Princess Twila- Nope, she's in the Dreamworks movie Sinbad: The Legend Of The Seven Seas.
FloraIrmaTylee- I love him too! But you have to remember that Eris spiked his drink.
WolfieRed23- don't worry, you won't see Eris ever again… maybe.
MelissaLovesRH- Thanks giiirl!
LittleIcicle- Don't worry, he didn't do anything too serious!
FloraBlue- I've never met anyone hungover so I don't know if I did it justice. I am too young to get drunk anyways… so…
Anyone else? No? Then, lea esto a su propia voluntad y no odio. I love Spanish class! *Smiles*
Chapter 15Rapunzel
I wake to the sound of running feet and the bathroom door shutting. I burrow deeper into the covers to muffle the sound of someone vomiting. Mother must have gone to the bar last night and had too many martinis.
Contrary to prior thought, Jack's voice echoes through the walls, which is follows by a moan, "Ugh, Eris had to do this to me." I sit up straight and remember that I'm not in Burgess anymore. I roll out of the bed and rush into the bathroom.
Jack sits between the toilet and the shower, his face a pasty white with bloodshot eyes. He looks exactly like mother when she is in a hangover.
I rub his back as he curls over the bowl. He groans and sits back against the wall. Jack shuts his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose.
"I'll get you something to help it," I say quietly. The hung-over boy nods and curls into fetal position.
About five minutes later, I deem the little kitchen in the room stocked unwisely. With a twenty-dollar bill in my pocket, I head to the small market down the road.
By the time I finish in there, I have a bag full of eggs, bananas, coffee grounds, a carton of orange juice, and ginger. I walk down the road with my bag full of differentiating purchases, hardly noticing my surroundings except for the road under my feet. I turn a corner to find that empty building with the two by fours covering the entrance. A spark of curiosity hits and I cross the silent street.
On my hands and knees, I wriggle through the empty space between boards and stop on the dusty floor. All the windows are covered like the front door and every untouched decoration seems coated in five layers of dust. The whole front interior of the building seems so much larger than the exterior, like that of a TARDIS. The front parlor is practically large enough to fit a whole airplane load of people in there. I twirl in the open space, imagining the old nineteenth century parties that took place in these houses.
The thoughts of Jack at the hotel are pushed to the back of my mind as I inspect the large parlor. Sepia photos don the large table behind the ripped love seat and some of the floorboards are missing. As I walk to the office area, my braid catches on the door handle. With a sigh of exasperation, I free my braid and look out the window. Crap! The sun is nowhere in sight of my viewpoint from the door, which means I have been out here for who knows how long.
I rush out the little gap with my grocery bags and practically run up the street. I take the stairs by two and burst through the hotel room. The bathroom door is open and I see Jack, looking really pale and sweaty, sleeping against the wall with his hair slicked against his shining forehead. I cross the tiles and put a hand against his head to feel his temperature, because even though I know he only has a hangover, there is a very good possibility that it is a stomach bug… or something.
With a satisfied smile, I head to the little kitchen area and begin to chop up bananas. When all that is left of the bananas is peels and little wheels, I begin cooking the other items. Like, coffee grinds in the coffee machine, eggs scrambled and on a pan, orange juice in a cup, and ginger… sitting off to the side like a good little spice container.
Jack plods in from the bathroom, looking tired and nauseated. With a half-hearted smirk, he slides into a seat and leans his head back. I jostle the eggs onto a plate and place a few banana wheels beside them. All of these breakfast foods help with hangovers so I will force these things down Jack's throat.
I smile as I set down the plate and say sweetly, "Eat these or die." I am kidding. I thought about it, but I really said, "Eat these, they'll help the, uh, hangover."
Jack gives me a huh? look. He clears his throat and swallows, "How did you know that it was a hangover?"
I give him a duh! look, "My mom gets drunk… a lot!" With a laugh, I sit down from across from him, which would be the bed.
"I hope you don't mind, but," Jack smiles mischievously. "I used my tooth brush to brush my teeth after throwing up."
