and played her best smile that she could and nodded. Kofi didn't have to worry about anything else because of her. The drama between her friends was exactly that … between her friends. Kofi chuckled a bit and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. It was not too long before the airport employee had called for their flight. Both Sonelle and Brittany could feel their hearts sink a bit as the superstars stiffened and looked toward their exit.
With a tight embrace, Justin had swept Brittany up in his arms and given a passionate kiss on her lips. Brittany's arms locked themselves around Justin's neck as she too kissed back with intensity. Both of them had stayed like that for minutes before finally separating their lips from each other's. Just as they'd pulled away, Justin had delivered another peck on her lips then on her forehead as the two embraced one final time. Withdrawing from their embrace, Brittany folded her arms giving Justin a last comforting smile as she watched him disappear through the passageway.
Both Sonelle and Kofi had locked each other in a tight embrace unwilling to let go. When they had, however, Sonelle's tears had fallen onto her cheeks. Kofi gave her a slight smile placing both his hands on her cheeks looking deeply into her eyes. "It's not goodbye," he whispered. She gave a slight nod and the two embraced lovingly once more only to withdraw within minutes. Sonelle had inched closer to Brittany as she too watched Kofi enter through the passageway, and so, the other superstars had followed; within minutes, Sonelle and Brittany stared out at the plane, that had been carrying their loves, slowly depart from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Both girls had returned back to their own gate to find Khaila shuffling through her iPod with her headphones still stuck onto her ears. Neither had said a word to each other simply because there was nothing left to say. Nothing could be said about their trip to Georgia. Although Sonelle had been itching to share the bit of information she'd had about Amelia, she thought it better not to, for the girls' had other things on their minds. As time moved on, the girls had been called to their flight and boarded onto the plane. As Brittany, Sonelle and Khaila had taken their seats, only two of the three had been placed next to one another - Brittany and Sonelle. Khaila sat at another window-seat looking out at the airport and the city. Several minutes after take-off, Khaila reached into her hand bag and pulled the shirt out laying it on her lap and stroking it from time to time. As much as she had wanted to hate Punk, she loved him - far too much, she told herself - but nonetheless, she'd felt something special with Punk; whatever it may have been, something was definitely there - something irreplaceable.
Several moments had passed before the girls had touched down in Chicago and settled themselves back into their apartments. Brittany had already unpacked her suitcase and stowed it neatly under her bed while Sonelle dropped it on her bed and flopped herself on Brittany's one. She looked at Brittany who seemed to be flipping through T.V. channels rather quickly. If there was no other time to break the news to Brittany about Amelia, it was now. "So, you know when I stepped aside and made a call," she asked Brittany who muttered a small 'mhm' still flipping through the television channels at light speed. "Well, I called the hotel to check if Amelia had still been there; when the receptionist checked … she told me that Amelia had checked out as of Tuesday," she told Brittany. Brittany instantly looked at Sonelle.
"What do you mean she checked out on Tuesday," Brittany inquired almost concerned. "Where could she go," she asked once more.
"Doesn't Cody live in Georgia … Marietta, I think. Maybe she stayed there," Sonelle supposed. Brittany folded her arms and gnawed on her lip contemplating all of this.
"But what about after the affair … do you -" Brittany began until suddenly, a loud series of knocks had sounded on Sonelle and Brittany's door. Brittany hastily left the room followed by Sonelle and quickly opened their apartment door. Khaila rushed in bearing a startled expression on her face. Sonelle and Brittany quickly closed the apartment door and sat her down in the living room. "Khaila, what's wrong," Brittany asked. Khaila looked at them both panicky.
"Amelia's gone," she exclaimed.