Silver Springs
Twelve thirty, One A.M, Two A.M, Two-Thirty A.M. The slower time moved the more desperate Gwen became. She had called Hobie a grand total of four times and he didn’t pick up a single ring. By now she had gone through several stages in her solitude. The “Crying” stage where she loudly asks the universe why he doesn’t want her. The “Fuck Him” Stage where she professes that Hobie is everything wrong with her life and that he’s not worth the tears, proceeds to drink an entire bottle of wine by herself and sing Carry Underwoods Before He Cheats, and now she was at her final stage of the night. Exhaustion. “He’s probably not even awake at this point” She sighed, grabbing her phone to dial her one and only friend, Pavtir Prabhakar.
“Come on Pav, pick up” she said anxiously. A familiar voice rings through the other end. “He went out without you, didn’t he?” She heard the Indian boy say on the other line. “Oh Pav!” Gwen broke down, crying for the fifth time that night. “I’m on my way with ice cream a Ryan Gosling movie, I’ll be there in fifteen. Don’t do anything irrational!” Pav quickly hung up the phone and got a move on to Gwen and Hobie’s place. Gwen looked at the phone, shocked at his sudden hang-up. She ported an expression of confusion, tilting her head slightly and feeling her bottom lip slip into a pout.
Precisely fifteen minutes later she heard a knock on her apartment door. She rushed to open it seeing Pav standing in the doorway, her face slowly morphed into a pout and he could tell she was about to start crying again. “Come here you poor, poor thing” Pav coos, walking into the apartment and offering her a hug. Gwen cries into Pav’s chest as he carefully closes the door behind him. “So, what happened, start from the beginning” He sighs, placing the bag with the ice cream inside onto the counter after Gwen let go. They make their way to the sofa and Gwen grabs Pav’s hand and begins to try to explain incoherently. “So So So he, he wanted to go to a show…” She starts explaining between sobs. “Okay.” Pav narrowed his vision to try and understand Gwen’s rambling. He nodded in response to her semi-coherent story. “So then he said he’d only be for an hour and now he’s been gone for four” She whines and continues to sob, folding over onto Pav’s lap. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do.~” She pouts, looking up at Pav and jetting out her bottom lip. “Wait… you said he went to the show tonight at O’Malley’s?” Pav asked. “Y-yeah.” Gwen stuttered, sniffling and wiping her nose and mouth. “Gwen, honey, that show ended two hours ago.” Pav paused. “What?” Gwen’s sad expression morphed into one of pure anger. “Yeah… your boy is out there doing ungodly things at this hour, I’m afraid” Pav grimaced at the sight of Gwen’s fury. “Listen, girl, I get it. At this point, I give you full permission to go crazy and go look for this man.” By the time Pav had finished speaking, Gwen was dressed and pulling on a pair of Hobie’s Converse. “Let’s go find him.”.
Gwen had imagined that Hobie was out doing every drug imaginable. She had imagined him dead, hung, buried, shot, O’D’ed in some public bathroom stall, drunk out of his mind at La Rosa Negra, anything but safe in a house with another woman. Hobie wasn’t like that. There was a sort of unspoken mutual exclusivity between the two of them. He always got wicked jealous whenever men approached Gwen at shows… he never even gave people the chance to approach. He never left her side. Gwen could feel the hot tears stream down her face as they approached O’Malleys, the sign turned off. “Where could he be, Pav?” She whined softly as she looked at her surroundings. They continued to walk.
