Miss Americana and The Hearbreak Princess

Chapter Twenty Five - Red

Becca slept for two days and then slept some more, making short trips from her bed to scrounge up cookies or chug a glass of water, sometimes catching sight of the housekeeper or maid, before she went back to sleep. 

It wasn't until mid-morning on Friday that she was awoken by the sound of her phone buzzing loudly on the end table. Groggily sitting up, she rubbed at her tired eyes, a frown puckering her brow, and fumbled for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi," a deep voice rumbled through the other end, and Becca paused for a moment as she tried to place it, "I'm at the gate. No one, uh, no one's answering the intercom."

"Heng! Hi," Becca said, suddenly alert as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, stumbling slightly, "um, just a second."

She hung up and quickly made her way toward the intercom near the front door, opening the gate for him, before she quickly scrambled back towards her bedroom, shedding the clothes she was wearing and pulling on a maroon pair of chinos and a black and white striped sweater. 

Her hair was a dishevelled mess and Becca quickly pulled it up into a ponytail and tried to flatten her bangs down as she made her way back out to the foyer.

The sound of wheels crunching on gravel reached her ears, followed by the sound of a door slamming and footsteps walking towards the door. 

A moment later there was a knock on the door, and she moved to open it, smiling sheepishly as she blinked back the stinging feeling in her eyes as sunlight streamed in. She didn't have her contacts in but the blurred figure before her was unmistakable.

"Hi!" Becca smiled, reaching out to hug him before standing aside to let Heng in.

He carried a guitar case in his hand and was dressed down in dark jeans and a thin sweater. As Becca shut the door, he rounded on her, and although his expression was blurred, she heard the accusation in his voice.

"You forgot, didn't you?" he chuckled.

A laugh worked its way up Becca's throat, and she smiled gingerly as she shrugged, "I've been crashed out since Tuesday."

Laughing, Heng followed her further inside, and Becca quickly excused herself to go and grab a spare pair of glasses, before making her way into the kitchen, where he was leaning against the counters.

"Tea? Coffee? Anything?"

"I'll have what you're having."

Setting the kettle on to boil, Becca grabbed two mugs and two bottles of water from the fridge, moving around the kitchen with ease. 

"So, how was the hangover the next day?"

Heng quietly laughed, "not the worst I've had, but it wasn't fun. And you? You had a flight the next day, right?"

"Mm. I'll be honest, I don't e ven remember it."

She made them both cups of tea and they sat in the parlour adjoining the kitchen to bask in the weak sunlight filtering in through the windows, plants filling the air with their sweet smell, and they chatted about how things were going, without the sound of music drowning out their words.

It felt good to talk about anything and everything, to someone who Becca did have to worry about repeating anything, there being an unspoken code between artists in the industry. 

It was nice to have someone who didn't really know Freen, only of her, to be able to put some distance between how she was feeling about her, and Becca was relaxed as they drank tea and chatted away until they were left with the dregs.