A bit of an excerpt from the story I'm writing. Drama, drama, drama.
"Who was that?" Josh asked, groping for the bathroom lightswitch. Caroline was out of his range of vision, but he could hear her moving about her apartment.
"It was Harry," she said nonchalantly as Josh dressed his toothbrush. "He just called to see how I was. Usually he calls in the afternoon; I was surprized it was so early." Josh froze. Caroline came in and put her hands on his shoulders lightly. Her fingers were cold against his skin, and he felt the hairs on his neck stand on end.
"Who is Harry?" he asked in a tone of severe urgency.
"Why, my boyfriend, of course!" Caroline stroked the hair behind Joshua's ears affectionately. "Why?"
Joshua Robinson, stricken suddenly with the terror of such unexpected news, dropped his toothbrush and ran from the room. the red cinnamon lather trickled into the drain in front of Caroline, who stood quietly, waiting.
"Oh no," Josh sputtered, grabbing at anything to cover his body; perhaps a sheet would hide him from this cruel new reality. "Shit. Fuck! Caroline, what the...." He could not speak. He sank into the cracked leather chair by the window; he could feel his skin growing hot, his face reddening. "That... is not funny. Don't scare me like that!" He tried to laugh. It was a joke. She... was joking with him.
"What's not funny, darling?" Caroline called. She was still watching the red swirl relentlessly into the drain. There was a pause. Josh wiped the sweat from his forehead. He could hear no indication that Caroline had moved from her spot in the washroom. "Are you..." she finally started from behind the door, "Josh? Are you angry? Oh God! Dearest, dear, darling, don't be upset! I didn't mean to break it to you like this! God, shit!" Her face emerged at last around the doorframe. "Don't think I was trying to lead you on, or intentionally lying or.... Josh?"
The world spun. Josh could barely see, through his peripheral vision, the divine face whose perfection he had worshipped for the past two months. A siren sounded somewhere across the river. No cats wailed from the street below. The sun was beginning to rise.
Envy came first. Envy was only instinct. Who could allow themselves share perfection, when it had tempted, and run, and then submitted? Why did Harry deserve the hovering genius more than world-reknowned Joshua Robinson? How was there any competition? Did Harry listen for cats in the early hours in the morning, or dote selflessly upon the dancing thing of beauty which was Caroline La Demure, or sit alone in the audience of unknown plays?
Guilt flooded in almost as quickly as the envy had, drowning out every green ounce. Who had come first, anyway? He, himself, Joshua, had become an intruder into Caroline's - into Harry's! - life. It was not "my boyfriend, of course!" who was in the wrong, after all. What did he know, wherever he was, of this wicked attraction and serendipitous affair? It was not this faceless device of torture who had taken anything away from him; much rather the opposite. "Holy shit," he mumbled.
Anger. Level three. It was clear whose judgement was at fault. "Why the hell would you do that, Caroline!?" Josh found himself shouting. "What makes you think, in any way, that it is all right to lead me on like this?"
"Quiet," Caroline murmured. "The neighbors, Josh."
"Fuck the neighbors!" Josh sprung from the chair which had so many nights bore their fulfilled, carefree bodies as the sun rose, storming through the apartment past the still figure of the girl - the woman - he had sworn he loved. "Your bloody missing-person of a boyfriend clearly puts a hell of a lot of trust in you, Caroline!" He threw on his shirt and made a grab for his jeans, but Caroline was too quick for him.
"Don't act like you didn't know this was only for the summer," she said cooly, folding the trousers over her arm and letting them fall haplessly to the floor at her feet. "You're a goddamn celebrity, and I am a struggling artist who is comfortable with where she is. In the end it doesn't balance out."
"You are not a struggling artist, love. You are an advancing prodigy! When you figure that out--"
"The main part of that statement, Joshua, was that I am comfortable where I am. I want to be a performer, not a living performance. If I go with you, there is no doubt in my mind that I will be well on my way to stardom. Sure. But even if I did want to be noticed in any way, I'd rather be known as Caroline La Demure as opposed to 'Joshua Robinson's arm candy.'" Josh sheepishly picked his pants up from the floor. "Got it?" He shook his head.
"That is all very well and good, but it still doesn't explain the reasoning behind you cheating on - what's his name? - with me."
"Harry."
"Harry probably would not approve. I'm concerned about you, not me."
Caroline smiled and leaned back with a sigh. "That's the best part," she said. "You don't have to worry about my life. You'll be gone by the time he's back, and you'll be eating breakfast and drinking tea with people who make more in an hour than I do in a year, and a few months later perhaps I'll see you on television, and we'll both be out of each other's lives." She caught sight of the disapproving look she was still recieving from the young star. "Oh come on, you know it's true."
"Yes," Josh said coldly. "But only because you're making it that way."
"I'm doing what is best for both of us. It's the only justification I've got for having some of the best nights in my life."
Josh shook his head, wandering into the washroom and throwing some cold water on his face. the crimson swirl of toothpaste rushed into the drain, disappearing behind the chrome guard. "There you go again!" He expelled. "How can you live with yourself knowing that you've just put the stranger you're fucking ahead of your boyfriend of.... how many years?"
"Four."
"Four!"
"Because my boyfriend probably expects it from me."
"That's no good reason."
Caroline sighed. "Because cats scream in the streets."
