Still heaving from the rush over to Chris' building, Raine pressed the apartment number to get buzzed in and waited for the third time. Pick up...
By chance, another resident opened the door as they were leaving the building. Thanking her lucky stars, Raine slipped through the lobby door with no problems.
In the elevator, Raine bit her nail and paced back and forth, cursing at the snail-like pace of the machine. The string between her tongue and gut shrunk by the second and choked her. A million pins spiked into her hands, causing them to get hot. She wiped the sweat on her jeans.
Finally an annoying ding sounded and the entire elevator waited. The doors slowly opened like two tortoises that were crawling apart. She glanced at her watch as if it would help the doors open faster. For fuck's sake it's already seven.
Raine swished down the hallway in a rapid walk and rapped her knuckles on the newly finished door. She quickly fixed her hair in small jerky motions as she glanced up at the peephole. She couldn't hear much as all the pounding in her ears drowned out everything - including her thoughts.
She rubbed the back of her neck as she continued to knock. The wait was agonizing - not too different from the dreams where she'd run, but be stuck in one spot. She swallowed hard as she heard some shuffling from inside.
Finally, the door swung open and Chris' appeared in a pair of boxers and t-shirt with an aura of exhaustion. Despite that, the tinted pink eyes still managed to burn holes through Raine. Was Chris crying? Her hair looked like it had been dragged through carpet, but that didn't prevent Chris from curling her lips curled into a snarl.
"Go home," Chris growled as she leaned forward.
"Chris," Raine said weakly and took a step forward to close some of the distance between them, "Can I come in?"
Chris shook her head and leaned against the doorframe, "No, I've got company."
Company? Raine's lips flattened in a slight grimace, "What?"
Right on cue, a familiar face emerged from around the corner. Chun's long slender legs strided over to the door. Her hair was in messy curls and she looked like she had just awoken from a nap. She peeked over Chris' shoulder and frowned in disapproval when she saw Raine.
She's screwing Chun? Raine tried her hardest to not glare at Chris as she sucked in her cheek to keep her mouth shut. We're aren't exclusive. She started to tell herself, but there was a part of her that felt it; the betrayal. Did she do it because she was mad at me? Raine cleared her throat. Or was she already screwing her? Because if she was already screwing her, that's fine by me. I think. I mean I think I want Chris all to myself, but...
"Raine right?" Chun crossed her arms.
"Chun..." Raine murmured, "I need to talk to Chris for a minute."
Chun blinked and then chuckled, "Don't you have Stacy to go to? You know, seeing as you have no idea who Chris is?" She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over the only thing she was wearing; Chris' long t-shirt.
Raine felt the pit of her stomach sink. Chun's reaction to her had confirmed that they'd seen the video.
Raine sighed and looked to Chris, "I need to talk to you." The words sounded like they had scraped along gravel as they escaped her.
"Chun, could you give us a moment?" Chris asked softly, placed a hand on Chun's forearm, and then continued, "I'll be back in a bit."
Raine wanted to vomit. The entire situation was complexly screwed beyond belief. It made Raine wonder if there were twisted gods that were concocting the best ways for her to suffer.
Chris stepped outside of her apartment and shut the door behind her. She turned to Raine and let out a long exasperated sigh. She raised her open palm, "Go on, say what you have to say," then she dropped it as she lazily leaned against the wall with one leg crossed over the other like a twist tie.
Raine winced at the cold uninterested demeanor she was receiving. She swallowed and took a step towards Chris, "Chris, I was going to tell you about the interview, but-"
Chris crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as she cut her off, "But you were too busy screwing Stacy, yeah?" Chris looked down and nodded as her lips curled into a tight frown.
"No, I got the broadcasting times wrong and I'm sorry," Raine placed her hand underneath Chris' chin and peered into her eyes only to find fatigue.
Chris brushed her hand away and cocked her head as she spit out, "Is that so? You're apologizing for not giving me a heads up? Wow, Raine, thanks for letting Stacy make me look like a maniac to this entire state."
"I know, I'm sorry Chris, I had to do what was best for Hush," Raine sighed.
