Thursday, March 31, 2011

all alone in an empty room

They'd drove a long way. And still they weren't home yet. The interstate was a slow grind in the black ice and snowy winds. It was just strange, this winter. The elements were on a vengeance of some kind.

Amber was so tired. They were at a motel room now. They'd gotten the last room. Or so they were told. It was a bland room. A picture of a cornfield hung on the barren wall, but it made the room feel all the more naked. As if, no one would ever guess they were in Iowa. She felt a little headache-like from her screaming match with her Mom.

OK, she was the one who screamed. As if she needed to get it out of her system. How her parents should have been divorced, a long time ago. She might have been a different person. She claimed her mother didn't stand up to her father. And what about Heath? What had they done to him? Shunning him like that because he was gay. It went on and on. And..she'd left with Roger in the midst of it.

But now her head was throbbing. She might be physically ill.

"Take a shower. You'll feel better." Roger shrugged. He was clicking through channels on the TV, like a kid.

Amber shook her head, no. She laid down in her coat and fully clothed.

Roger made a call. She didn't even know who he was talking too. Her head, kept throbbing.

He finally gave her his cell.

"What?" She fretted slightly as if he might be annoying her, but here they were. First time with a real bed and what they usually did together..was not on her mind.

"Its Olivia."

"Hullo." Amber made herself sit up.

"This storm will not go away." Olivia's voice was light. "How are you?"

"I kind of ...have a headache." Amber wondered if she was just giving herself this headache.

"Listen, Doyle went with Kyle. Just come back here, will you? I want you to be, OK. You don't have to be with Roger. You don't have to. You can still be here and not with him."

"Uh-huh." She swallowed back the pain in her strained throat. But a part of her wanted to be with him. Just to see what happened. She guessed.

"You can talk to me, you know. I know him probably better than a lot of people. I just want you, to know, its all right. You're not a bad person." Olivia told her. But she sensed that Olivia thought Roger was bad.

"I hope I'll see you tomorrow." Amber wanted things to get back to normal. When would anything be normal again? She'd made this rift deeper between her parents now. All she had was Roger. She couldn't forget that.

6 comments:

  1. I'm glad Olivia is there to hear her out - she's a great friend. :)

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  2. Oh, I hope she knows she can get over this..and move forward..without Roger.

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  3. Really, interesting how they have a room now, but no sex.

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  4. Hopefully, things will get better once she gets to Olivia. Hope she makes up with her Mom.

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