What Did I Ever Do To You?, chapter 9
* Holly's POV*
We packed into Billie's mom's car. I sat next to Tré in the back, while Billie was driving and Mike was riding shotgun.
"Billie, are we going back to your house?" I asked him as he started the car.
"Yeah, do you have a problem?" Billie asked, smiling.
"Well, yes I do," I said, and crossed my arms.
"What is it?" Billie said, obviously not really listening to me.
"It's too far away," I said indignantly.
"Well, too bad. We don't have any place closer," Billie said, focusing on the highway in front of him.
"As a matter of fact, we do. And I have room for all of you back at my apartment," I said, smiling. Mike and Tré looked over at me, astonished. Billie's jaw dropped open.
"You...you have an...apartment?" Mike asked again.
"Didn't I just say that?" I retorted. "Turn off the highway here, Billie." I said, but he didn't turn.
"It's probably paid for by Jack, isn't it? The little hotshot -" Billie started, but I cut him off.
"No, I'm paying for it all on my own money. You just missed my exit! We have to turn off and go around," I said again. Tré was still looking at me with his eyes as wide as ever.
"Do you mean that there's no adults around?" Tré asked.
"Yeah, I live there all by myself. Although there are adults in the floors above and below me, even on my floor, but they don't care what anybody else is doing in their own apartment." I said to Tré, winking. He smiled.
"Beer party!" Tre screamed.
"Yes, that would be nice if I actually had beer, Tré." I said, he sulked again.
"Come on, Bill, turn around. We can just go to Holly's and stay there the night, and call your mom to tell her where we are," Mike said, trying to take the wheel from Billie, but he didn't have to. Billie was already turning off the next exit.
Soon, with much direction from me, we found our way back to my apartment. I was glad that they hadn't asked me how I was keeping up the rent for this place, I didn't really want to tell them that I was trying to become a successful movie star and that I was doing basically a commercial a week. I unlocked my apartment door and rushed inside, eager to hide the script I left carelessly on the counter.
"Need to pee?" Tré asked, very seriously.
I laughed, "No."
"Well, I do. Where's your bathroom?"
"Second door on the left, down that hallway," I said, pointing vaguely in the direction the hallway was.
"This place is nice," Mike said, peering around my kitchen. Luckily, I had hid my script in a drawer in my bedroom, where none of them should dare venture...yet.
"Really nice," Billie said. I did like my apartment, although it was basically the same since I moved in, except with my stuff in it. I hadn't painted or wallpapered or anything. I hadn't even changed any of the appliances.
"Um...thanks," I said nervously. I went over to my couch and picked up a magazine, pretending to read.
"Holly, don't be nervous around us. It's just like before you went to college, except we're older and we have Tré as our drummeré" Mike said as he came over and sat next to me.
Oh, but he didn't know how nervous I was about them finding out about me, and my horrible past. Sure, they were great people and I trusted them with my life, but I could never tell them what happened to me before I met them, and what was going on while I knew them.
I couldn't tell them about why I wouldn't let them over to my house, or why I wouldn't let them call, or why I lied about having a dog, or why I lied about so many other things. I couldn't come to it. It was my secret and nobody else needed to know. They would think me weak, worthless. That I had lived through it and I didn't come out on top. But that didn't matter now. I knew that I was nervous about Billie and Mike finally in a place I called home.
"I'm not really, it's just, well, I don't know, I've never been a good hostess," I laughed.
"Don't worry, we don't care. We'll just help ourselves to emptying your fridge," Mike said. I laughed.
"Well, then, I'll have to do a lot more shopping."
"I know everyone missed me," Tré came out of the bathroom, making a huge entrance.
"Not me," Billie said jokingly, and was searching for something.
"What are you looking for Billie?" I asked him, getting up to walk over to him.
"Where's your phone?"
"Oh, I forgot! You guys are welcome to stay the night! Oh, the phone's in my bedroom, the last door on the right down that hallway," I said, pointing to the same hallway Tre had just emerged from.
Billie filed into my room, and I after him, trying to clean the place up a bit. I had really let it go in the past few weeks I had lived here after coming back from graduation.
I pointed to the phone on my bedside table. He sat on my bed and dialed his home phone number. I could hear his conversation, but there was obviously no point in actually paying attention. His mom knew exactly who I was and was probably very excited to know that I was back from college.
