Andy

I woke to bright, warm sunlight on my eyelids and a knock on my bedroom door. Groggily, I pulled myself up into a sitting position, taking a moment to rub my eyes and yawn before yanking my tired bones along with me as I trotted to the door.

Fumbling drunkenly with the lock, I pulled open the door in a gust of annoyance and exhaustion, huffing in relief when it finally opened, to find my Dad on the other side of the door, looking all dapper. Freshly shaven jaw, clean clothes, styled hair still dripping from his shower and a smile that told me there had been a new sense of hope instilled into him because of our visit with Mickey yesterday.

It was undoubtedly good to see him in good spirits, but I couldn’t figure out why he was here at this hour.

“What’s up?” I yawned, rubbing my eyes to wake up as quickly as I could. “What time is it?”

He chuckled, “Uh... Almost noon. Mom dropped by two hours ago, concerned that you didn’t answer, and used the spare key to find you passed out cold. Long night?”

The previous nights’ events rush back to me in one big confusing, colorful clump and I wince, and sigh. “Oh... Yeah.”

“Seems we’ve traded places today.” He notes with a lopsided smile, triggering a smile out of me regardless of the exhaustion clouding my ability to comprehend.

“Guess so... How are you, by the way?”

“Much better, now.” He replied, slipping past me into the room, heading to the window the same way I had the prior morning in his room. “It’s definitely a big, fresh breath of air knowing I have a job, now.”

He pondered, looking out the vast wall of glass at the busy city streets below with a fond, cheerful gaze.

I yawned again, closing the room door and going to sit on the edge of my bed, taking a moment to glance to my left at the other bed, now empty and void of all ghostly presence. Where did they go?

My eyes scan the room and I see the piece of hotel stationary left on the TV stand, and my gaze darts to my Dad’s back. He’s rocking back and fourth on the balls of his feet in front of the window, taking in the view. I take the moment of distraction to hop up and grab the note before he notices it.

“What’s that?” He asked, turning around just as I grab the piece of paper. My eyes widen and he stares at the paper in my hand.

“Oh...” I trailed off, racking my brain for an excuse. “Just trash.” I crumpled it up into a tight little ball and tossed it in a low arc to my left into the small woven trash bin. “What are we doing today?”

Suspicion was in his narrowed eyes for a few more moments until he thought better of it and cleared his throat. “We’re going to your Aunt Lucy and Uncle Jasper’s house. The twins, Evelyn, and your cousin Markus will be there, too.”

I stood there rubbing my eyes, trying to make my brain work faster to process this information. Danny and Daryl were the twins, both twenty years old now with successful jobs. Markus was my Aunt Jane’s son, both she and my Uncle Irvin live in Washington State.

I haven’t seen Markus in a long damn time, but he posts enough pictures of himself on social media to make up for it. He has a girlfriend, too, who is supposedly psychic to some degree and does palm readings for some extra spending money.

A few months back, I would have scoffed at this, but now... Having a spirit for my best friend, it’s pretty clear that most and possibly all weird things are more than plausible.

“Oh, okay...” I trailed off. “When are we leaving?”

“I was hoping you’d be ready, actually.” He smirked, “can you be ready in twenty?”

I nod, grateful now that I decided to take a shower before going to bed last night. It was one less thing I’d have to tackle before getting ready for the day.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be back in twenty minutes to get you.”

“Okay.” I agreed, stepping to the side as he made his way to the bedroom door, leaving and locking it behind him without another word.

Instead of launching into brushing and curling my hair, with one hand while doing my makeup with the other while wearing a haphazardly crooked shirt and an unhooked bra, standing in the bathroom mirror in a frenzy to get ready - I took another minute to dash to the trashcan, falling to my knees to dig through the scraps of paper and wrappers for the note.

I find the crushed ball a few seconds later, it had sunk to the bottom of the bin. Hurridly, I unfolded it, already crunched on time, I read the messy chicken scratch font that clearly belonged to Andy.

~~~


Ash,

Ashley and I headed out this morning - didn’t want to wake you. We should be back before you leave, if not, have fun and stay safe. We’re just doing some sightseeing around the city, nothing major. And if you’re up for it, we’ll go swimming again tonight, or we can do some more exploring. Talk to you later, bitch.

Xx,

Andy

~~~


“Asshole.” I laughed to myself, setting the note aside on the rough hotel carpet, jumping up to go pick out a change of clothes from my suitcase.

It made me smile that our nicknames for one another had stood the test of time. To anyone observing, us calling each other ‘bitch’ and ‘asshole’ would be considered an unhealthy relationship, but I think if anything it’s made us stronger.