Josh pulled on his jeans and came to sit next to Caroline, who leaned her head onto the crook of his arm and kissed his shoulder. "You smell like sex," she said.
"It was Harry," she said nonchalantly as Josh dressed his toothbrush. "He just called to see how I was. Usually he calls in the afternoon; I was surprized it was so early." Josh froze. Caroline came in and put her hands on his shoulders lightly. Her fingers were cold against his skin, and he felt the hairs on his neck stand on end.
"Who is Harry?" he asked in a tone of severe urgency.
"Why, my boyfriend, of course!" Caroline stroked the hair behind Joshua's ears affectionately. "Why?"
Joshua Robinson, stricken suddenly with the terror of such unexpected news, dropped his toothbrush and ran from the room. the red cinnamon lather trickled into the drain in front of Caroline, who stood quietly, waiting.
"Oh no," Josh sputtered, grabbing at anything to cover his body; perhaps a sheet would hide him from this cruel new reality. "Shit. Fuck! Caroline, what the...." He could not speak. He sank into the cracked leather chair by the window; he could feel his skin growing hot, his face reddening. "That... is not funny. Don't scare me like that!" He tried to laugh. It was a joke. She... was joking with him.
"What's not funny, darling?" Caroline called. She was still watching the red swirl relentlessly into the drain. There was a pause. Josh wiped the sweat from his forehead. He could hear no indication that Caroline had moved from her spot in the washroom. "Are you..." she finally started from behind the door, "Josh? Are you angry? Oh God! Dearest, dear, darling, don't be upset! I didn't mean to break it to you like this! God, shit!" Her face emerged at last around the doorframe. "Don't think I was trying to lead you on, or intentionally lying or.... Josh?"
The world spun. Josh could barely see, through his peripheral vision, the divine face whose perfection he had worshipped for the past two months. A siren sounded somewhere across the river. No cats wailed from the street below. The sun was beginning to rise.
Envy came first. Envy was only instinct. Who could allow themselves share perfection, when it had tempted, and run, and then submitted? Why did Harry deserve the hovering genius more than world-reknowned Joshua Robinson? How was there any competition? Did Harry listen for cats in the early hours in the morning, or dote selflessly upon the dancing thing of beauty which was Caroline La Demure, or sit alone in the audience of unknown plays?
Guilt flooded in almost as quickly as the envy had, drowning out every green ounce. Who had come first, anyway? He, himself, Joshua, had become an intruder into Caroline's - into Harry's! - life. It was not "my boyfriend, of course!" who was in the wrong, after all. What did he know, wherever he was, of this wicked attraction and serendipitous affair? It was not this faceless device of torture who had taken anything away from him; much rather the opposite. "Holy shit," he mumbled.
Anger. Level three. It was clear whose judgement was at fault. "Why the hell would you do that, Caroline!?" Josh found himself shouting. "What makes you think, in any way, that it is all right to lead me on like this?"
"Quiet," Caroline murmured. "The neighbors, Josh."
"Fuck the neighbors!" Josh sprung from the chair which had so many nights bore their fulfilled, carefree bodies as the sun rose, storming through the apartment past the still figure of the girl - the woman - he had sworn he loved. "Your bloody missing-person of a boyfriend clearly puts a hell of a lot of trust in you, Caroline!" He threw on his shirt and made a grab for his jeans, but Caroline was too quick for him.
"Don't act like you didn't know this was only for the summer," she said cooly, folding the trousers over her arm and letting them fall haplessly to the floor at her feet. "You're a goddamn celebrity, and I am a struggling artist who is comfortable with where she is. In the end it doesn't balance out."
"You are not a struggling artist, love. You are an advancing prodigy! When you figure that out--"
"The main part of that statement, Joshua, was that I am comfortable where I am. I want to be a performer, not a living performance. If I go with you, there is no doubt in my mind that I will be well on my way to stardom. Sure. But even if I did want to be noticed in any way, I'd rather be known as Caroline La Demure as opposed to 'Joshua Robinson's arm candy.'" Josh sheepishly picked his pants up from the floor. "Got it?" He shook his head.
"That is all very well and good, but it still doesn't explain the reasoning behind you cheating on - what's his name? - with me."
"Harry."
"Harry probably would not approve. I'm concerned about you, not me."
Caroline smiled and leaned back with a sigh. "That's the best part," she said. "You don't have to worry about my life. You'll be gone by the time he's back, and you'll be eating breakfast and drinking tea with people who make more in an hour than I do in a year, and a few months later perhaps I'll see you on television, and we'll both be out of each other's lives." She caught sight of the disapproving look she was still recieving from the young star. "Oh come on, you know it's true."
"Yes," Josh said coldly. "But only because you're making it that way."
"I'm doing what is best for both of us. It's the only justification I've got for having some of the best nights in my life."
Josh shook his head, wandering into the washroom and throwing some cold water on his face. the crimson swirl of toothpaste rushed into the drain, disappearing behind the chrome guard. "There you go again!" He expelled. "How can you live with yourself knowing that you've just put the stranger you're fucking ahead of your boyfriend of.... how many years?"
"Four."
"Four!"
"Because my boyfriend probably expects it from me."
"That's no good reason."
Caroline sighed. "Because cats scream in the streets."
Josh pulled on his jeans and came to sit next to Caroline, who leaned her head onto the crook of his arm and kissed his shoulder. "You smell like sex," she said.
posted by GimmeGimme128 @ 9:08 PM
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