"Well," Billie said, as he hung up my phone, "My mom's really excited you're back from college, and she wants you to come with us back up to Pinole, so she can see you."
"I can't," I said after a couple of minutes, remembering the script that was in my drawer.
"Why not?"
"I have to work tomorrow," I said bluntly, then I grabbed Billie's hand and pulled him out of my bedroom.
"Okay, guys, since you should all know, well maybe not you Tré, that I'm the worst cook in the world, where do you wanna order from?" I said once we came out of the bedroom. Mike kind of looked down a little when he saw that I was still holding onto Billie's hand.
I let go of Billie's hand and sat on the couch in between Tré and Mike.
"Chinese!" Tre screamed.
"Okay, one vote for Chinese. What do you want, Mike?" I asked, turning to him.
"I don't care, anything that's edible," Mike said, putting his head on his hands.
"Okay, two votes that don't care. What do you want, Billie?" I asked, and looked over to him expectantly.
"Well, we'd never decide if I didn't pick otherwise, so I pick Chinese," He said.
We all went into my bedroom again. Well, that's where the phone was and we had to order.
"Okay, you can look around, just don't touch anything!" I said as I picked up the phone and ordered.
Mike and Tré were by my dresser, the same one where I hid my script. I was getting slightly nervous, knowing they never listened to what I say. But, to my amazement, they didn't touch anything.
"Okay, so it'll be here in 30 minutes," I said, getting up and walking out of my bedroom.
"Holly, what do you do?" Mike called from still in my bedroom.
Did he find my script? I was extremely scared and nervous.
"Why do you want to know?" I asked, getting kind of annoyed, trying to mask my nervousness.
"I was just wondering, I mean you said you had to go to work tomorrow, maybe we could drop you off." Mike said, holding his hands up in the defeated position in a 'U' around his head.
"No, it's okay. My car's out in the lot anyways. You guys should get home tomorrow," I said.
Mike walked out of my bedroom and we all sat down in the living room/spare bedroom area. I had two twin beds in the corner and the couch pulled out into a queen sized bed, but there was also two other chairs and a TV and a coffee table in the room, so I didn't really know what to call it.
"So what do you wanna do until the food gets here?" Billie asked. I looked at Mike and Tré. Mike just shrugged, but Tré was smiling.
"What, Tré?" I asked.
"Well, I know of something we could do..." Tré said, still grinning devilishly.
"And that would be?" Mike asked apprehensively. I think he spoke for the three of us, because we were all cringing at the thought.
"Well, we could play spin the bottle..." Tre said, still grinning.
"Oh, no, the odds aren't even! There HAS to be at least two other girls here with me, then it would be fair," I said, getting up to stare at him.
"So? Who said anything about being fair?" Tré asked, still grinning.
We sat there arguing, and about 10 minutes later I noticed that Billie and Mike hadn't said anything.
"Well, what do you two think?" I asked them. They were both smiling at me.
"We think it's a great idea," Billie said, rubbing his hands together.
"You do know that your chances of kissing a guy, are a lot higher than kissing me, right?" I asked.
"Sure, whatever," Billie said.
"No, I refuse to play spin the bottle until there's an even ratio of boys to girls." I said. They all looked at me, confused.
"And even what?" Mike asked.
"A ratio, where there's the same amount of boys as there are girls." I said, walking over into the kitchen.
"Then, do you have any girlfriends we could call?" Tré asked. I guess he really wanted to play. I thought about it for a minute, and I realized I had never really had any girlfriends. Sure, some nice acquaintences, but my only true friend/boyfriend during college was Jack, and then before that my friends were Billie and Mike, and before I met Billie and Mike, I never really had friends in the first place.
"No," I said bluntly, scouring my fridge for something good to eat.
"What do you mean? You girls always travel in packs of 7 or 8," Tré said.
"I guess I've never really had a girlfriends. My friends have always been guys," I said, finding some pop.
"Do you guys mind Pepsi for drinks?"
"What?! Who eats Pepsi with Chinese food?!" Billie said, coming into the kitchen and taking over my fridge scouring duties. 2 minutes later, he came out of the fridge and said to me, "I guess we do."
