When Two Worlds Collide
Chapter 3
'Delivered' Andy read the words repeatedly on his screen, 'Why hasn't she read it?'
"You good, Samberg?" Joe nudged his friend with his elbow, bringing Andy back to the present moment, dinner with the guys at a local bar.
"What? Oh, uh, yeah, just waiting to hear back from someone, nothing crazy," he lied, tucking his phone back into his pocket while simultaneously trying to push away thoughts of Melissa and what had happened previously that day.
"Ok…" Joe responded with discern in his tone, side-eyeing Andy before bringing his attention back to the group.
Andy shrugged away further worries and tried his best to focus back on his buds, watching Terry and Andres laugh together about something Andy missed while distracted. He couldn't help but smile at how close they had all become so quickly and sooner than he realized, his attention had swayed back to the group rather than his phone, at least for a while.
...
Melissa jammed her key into her front door, turned until she heard the click, and yanked the key back out, feeling the end jabbing into her palm. It hurt like hell, but her focus was on getting to her bed to be able to scream all her frustrations into her pillow without causing alarm to her neighbors. She left Andy's trailer and went straight to her car, heading as far away from the current situation as she could get.
She slammed the door shut behind her, sliding the handle back to a locked position. She kicked off her Uggs by the shoe wrack she kept near the door and jogged back to her bedroom, throwing herself starfish style face down onto her bed. She lifted her head, grabbed her pillow, shoved it partially under her and buried her face, letting out the loudest scream she could muster.
Rolling over, she stared up at the ceiling fan, 'Why the hell did I run off? Why didn't I stay and talk? What if he really does like me? Wait, what if he doesn't? What if I'm making all of this up in my head and he wants to clear the air and make sure I know he's not into me? Oh my god, what the hell have I done?' Tears of frustration began to fall down her cheeks. She swiped them away out of anger and sat up, looking towards the door that led from her room into the bathroom. 'A shower, that should help,' she convinced herself.
Walking the short distance, she flipped only the light on that was positioned above the tub. Full light felt like a spotlight right now and she couldn't take the feeling of any more pressure on her. She grabbed the candle from the counter and the lighter from the drawer, lighting it and placing it on the edge of the tub. If she was going to shower away the frustrations of the day, she was going to do it right. Soon, a scent of fresh linen filled the room. Melissa took a deep breath in, enjoying the scent of being brought back to her childhood, where she helped her mom with the laundry, recalling all the laughs and silly moments from then. She gave herself to the memories as she turned on the water, found the perfect 'hell-like' temperature, and plugged the drain hole. She stripped off her clothes, tossed them by the door, and stepped in, laying back against the end of the tub. She sunk down in, her ears just below the water line and closed her eyes, thoughts of everything drifting away as relaxation set in.
...
Dinner and drinks had come to an end what felt like an eternity later for a man in quarrel with himself. Andy threw down forty bucks onto the bar and stood, shoving his wallet back into his pocket and spoke in the direction of Andres, Joe, Joel, Dirk, and Terry, "It's been fun, guys, but I have to get back to my trailer, left some stuff there and don't want to deal with night security, you know that guy can be a pain in the ass after 11p.m.!"
They all laughed in chorus as they cleared a path for Andy to get by. He waved them off and quickened his pace to get out the door and to his car.
"Anybody notice something's up with him?" Joe turned and asked after Andy vanished from sight.
"Big time," Terry nodded.
"Uh, yeah, absolutely," Andres agreed.
"Definitely. He didn't even laugh at my jokes like he usually does," Joel vocalized his disappointment.
"Don't worry, Joel, I did!" Dirk pounded fists with him, "Hilarious as always!" Joel smiled and momentarily forgot what he was upset about.
Andy got to his car and jumped in quickly, pushing the ignition button and throwing the car in drive. His tires squealed as he took off out of the parking lot and out onto the busy road. He weaved through traffic, mostly obeying traffic laws as he couldn't afford to be pulled over. He finally made it back to the lot and pulled up to the security gate. With luck on his side, the next guard hadn't started his shift, and the current guard smiled, slightly waved, and pushed the button to lift the gate, allowing him through. He parked his car and ran straight to Melissa's trailer. Pounding on the door, he stepped back and waited for her to answer to no avail. He pounded again, a little more forcefully this time, but still, she didn't answer. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it to their text conversations. The screen still read his last text as 'delivered' and not 'read'. 'What is going on with you, Mel?' He clicked her contact photo and then clicked call, raising the phone to his ear and loud rings echoed back at him. 'Pick up!' he silently demanded.