"And…?" I say.
"That's it," Jack says. "I just wanted to tell you that."
I lean forward and press my hand against his temple, "Are you going into hysterics?" Jack catches my hand and presses it against his lips. We both lean in and our lips touch. We do not go too deep, but deep enough to let Jack whisper in between. Only, that was the problem.
He breaths and says a name. Not my name, someone else's. Erin? Ari? I cannot tell. I pull back and look at him. He looks tired and that bloodshot look is coming back.
"What did you say?" I ask.
"I… nothing."
I gasp and ricochet to my feet, "Liar," I bite out between clenched teeth. With a quick spin on my feet, I grab my jacket, my shoes, and get the hell out of there. I slam the door shut and run down the stairs and into the street, tears threatening to burst out into the cold air. I sprint down the road, away from Jack yelling my name.
I turn down a street and try to distinguish my surroundings. A long street with a single boarded up townhouse. The building! I run to it, trying to get there before Jack finds me.
"Rapunzel!" I hear shouted from somewhere nearby. I struggle through the gap and burst through when Jack turns the corner. I move away from the gap and hold my knees close to my chest. Jack runs by, still shouting my name. I hold my breath until he runs off far enough.
I sniffle and look up to see a burly man in the parlor in the loveseat. The unknown man stands and walks to where I sit in fetal position. He leans down; his black greasy hair shines in the light. He wasn't very handsome, with a huge hooked nose and dozens of warts across his face. However, he did look somewhat scary.
"Hey kid," He says fiercely. "This is my place, what are you doing here?" With that sentence, the full, fifty-gallon tear dam broke, and it was dam wet.
"I-I d-don't know," I sobbed loudly into my knees; the thuggish man knelt beside me awkwardly. "One minute I think my boyfriend is sick, the next I found out he cheated on me! A-and I feel like a… fool!" I cry harder with each breath and I know my mouth must be stretched like a rubber band mouth, splotches all over my eyes and face.
"There, there kid," The ugly man says. "It's okay, we all meet jerks in our lives that dominate your love life and then leave you hanging. I've been dumped a few times… well, many times, actually," The man says. "But I met this awesome girl once told me, 'Don't let them see how they hurt you, only let them see how they taught you.'"
I glance up at the guy, "What?"
"It means, learn from what they did to you so you can be smarter in the future when you start dating again," The man smiles, revealing several lost teeth. "So, what's your name, kid?"
I rub my eyes, "Rapunzel. What's yours?"
He hesitates, "Big Nose." He sounds defeated when he says it.
"Are you sure?" I ask. It sounds and looks like it's not his real name.
With a sigh the man says, "No, it's…" His voice goes to a whisper. "Burnett."
"What?"
"It's Burnett, okay? I've got the crappy name equivalent to a freaking vampire!" He didn't exactly say "crappy" and "freaking". I look at him up and down. He doesn't really look like a Burnett, but it could still work for him in a way.
I smile, "Burnett… I like it!"
"Oh you're just saying that. Just like my life ruining mother!" He practically exclaims.
"So if you don't like the name Burnett, which is somewhat normal, than how did you get the odd name of Big Nose?" I frown.
Big Nose/Burnett sits beside me by the door, "Well I was out with my friends and these girls had come by. It was dark, so they couldn't see my face. One of the girls came up and asked me my name.
"I said, 'It's Burnett. What's yours?' Then she smiled and laughed, saying, 'Imso Ottayoleague.' Then she felt my face for some weird reason and said, 'Your name should be Big Nose, man. It feels like a con-tuh-nent!'" Big Nose/ Burnett sighs. "And that's how my life ended." I laugh at how he stresses continent.
The man still looks down, so I say, "You know, for the record, I like Burnett way more than Big Nose."
He smiles hopefully and looks up, "Really?" I nod. He stands up. "Well, I should get going." I nod and begin to feel my recent thoughts press on me again. Burnett puts a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Rapunzel, you'll figure it out. Bye."
As he leaves the townhouse through the gap, I call out, "Bye, Burnett!"