Meanwhile, at the Santana residence, Hobie lied comfortably on Riley’s velvet couch as she exited her bathroom in her silk black robe. He sat up, the liquor starting to wear off. They had gone for two hours, and Riley clearly had no plans of stopping any time soon. Hobie’s head felt like it wanted to explode. He was starting to come to his senses. He had to get back home to Gwen. She was waiting for him. Hobie started to recall his promises to Gwen. Promises meant a lot to her and he made it a point to always keep his promises to her. Riley made her way seductively towards him, her long black curls drenched and cascading down her side. Hobie couldn’t resist himself. He placed both hands on the girl's waist letting out a sleepy groan. “Riley…” He said, looking up at her as she stood in front of him. “Yes?” she asked, pressing his head softly against her stomach and petting his hair. “I ‘ave to go.” he says, slowly standing up. He felt Riley press her weight on his shoulder, pushing him back onto the couch. “Stay,” she said simply, her lips curling into a smile as she looked down at him. Hobie returned her smile and replied, “As much as I’d love to, I really ‘ave to go” He said, getting himself to stand up fully this time. “Why? Do you have somewhere important to be at two-forty a.m?” Riley asked, tilting her head and walking behind him as he gathered his things. “Oi, sure we shagged and you ‘ave a nice place sweet’eart but that doesn’t mean much to me, alright? I got a life of my own to worry about, and… are you cryin?”.
Hobie saw Riley’s eyes start to mist and her expression start to change, almost as if she was holding back tears. “Fuck the dead rockstar’s daughter and go tell all your friends about it, right? Fuck you! Leave, see if I fucking care” She turned around and made her way back over to the couch. Great. Now I don’t just sound like a piece a’ shit, I am one. Bloody Hell. “Look, Riley, It’s not like that,” He said, walking back to the couch where she sat, her face buried in a pillow and her sobs soft and mellow. “ Darlin’ I just made a promise to someone I’d be ‘ome at a certain time… it’s all.” He says softly, caressing her back. “You don’t have to be a dick about it” She mumbled into the pillow. “Look at me,” he says, tilting her head up from the pillow with his hand. “I’m sorry doll. I had an incredible time tonight. I did. And I want to keep seeing you, but I made a promise to my friend tonight that I’d be home to watch a show with him” He smiled softly, lying through his teeth. He knew that if he mentioned a girl right now, he’d be in deeper trouble than he already was. Much less a girl he lived with. “Hobie… promise me this won't be the last time I see you…” Riley pouted, jutting out her bottom lip ever so slightly. “I promise,” Hobie said, placing a hand on her cheek and bringing his lips to hers.
Pav and Gwen roamed the streets for what felt like ages. It was late, the traffic lights started to blink yellow and they had spoken to every junkie and gone down every alley they could think of looking for Hobie. “Shit…” Gwen cursed to herself, starting to get desperate. “He’s probably on his way home right now anyways we should head back. He’s probably already at the apartment and im just being craz-“ Gwen was cut off by Pav’s worried voice. “Gwenny… look up”. They were standing in an ally lined with fire escapes and one particularly big penthouse was lit up clear enough to see inside. She took a step back and saw an awfully familiar figure sitting on a couch with another dark-haired girl in a black garment. “Do you think it's….” Gwen stopped herself from even saying what she was about to say. Pav could see the fury in her rise, almost like a thermometer. “I don’t know many men with that kind of silhouette but… it sure does look like him”.
Suddenly the figure came to the window and he looked a lot clearer. No, now, there was no doubt in either of their minds that that was exactly the man they’d been looking for. “Holy shit….” Gwen said under her breath. “I know that apartment…” Her stomach dropped to her ankles as in her mind her entire world seemed to crash. “That’s Rico Santana’s condo.” Pav pointed out. “More importantly the residence of his daughter and primary beneficiary Riley motherfucking Santana” Gwen continued to look up in shock.
Some quick background. Riley Santana and Gwen Stacey were inseparable as children. They grew up together when Rico Santana was just the guitarist for a local band and Riley was just a neighborhood teen… There wasn’t a thing they didn’t do together. They remained friends well into their teen years. Riley’s father’s fame didn’t put a stop to all the amazing adventures they went on together. Riley and Gwen experience all their firsts together. Their first kiss was with each other because anyone else would have been too awkward. They were close. Way close. Close to the death of Riley’s parents, three months prior to be exact, she and Gwen stopped talking. Riley ran with a different crowd now. All rich, famous, elite musicians. Her lifestyle was completely different to Gwen’s and their relationship just fizzled out. Gwen felt abandoned by Riley and vice versa, so they never spoke again.
