Open Your Arms

Chapter 16

May 3, 2003

"WAKE UP!" Someone screams, but it's muffled. "OH SHIT!" 

My ears feel like they're closing in--the pressure is so strong that it almost hurts. My eyes finally flutter open, but it's just black. I push whatever it is off of me and a pillow flies down onto my feet. I smile, realizing that that was what was on my face. 

"We did not have sex," Ville says and I furrow my eyebrows at him. He turns to me and smiles. "Bam over here thinks that since my shirt is off, that automatically means that we had sex."

"She doesn't have her shirt on, either!" Bam points to me. 

I look down at myself and see that my hair is covering the spaghetti straps to my shirt. I pull it back and lift up the straps, then let go, snapping it back onto my skin. "If we had sex Bam, you would know."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He plugs his ears. "I didn't want to hear that!"

"There have been many things from you and Jenn that I have not wanted to hear, yet here I am," I roll over to my side and shut my eyes again, feeling very exhausted still. I did not get nearly enough sleep last night as I should've. 

So many thoughts were racing through my head last night, and they all had to do with the story that man told me. I was worried sick the whole night that someone was going to come in and stab us. 

Growing up in a rich neighborhood gave me a better sense of security. I thought that nothing bad could ever happen to me. But now, in this hotel room, I've never felt more vulnerable and afraid of anything in my life. 

After hearing that story, it occurred to me that anything could happen to anyone. That poor lady was just taking a run and she died instantly. I could've died in my sleep last night. 

The thought shakes me awake and I jerk up, no longer wanting to sleep. 

"Whoa, what the hell was that?" Bam asks, glaring at me. 

"Why are you still in here?" I swing my legs over to the other side of the bed to go to the bathroom, but then I remember I don't have any pants on. "Bam, get the fuck out of here."

He props his leg up and places a hand on his hip, imitating a girl. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to like that?"

"Bam, I need to piss and I'm only wearing underwear," I say very sternly. "I don't want you to see me and I highly doubt that Ville does either. So get out!"

"You don't tell me what to do, missy-"

Before he can finish his sentence, I've decided that I've had enough. "You fucking asked for this." I lift myself up off of the bed and pull my shirt down to cover as much of my butt as I can. Bam immediately bolts out of the door and Ville bursts into a fit of laughter. 

I'm only wearing a thong, so I jokingly hike up my shirt and pop my butt out as I walk in front of the bed and into the bathroom. 

"Are you okay?" Ville asks me while I go to the bathroom. 

"What do you mean?" I respond with, acting like I don't have a clue as to what he is talking about. 

"What happened yesterday?"

I lift myself off of the toilet, wipe, then flush and walk out to find Ville in the bathroom, too, in only his boxers. I wash my hands and wipe them off. 

"It's a lot," I tell him and shut off the conversation. I slip into some shorts, then walk out into the living room of the hotel that we're sharing with Bam and Joe.