this side of paradise, reneé rapp

lock broken, slur spoken: iii

As it seemed to turn out, singing a song alone didn't mean leaving alone.

What the actual fuck?

Cason blinked her eyes open as she used her elbows to push herself to sit up on the bed. Her tired, blurry eyes scanned the room where she had found herself in, confusion filling her mind as she realized how unfamiliar it was. She had never been here before. There was nothing inside—pictures or decorations—that she had seen before.

A sharp pain in the side of her head jolted her fully awake.

Ugh.

The room was completely clean apart from clothes and undergarments scattered about on the floor.

Eyes widening in realization, Cason glanced down at her body.

Oh, no.

She instantly untangled herself from the sheets and jumped from the bed. With her heart beating so loud that she could barely hear her own rapid breathing, Cason rushed to pick up her jeans and shirt from the floor. She nearly stumbled onto the ground trying to put them on as fast as she could, not even noticing the movement in front of her.

"Worried you cheated on your girlfriend?"

Oh.

Oh.

Cason glanced up frantically from her unbuttoned jeans, finding familiar yet empty eyes staring back at her. She softly cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a truly agonizing warmth creep up her body, reaching her cheeks. Her stomach sank and she pressed her lips into a thin line, stunned into complete and utter silence.

"Reneé...what? Where—whose room is this? Where the fuck are we?" Cason stammered, confused.

"You didn't even recognize me when you woke up?" Reneé asked.

"I didn't look at—why would I even think I slept with you when you didn't even show up to my game, huh?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I tried to go, but I couldn't find another flight back that would get here in time!"

"Maybe if you hadn't run off to your cute little friend, maybe you wouldn't need to look for a flight!"

Her shrill voice cut through the air, loud enough to make her own head hurt. So, with an eye roll, Cason finished doing the button and zipper on her jeans and waved Reneé off. Fuck this. Cason didn't give her another brief glance before stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind her, eagerly determined to figure out where she was.

"You're up," a surprised voice came from the kitchen, "I thought maybe Reneé would be up first."

Whoa.

"Stephen?" Cason asked. "What...what is this? What's going on?"

"Reneé called me last night, said you were super drunk, so I let you stay here for the night," Stephen said.

Memories of last night flashed in Cason's mind. Most of what she remembered was blurry and uncomplete, but Cason most definitely remembered drinking a lot more than she had initially wanted. She also remembered practically losing her voice after singing and screaming so much, and also meeting one of the prettiest girls she had ever seen.

And the girl was her literal girlfriend.

God, she definitely needed to stop drinking.

"When did you get this place?" Cason said before wincing. "And where did you sleep?"

"My girlfriend's place. But she did ask me for yours and Reneé's autographs in exchange." Stephen smiled.

"That's fine," Cason mumbled, "Thanks, by the way."