Pick Me Up

*Jaime’s POV*

“She was just there, with me in the elevator” I reiterated, confused as to where and how Marley disappeared so fast.

“Jaime, who is Marley” Mike asked questioned, putting emphasis on her name.

“She’s the girl who picked me up from the side of the road when it began to rain and she bought me here. She’s staying at this hotel too because she works in Sydney” I started, although I received very confused looks from the guys. “She has blue wavy hair tucked into a grey beanie and black skinny jeans” I added, attempting to describe her in order to find her.

“So… you let a complete and total stranger, pick you up on the side of the road, in the middle of Australia?” Vic questioned, anger laced throughout his forcefully calm words. I shrugged, stating yes, that is exactly what happened.

“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that Jaime, you could have been murdered!” He roared. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you go walking! I should have waited until we made it to Sydney at least!”

Vic’s eyes beamed fury whilst his words felt like swords in my chest. I never meant to upset Vic like I have. Man, I hate when he gets this angry over anything. I always feel so awful inside, even when the other guys become mad.

“Vic, she offered, she checked me for weapons and everything. Vic, I had no other choice. I was getting saturated and I had no way of getting here after I broke my phone. If it wasn’t for her, god knows where I’d be” I pleaded.

Vic breathed heavily, anger still controlling most of his thoughts. I couldn’t care less about how mad he is at me, I just needed him to understand why I did what I did. I had no other choice, and Marley was a very comforting and welcoming person. I only felt good vibes from her.

“I’m sorry Vic, but I’m here in once piece, safe and sound and ready to check in and head to the venue”. I looked towards Tony and Mike who stood behind him and pleaded to them with my eyes. I begged for them to see things the way I did, and just be happy that I’m safe and well. Eventually their shoulders rested and Vic let out a breath, releasing his frustration.

“So long as you’re safe and well” he mumbled. He gave me a pat on the shoulder and we headed over to the reception desk.

Whilst our tour manager signed us in and allocated us our rooms, I could not keep the thought of Marley off my mind. Paired with being confused as to why her mood changed suddenly when we left the car and entered the elevator, I felt like I needed to go find her, wherever she may be in this hotel and knowing that she was here in this building somewhere amped my feelings. I never actually got to thank her for picking me up and helping me get here. I never got to memorise her cute little hidden smile and I never got to ask her if she wanted to meet up tomorrow for coffee before we go get my new phone.

Also, I never actually got her number or any contact details to find her to go get my phone tomorrow. In this realisation, I felt like she had given me an empty promise. She never actually told me how to find her tomorrow, or how to even get a hold of her. I began to wonder if she’d just said yes to helping me just to dissipate the awkward atmosphere that I had created for her. A nervously anti-social girl actually making plans with a complete stranger? I don’t understand why she would do such a thing. She seemed to be invested in the arrangement, happy to have made a friend even.

I shook the thought from my mind as best I could, pushing the thought of Marley’s beautiful blue waves tucked under her beanie to the back of my mind. I forced myself to accept that I will probably never see her again. In a way, I felt betrayed by her. I really felt as if I made a genuine connection with her, that I’d really made a friend in her. I guess not.

Noticing me in a trance, Tony tugged at my arm and lead me to the elevator, where he indicated to me that we were staying on the third floor of the hotel. Matt, our tour manager, gave me a key to the room, which had 227 written on it. I smiled weakly at him.

We entered the rooms and I was staying in a room with Vic, whilst Mike and Tony were staying in the adjoining room. Matt and the others were staying across the hall from us. I closed the door, throwing my suitcase down and threw myself face first into the large hotel bed, landing on the red floral design that lay across the bottom of the bright white quilt. Landing heavily, I groaned at the pain, resulting in a snicker from Vic who sat adjacent.

“I think I broke my nose” I mumbled into the feathery quilt.

“Well you landed on the red part, so if your nose is bleeding, you’re good. Keep it there” Vic laughs. I sat up, rubbing my nose and found him opening his suitcase to find his phone charger. He was messaging his girlfriend Danielle. She was a beautiful girl.

I lay back normally on the bed, my head resting in the loose, feathery pillow and I pulled out my now smashed phone, whimpering at the memory of Jess trying to call me an hour ago. I sat it on my chest and closed my eyes, breathing deeply to calm the emotions rising within me. Jess made me so angry. But it wasn’t anger I was feeling, I can’t describe it.

“You miss her, don’t you?” Vic cooed from across the bed.

I sat up and gave him a questioning look. “Jess, you miss her?”

“Oh god, no. I don’t miss her at all” I growled. “She can go rot in hell” I ended.

“Oh, I though you would have been upset about her leaving? You’re sighing a lot over there. Kinda sounds like you’re trying to suppress tears” Vic questioned.

“To be honest Vic, this morning I was upset and heartbroken, now, I just feel emotionless, especially when it comes to thinking or hearing about her” I said honestly. I feel absolutely nothing right now.

“Oh… that was… fast” Vic stuttered awkwardly, obviously taken aback by my cruel sounding words. “Why so fast?” he coughed.

I sat there for a minute, intrigued by his question. I couldn’t think of any reason as to why I felt nothing towards her so fast. I mean, I was fuming all morning, angry that the love of my life would do this to me. But now, you’d think I’d be upset, crying almost, feeling heartbroken beyond repair, however, I’m not. And, I’m not really sure I know why. It feels as if my heart has put a bandaid over the bullet wound and carried on as normal.

“I don’t know, Vic” I said almost silently. I really didn’t know why.

“Odd…” he mumbled. “I’m sorry though Himes” he sorrowfully smiled at me, “for yelling at your earlier”

“Vic chill, I practically got lost for two hours. You have every right to be angry” I mumbled, really wishing the conversation would end here.

I lay there for a while, with my eyes closed, softly resting, knowing we didn’t have to get up and go to the venue for at least an hour. I listened to Vic’s phone buzz regularly from messaging Jess. But he soon struck up another conversation.

“So, tell me about this Marley chick whom brought you back to us” he cheered.

And in hearing her name, my heart fluttered. Emotion reawakening within me. Marley. She’s the reason I feel nothing towards Jess, because somehow, everything I felt instantly became invested in Marley.

“Um, there’s nothing really to say” I started. “She’s Australian, works in Sydney as an assistant sound tech, attends university, plays piano” I rattled. “Oh! And she has really nice dark blue eyes, and really pretty light blue wavy hair, and really good taste in music, really good piano player, although, she is a bit shy and ‘out of the social norm’” I quoted. I felt a large smile envelop my face as I told Vic everything I learned and liked about her, even though I’d only spent an hour with her.

“Oh, wow” Vic stuttered.

“Yeah, she was really nice, Vic” I sighed happily.

“Didn’t you say earlier that she was staying in the same hotel?” he questioned with a hint in his voice.

“Yeah, but I don’t know where she is staying. I’d like to find her and thank her for dropping me off here as I never got the chance to because you were barrelling towards me” I laughed. “she disappeared right after we got out of the elevator”

“Oh, well I mean we are here for two nights, maybe we will run into her and you can thank her then, and then introduce me to this heroine” he giggled.

“Yeah, maybe” I sighed.

Maybe Vic was right. I might get a chance to run into Marley whilst we’re here. And just thinking about that made butterflies swirl in my stomach. I felt inspired to go look for her right then and there, thinking I might find her in the hallways or at the bar near the reception area.

But before I could get up and wonder the halls in false hope of ‘casually finding Marley’, Matt knocked on our door, calling for us to get up and get ready to head to the venue for the show tonight. Too bad I know I won’t find Marley there.

Notes

So some more Jaime cuteness. Sorry this is shitty.