I put on a cute, pastel yellow floral blouse with a frilly white skirt that came just above my knees. Another one of my church attire pieces. I always loved wearing dresses when I was younger because it gave me the illusion of being a princess, ruling as far as my backyard reached. Sometimes my Dad would play pretend with me, either playing the role of the king or the evil bandit. We’d spend full afternoons running around our patchy background pretending to be riding elegant horses into battle, and stealing treasure from one another’s castles, which were nothing more than stacks of empty cardboard boxes with flowers drawn on the sides in crayon.

I suppose even now, dresses give me the same feeling. Only now, I feel less inclined to run around in my backyard shouting “Thief” into the woods.

I finished getting ready and tossed everything back into my makeup bag, reaching for my phone to see the screen lit up with two message alerts. One was from Elizabeth, and the other was from CC.

Elizabeth’s message surprised me, but I opted to open CC’s instead.

-How’s paradise?
-Glorious. I respond, just as I hear a knock at the bedroom door, followed by my Dad calling out, asking if I’m ready to go.

“Yeah!” I shout back, turning off my phone, shoving it in my bag along with a few other essentials, grabbing my room key, turning off the light and joining him in the hall.

“Ready.” I give him a confident smile, and we head down to the lobby where Mom already is, waiting for us to head out to the car.

Just as we’re making our way across the lobby floor, one of the receptionists look up and smile at us, saying “Have a nice day! Looks like you’re missing one.” She laughs, looking back down at her computer.

My Dad, assumes she meant Mom, but the intent look she gives me following the comment meant something very different. I silently cursed Andy for being visible during our stroll through the lobby late last night.

He nods, returns the friendly gesture, and pushes open the revolving door that pushes us out into the humid California heat. The pavement is already baking, and the streets surrounding the hotel are backed up with traffic.

“Ashley, dammit, give it back.”

I looked up quicker than any normal person should have, to see Andy and Ashley at the far end of the parking lot, making their way slowly towards the hotel, bickering and rough housing.

Andy reaches across Ashley’s outstretched arms for the small piece of colored plastic in the hand above his head. Andy’s slightly taller than his opponent, but he also seemed disinterested in actually getting it back. Finally, he shoves Ashley’s chest back with a laugh, turning away from the crash site with a brilliant grin on his face.

And cliche as could be, his eyes scan the lot and see the obnoxiously dressed girl sulking in the heat, headed for the car across the lot. He grins wider and gets half a wave in the air before Ashley crouches behind him like a lion, lunging at his back, tearing him closer to the ground with the tackle.

I watched them shove, laugh and put each other into headlocks while they make slow progress towards their destination, their path deterred.

Losing complete interest in the match, Andy heads towards me just as we reach the car. Dad is fumbling with keys, providing the perfect opportunity for a quick chat.

“So you’re off?” Andy asks, burying his hands deep in his skinny jeans’ pockets, wearing a lopsided grin on his face. Ashley hangs back behind him, looking wary of me.

I nod as inconspicuously as I can, looking back at my Dad as he gets the lock and reaches around the doorframe to unlock mine.

“You coming with?” I murmur under my breath hopefully, “the offer still stands.”

I slide in, sitting beside my Dad, patting the seat to my right. Ashley glares at Andy as he makes his decision and gets in.

“Dude, I don’t-”

“Get in the damn car, Ashley.” Andy gives him a playfully pissed off look.

Peeved and not in the mood for any more bullshit, Ashley grudgingly slides into the seat beside Andy, taking the window seat behind my Mother. He crosses his arms like an upset child, staring out at the colorful surroundings as we buckle up and head out of the hotel parking lot to start today’s adventure.

“Cheer up, bud.” Andy clapped his friend sharply on the shoulder. “You’ll like this.”

“Doubt it.” Ashley muttered, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes. I can get a better look at him now, and I realize that in the sunlight, his hair is almost a bronze shade of brown.

He clasps his fingers together, a few fingers bearing heavy looking metal rings in the shapes of coiled snakes and skulls. How comforting.

“I can’t believe how mellow you’ve gotten...” Ashley shakes his head in disgusted disbelief, yet there is a shimmer of amusement in his eyes, which I see just before he lowers his darkly tinted aviators onto the angular bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe you drug me into this shit.”

Andy rolled his eyes, but his cheerful mood did not waver.

Notes

It feels glorious to be working on this story again! Once I worked past the initial writers block, it got easier. It's even easier when I can take my computer and write somewhere else (preferably outdoors) out of reach of internet connection, because I'll be writing on the story, and decide to check facebook real quick, and three hours later I'm watching videos on Youtube about how colorblind people feel lol works best with no distractions.

Also! I know where the story is headed next, and as a hint, it'll be going back to it's roots for the finale.