"Exactly." I said, and just then, the doorbell rang. The food was here.
We packed into Billie's mom's car. I sat next to Tré in the back, while Billie was driving and Mike was riding shotgun.
"Billie, are we going back to your house?" I asked him as he started the car.
"Yeah, do you have a problem?" Billie asked, smiling.
"Well, yes I do," I said, and crossed my arms.
"What is it?" Billie said, obviously not really listening to me.
"It's too far away," I said indignantly.
"Well, too bad. We don't have any place closer," Billie said, focusing on the highway in front of him.
"As a matter of fact, we do. And I have room for all of you back at my apartment," I said, smiling. Mike and Tré looked over at me, astonished. Billie's jaw dropped open.
"You...you have an...apartment?" Mike asked again.
"Didn't I just say that?" I retorted. "Turn off the highway here, Billie." I said, but he didn't turn.
"It's probably paid for by Jack, isn't it? The little hotshot -" Billie started, but I cut him off.
"No, I'm paying for it all on my own money. You just missed my exit! We have to turn off and go around," I said again. Tré was still looking at me with his eyes as wide as ever.
"Do you mean that there's no adults around?" Tré asked.
"Yeah, I live there all by myself. Although there are adults in the floors above and below me, even on my floor, but they don't care what anybody else is doing in their own apartment." I said to Tré, winking. He smiled.
"Beer party!" Tre screamed.
"Yes, that would be nice if I actually had beer, Tré." I said, he sulked again.
"Come on, Bill, turn around. We can just go to Holly's and stay there the night, and call your mom to tell her where we are," Mike said, trying to take the wheel from Billie, but he didn't have to. Billie was already turning off the next exit.
Soon, with much direction from me, we found our way back to my apartment. I was glad that they hadn't asked me how I was keeping up the rent for this place, I didn't really want to tell them that I was trying to become a successful movie star and that I was doing basically a commercial a week. I unlocked my apartment door and rushed inside, eager to hide the script I left carelessly on the counter.
"Need to pee?" Tré asked, very seriously.
I laughed, "No."
"Well, I do. Where's your bathroom?"
"Second door on the left, down that hallway," I said, pointing vaguely in the direction the hallway was.
"This place is nice," Mike said, peering around my kitchen. Luckily, I had hid my script in a drawer in my bedroom, where none of them should dare venture...yet.
"Really nice," Billie said. I did like my apartment, although it was basically the same since I moved in, except with my stuff in it. I hadn't painted or wallpapered or anything. I hadn't even changed any of the appliances.
"Um...thanks," I said nervously. I went over to my couch and picked up a magazine, pretending to read.
"Holly, don't be nervous around us. It's just like before you went to college, except we're older and we have Tré as our drummeré" Mike said as he came over and sat next to me.
Oh, but he didn't know how nervous I was about them finding out about me, and my horrible past. Sure, they were great people and I trusted them with my life, but I could never tell them what happened to me before I met them, and what was going on while I knew them.
I couldn't tell them about why I wouldn't let them over to my house, or why I wouldn't let them call, or why I lied about having a dog, or why I lied about so many other things. I couldn't come to it. It was my secret and nobody else needed to know. They would think me weak, worthless. That I had lived through it and I didn't come out on top. But that didn't matter now. I knew that I was nervous about Billie and Mike finally in a place I called home.
"I'm not really, it's just, well, I don't know, I've never been a good hostess," I laughed.
"Don't worry, we don't care. We'll just help ourselves to emptying your fridge," Mike said. I laughed.
"Well, then, I'll have to do a lot more shopping."
"I know everyone missed me," Tré came out of the bathroom, making a huge entrance.
"Not me," Billie said jokingly, and was searching for something.
"What are you looking for Billie?" I asked him, getting up to walk over to him.
"Where's your phone?"
"Oh, I forgot! You guys are welcome to stay the night! Oh, the phone's in my bedroom, the last door on the right down that hallway," I said, pointing to the same hallway Tre had just emerged from.
Billie filed into my room, and I after him, trying to clean the place up a bit. I had really let it go in the past few weeks I had lived here after coming back from graduation.
I pointed to the phone on my bedside table. He sat on my bed and dialed his home phone number. I could hear his conversation, but there was obviously no point in actually paying attention. His mom knew exactly who I was and was probably very excited to know that I was back from college.