The call went to voicemail and Andy pulled it away from his ear, slamming his thumb down on the red button. He tossed his head back in frustration as his hand covered his brows and eyes. He swiped his hand down his face and refocused on the phone, typing back in their chat, Hey Mel, call me when you see this, I don't care what time it is. He pressed send and walked back down the steps of her trailer, glancing back one more time before heading back to his car to go home.
...
Melissa pushed her feet against the other side of the tub, her body moving into an upright position. She pushed her now soaked hair behind her shoulders, feeling the water cascade down her back. She pulled her knees to her chest and laid her forehead against them as the thoughts creeped back in.
'Mel…' Andy's voice echoed over and over in her head. The tension had risen so greatly while having him pressed against the door in his trailer. His breath on her face, her breath on his, the distance between them so minute that it didn't take but a flinch for their lips to meet. The tingling sensation she got as soon as they did, the fire she felt under her skin and his hands moved along her back. The way everything felt at that moment, she hadn't imagined it. This was real for her.
She wiped away the tears that had begun to fall once more, mixing with the wetness from the bath. The water had become chilled, so finding the strength to carry herself out of this dark moment, she stood, unplugging the drain, and turning the water back on, pulling the spout upright, water raining down on her moments later. She tipped her head back and let the water run over her face and down her body to the tub floor. She stayed like this for a while until she felt the need to shampoo and condition her hair, shave, and wash her body. As she was finishing, she noticed a significant decrease in the warmth of the water, realizing that she had been showering for a while. Once all the soap had washed away, she turned the water off and stepped out, grabbing a towel from the rack on the wall. She started with drying her face and then flipped her head over, wrapping her hair and standing back upright. This motion gave her a dizzy spell and she reached for the bathroom counter. 'Woah, guess it's been a minute since I've eaten anything,' she thought. After grabbing another towel and drying, then wrapping her body, she left the bathroom and went to the kitchen, grabbing an apple from the bowl on the island. She took it back to her bedroom and laid down in bed with it, taking small nibbles here and there.
She reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the folder of papers with all the information needed on where and when to be on set for that week. She flipped it open and moved to the page marked with when she should be in hair and make-up. 'Five thirty in the morning, no change,' she noted. She flipped it shut and reached for where she normally places her phone. Noticing it wasn't there, she sat up, 'Where did I leave it? It must be in the car,' she thought, mindfully noting it hadn't been in her pocket when she undressed for her shower.
She stood, tossing the now half-eaten apple into the small garbage container in the corner and went to the closet to find pajamas. She went with a gray lacy tank top and pink striped pajama bottoms. Walking back out to the main living space, she slipped on her Uggs and grabbed her keys, unlocking the front door and heading out to her car. She went around to the passenger side and opened the door, beginning to search for said phone. It took a minute to find as it had fallen down the side and then underneath the passenger seat. She flipped it over in her hand and noticed two texts and a missed call notification from Andy. 'Shit,' she thought, 'What if that was something important?'
She walked back inside, re-locked the front door, and made it back to her bedroom before opening her phone and clicking the messages icon. The app opened and went directly to her conversation with Andy.
She read his messages and her heart sank, but before she had the chance to start typing any kind of response, Andy's contact photo appeared as her phone rang out, notifying her of his call. She hesitated her finger over the red button, but ultimately decided against her nerves and pressed the green answer button, raising the phone to her ear, "Hello?" her voice cracked just above a whisper.
"Mel, are you ok?" Andy's voice sounded worried.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about early," Melissa began, "You had plans and I didn't want to bother you anymore about work." 'Sure, that's what was going on!' She slapped her free hands against her forehead in frustration.
"Where are you, can I see you, can we talk?" Andy's tone hadn't changed, it almost felt like there was more worry in his tone than before.
Melissa tried to play it cool, "I'm actually about to go to bed, we're good Andy. I prom…. Yeah, no, we're good. I'll see you on set tomorrow?" She cut herself off from promising a lie and attempted to end the phone call then and there to mask any potential feelings rising to the surface.
"Mel, stop. I know when you're lying. Can I please come over so we can talk?" Andy's voice changed from worried to pleading. He did not want to wait several more hours before he was face to face again with the woman he was falling for.
Melissa audibly sighed before answering, "Sure…I'll leave the front door unlocked." She pulled the phone away from her ear and pressed the red button. She couldn't hold it together long enough to say goodbye.