“What are you gonna do?” Pav asked. “I don’t know, but he can get the fuck out of my apartment tonight and move into hers for all I fucking care,” she says angrily. “I should go up there and…” Gwen paces back and forth. “I’m going up there,” she says, turning her attention to Pav. “Now Gwen I don’t think that’s the be- “ “Please don’t try to talk me out of this,” She says. “I just feel like the mature thing to do is to wait until he gets home and confront him then.” Pav comments. Gwen knew that Pav was just ultimately looking out for her well-being but when she looked up one more time and saw Hobie and Riley kissing, she couldn’t contain herself. She burst through the front doors of the apartment complex, climbed the elevator to the fifth floor, and pounded fervently on the door she believed to be Riley’s. “Hobie Brown open this fucking door now!” She yelled.
A small woman, with a stature no greater than four feet eleven inches, gently pushes open the door and looks up at the raging girl at her doorstep. “No Hobie here, dearie,” she said, her voice sweet and kind like that of your great grandmother who you were certain was only months away from meeting her maker. Gwen’s angered expression dropped and so did her shoulders. “I’m so sorry,” she said, hanging her head in shame. “Oh, it’s no issue, little dove. I’ve been married for seventy-two years. I pray you to find him.” The Irish woman shuffled back into her home and gently closed the door in front of her. Before it was all the way shut, Gwen stopped her. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Riley Santana’s apartment is, would you?” She asked the older woman. She pointed to the door on the other side of the two-door hall and smiled, closing her own door behind her. Gwen nodded and turned around, regaining her composure and standing at the front door she was certain Hobie was behind.
Hobie had heard Gwen’s voice from the other side of the door. “Oh, Shit!” He scrambled to grab his things and ran towards the fire escape. “Who is that?” Riley stands, placing her hands on her hips and looking in Hobie’s direction. “Look, Darlin’ I really want to explain it to you but I have to go” The urgency of the moment was exasperated by Gwen’s haste knocks on the door. “! Maldito desgraciado! Yo sabia que tu le estabas pegando cuerno a alguien, tu preocura que esa no sea la mujer tuya porque te desgracio la vida, pobre infeliz…” Riley continued her rambling Spanish curses, threatening to do everything from setting his childhood home on fire to things that cannot even be translated into the English language. She motioned to open the door as Hobie tried to escape through the fire escape. He looked down, only to see Pav’s unimpressed face and crossed arms standing at the bottom of it. “Fuck, she’s got the place surrounded…” he muttered as he climbed back into the apartment.
Gwen waited a solid two minutes before knocking on the door again, waiting for someone to open it. Let it be Riley or Hobie, someone was going to hear her mouth. Suddenly, the door opened. The shock that ran through Riley’s body at the sight of Gwen’s face caused her to take a step back. “Gwenny?” she asked, leaning forward to get a better look at her. “Hey, Riley…” She said, her voice horse from the crying and yelling she’d been doing all night. “What are you doing here are you two…” “Why are you following me, you are bloody unbelievable Gwen!” Hobie called out, cutting Riley off. “I’m Unbelievable? Me?” Gwen walked in, pushing past Riley and blinded by her rage. All the things she’d been wanting to say to Hobie bubbled in her throat, and they were about to spill over. “I thought something had fucking happened to you! I thought you were in some alley slumped over, stabbed, robbed, on drugs. I called you four fucking times, you couldn’t pick up to say, ‘Hey I’m too busy fucking your childhood best friend to answer, I’ll call you back” Are you sick in the head?! I’m tired of your inconsistency, of you telling me you love me, of you lying, of you blowing me off, I’m sick of it!” Gwen yelled at Hobie like she’d never done before as Riley slowly closed the door behind her to keep the neighbors from hearing her screams. Gwen stopped and panted. “I take it you two know each other…” Riley commented, watching the two in shock. Hobie stood speechless, dropping his jumper as his mouth lay agape at Gwen’s comments. “Fuck Gwendy, I’m sorry…” Silence befell the room as hot tears streamed down her face. She was too exhausted to fight it. Too tired to be mad at him. A moment of supposed clarity washed over Gwen’s mind. Hobie wasn’t hers. Why act like this for someone who didn’t care about your commitments or couldn’t even bother to call you to say he was coming home late? “No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have followed you” she breathed out. Her shoulders dropped once more as she turned to Riley and said “Look, I’m sorry for barging into your apartment like this. I was just really worried about him…” She sighed. Riley looked at Gwen with an understanding expression. A fiery temper was something they had both always shared. “It’s okay… I’m sorry that this is happening to you. I had no idea, he told me he just had to meet a friend for a commitment.” Riley’s guilt was evident. She’d admittedly missed Gwen and all the memories they shared of their youth. She hated that this is how they would have to reunite.
