U, Me & She

Chapter 39 - Insomnia

Approximately two miles from the hospital…

  Lorenzo becomes frustrated from the many phone calls he receives from Jamie and turns his cell phone completely off before tossing it in the backseat of his car. Dana cranks the heat in the car higher while they both sit through an extended awkward silence.  Dana can see that he’s highly upset and is reluctant to start conversation with him at this moment.

  With the air so cool that they can see their breath, she playfully blows her breath in a manner reminiscent of smoke into the air and suddenly questions herself “Do I have any bud left at the house?  I know I’m all out of white.” as she chuckles to herself a bit.  Lorenzo gives her a look of curiosity as to what she found to be so funny as she immediately wiped the smile from her face and looks out of the window.  “She’s probably still high.” He thinks to himself.

  Breaking the long silence, she comes forth by saying “Thanks for coming back for me.” He looks at her saying “No, don’t thank me.  I got you into that situation and owe you a really big apology.”

  As they pull in front of her apartment complex, Lorenzo parks the car when Dana says “Uhh, maybe you should park in the back.  You know..just in case.”  He nods his head and says “Yeah, good idea.” as he puts the vehicle in reverse, pulls away from the curb and proceeds to circling to the back of the apartment complex.

  After finding a decent parking location behind the complex, they exit the vehicle, and both look around the area to ensure that the coast is completely clear.  They’ve already noted that Jamie has a fantastic knack for being able to get around and want the night to end on a good note.  After entering the back entrance, they proceed up the stairs when reaching the top of the stairwell, Dana realizes she doesn’t have her keys nor her purse.  “Shit!” she says as she holds her gown closed.  “I’ll have to get a spare key.  Wait right here babe, I’m going to go wake up my landlord.”  She scurries down the stairs as Lorenzo stands idly by at the top of the stairs.

  He takes a seat as he sits and reflects on how screwed up this whole situation is.  Resting with his elbows against his thighs and the palms of his hands against his face, he begins to doze off, when suddenly; he hears what appears to be Jamie’s laughter echoing from the bottom of the staircase.  Adjusting his vision, the only thing he could recognize was a silhouette of a figure at the bottom of the staircase.  “Aint this a bitch!” he says to himself as he sees the figure slowly making their way up the stairs.

  He quickly rises to his feet, as his heart races in preparation for another round of insanity.  “Say bruh, you need to take that bullshit elsewhere!” he yells as the figure slowly makes it way closer to the well-lit area.  Taking a closer look, he recognizes the figure’s face and says “Chas?”

  In an instant, he is awakened by the sound of keys jingling and snaps out of it looking around in caution only to see Dana dashing up the stairs with keys in hand.  “Wake up sleepyhead! I heard you snoring all the way down the stairs.” She says as she reaches the top of the staircase.

  He stands to his feet and follows Dana as she uses the spare key to unlock the door.  The door opens as she says “Home sweet home!”  Lorenzo still in a state of confusion takes one last glance down the staircase to see the figure once again as he is pulled into the apartment by Dana by the collar.  The door shuts as the sounds of  Lorenzo initiating each of the locks on the door echoes down the hall...