Pain and Pictures

Chapter 16- Sound

"Jordan? Jordan, wake up."

I shifted in the bed, I really wanted to keep sleeping. I hadn't had such a peaceful sleep since the incident.

"Five more minutes."

Violet giggled and nudged me again.

"Lance has brought lunch. I'm hungry, so no. You may not have five minutes."

At that point, my stomach betrayed me and grumbled loudly. She giggled again.

"Looks like you're famished as well. Come on lazy bones. Time to eat."

"Fine."

I got up and stretched. My muscles were aching, I didn't drink any water after my run, one more stupid choice to throw onto the list.

"I'm gonna jump in the shower first. I feel sticky."

"Very well, I will be sure to save you a plate."

I thanked her and made my way to my temporary room, where I grabbed a change of clothes and made my way to the bathroom.

I showered quickly and towel dried. I only had one clean shirt left. I needed to either do laundry, or run home for more. Something told me I was going to be doing laundry.

I went into the open plan living room and kitchen, it looked like we were hanging out on the couch to eat. Fine by me, that was where I was used to eating. Me and the guys hardly ever used the dinning table, it was my desk, after all. We preferred to eat on the couch and watch TV. Although, getting everyone to agree on a program was a challenge.

Violet had on a house hunting show, which was fine. I usually didn't care what was on (that was usually Morgan and David). I just tended to like having something on to keep us from having to make conversation.

I grabbed a few slices of pizza (I guess they get takeout a lot).

"I'm gonna get fat staying here."

I laughed when I saw here confusion.

"I'm used to David, one of my roommates, cooking every day. You'd think he wouldn't, since he cooks all day at work. But he insists that he loves it. He'll cook all our meals for the day before he leaves for work. I swear, he's obsessed."

"Having your own personal chef must be nice though. Is he good?"

"You've been to LaRoux, I'm sure you've had his food."

"He's the head chef there?!"

"Yeah, why?"

"It was him, wasn't it? The one who told you that I was there?!"

Shit.

"No. I swear it wasn't him. I was on my way there, and I happened to see you walk out. He had nothing to do with it!"

She didn't look convinced. It wasn't a total lie. It was Morgan that called me, not David.

"Alright. You've just saved your friend's job."

Whew!

"Would you like me to change the channel? We don't have to watch this."

"Nah, I'm good. Watch whatever you want."

"Okay. What types of programs do you usually watch?"

"A little bit of everything, really. When David wins the remote, we watch Food Network. When it's Morgan, it's ESPN. When Mike is home, which isn't often, it'll be some trashy reality show. Brandon only likes HBO or Netflix. So, I've learned to just go with the flow. I hadn't picked my own show until I came here."

"Do you... erm... like it here?"

Ugh! How the hell was I supposed to answer that?!

"Um... well... kind of?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, having my own room is nice, and not sharing a bathroom with four other guys. Plus, the gym downstairs is fucking amazing! Oh, sorry... I'm kind of used to just letting my cursing get out of hand."

"Say fuck all you like. It doesn't bother me, but I can see why you'd be cautious. I'm afraid I sound rather stuck up, don't I?"

"No. No. You..."

"It's fine. I grew up to be very prim and proper, private lessons, and such. But I've always attempted to keep a level head. Not allow fame to define me."

I've got her talking! Time to (subtly) interview her.

"What was it like? You know, growing up in the spotlight."

"Well, it wasn't always easy. My mum was my agent, as I'm sure you know. She wasn't as bad as everyone makes her out to be. She was loving and did all she could to keep me grounded. She was my best friend. I miss her terribly. Anyway, I was taught to stay out of the spotlight, to focus on my work. To hone my craft and to always find joy in it."

She looked down at her hands, like she was remembering all the times her mother was there for her. I didn't want to interrupt her memories, but when I saw tears prickle her eyes, all I wanted to do was hold her.

Which was really fucking weird!

Ignoring the voice in my head, yelling at me to keep my distance, I moved closer and put at arm around her shoulders. I pulled her to me and let her cry.

"Thank you, Jordan. I haven't thought of her, at least not in a positive way, in a long time. I'm grateful to you."

My head was spinning as she looked up at me. This time, it was her that kissed me.