Chapter 3
Elyza's POV
My head spins slightly as I start to sit up, I realise I am in an unfamiliar room, someone else's house, but the instinctual panic I first feel subsides when I hear weak gagging noises coming from the next room and the memories from last night come flooding back. Quietly I approach the bathroom to see the brunette girl dry heaving over the toilet.
"Hey hey, relax, would you like me to get you some water." I try to comfort her, placing my hand gently on her back and feeling her shaking.
She looks up at me, her emerald eyes are bloodshot. "I don't think I've ever been this hungover in my life." She stutters between heaves with a weak smile. I grab a glass and fill it with water from the tap, she whispers a thank you as I hand it to her. I sit next to her on the cold tiled floor and rub circles onto her back, hoping that I am not overstepping my boundaries but she visibly relaxes slightly and leans into my hand.
"You feel a bit better now love?" I ask when her shaking has stopped.
"Yeah a bit, thanks for helping me." She says looking shyly at the floor, a cute rose colour gracing her cheeks.
"No problem princess, are you going to be okay now?" I start to stand up, I've probably overstayed my welcome already, Alicia appears to be better, something deep in my stomach tugs at the thought of leaving her. An unreadable expression flashes across the emerald eyes.
"Oh um, yeah I'll be okay, would you like to stay for breakfast, it's the least I could do!" She blurts out grabbing my wrist and standing up too.
I give her a small smile, she grins back. I can't fight the sick feeling in my stomach. Alicia is beautiful, there's no doubting that, but so are the other girls that I've been with and it was so easy to up and leave. The thought of leaving right now doesn't settle well.
"If you want me to?" I respond, she nods violently and leads me down the kitchen.
We pad down the grand staircase, I trail my finger over the gold leaf handrail and fully admire just how ornate the house is. We arrive at the kitchen and he throws the fridge open and stares into it before slamming it shut and doing the same with another two cupboards.
"My idiot of a brother must have taken all of the food for his stupid party!" She yells exasperatedly ad sits at the island counter in the center of the kitchen with a huff her expression a mix between anger and despair
"How 'bout a quick shopping trip?" I suggest quickly before I can dispell the idea. The grin she returns me is too much to bear.
"That sounds nice, but my car is still outside the club, and I probably need a shower." She mumbles disappointedly. For some reason I can't leave it there as decide that I have to try and make it work.
"Well I only live a block or two away and I have a bike we could use." Her face lights up again as soon as I say it.
"Sounds great! I'll quickly shower, the guest bedroom is across the hall if you want one... Not that I'm saying you need one or-" she starts to ramble but I stop her, laughing. Scarlet crawls up her cheeks and she hastily walks up the stairs and I follow behind and into the guest bedroom.
Alicia's POV
Slamming the door to my bedroom closed I allow myself to breathe out and slump against the wood of the door. My head still pounds slightly and I ache however the only thing occupying my mind is the Aussie blonde in the room across. Ever since I met her at the fancy dress shop I couldn't shake the feeling that I had met her before, and that after the initial meeting, I'd be seeing her again. I can't tell what it is about her but something makes me feel warm inside, like stepping into your home after a cold winters day, she's stunningly gorgeous and her eyes hold the depth of the ocean. The sensation of her hand on my back reminded me of Matt except caring and gentle. I push that thought to the back of my mind and step into the hot stream of water.
After the shower I lend her some clean clothes from my wardrobe and wait in the living room. When she comes in wearing the grey jeans and loose white top, her blonde hair bouncing in waves down her back, I am rendered speechless. She's more than stunning.
"It's only a short walk from here, then we can take the bike to the coffee place down the road?" She half questions in her gorgeous accent, I follow her towards the door and out into the open.
She's right, the walk isn't particularly long but we get a little time to chat, mainly small talk but it feels natural and comfortable, like we aren't even trying. We talk about all the different places we've seen, or want to see and then we turn up at our destination.
"Home sweet home." She says in a tone which could be sarcastic but it's undistinguishable.
