14 Years [GNR/Mötley Crüe]

65. Story Of A Piercing

Nadia:

Could a cow kill you?

Its skin was a mix of brown and white. Drool dripped down from the side of its mouth as it stared deep into my soul. Ruminating on the grass that it ripped off from the pale green shrub to its side with great difficulty.

Maybe it was wondering what was the human doing sitting on a tree branch while staring at it. Now, why was I on a tree branch?

Cos' I was stranded. Not metaphorically. I was really stranded in this desert. Looking behind the cow, I noticed our white SUV floating in the air like a giant teeter-totter with two of the four wheels totally submerged under the sand.

"Fuck!" I muttered, pulling the cellular phone, which had its antenna pulled all the way up, away from my ear.

Great, no cell service either.

When you sit in the comforts of a car and look out into the desert, you might think sand is probably the most beautiful sight in the world but once you are stuck and surrounded by the same sand from all the bloody sides along with some cows it doesn't look as beautiful as it did before.

"Nope, there is no cell service," I called out to him as he strolled around taking photos of the mountains and the desert on his brand new Nikon camera. I wanted to scream at him. I really did, but I didn't have the energy. So, I simply stared as he made attempts to get rid of the sand that had gone inside his shoes from walking around.

I took the phone once again. Still sitting on the tree branch, I kept trying Tommy's number, which had become by heart by this point while he stood there taking more photos of the desert, the mountains that surrounded us, and even the cow.

"Hey, look over here!"

Looking ahead, I saw him standing a few feet away from the tree, holding out his camera. Are you kiddin' me?!

"When did you even bring this??" I asked only to learn from him that, though he didn't tell me he planned on coming out to the desert today.

"Smile!"

"I don't smile," I replied with my hand resting under my chin, and stared at the lens.

He moved his face away from the camera just for the sake of rolling his eyes before aiming at me again. "Oh my god!!! You will have to pay me for this photo. Please don't blink... Stay still and... Ready!"

It was hard to not break out laughing at his excitement over being able to capture a good one, but somehow I didn't laugh before he went back to taking photos of the cows. Especially one. There was a fear in my heart on if the cow would jump at him considering how close he stood, but the cow probably had a significant amount of patience cos' she posed for him until the film ran out.

"Where did I find you?" I asked Nikki when he walked back towards me, climbing up onto the branch I sat.

"Huh?"

"I was asking where did I find you... So that if we make it out of here, I can drop you right back there!" My reply made him roll his eyes before letting out a fake laugh.

"I am sorry but... How's the car getting stuck on sand, my fault?"

We called into a tattoo parlor in Hollywood to make an appointment for today evening to get my nose pierced. Since Nikki was friends with the man who ran it, getting an appointment wasn't hard. There was the option of going for a silver ring, but then I realized it would be awkward to wear it to work. So, I went for a tiny single-stone diamond pin that was less noticeable. Since that guy didn't have any pins of the size we mentioned, he asked us to look for it as well. Though, I wanted to buy it for myself when we reached the jeweler; he paid, asking me to consider it as his gift for my birthday on the day after.