Unstable

Chapter 2

It had been a week since I first arrived in London and found Michael Clifford in my hotel room. Much to my disappointment I had not seen him since. It was a Friday night and I had just finished the first full week of my internship, so I decided that I would let my hair down a little and grab a drink at the hotel bar. I straightened my already long Brunette hair and just let it hang down my back, wearing minimal makeup, a pair of blue skinny jeans, a white peplum top with a gold belt and a pair of black glittery heels I made my way down to the bar. For a Friday night it was pretty dead. A table of 5 girls that looked and sounded like they had been there for a while, a man in a suit with his laptop on his lap and a glass of straight alcohol on the table and a couple sitting at the end of the bar drinking wine. I sat at the opposite end of bar and ordered the first cocktail on the menu. After finishing my third cocktail and getting tired of making awkward small talk with the bar tender I was ready to leave; that was until I saw a tall shadow slip onto the stool next to me.

“A beer and whatever she wants.” Michael stated to the bartender as he locked eyes onto his hands. He looked upset, but I couldn’t be certain, I didn’t know him well enough to know what his emotions looked like. The bartender placed the beer in front of Michael and he grabbed it instantly, taking it to his lips. He managed to down half the liquid in two big gulps.

“Thank you.” I smiled over to Michael and took a sip of my cocktail. He didn’t reply with anything, just a slight nod of his head before he downed the other half of his drink. By the time I had finished my cocktail he had managed to polish off another four beers. I slid my empty glass away from me and picked up my wallet, Michael turned towards me, still looking down and asked if I wanted another one.

“Well that depends. Are you just going to sit there and stare at a polished bar bench all night? Because if you are, I will kindly refuse your offer and wish you a good night.” I replied as I stood next to him. He lifted only his eyes and found the bartender. He didn’t respond to me directly but when he only ordered a beer, I got an answer and it wasn’t the one I was looking for. Something was wrong, it didn’t matter that I didn’t know him well enough to tell his emotions, it was written right across his face that he was upset. All I wanted to do was help him, but he clearly wanted nothing to do with me.

“Suit yourself.” I sighed. “I hope you’re okay.” I softly said as I placed my hand on his shoulder. He was wearing a black T-shirt with a leather jacket over the top but yet I could still feel the outline of his shoulder muscles perfectly. As I left my hand there for a few more seconds than what is probably considered appropriate, I felt his whole body relax. His shoulders dropped, his back loosened and slumped deeper into the chair. I stood there hoping he would turn around and change his mind, that he would ask me to stay, that he would ask the bartender to get me another drink, that he would just look up and give me a smile, he gave me nothing but a deep sigh.         

-

Three loud knocks at the front door jolted me awake. As I unwrapped the blanket from around my legs and fumbled my hand across the bedside table in search for my phone, another three loud knocks hit the door. 3:05am. Before I could get a chance to think about who could be wanting me at 3am, there were another 3 bangs on my door.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” I said sluggishly as I shuffled my way to the front door. My eyes squinted from the hallway light as I opened the door. I didn’t recognize the hotel staff member that was standing at my door.

“Hello?” I whispered as I tried to blink my eyes into focus. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you Vanessa Duffin?” Asked the male hotel employee, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Yes.” I replied.

“There is a guest at the bar who won’t vacate until we deliver you to him.” He explained. “So could you PLEASE come with me?” He begged.

“Michael? Michael Clifford?” I asked. All of a sudden I could see perfectly, the sleep in my eyes had left, my voice was no longer husky, and I had completely forgotten that it was 3am. “What’s wrong with him, is he okay?” I asked hastily as I changed from my pug dog pyjama pants into a pair of shorts.

“Oh good, you know him. All I know is that the bartender has been trying to get him to leave for the last half an hour and he won’t leave unless we bring you to see him.” He explained as he led the way down to the elevator. Michael was sitting on the same stool that I left him on. His jacket rolled up on the bench top next to him, revealing his pale but buff arms. His lilac hair was ruffled and messy but somehow still attractive.

“Sir, we brought her, now will you please leave.” Instructed the hotel employee that brought me down. Michael looked towards the two of us and staggered to his feet, knocking his jacket onto the floor. A small smile appeared on his face but I could still see he was sad. His eyes bloodshot and his shirt was stained with droplets of what I assumed was beer that didn’t quite meet his mouth.

“Vvannesssa.” He slurred as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I was not met with the smell of his cologne, but with a mixture of beer and straight whiskey. I put one arm up between his shoulder blades and placed the other on his stomach to help steady him. “You left me. Why?” He whined.

“Michael what are you doing? Why did you call me down here?” I asked as I walked him over to the ledge of the fountain in the lobby.

“You left and I wanted to see you. Say I was sorry for that room thing.” He giggled as he splashed his fingers in the water. “Why did you go, do you not like me?” Michael questioned as he spun his head in my direction.

“Michael you’re drunk, let’s take you back to your room and we can talk about this later.” I replied. As I placed my hand on his knee I felt him lose his balance and begin to slip back. Before I could get a grip on his shirt he had fallen into the water. “Oh my god Michael!” I laughed. “Are you okay, here give me your hand.” I giggled extending out my hand.

“Oh no, I’m all wet.” He pouted while trying to pull his shirt from his chest.

“Come on let’s get you fixed up.” I said as I wrapped my arm around his waist guiding him to the elevator.

As we stood side by side in the rising lift, droplets of water coming from his soaked, black shirt dripped onto the floor. Our shoulders touched and our hands hung by our sides, as we neared my floor number I felt his hand fumble into mine. His hand was warm and took up most of the space that my little hand had to offer.

 I threw a towel towards my bed, where he was sitting taking sips of water. He was shirtless at this point and no matter how hard I tried not to look, I just couldn’t help it. His skin was pale and if his hands were anything to go by, also soft. He wasn’t ripped but his muscles were defined enough to be visible. When he stood up and stumbled his way over to the sink to put his glass back, I could see the slight outline of a V line which was met by the waist band of his American Apparel underwear. I curled up on the lounge chair and scrolled through my Facebook news feed until I heard little snores coming from Michael, who was in the starfish position on my bed. I took him in for a moment, his damp hair, his snores, the way he nuzzled his nose into the pillow. He didn’t look sad anymore, he looked relaxed and happy, like what ever had happened in the hours before didn’t matter to him anymore. I didn’t know why I was so drawn to this boy but I knew that I wanted to find out.