Stay With Me (Zak Bagans Story)

Part Two

Part Two

Zak staggered to the door after the 5th shot to swallow his misery was slowly starting to upset his stomach, it was time to go.

"Hey Lilly." John called out to the blonde and pointed to the door.

Lilly looked up from counting out her tips and watched as Zak stumbled out the door. She shook her head, grabbed her money and her car keys. "I'm on it. I'll see you later John."

"Enjoy your day off." He smiled and went back to drying the glasses before the next rush.

Lilly took her jacket off the hook and left. The air was cool as it hit her when she stepped outside, putting her jacket on and looked around. How far could he have gotten? It was impossible to move that fast in his current state of mind.

She took her guess and went right. For as much as he had to drink, beer-shots, probably on a half empty stomach. Built up emotions and anger that she saw brewing inside; whatever he had going on in his head Lilly knew it wasn't good. It was enough to make anyone sick.

It was only a few steps from the door to the bar to the alleyway that separated it from the bicycle shop next door.

"Zak?" Lilly called out poking her head around the corner.

"Yeah." He grumbled out, hunched over with his hands resting on his knees.

"Are you okay?" She cringed at the thought, knowing what was happening. If the sound didn't give it away, the alleyway was the notorious barf grounds and you only good there for one thing only.

"Yeah." Was all he managed to get out before he heaved again. There was nothing left to give. His insides ached and the muscles in his chest and stomach was tense to the breaking point; hurting with each breath he took. When he knew it was over and it was safe to move, he straightened up running his hands over his face. "I shouldn't have had that last shot."

"Know your limits, Mr. Bagans." Lilly has been there before. The drunken state of stumbling and praying to the mighty porcelain god after taking that last sip. Oh yeah, never going down that road again. "Not to the point of a drunken lush."

"You think you're funny, kick a man while he's down."

She laughed as she stepped out of his way. "I've been where you're at more times than I like to admit. I remember I got so messed up that I woke up in my backyard with nothing on but my underwear."

His brow cocked as he looked at her, the laughter just below the surface. "There's nothing wrong with that. Maybe you did a little streaking in your neighborhood."

"In the middle of winter."

That made him laugh.

"Thankfully, I wasn't out there long enough to freeze my ta-tas off, though my butt was numb for a few days." She continued as they started walking down the street. "It was embarrassing because my friend caught it all on camera on how stupid I was. Now she holds it over my head for collateral damage."

Lilly stopped in front of a red colored car. "Can I give you a ride back to your hotel?" She asked pulling her car keys out.

It was a long hike back to the Ramada Inn, with a slight woozy stomach, a spinning head-yeah he knew that he would never make it back by himself. Sure, he could call Nick or Aaron but he wasn't up to playing 20 questions.

"That would be great."

Lilly smiled, hitting the unlock button on her key chain. "Ramada Inn?"

Zak nodded. "How'd you guess?"

"Because it's the only hotel in this town that's worthy to stay in. Unless of course, you don't mind spiders."

He felt the shudder from his toes to the top of his head. His skin crawled at the thought of those creepy 8 legged crawlers everywhere. "I hate spiders."

Lilly laughed as they got into the car. Making a U-turn she headed in the direction of the hotel that was at least a mile from her bar.

...

It was safe to go unseen as Lilly helped him through the lobby of the hotel. There wasn't a soul in sight not even at the counter. They decided against the elevator and took the stairs to the second floor.

Zak reached into his back pocket for his key card and handed it to her. "Room 207."

Lilly took it and looked for the room. Four doors down from the stairs she found it. Hotels always had a weird way of setting up their numbers. She slipped the key card in and when the light turned green she pushed the door handle down and opened the door. "After you." She said motioning with her hand.

He walked in, flipping the light on. He groaned blinded by the brightness the over head light gave off. He emptied out his pocket onto the little table and took his shoes off.

From what Lilly could see, the room was nice, a little small but still gave off a roomier type feel as she walked deeper inside. The bed was still neatly made, the TV was mounted on the wall next to the balcony doors, two small couches were in front of the TV with a coffee table in the middle. The bathroom to the left, a tiny kitchenette behind her and a fresh scent of flowers filled the room.

"Looks cozy." She muttered walking over to the balcony doors and peeled back the curtains just enough to see... "Good view of the parking lot."

"Imma shower." Zak said grabbing some clothes from his suitcase. "The smell of alcohol is making me feel sick again. Will you be here when I get out or will this be your chance to escape?" He grinned eying her from the bathroom doorway.

"If you want me to stay, I'll stay." She said, unzipping her jacket. "I don't need to be anywhere..."

"I'll only take a minute." He closed the door behind him, a short time after the shower came on.

There was only so much looking around she could do without snooping. She made her way to the bed and flopped down onto it, it gave very little bounce and she waited.