She stops outside a large brick flat, the brick is chipping and grey, the place has a strong smell of urine mixed with alcohol and some sort of drug. I grimace at the thought of this being Elyza's home, it seems so cold and unsafe, I try to control my facial expressions as she walks away. Just to the side of that is a small garage made of the same full brick, she disappears into it for a while before rolling out a shiny red Harley.
My jaw hits the floor "when you said bike, you meant-" I stutter.
"Yep, This is it." She says proudly. I notice that she's now got a pair of aviators on and a leather jacket and it just adds to the beauty of the scene In front of me. She rolls it closer and expertly swings her leg over the front of the bike. She pats the seat behind her and I slip on, gently placing my hands on her waist, heart racing but I can't tell if it's from being pressed against Elyza or the bike.
"You might wanna hold on tighter than that love." She grins and kicks the bike to life, it roars underneath us and soon we are flying down the streets, swerving in between traffic, everything is a blur. I miss the feeling of her warm body against mine as we pull up to the coffee shop.
It's a retro American diner style place, it's cheesy and charming all in one. Me and Elyza both order a milkshake and pancakes from the fairly rugged blonde waiter at the counter. I notice he's attractive, he has blue eyes but I'm not held by them, Elyza's have a lot more depth. I almost shake my head, he's exactly the type of guy I'd go for, but for an odd reason I can't seem to become at all infatuated with him. He must have noticed me staring in thought at him as he starts to speak.
"Hey there cute girl, see something else not on the menu you like." He smirks, like Elyza does, but it's nowhere near as captivating. I notice Elyza grinding her teeth beside me, maybe she's fed up of standing here?
"Hey, you can go sit back at the table if you want." I say gently placing my hand on her arm.
"No I'm fine here." She says dryly, fixing the man ahead of us with a steady stare.
"Can't you see the girl wants us to have some alone time?" He quips cockily, Elyza tenses even more. "In fact, how about you come to the back room with me, stop your silly friend from bothering us?" He reaches her arm across the counter as an invite. I shake my head and shuffle a little closer to Elyza, gripping her arm a bit tighter. The blonde in question fixes the other blonde with a smug smile before walking me back towards the table.
"Stupid guy." Elyza grumbles under her breath, I'm not sure I'm meant to have heard it.
"He was only teasing I'm sure." I say attempting to calm her but she looks up at me, a storm brewing behind her brilliant blue eyes.
"What if he wanted to hurt you?!" She hissed, obviously now agitated.
"I wouldn't have gone with him, you're way more fun." I add, hoping its enough to put out the blondes fire.
"Thanks Alicia." She says with a shy and embarrassed smile. The guy brings over the milkshakes and pancakes, Elyza keeps her eye on him every second he's near us. At the last minute he puts a piece of paper on the table in front of us with his number on it. Elyza stares at it so hard I think it might burst into flames, I pocket the paper, who knows, maybe in a few weeks I'll feel like calling him.
Elyza huffs and rolls her eyes. "Stupid cocky guy, I bet I could treat you better than him." She growls. My cheeks grow warm at the thought, I play it off as if the pancakes are too hot and try to make conversation to avoid the thought buzzing around my brain.
"So, I'm guessing your Australian?" I say awkwardly. Great start Alicia, way to be captain obvious. Luckily she is amused by this.
"Yeah, didn't know if you'd notice." She jokes. "Born in Australia and lived there until I was 16, moved to LA 2 years ago to follow a career in art, little did I know I'd be painting motorbikes!" She says taking a sip of her milkshake and smiling faintly. "What about you love?"
"Bit boring really, I've been in LA my entire life, in the same house, my family are wealthy, and I'm just finishing my last year of schooling, that's about it." I tell her, she raises her eyebrows and nods.
"I bet all the boys there follow you around like lost puppies!" She says chuckling and giving me a small smirk. My throat constricts when I think about Matt and I must look tense because Elyza starts apologising.