“Just, make sure he gets home safe, alright? I’m gonna stay at Pav’s tonight we’ll talk about this...” She lets out a deep exhausted sigh “Some other time”. Gwen walked towards the door and began opening it to let herself out. “Hey,” She felt Hobie’s arm grab her shoulder. “I’m going home with you… and we’re talking about this tonight. We’re gonna talk and watch Love Island just like we always do and it’s going to be okay,” he says, she could see the hope for forgiveness in his eyes. “Okay,” she said in a broken voice, nodding. “Gwen…” Riley called out. “I know these aren’t the best circumstances… but please don’t be a stranger,” Riley said, grabbing her hand. Gwen returned a squeeze. “We’ll talk in the morning…” Gwen lent the girl a tired smile and Riley did the same. Hobie saluted the young woman who stood behind him, ready to close the door. She lent him a glare and shut the wooden door in his face. The elevator ride and the walk back home were spent in silence, with only Pav there to break it every so often with a comment that neither of them would respond to. Once they finally reached the apartment, Hobie let out a cold sigh and said “I’m gonna go upstairs and get ready for bed. I’ll catch you later, Pav”.
“Hm,” Pav replied, not giving Hobie a second thought. “Are you sure you’re gonna be okay sleeping here?” The boy asked, moving a piece of hair from Gwen’s face and lending her a soft and understanding smile. “Yeah, I’ll be okay.” Gwen rubbed his shoulders and made her way up the steps into her apartment building. “Please text me if anything” He breathed a sigh. “I will… I’ll see you in the morning” Gwen smiled. “Take the day off, I’ll tell Jeff you weren’t feeling well,” He said. Gwen nodded. “Thank you” The girl smiled and headed into the building, disappearing for the night. When she finally made it back into her apartment, she closed the door behind her. This was too much for one person to take. Too much for one heart. “Gwendy listen, I’m sorry. I really am. I made a huge mistake you mean everything to me, you know that” he says, kneeling in front of her as she slides down her door to sit on the floor. “Hobie… I waited for you. You didn’t show up. You don’t do that to someone who’s everything to you. I could be with someone who truly loves me and wants me and yearns for me right now, yet I’m still chasing after you. I can’t do that anymore. You’re tearing me apart, Hobie. I can’t deal with your hot and cold anymore. Tell me how you truly feel. So we can stop sharing a bed, and making plans, and fucking, and telling each other that we love each other. I know you hate labels but if you truly love me, give me one so I can stop beating myself up every single time you pop into my brain. So I can stop thinking that I’m insane” She sighs. “I’m just so… exhausted” She slumps down to her side but Hobie rushes to catch her. “I’m so sorry I make you feel that way Gwendy” He held her tightly. Hobie realized at that moment that she truly did mean everything to him. He was torn. He didn’t want to promise her something he couldn’t deliver on. It was just not in his nature. He loved her, yes, but he didn’t want to promise fidelity when he could never be certain of it. Gwen sobbed softly into Hobie’s arms as he caressed her hair repeating the words “I’m sorry” over and over again. He saw the pain he cause her. How hard she was trying. How hard she was trying to respect herself as well. It tore him apart inside. He felt like a total asshole. A terrible friend. An even worse partner.
“You know, Gwendy…. I do love you. I can’t promise you anything, but I will promise that I’ll try.” He says, petting her blonde locks as he swallows an embarrassed lump in his throat. He held her tightly as he heard her sobs soften before lifting her up and carrying her to their bed.