Andy heard the click of the line and took a deep breath. He threw his phone down in the passenger seat and set his eyes on the road, "It's now or never," he spoke allowed to himself.
Fifteen minutes later, Andy pulled into Melissa's driveway. Only the front porch light was on. He parked his car, grabbed his keys from the cup holder and walked up to the door. He felt the need to knock his arrival before just walking inside, giving Melissa a heads up. He turned the handle of the door and opened it with ease, stepping in and closing it behind him.
"Mel?" Andy's voice called out into the dim room, "I'm here."
Melissa's heart began thumping loudly in her chest as she heard his voice. He had been to her home many times before, but she knew this time was different. She knew that after tonight, things would never be the same with them again.
"Back here!" she croaked out, trying and failing to hide the nerves jolting through her whole body. She adjusted on her bed and brushed her fingers through her still wet hair.
Andy followed Mel's voice back to her bedroom. He stopped in the doorframe, his eyes landing on her beautiful petite frame sitting alone in her king sized bed. He noted the wet hair hanging down around her shoulders and the way she nervously held herself.
'Oh, thank god,' he thought to himself, 'She looks just as nervous as I am…but hopefully for the same reason…' He pulled himself back to reality before he honed in on any negative thoughts. "Hi…may I?" he gestured to the empty side of the bed. She nodded in response and followed him with her eyes as he slid his shoes off and walked the short distance from the door to her bed, closing the space between them. He sat down and shifted his body to face hers, "Listen, I don't want to leave today like we did. I never meant to make you feel uncomfort-…"
Melissa cut him off, "You didn't make me feel uncomfortable." She spoke under her breath next as her head shifted down and away from him, "quite the opposite actually."
"What was that?" he tilted his head, hiding the playful smirk that attempted to spill onto his face.
"What? Nothing," she looked back at him, "Listen, Andy, I appreciate you wanting to help make things less awkward for the scenes we have coming up, it doesn't have to be anything more than that. We kissed…yes…" she fought through the embarrassment tingling through her neck and up to her cheeks, "but it was for work, that's all." Her own words broke her down inside, but she maintained as cool as a cucumber on the outside.
Andy's stomach dropped, did she really mean what she was saying? "Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's good then…" he shifted on the bed, standing up and heading back to where he had taken his shoes off, "that's really all I need to know. So, you're sure we're good?"
Melissa fought tears stinging her eyes as she watched the man she wanted the world with, move off the bed and away from her. She fanned them away before he turned around to look at her again. She stood and walked over to him, "Yeah…", the silence was loud between her words, "we're good."
Andy through his arms open, smiling, "hug it out, friend?"
Melissa snorted a giggle at this gesture and closed the space between them. Wrapping her arms around him, she knew at that moment there was no place else and no one else she wanted to be with.
Andy held her snuggly, breathing in her scent and feeling the warmth she carried with her. This woman could do whatever she wanted to him, and he would always say yes. She had no idea the power she had over him.
Their hug lasted and eternity and only seconds all at the same time. They both pulled away from one another, trying to disguise the pain it caused them to do so, "Ok, I'll see you at work in only….oh my god, 6 hours?" Andy's voice shrieked, it was already after 11p.m.
Melissa laughed at his shriek, "Come on man, we've slept less and been fine!" She followed him as he turned and headed to the front door to leave.
"Yeah, you're right. This isn't as bad as my SNL days, I almost never slept….it was great!" his tone was rich with sarcasm,
Melissa reached and grabbed his arm as his other hand extended to grab the doorknob, "Andy?"
"Yeah?" he turned to look back at her.
"Thanks for checking on me, on us." Her voice was soft, and her eyes gazed longingly into his as she knew his next steps were out the door and it hurt to watch him go. So much had happened in a day and all these new feelings she allowed herself to accept felt suffocating in this moment.
Andy leaned over, wrapping his hand around her upper arm and pulling her in, kissing her on the forehead, "Always, Mel. You're one of my best friends; I always worry about you."
Melissa closed her eyes as his lips made contact with her forehead and remained closed when he pulled away. Her head tilted down as she listened to his kind words. She forced her eyes back open and smiled at him as they separated and he walked out. She remained at the door until she saw him back out of her driveway and wave to one another as he drove off. Closing the door to her home felt like closing the door on any kind of future with Andy, but she knew, where there's a will, there's a way, and for now, this was the way things had to be. If he reciprocated the feelings she had, their time would come. She walked back to her bedroom and flopped herself into bed, rolling around until she was comfortable and within minutes, she was asleep.