"Sorry, I'm guessing that's a bit of a delicate topic?" She almost whispers giving me a sympathetic look. I just nod and try not to gaze off or space out too much, attempting to push Matt to the back of my mind. She pats my arm and I can't help but freeze up a bit, she sighs.
"I know your probably sick of hearing 'I'm sorry' but I really am. Whatever happened shouldn't have happened to you, you don't deserve it." She says, her face only conveys honesty and I give her a smile, the comment lifted my spirits a bit and it feels like some of the pressure has been lifted.
"Thank you." I smile "You got any boys following you." I ask, attempting to alleviate any of the tension I just created.
"No, they aren't really my thing, not much luck on the girl front either." She says smirking, but behind that I can see she looks vulnerable, searching my eyes with hers to look for any sort of shock.
"Oh, that's a surprise, your very pretty." I respond, I'm straight, I've only ever had boyfriends and boy crushes but in no means have I got anything against the LGBT community. Plus it's true, Elyza is pretty. Any girl would be lucky to have her.
"Thanks."
The conversation goes backwards and forwards between us, Elyza sharing her memories of Australia, me, telling her stories of me and Mark. The subject of parents isn't breached and I am glad, there's not much to say on that front. After a good hour of chatting, she looks down at her watch.
"God Alicia it's 1:00 already, I should drive you home and then be off." She says, giving her watch a concerned glance and then looking back at me with her deep blue eyes.
"Have you got anything planned for today?" I ask before I can stop myself, something about the girl leaving makes me scared.
"No not really." She responds confusedly, in a tone waiting for an explanation.
"Do ya wanna play mini golf?" I mentally scold myself at the idea. Mini golf!? Why on earth would I suggest something so ridiculous, her confused expression gives it all away and I go to dismiss the idea when she smiles and nods.
"Let's go sweetheart."
We climb back onto the bike and I slide my arms back round Elyza's waist, we fit together perfectly and I don't once feel like I'm going to fall. I point her in the right direction every now and then but by 2:30 we arrive at the mini golf place. It's exactly as I remember it, maybe a little more worn but I can't stop the childish grin that spreads across my face, I notice Elyza glance at me and smile softly.
"Alicia ciao!, I didn't expect to see you here, you haven't come up in a while." The owner of the golf course comes trotting over, he is a rather plump Italian man with a curled moustache, I hug him, I used to come here a lot as a child and often referred to him as an uncle.
"Carlos! I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while, me and my friend would like to spend a while on the course if you wouldn't mind." I ask him, his arm still around my shoulders.
"Si leeshy-loo, your favourite course." As he says it I hear Elyza snort slightly and my cheeks start to turn red again.
He hands us two balls and clubs, says his goodbyes and and when he walks away, Elyza speaks up.
"So what's your favourite course, leeshy-loo?" She asks in a teasing voice. I laugh and gently slap her arm in mock annoyance, but the nickname coming from her makes my stomach tense up.
We turn up at the course, it's my childhood favourite, crazy gold fantasy themes, me and Elyza spend hours putting balls through castles and fake dragons. Elyza has an okay technique but I think she can do better.
"Hey lyz, you might be better if you do it like this." I stand behind her and guide her arm up, and then take a swing at the ball. I notice her blush slightly but she allows her hair to fall in front of her face.
"Lyz, huh?" She giggles.
"Well you called me leeshy so it's only fair." I quip, she nods.
"Fair game leeshy." She responds. We both give each other a content smile.
It hits 6:30 and we are still playing, Carlos has left, given me the led and told us to lock up when we leave, along with a kiss on the cheek and me and Elyza decide to grab a burger from the van next to the course and are back, sitting at the top of the hill, watching the sun set, enjoying our burgers and each others company.
"Hey Alicia, I've really enjoyed-" she's cut off by a ringing in her pocket and shoots me an apologetic glance.
"Hm, mhm, what!?" She mutters down the phone, her face becoming more and more stricken with grief. Her phone beeps, signifying the person has hung up. She stares at me, slack jawed.
"Elyza?" I question tentatively.
"My flat burned down..... I'm homeless, my belongings are gone."