When Zoey and Harry find themselves both calling the same hotel home for an extended time, a friendship begins. A connection that started from convenience is fueled by alcohol, drugs, trauma, music and fun. How will this intense relationship end?
*...
I shut my hotel room door and leaned back against it. I took a deep breath and couldn't help but chuckle. What the actual fuck was tonight? Getting stuck in an elevator and then raiding an employee break room, and now I am legitimately bummed to have to part company with this ridiculous human. I half-hoped she would want to eat our stolen food together. What was the matter with me!?
I kicked off my shoes and let them fly, then tossed down my salad and fruit, no longer caring to eat. I needed my notebook, immediately. I needed to write. I hadn't felt these types of one-lined notions or phrases in years. There was an inspiration coming to me from spending these hours picking the mind of one of the most interesting people I had ever met. She was arguably the most genuine person I had ever encountered and it was stirring up some dust in areas of my mind that had been problematically vacant as of late.
As I jotted down bits of thoughts that would turn into more, I was curious about the short bursts of inspiration I was getting, rather than a stream of consciousness. I guess I can just chalk it up to still craving a bigger picture of the girl who had lit this fire. I had glimpses and antidotes but I knew I was going to need more.
I have no idea what time it was when I fell into my bed for the night, but it felt like about 10 minutes had passed when my alarm blared. Regardless of my lack of sleep I was looking forward to getting into the studio to talk through some of these potential leads and lyrics with Mitch. I quickly showered and got dressed, grabbing my guitar case and heading out the door. As I opened my door to step into the hallway, the door across from my opened at the same exact time. I couldn't fight my huge smile as Zoey also stepped out into the hall.
Fuck me, she wears glasses. My ultimate weakness. I should have figured this. Fuck.
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The literal angel was sipping a green juice and had her hair pulled back gently. She was shrugging into a jacket and struggling to hold a big tote bag as she let the door close behind her.
"Good morning, neighbor." I said, taking her tote bag and juice from her hand to help her navigate the jacket.
"Hey Haz, I didn't take you for a football fan." She greeted, looking at my Green Bay Packers beanie. "Lets go get coffee before we leave?" She phrased the idea like a question and I nodded, early.
"I do love football, but I am absolute rubbish at playing." I informed her as she took bag her bag and we started walking. I took a sip of her green juice. "This is heaven, where is this from?" I asked.
"I stole it from May this morning after the gym" she laughed "you will have to ask her!" She took it back from me, drinking herself as we waited for the elevator. "You know, I would welcome 5 hours stuck in an elevator this morning instead of what I am headed into," she joked, but as I looked at her sipping from her straw, I could see the stress in her eyes.
I took the juice back and we stepped into the elevator as the doors opened. "Next question: Where are you headed today?" I sipped, raising an eyebrow as I played the elevator game. She looked at me with a momentarily sad face, then seemed to shrug somewhere inside herself and opened up to me a little more.
"I am....heading to University of Illinois clinical hospital. I start a 6 week clinical trial there this morning to do my part and contribute to the education and causes." She explained like it was nothing. I didn't want to push her, so I kept my reaction light.
"You ok?" I asked, handing her back the juice as the doors opened to the lobby.
"I'm just magical, Haz" she smiled up at me, reaching up on her toes to kiss my cheek. It felt like she was trying to comfort me. "Let's go get some coffee." She walked out first, in front of me, thank god. Her slight brush of the lips across my cheek had a profound impact on me and I needed a second to get my feet working again and start moving forward behind her. I knew there was more to her situation and the hospital, but we had time. I would let her tell me about it when/if she wanted to.
We got into the coffee line, chatting about my studio time that morning and what I was working on. I had to keep the info light and non-specific when it came to our plans for this album but she seemed to naturally understand and she didn't push for more details. We finished May's juice and tossed out the cup as we waited for our matching order of a medium black light roast drip. As the barista set the cups on the counter and called out our names, Zoey stepped forward to grab both while I stood back with my shades on and my beanie pulled low. Even though there were only about 10 people milling around the cafe in the lobby, I wanted to play it safe. Zoey seemed to understand without me even mentioning it.
"Which is which?" She asked the barista with a perfectly straight face. The barista just shook her head and smiled, walking away. Zoey handed me my cup and we walked out the front door of the hotel. I saw my driver waiting, and she turned to head towards the left. "Bye Haz, have a great day making magic!" she called to me, turning to walk away from me. I caught her hand and gently pulled her to me. I gave her a quick hug for luck, kissing the side of her head when it was within reach.
"Good luck today, I'll be thinking of you." I muttered into her hair. I released her and she stepped back with pink cheeks. She stood there and looked at me for a second, before pulling out her phone and taking a picture of me. I smiled and took out my phone, doing the same to her.
"Just wanted to always remember the guy who made this weird morning actually nice."
"And I just wanted to always remember the girl who steals juice from near strangers." I smile, turning and getting into the backseat of my waiting car.
"Hey you drank more of it than I did!" She shouted at me with a laugh, turning to walk down the sidewalk.