"Right, so you threw me under the bus?" Chris challenged and then kissed her teeth, "Obviously, you did this in consideration that it could affect my career too."
Either way, she still punched someone in the face... Raine couldn't get her mind off of Chris' actions to begin with. It wasn't like Chris to just punch someone out of jealousy.
"I want to know why you you hurt her," Raine demanded.
"Is that why you came here? To ask why I hit your fucking girlfriend?" Chris stared at her with widened eyes, "You know, you could have just asked Raine, but instead she gets to go mouthing off about me on the telly and you do nothing but you're sorry." she rolled her eyes, "Well thanks for nothing mate."
"I..." Raine swallowed hard. She'd never seen Chris this angry before. In fact, if she wasn't swimming in deep waters, she would've thought Chris' inner British was totally cute. However, she recognized that now wasn't the time for cuteness when all was being torn to shreds.
Chris glared at Raine and then scoffed, "I don't regret punching her in the face because she deserved it! And you don't deserve an explanation. Your best bet is to go ask your other little girlfriend, Scarlett, she was there."
Raine looked at Chris, begging with her eyes, "Chris, I know you're angry with me, but I want you to know that I really want to be with you."
"I'm sure you do, but do you know why it won't work?" Chris slid her tongue over her teeth and then answered her own question, "Because you like me, but you're still in love with Stacy. It's like you can't see what's right in front of you."
"Are you jealous?" Raine asked quietly and immediately regretted it.
Chris' raised voice echoed through the hollow hallway, "You're too caught up in Stacy to notice that I'm fucking falling for you? Are you kidding me?" she aggressively bounced the pads of her fingertips off of her hand then flipped it into an open palm.
She's falling in... for me? Raine opened her mouth and then closed it. She stared into Chris' tired eyes as her heart raced. All she wanted to do was pull Chris into her arms and tell her what she had been terrified of confronting.
"I...love you Chris," Raine searched Chris' eyes for any sign of softness.
Chris' eyes met hers. Chris' mouth twitched slightly before she whispered, "And you're in love with her too, yeah?"
The tension became still and a long silence filled the hallway. Raine felt her own chest hammer against her eardrums. She couldn't bring herself to say anything. She knew that a part of her hated Stacy, but did she still love her?
Raine opened her mouth and then hesitated.
Chris' jaw tightened as she clenched her teeth and tears dangerously flooded her eyes.She took in a deep breath through her mouth and nodded, "I'm sorry Raine, you have issues you need to sort out and I have a life to live ."
Raine bit her quivering lip, "Chris, don't. Let's just see what happens," she begged, but nothing could stop any person who was that hurt.
Chris started to back away from her like an animal defending its territory, "No, we're done... so please," she bent her elbows and threw her hands up in the air, then exhaled, "just do me a favor and sod off for good," Chris slipped back into her apartment and slammed the door.
The door thudded against the frame, with a loud shake before there was complete silence. Chris sunk onto the floor and hugged her knees. You did the right thing. Chris shook like an erupting volcano. The fire could no longer be contained. The hot tears burned her alive as they were squeezed out of her.
It was all said and done.
Hot tears threatened to sting the softness of Raine's face, but she wiped them away quickly. She had told herself earlier that there would be no crying. Chris had made her decision and that was that. No crying. Yet her heart screamed like it were a child being separated from the strongest bond it had known. She tried her hardest to ignore it and left the apartment building in a hurry.
Not long after, Raine reread the text from Scarlet for the fourth time about Chris' encounter with Stacy in the washroom. Of course Stacy ran her mouth. She threw her phone onto the ground and the sound it bouncing off of the floor echoed through the gym.
"Fuck!" Raine shouted as she swung her bare fists in a coordinated frenzy at the punching bag. All she wanted to do was have the bag break so it could rip open like an old scar and spill all its contents out. Instead, her raw hands tore open at the knuckles and she continued as blood flew out of it. She told herself that it felt good to feel alive. After all, her encounter with Chris had sucked all the life out of her.
Raine had lost control of everything and that reason became the matchstick that lit the fuel in her. She was livid at everything and everyone, but all she could think of was her first victim in the scheme of all things.
What would you do if you were Chris? What do ya'll think about the decision?