Left alone, I find only one thing to do. I pull my phone out of my pocket and stare at the black screen. With quick taps, I press the numbers to make the call and wait for the person to pick up.
"Hello?"
I choke put a sob, "Mother, you were right."
"I knew this would happen yet you didn't listen and took your own path to heart break and despair."
"I'm sorry," I cry into the receiver. Mother makes plans to get me at the bridge at three. When I hang up, I uncurl my legs from fetal position and walk back to the motel to get my suitcase.
The card goes into the door handle and I pull it back out before entering cautiously. Jack must still be out running and calling my name. I rush to pack the case and when I finish, I leave a note on a pillow telling Jack where I've gone. I roll my suitcase down the road and sit on the brick wall of the connecting bridge.
How much fun I had here, at least when Jack wasn't out sucking face with some no named slut. The festival was fun and the lanterns were beautiful. Meeting my parents fulfilled a wish. My parents… My parents! They don't know I'm leaving! I have to go tell them or I'll not see them until summer… or maybe even longer!
I check my watch. It's 2:30. I still have time! I rush off the stone and into the island mayhem. I get to the Solar house pretty quick and I'm knocking on the door.
My mother answers, "Rapunzel! What's the matter?" She must see my hurried look.
My words come out rushed, "I'mleavingandIdidn'twanttoleaveyoubehindwithoutsayinggoodbyand'llmissyousomuch!" I hug her tightly.
My mom chuckles before hugging me back, "I'll miss you, too, Rapunzel."
I left and rolled my suitcase back to the bridge. Mother was waiting in her car, obvious impatience stuck on her face. I dumped my suitcase in the back and opened the passenger door.
Mother stares at my flower filled braid in disgust, "Who did that?" Her curly black hair looked unwashed and knotted.
"Some girls on the street. They were very sweet," I say, smiling at the memory.
Mother turned away angrily and sped off, tires squealing. People jumped out of the way, yelling, but Mother just flipped them the bird. We careened onto the highway.
For the whole six-hour drive, Mother stayed quiet. I stared straight ahead and kept my tears in, saving them for my room where Mother couldn't hear me.
When we exited the highway, a message blipped into my phone:
*Merida*
Are you okay? Jack called me and told me you ignored his calls.
Sent 9:17
It's true, I had been hitting the end button each time his info came up. When Mother kept hearing the buzzes, she gripped the wheel and kept driving faster. I replied to Merida:
*Rapunzel*
Can you meet me at my house at ten? Bring some Oreos?
Sent 9:19
I felt my nose pinch and felt dread. When ever my nose felt pinches that meant tears were coming on. My phone buzzed again.
*Merida*
Sure, anything for you lass.
Sent 9:22
The car pulled up to the house and Mother killed the engine. We sat in the dark for a few minutes.
Mother finally broke the silence, "I can't believe you went behind my back like that."
I felt anger rising up beneath me, "You're the one who kicked me out." Mother stared in shock at me.
"I did it because you were being unfaithful; I apparently wasn't being an adequate mother!" She yelled.
I glared at the black haired mother imposter, "Well you've lied to me all my life!"
"Rapunzel, what I did was to help you!" She seethed. "Your parents were drug dealers with no care in their lives!"
I opened up the passenger door and proceeded to grab my suitcase from the trunk.
Mother kept yelling, "You turned away and ran off with some two timing hoodlum who left you to run around in the streets!" I walked up the walkway to the house. "You were alone in an abandoned building and yet who did you call? The mother you left behind for some whimsical dream!"
I raced up the stairs and slammed my bedroom door, tears flowing like a river. I dropped my bag and face planted onto the bed. My sobs turned into wails and my pillow was damp. All I could think of was how much my heart seemed to hurt. I hugged my pillow and kept crying, until I was too numb to keep the tears flowing.
I looked up at the wall to see a picture of Jack sleeping on the floor upside down with his legs sticking straight up against the bed. With a quick jerk, I ripped it off the wall and tossed it into my bin with only one thing on my mind, never again.