"Well," Billie said, as he hung up my phone, "My mom's really excited you're back from college, and she wants you to come with us back up to Pinole, so she can see you."
"I can't," I said after a couple of minutes, remembering the script that was in my drawer.
"Why not?"
"I have to work tomorrow," I said bluntly, then I grabbed Billie's hand and pulled him out of my bedroom.
"Okay, guys, since you should all know, well maybe not you Tré, that I'm the worst cook in the world, where do you wanna order from?" I said once we came out of the bedroom. Mike kind of looked down a little when he saw that I was still holding onto Billie's hand.
I let go of Billie's hand and sat on the couch in between Tré and Mike.
"Chinese!" Tre screamed.
"Okay, one vote for Chinese. What do you want, Mike?" I asked, turning to him.
"I don't care, anything that's edible," Mike said, putting his head on his hands.
"Okay, two votes that don't care. What do you want, Billie?" I asked, and looked over to him expectantly.
"Well, we'd never decide if I didn't pick otherwise, so I pick Chinese," He said.
We all went into my bedroom again. Well, that's where the phone was and we had to order.
"Okay, you can look around, just don't touch anything!" I said as I picked up the phone and ordered.
Mike and Tré were by my dresser, the same one where I hid my script. I was getting slightly nervous, knowing they never listened to what I say. But, to my amazement, they didn't touch anything.
"Okay, so it'll be here in 30 minutes," I said, getting up and walking out of my bedroom.
"Holly, what do you do?" Mike called from still in my bedroom.
Did he find my script? I was extremely scared and nervous.
"Why do you want to know?" I asked, getting kind of annoyed, trying to mask my nervousness.
"I was just wondering, I mean you said you had to go to work tomorrow, maybe we could drop you off." Mike said, holding his hands up in the defeated position in a 'U' around his head.
"No, it's okay. My car's out in the lot anyways. You guys should get home tomorrow," I said.
Mike walked out of my bedroom and we all sat down in the living room/spare bedroom area. I had two twin beds in the corner and the couch pulled out into a queen sized bed, but there was also two other chairs and a TV and a coffee table in the room, so I didn't really know what to call it.
"So what do you wanna do until the food gets here?" Billie asked. I looked at Mike and Tré. Mike just shrugged, but Tré was smiling.
"What, Tré?" I asked.
"Well, I know of something we could do..." Tré said, still grinning devilishly.
"And that would be?" Mike asked apprehensively. I think he spoke for the three of us, because we were all cringing at the thought.
"Well, we could play spin the bottle..." Tre said, still grinning.
"Oh, no, the odds aren't even! There HAS to be at least two other girls here with me, then it would be fair," I said, getting up to stare at him.
"So? Who said anything about being fair?" Tré asked, still grinning.
We sat there arguing, and about 10 minutes later I noticed that Billie and Mike hadn't said anything.
"Well, what do you two think?" I asked them. They were both smiling at me.
"We think it's a great idea," Billie said, rubbing his hands together.
"You do know that your chances of kissing a guy, are a lot higher than kissing me, right?" I asked.
"Sure, whatever," Billie said.
"No, I refuse to play spin the bottle until there's an even ratio of boys to girls." I said. They all looked at me, confused.
"And even what?" Mike asked.
"A ratio, where there's the same amount of boys as there are girls." I said, walking over into the kitchen.
"Then, do you have any girlfriends we could call?" Tré asked. I guess he really wanted to play. I thought about it for a minute, and I realized I had never really had any girlfriends. Sure, some nice acquaintences, but my only true friend/boyfriend during college was Jack, and then before that my friends were Billie and Mike, and before I met Billie and Mike, I never really had friends in the first place.
"No," I said bluntly, scouring my fridge for something good to eat.
"What do you mean? You girls always travel in packs of 7 or 8," Tré said.
"I guess I've never really had a girlfriends. My friends have always been guys," I said, finding some pop.
"Do you guys mind Pepsi for drinks?"
"What?! Who eats Pepsi with Chinese food?!" Billie said, coming into the kitchen and taking over my fridge scouring duties. 2 minutes later, he came out of the fridge and said to me, "I guess we do."
"Exactly." I said, and just then, the doorbell rang. The food was here.
